Coming home

Dustin Godsey didn't get to share the news with anyone. In fact, everyone else shared it with him.

The Anamosa native and vice president of marketing for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks hadn't checked the team's preseason schedule - which features a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids this Friday - when his phone started lighting up one June morning.

'The day it got announced, all of a sudden my phone starts ringing, and it's like, ‘Hey! You didn't tell me you guys were coming to Cedar Rapids,'” Godsey said.

Those conversations brought back memories for Godsey of sitting in the last row of the U.S. Cellular Center to watch Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves square off with the Boston Celtics in 2002.

It was a year after he had spent a summer interning with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. At that time, he began to realize his career goals.

'I remember how big of a deal that was at the time to have an NBA team come to Cedar Rapids,” Godsey said. 'At that point in time, that was kind of my dream job. Here I am, a decade later, one of the lucky people to say they got their dream job. To be coming back, it's pretty special for me to have it all come back full circle like this.”

Beginning his third season with the Bucks, his role is dealing with everything related to consumers - advertising, branding and generally growing the fan base.

Godsey embraces the challenge of working in pro sports.

'You don't know what that next challenge is going be or what lies around the corner,” he said. 'I kind of feed off of that lack of routine.”

Once wide-eyed watching Garnett 12 years ago, Godsey is excited for Cedar Rapids to get to witness top draft picks Andrew Wiggins of Minnesota and Jabari Parker of Milwaukee square off for the first time.

'There's nothing better in the world than working a game night and seeing a kid at his first game, just seeing his eyes light up when he sees a player for the first time,” Godsey said.

l What: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Milwaukee Bucks in NBA exhibition

l When: Friday, 7:05 p.m.

l Where: U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids

l Tickets: $13.50 to $80, available at USCC box office