Brown Brings
to
men’s basketball
HPU men’s basketball player John Brown was a big reason for the 2012-13 season’s success. Just a redshirt-freshman with three more years in an HPU uniform, he has High Point fans ecstatic for the future. HPU men’s basketball player John Brown was a big reason for the 2012-13 season’s success. The team won its first-ever Big South Championship (the North Division regular-season title), set a program record with 12 Big South wins and made its first NCAA Div. I postseason appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Just a redshirt-freshman with three more years in an HPU uniform, Brown and his teammates have High Point fans ecstatic for the future. The anticipation for Brown’s debut built last year as he was on campus attending classes, but did not play for the Panthers. People got to know Brown’s infectious personality around campus and saw him working out by himself in the Slane Center and Millis Center. Fans saw him at games cheering on his teammates from the stands. That anticipation was met on Nov. 9, 2012 as High Point hosted Triad rival UNC Greensboro for the first time in 10 seasons. The 6-foot-7 forward went off for 28 points, eight rebounds, five steals and three blocks as the Panthers beat the Spartans, 81-73. Brown earned his first of five Big South Freshman of the Week honors the following Monday. His big-play ability was also evident in Brown’s first official game – his alley-oop dunk on a lob-pass from fellow newcomer Allan Chaney was ESPN SportsCenter’s No. 1 play. Most fans didn’t even notice that the left-handed Brown dunked with his right hand on that play. By the end of the season, Brown had been featured on SportsCenter three more times. What does Brown say about his big plays? “I’m just satisfied that I can give the fans their money’s worth,” he says. “Of course they want to see us win but they also want to see us do it in fashion. I try to do both at the same time.” The winning has come as well, and it has Millis Center crowds energized. While Brown is someone that HPU fans constantly cheer for, the fans also help Brown and his teammates. “The environment at the Millis Center is great, everybody is behind you 100 percent,” says Brown. “Going on the road is hectic, and we’ve got to block everything out to concentrate on the game. Here, we just have to worry about playing our game and hearing the crowd cheer every time we do something good.” High Point University Magazine
All season long, Brown was ranked among the top freshman scorers in the nation, trading places with some of the top names in the nation like UNLV’s Anthony Bennett and UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad. Brown finished the season with averages of 16.4 points and 6.1 rebounds. He was named Big South Freshman of the Year and was the second freshman ever to be named to the All-Big South first team. Besides his athleticism, Brown’s greatest talent might be his energy and level of effort. He is still working on his basketball skills on a daily basis, which is particularly important since he didn’t start playing basketball until his junior year of high school in Jacksonville, Fla. These days, what is Brown working on the most? “I’ve worked on my three-point shot a lot,” he says. “My coaches say if I can get a three-point shot, I can play at the next level,” Brown says. With a late start to his basketball career, Brown wasn’t heavily recruited until his senior year of high school. HPU coaches were at a tournament in Florida and noticed Brown’s talent early, showing consistent interest that paid off when he made his college choice. “The coaches were so loyal to me, they always answered when I called or called me back right away,” says Brown. “Other coaches didn’t always do that. So I came to HPU for a visit and that was it. The people here were so kind. I got to meet with Craig Keilitz, the athletic director, and Dr. Qubein, HPU president. I didn’t get to do that at other schools. The academics at this university and the campus are great, and I knew I’d get the opportunity of a lifetime here.” It looks like a prime opportunity for the 2013-14 season as High Point returns 11 players who accounted for most of the team’s scoring and rebounding. Those returners include All-Big South second-team selection Allan Chaney and All-Freshman selection Adam Weary. “This was a great year for us and now we’ve got to take the next step,” says Head Coach Scott Cherry. “With almost all of these guys coming back, we’ve got to win the conference tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament next season.” ■ highpoint.edu
I
69