Since he found out on just two daysβ notice that he can invite four guests for Senior Day ceremonies Saturday, Arizona guard Terrell Brown said it might be tough to get relatives from Seattle to make the trip in time.
βBut Iβm trying to get (athletic trainer) Justin Kokoskie to walk out there with me,β Brown joked Thursday, after helping Arizona put away Washington State 69-53.
Thatβs OK. If UA assistant coach Jason Terry gets his wish, maybe those folks can just show up a year from now instead.
βI would love Terrell to come back and have two Senior Days,β said Terry, who is also Brownβs godfather. βThat would be great for us in our program.β
But itβs not a selfish wish, either, the way Terry explained it.
Brown proved indispensable to the Wildcats again Thursday, when he had seven points, eight assists and (at 6-foot-1) four blocks to help UA beat the Cougars, but he has yet to experience the passion of a near-capacity McKale Center crowd β or even the jeers of oft-rowdy Pac-12 arenas such as Utah, Colorado, ASU and Washington.
It is for reasons like that, in this strange COVID-19-overshadowed season, that the NCAA opted not to count this season toward the eligibility clock of any winter sports participant. Even a one-year grad transfer such as Brown can double his stay if he wants to.
βWhat we told him is heβs given us all heβs had but we havenβt given him everything we have to offer,β Terry said. βWhen you talk about McKale Center and going on the road in the Pac-12, heβs really been cheated out of the experience of playing at a school like Arizona. I witnessed it. I lived it. And thatβs really why I wanted him to come here.β
At the same time, both Terry and UA coach Sean Miller have made it clear they are steering clear of Brownβs decision. They want him to wade through the process as he sees fit.
Brown has also made it clear that heβs not ready to talk about it yet.
βUm, we play Washington at noon on Saturday and Oregon on Monday,β Brown said when asked where he was in the decision-making process. βThatβs where Iβm focusing.β
Thereβs two ways to look at Brownβs decision.
Brown might want to simply get going with a pro career, figuring he had shown enough of what he can do at the college level after leading the WAC in scoring last season and helping the Wildcats to a 16-8 record so far this year.
By sticking around, however, he might be able to polish up his basketball rΓ©sumΓ© with two years at a high-major level, enjoy playing before fans, maybe push for all-conference honors β and pick up a tuition-free masterβs degree.
Asked if heβs weighing any of those possible factors, Brown said only this: βIβm trying to finish up my classes right now and get prepared for Washington. At noon. Saturday. CBS.β
That sort of focus has turned out well for the Wildcats. Pushed into the starting lineup and handed 35 minutes Thursday because of a groin injury to freshman guard Kerr Kriisa, Brown put on one of his most significant performances of the season.
Not only did he fill the boxscore in an unusual way, blocking a career-high four shots, but Brown did the bulk of the defensive work on WSU guard Noah Williams. The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week went just 2 for 15 overall and 1 for 8 from 3-point range against the Wildcats, and finished with eight points.
βHe really embraced the defensive side of the ball,β Miller said of Brown. βI thought he did a really good job of, against an excellent player, making the game hard.β
While Brown now has a 4-to-1 assist-turnover ratio, leads the Wildcats in 3-point percentage (43.8) and is the Wildcatsβ fifth-leading scorer (7.7 points per game), Miller indicated his contributions have gone well beyond the numbers.
βTerrellβs unselfish. Heβs smart. Heβs experienced,β Miller said. βAll those characteristics really permeate throughout our team with as many new players and young guys as we have. Heβs a steadying force.β
Considering Brownβs journey through basketball, maybe thatβs not a surprise. Barely recruited out of Seattleβs Garfield High School, Brown played a season at nearby Shoreline Community College in an effort to gain exposure and averaged 30 points a game.
As a sophomore in 2018-19, Brown walked on to Seattle U, where he became a second-team all-WAC pick by the end of his first season. Then he led the league in scoring last season by averaging 20.7 points per game.
This year, Brown has been plugged in wherever heβs needed. He went from the scoring whiz in Seattle to backup combo guard behind James Akinjo and Jemarl Baker for the Wildcatsβ first 12 games of the season, then started the next seven after Baker broke his wrist.
Kriisa became eligible earlier this month, and Miller slipped the Estonian freshman into the starting lineup. Brown moved back to the bench.
It was not a problem. Miller said Brown understood and embraced his role, knowing heβd probably wind up playing starterβs minutes anyway. And he has, averaging 27.7 per game in Pac-12 play.
βHeβs the same every day. Heβs been through a lot,β Miller said. βHe knows the deal in terms of how hard it is to win, the grind of practices, the ups and downs of winning and losing. Heβs just really been a godsend for us.
βHeβs not only played very good basketball but in addition to that, heβs given us the leadership qualities, being a good teammate off the court β and all of those things really add up to helping you win as a group.β
The feeling apparently goes both ways.
For this season and, just maybe, another one.
βThe biggest thing that I would take from it is the relationships Iβve built,β Brown said of his UA experience. βI mean, I donβt even know how many international dudes we have, like six or seven? And even today before the game started, weβre in the locker room, hanging out and laughing, just having fun.
βItβs relationship-building. Thatβs the biggest takeaway from this: Youβre always my brothers.β