Humbling Time Leads Brown to Work Harder
2/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The following article first appeared in the January edition of Flames Illustrated. Heading into Thursday's meeting with Radford, John Brown is averaging 11.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. The red shirt junior is also listed at No. 14 in the nation with 12 double-doubles.
Throughout the biblical times, God used various events to humble His people. In the book of Jonah, the Lord sent an enormous fish to swallow the prophet, stifling his arrogance after his attempt to flee from the Heavenly Father.
Redshirt junior guard John Brown's humbling moment was much less dramatic, but he understands the meaning behind it just the same.
After being named to the 2008-09 SoCon All-Freshman team during his time at The Citadel, Brown spent last season at Roane State Community College, where he averaged 16.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
Feeling rather confident in his abilities toward the end of the season, the Savannah, Ga. native was suddenly reminded of the human body's limitations. This past March, Brown suffered a shoulder injury, one that nearly jeopardized his basketball future. While no one welcomes any kind of bodily injury, Brown says the setback could not have occurred at a better time.
"By the grace of God, it happened perfectly," he stated. "It was great that it happened at the end of the season, because if it happened too early, I might not have been given some of the offers I received. But if it happened too late, I might not have been able to play at the beginning of this season."
Impressed with the school's atmosphere and the coaching staff, Brown decided to spend his last two seasons of eligibility at Liberty. Upon his arrival, he continued to rehab his shoulder, a process that lasted six months. Working with the school's athletic trainers and strength coaches, the junior was cleared for full contact in time for the program's boot camp.
Brown remembers coming to Liberty with the injured shoulder and not being able to play a simple pickup game with his new teammates. It was tough a pill to swallow for the guard, but the experience served as a motivating factor on his road to recovery.
"Once I was cleared to play, that was my mission – to prove myself worthy enough to play on the same court as these guys here," he said.
In Liberty's season opener against Virginia Intermont on Nov. 12, Brown's right to be on the floor was never in question. Donning the Liberty red, white and blue jersey for the first time, the transfer dazzled the Vines Center crowd, posting 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while grabbing 17 boards. Brown's rebound total marked the highest by a Flame in nearly two years, when Anthony Smith finished with 17 in a 91-80 victory over VMI on Jan. 17, 2009.
Through 16 games this season, Brown has picked up six double-doubles and is averaging a near double-double with 11.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. In the first half of the season, Brown has led the Big South in rebounds and is a major reason why the Flames are one of the top rebounding teams in the conference.
"His forte is rebounding, so he's been very instrumental in our team's rebounding efforts this season," head coach Dale Layer noted when asked about Brown's ability on the glass. "He's really added a lot of things to our team, both on and off the court."
This season the Flames are off to an unprecedented start in Big South play. Since beginning the conference season 2-0 for the first time in program history with wins over Presbyterian and Winthrop, Liberty has added to its Big South success.
On New Year's Eve, the relentless Flames forced Gardner-Webb into overtime inside Paul Porter Arena, eventually earning the decision in the extra period, 64-62. Two days later, Liberty continued its run, defeating UNC Asheville at the Justice Center for the first time in nearly six years, 59-55.
Brown says he enjoys being a part of the first Liberty squad to start the conference season 4-0. However, this is not the first time the guard belonged to an exclusive group. During his time at The Citadel, Brown's Bulldogs became one of the few squads in program history to earn 20-plus wins in a season.
Although Brown has enjoyed playing on teams that achieve unprecedented accomplishments, he hopes to earn something at Liberty that has previously eluded him – a championship.
"I've never won a championship anywhere else, so I guess this is my last chance to win a championship and go on to the NCAA Tournament," he stated. "With this group here, I feel if we make a solid run in the regular season, we should be able to definitely win the Big South Championship and earn the bid."
While Brown's determination to bring a third Big South crown to Liberty is evident, the junior's New Year's resolution is one that resonates more off the court.
"After I got here and I saw that God was integrated in everything that we do, I told myself that I needed to develop a better relationship with Him," he said.
Brown's injury prior to the 2010-11 season provided an important lesson in his spiritual walk, one that allowed him to become a more humble competitor.
"Looking back on things, I saw myself getting complacent and becoming a little cocky," the guard noted.
"I think God put that injury into my life last year to say, ‘You have to be humble and value hard work.' In going through all of the treatments and rehab, my faith in God became stronger, so I really do cherish that experience."
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Eric Brown is an assistant athletic communications director for Liberty University, who covers men's basketball.
