Katz’s Corner: The Seniors Are Balling Too

Now he’s doing the same for Brown, and the freshman is flourishing.

Brown is one of the elite freshmen in what is looking like a historic class. He’s averaging a team-high 19.3 points and 6.8 assists and shooting 50 percent for the undefeated Cardinals. Brown scored 29 points and dished out 5 assists with just 1 turnover in a 96-88 win over rival Kentucky at the KFC Yum Center. He followed that up with 19 points and 7 assists in a 106-81 victory over Ohio. 

“I watched the transition with Chucky from Wisconsin to Louisville and you could see the type of freedom that PK gives his guards and the type of confidence that he instills in them,” Brown Jr. said. “He wants you to be free and he’s behind you every step of the way.”

Brown said he observed Hepburn’s ability to stay patient and be a hound defensively, which earned him ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Brown said he is trying to mimic the defensive attention to detail that Hepburn demonstrated.

That type of humility and acknowledgment of what he needs to do to thrive is another reason why Brown has a great chance for success. He was a member of the gold-medal winning U19 USA team this past season, playing with fellow freshman stars like Koa Peat (Arizona) and AJ Dybantsa (BYU). That experience gave Brown a head start. And he’s not taking any shortcuts. He said the staff and teammates continue to give him confidence to be a consistent presence. 

Brown may not have the same hype as Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer, but he has shown that as a player he is on equal footing. He also has already had to deal with the pressures of playing in a high-level rivalry and atmosphere. “To play in an environment like this (at home) is a blessing,” he said. “It’s the stuff you dream of as a kid. You want to be in those big-time environments and those big-time games on a big-time platform.”

Brown said the game for the bragging rights in the Commonwealth met the moment. “I can’t even put into words what that rivalry meant to us,” he said. “When I got here in September it was, ‘Y’all got to beat UK.’ We just beat UK. So to be part of a rivalry like that was big time. If you want to be a big-time player, those are the type of games you want to be in. I’m definitely honored.”

Brown will have plenty of chances to meet the moments with games coming up: In order, against Cincinnati on the road, at Arkansas, against Indiana at Gainbridge, a home game against Memphis, and then a road date at Tennessee before the ACC begins. 

Seniors are still shining

The love for this historic freshman class is well deserved, but there are plenty of seniors who are having themselves a moment, too.

• Missouri forward Mark Mitchell, a one-time Duke player, is off to a blazing start, averaging 20 a game and shooting 65 percent. He lit up Minnesota earlier in the week for 18 and could be in the running for first-team All-SEC or, who knows, maybe even SEC player of the year. 
• Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey is delivering for the Cyclones. He popped 25 on Mississippi State in a win in Ames and is averaging 17.7 points and 5.7 assists. If the Cyclones are to compete atop the Big 12, Lipsey will be a primary reason. 
• Graham Ike is back with a vengeance for Gonzaga. He had himself a week with 20 and 10 in a blowout home win over Creighton and then 20 and 9 in a 12-point road win at Arizona State. If Ike can continue to dominate the post in this manner, the Bulldogs will have a difference maker going forward. 
• Malik Reneau transferred from Indiana to Miami and is helping Jai Lucas early by averaging 21 and six. The Hurricanes have played a soft schedule but Reneau is putting up All-ACC type numbers.
• P.J. Haggerty is delivering for Kansas State with a 24.3-points per game average in his latest home. He was an All-American at Memphis and he could achieve similar status this season. He helped the Wildcats beat Cal with 23 in Manhattan.
• NC State forward Darrion Williams, who transferred from Texas Tech, dropped 32 on UNC Greensboro and is leading Will Wade’s Wolfpack with 21.7 a game. He could be an ACC Player of the Year candidate at this pace. 
• And how about Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson at Hawaii. The former Utah State center is helping Eran Ganot’s Rainbow Warriors get off to a 4-1 start (nearly beat Oregon before losing by one in Eugene to open the season). Johnson had two straight double-doubles in the Rainbow Classic against Manhattan (25 and 11) and Utah Tech (14 and 11) and is averaging 14 and nine for the season. 

Stories from the road

Loved visiting with St. John’s coach Rick Pitino and William & Mary’s Brian Earl. 

Here’s what I found out:

*Pitino told me he will retire when he stops learning. He has an insatiable appetite to continue to learn about the game. He cherished his time in Greece and improved his own knowledge of passing and cutting by coaching and watching the European game. He said he watches multiple games a night from a variety of leagues, in addition to the teams that are ahead on the schedule. 

He also shared one of his favorite stories from when he was coaching Providence at St. John’s in 1987. He said the Friars beat the Red Storm with one second left and he told the team to run off the court and specifically told Billy Donovan and Delray Brooks to get in the shower. He said an official came back to the locker room to say that there was one second left on the clock. But Donovan and Brooks and others were in the showers, in uniform, in socks. The refs didn’t make the Friars return to the court. I spoke with a former member of the team who told me the story is accurate.

Earl was a player and an assistant at Princeton, he took his Princeton style of play to Cornell. But it still wasn’t clicking at a highly efficient clip, so he wanted to tweak it and have his team shoot more threes and within seven seconds. So during the Covid season when the Ivy League was completely off, he said he spent time watching Loyola Marymount from the early 1990s and 40-minutes of Hell Arkansas. He has applied that philosophy to his new gig at William & Mary. 

The Tribe are part of the thirsty three — the three original Division I members from 1939 that still haven’t made the NCAA Tournament. The other two? The Citadel and Army. 

North Carolina’s Seth Trimble Injured in Freak Weight Room Accident

With the senior forward out until January with a broken arm, others will have to step up to help UNC bridge the gap through a tough non-conference schedule

Shoutouts

To USC’s Rodney Rice, who recorded only the second-ever triple-double in USC history when he scored 21 points, grabbed 10 boards and had 10 assists in a win over Illinois State. 

To Illinois freshman David Mirkovic, who lit up Colgate with 27 points and 21 rebounds. 

To Texas Tech’s JT Toppin, who was the Big 12 Players of the Year last season and has come back to average 24.3 points and 11.7 rebounds this season. 

To Santa Clara, which is off to 4-0 start with convincing Division-I wins over McNeese, at Xavier and Nevada. Herb Sendek has been close to getting the Broncos in the NCAAs during his 10-year tenure. This could finally be the season. 

To West Virginia’s Ross Hodge, who has the Mountaineers rolling four games into the season in his first campaign in Morgantown. West Virginia crushed rival Pitt and could be sneaky good in the Big 12. 

To Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad, who came back from a broken hand to average 16.5 points and six assists in two games for the Ducks. 

To Oklahoma State’s Steve Lutz, who may have the Cowboys turned around in year two as evident by a 24-point win over Texas A&M and a 3-0 start. 

To Rutgers sophomore Dylan Grant, who needed to see an increase in his production to help the Scarlet Knights turn the program around. He has improved dramatically by going from 5.9 to 18.3 points from last season to this one.