Brown to transfer

Kevin McCarthy
 

Most of you probably missed this while merrily going along with your lives of late, but a dramatic change took place this week in Bay Area prep basketball ranks when Salesian High backcourter Jabari Brown made the decision to play his final two high school seasons in Nevada. NorCalPreps.com brings you the inside scoop.

Brown is seeking greater challenges

Brown averaged just under 20 points per game this past season at Salesian, a still-loaded squad even with Brown’s departure and one that is coming off a California Interscholastic Federation state championship victory over Bishop Montgomery-Torrance in March.

Throughout the season, Brown displayed no conspicuous weaknesses in his game. In fact, here’s a portion of an April, 2009 NorCalPreps.com evaluation of Brown: "...Jabari is an impressive scorer who is at his best taking the ball strong to the basket. He can finish inside with contact because he possesses great leaping ability and can use both hands to complete drives to the basket. He also possesses a very accurate jump shot from the perimeter, which he can knock down consistently when given open looks. Passing is another area of strength for Brown as he possesses a knack for setting up his teammates for scoring opportunities ...Projected college potential: Brown holds as much potential as just about any player coming out of the region. If he works hard on his game, he can play at the highest level of Division I basketball."

What also stands out about Brown -- at least for those who personally know him -- is his humility and the respect he offers to others. He allows his basketball talents to speak for themselves, with no need or even desire to direct attention to himself -- call it confident humility.

However, the impetus for the change of address from Salesian had been brewing for some time -- Brown had a desire for greater competition and challenge on and off the court. Many hunger for the largest possible collection of accolades but Brown, despite his youth, realizes engagement with the best is the true avenue for betterment.

So he now will be attending Findlay Prep (FP) in Las Vegas.

"This will be good because it will provide the opportunity for greater competition as a player and help me grow as a person by being away from home," Brown said.

As for Findlay Prep, it’s a basketball program twined to Henderson International School -- the two entities are situated on the same street in Henderson, Nevada. Cliff Findlay, a Las Vegas auto magnate who played basketball at UNLV and who had a son attend prep school elsewhere, founded it in 2006. FP won the national prep championship over Oak Hill Academy this season, finishing 33-0. In two years of cross-country play, Findlay is 65-1. Additionally, FP also has a web site that rivals those of NBA franchises and four Findlay Prep games will be televised by ESPN in the 2009-2010 season.

The Brown family explored other options before deciding on Findlay Prep. But a number of the other possibilities were 3,000 miles away on the east coast or were designed more for seniors and post graduates.

"I reached out to Todd Simon (the assistant coach at FP) back in November/December," David Brown (Jabari’s father) said. "He said they would be interested in considering Jabari. After the season, they contacted us and we visited and got a good feeling for the program. We looked at the school [Henderson International] and it turned out to be one of the best in the state, plus we checked out the living situation for the players and it all felt comfortable" (the Findlay Prep players live in a house along with Simon and his family).

The elder Brown added, "Jabari is only 16 so we wanted to make sure it was the right place for him if he was leaving home early. We really thought long and hard about this, asking ourselves could this be in any way detrimental and if Jabari was mature enough? We are satisfied and it is what he wants to do."

The younger Brown will certainly need to bring his ‘A’ game every day in practice as well as during games. Consider that Findlay Prep’s roster this year included guard Avery Bradley, out of Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, WA, who signed with Texas, plus 6-foot-9 senior-to-be Tristan Thompson, out of Toronto, Canada, but who last played high school ball at St. Benedict’s in Jersey City. Thompson has already verbaled to the Longhorns.

Another Canadian but a backcourter, Cory Joseph, has a season remaining at Findlay Prep before he lands with a Top 10 college power. FP’s 6-foot-10 Carlos Lopez, a Puerto Rico native, is headed to UNLV and guard D.J. Richardson will be in uniform for the Fighting Illini. He originally played high school ball in Peoria through his junior year. Godwin Okonji, out of Nigeria, is a 6-foot-9 frontcourter who is long and lithe and a 2010-er who will have his pick of high major programs.

Now, Nigel Williams-Goss, a heralded 6-foot-1 freshman-to-be backcourter out of Oregon, is coming into the program. There’s also talk that Illinois prepster Jereme Richmond, the top 2010 player in the Land of Lincoln, is FP bound.

The previous year’s graduates -- the initial group for Findlay Prep -- headed to UNLV (Brice Massamba out of Sweden), California (Jorge Gutierrez from Mexico), New Mexico (Dennis Curtis), Florida State (Deividas Dulkys, out of Lithuania) and Kentucky (DeAndre Liggins), respectively.

That’s an uber-impressive array of talent battling one another and opponents.

But Brown will be ready. He has mapped out his path for continuous improvement. It goes:

• skill development/refinement -- "you can never get too much of this" Brown said.
• psychological development which includes playing against older and stronger players including NBA-ers and college talent, plus watching lots of games and film
• learning to have a “next play&rduo; mentality at all times especially in big games so that pressure drives him instead overwhelming him
• development of his physical qualities such as strength, power, mobility and fitness

Plus, in addition to his Salesian team obligations last season, Brown and his brother shot anywhere from 300-500 shots and worked on ballhandling two to four times a week in the gym at St. Leo the Great School -- the Oakland grammar school they attended. Olaf Pollard, father of St. Mary’s High backcourter Justin Pollard, is the athletic director at St. Leo and provided this opportunity for the Browns. Also, a physical therapist provided Brown with a flexibility routine for stretching that he uses religiously.

What’s also interesting is the Brown played both soccer and basketball as a youngster and had heady futures in both sports until he decided to focus on basketball.

"A lot of contributions went into helping Jabari and we thank everyone for their assistance," the elder Brown said. His son is also an avid basketball buff, knowing not only the storied players throughout the annals of college hoops and the NBA but also those down through the years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is both cognizant of the history and respectful towards this tradition.

The younger Brown wanted to thank Aalim Moor II, a trusted family friend and advisor whose relationship with the Browns extends beyond the world of youth basketball, Coach Bill Mellis and the Salesian High coaching staff, trainer Anthony Eggleton and his approach to body work that has paid major dividends for Brown, plus Mark Olivier, Jules Milstead, Derrick Artis and Greg Davis -- all of the Soldiers (he will remain with the Soldiers for club team competition). He also expressed appreciation for Phil Doherty (from MVP Flight Basketball), Chris Whirlow and Tony Hodrick -- all the coaches "who gave me the chance to really play, make mistakes and learn the game when I was a little guy."

Our loss will be his gain, as it should be -- it’s his life and his future. Brown possesses a track record for doing the right thing and the latest seems like another that will be beneficial in the long run.