Arizona's Terrell Brown focused on Senior Day, even as Jason Terry hopes he returns for another year

Since he found out on just two days’ 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.

“But I’m trying to get (athletic trainer) Justin Kokoskie to walk out there with me,” Brown joked Thursday, after helping Arizona put away Washington State 69-53.

That’s OK. If UA assistant coach Jason Terry gets his wish, maybe those folks can just show up a year from now instead.

“I would love Terrell to come back and have two Senior Days,” said Terry, who is also Brown’s godfather. “That would be great for us in our program.”

But it’s 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 — 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.

“What we told him is he’s given us all he’s had but we haven’t given him everything we have to offer,” Terry said. “When you talk about McKale Center and going on the road in the Pac-12, he’s really been cheated out of the experience of playing at a school like Arizona. I witnessed it. I lived it. And that’s really why I wanted him to come here.”

At the same time, both Terry and UA coach Sean Miller have made it clear they are steering clear of Brown’s decision. They want him to wade through the process as he sees fit.

Brown has also made it clear that he’s not ready to talk about it yet.

“Um, we play Washington at noon on Saturday and Oregon on Monday,” Brown said when asked where he was in the decision-making process. “That’s where I’m focusing.”

There’s two ways to look at Brown’s 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 résumé with two years at a high-major level, enjoy playing before fans, maybe push for all-conference honors — and pick up a tuition-free master’s degree.

Asked if he’s weighing any of those possible factors, Brown said only this: “I’m trying to finish up my classes right now and get prepared for Washington. At noon. Saturday. CBS.”

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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.

“He really embraced the defensive side of the ball,” Miller said of Brown. “I thought he did a really good job of, against an excellent player, making the game hard.”

While Brown now has a 4-to-1 assist-turnover ratio, leads the Wildcats in 3-point percentage (43.8) and is the Wildcats’ fifth-leading scorer (7.7 points per game), Miller indicated his contributions have gone well beyond the numbers.

“Terrell’s unselfish. He’s smart. He’s experienced,” Miller said. “All those characteristics really permeate throughout our team with as many new players and young guys as we have. He’s a steadying force.”

Considering Brown’s journey through basketball, maybe that’s not a surprise. Barely recruited out of Seattle’s 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 he’s needed. He went from the scoring whiz in Seattle to backup combo guard behind James Akinjo and Jemarl Baker for the Wildcats’ 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 he’d probably wind up playing starter’s minutes anyway. And he has, averaging 27.7 per game in Pac-12 play.

“He’s the same every day. He’s been through a lot,” Miller said. “He knows the deal in terms of how hard it is to win, the grind of practices, the ups and downs of winning and losing. He’s just really been a godsend for us.

“He’s not only played very good basketball but in addition to that, he’s given us the leadership qualities, being a good teammate off the court — and all of those things really add up to helping you win as a group.”

The feeling apparently goes both ways.

For this season and, just maybe, another one.

“The biggest thing that I would take from it is the relationships I’ve built,” Brown said of his UA experience. “I mean, I don’t even know how many international dudes we have, like six or seven? And even today before the game started, we’re in the locker room, hanging out and laughing, just having fun.

“It’s relationship-building. That’s the biggest takeaway from this: You’re always my brothers.”