SCC SCORES WITH FRESHMAN STANDOUT

SCC Men’s Basketball player Terrell Brown Jr. leads the conference in scoring, and by a wide margin.

He’s been putting up 28.9 points per game and is 4.6 ahead of second place.

In terms of totals, Brown has scored 69 more points than anyone else in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC). And he’s done so while playing fewer games than all but two of the top 50 scorers.

Brown has made 41 more baskets than anyone else in the conference.

Oh yeah: He also leads all NWAC players with 68 steals.

His biggest outputs of the season came in back-to-back days in early December, both on home court. On a Friday, he scored 39 in a romp of Pierce College, and the next night he dropped 41 in a thrilling double overtime loss to South Puget Sound College. Eighty points in just over 24 hours — that is, as Jim Jones put it, “ballin’.”

The Phins have struggled so far, going a total of 7-14 and 3-7 in conference but still have plans to make some waves in the NWAC Tournament in March. Despite Brown’s output, what they need is more scoring. SCC ranks 29 out of 34 teams in the NWAC in points per game, and is dead last in shooting percentage at 28.3.

The 6-foot-2-inch freshman guard hails from Seattle and has pride in his city. He has a tattoo of the Space Needle on his ribs, one he said gave him the biggest pain of his life. He hasn’t gotten another tattoo since.

Recently, I got a chance to sit down and talk to Brown for a little bit before one of SCC’s practices.

Q & A

CJ Priebe: What sports teams do you root for?

Terrell Brown Jr.: Seahawks are probably my favorite. And the Lakers. I was a huge Kobe (Bryant) fan. C.P.: What about college teams?

T.B.: I’m gonna wait to see. Whatever school recruits me the hardest. *Laughs*

C.P.: Who’s your favorite NBA player all-time?

T.B.: Somebody who’s really close to me, Brandon Roy. I know him, we’re close.

(Brandon Roy went to the same high school as Brown, Garfield High in Seattle.)

C.P.: How would you describe your game?

T.B.: I feel like my game is all-around. I can ball-hawk and play defense, I can hit jump shots, I’m a vocal leader, a competitor — all those things into one.

C.P.: Do you prefer playing point guard or shooting guard?

T.B.: I prefer point guard. I think point guard is probably the hardest job in all of sports, (like) quarterback, pitcher. Everything weighs on that position. So I feel like I’m a person who handles pressure very well, making sure everyone is in the right position.

C.P.: Is there anyone who you take moves from?

T.B.: Isaiah Briscoe. That’s one of my favorite players. He’s like two or three years older than me. I used to watch his YouTube videos all the time. He did a move like a half-spin and bring-it-back. I’ve been using that a lot lately.

You watch Kyrie (Irving) and (Steph) Curry play with the ball like it’s second nature. Watching those guys play, along with James Harden, you always try to pick up little things that they do that you try to implant in your game.

(Briscoe played college basketball at Kentucky, and currently plays professionally in Estonia.)

C.P.: What’s the biggest difference between playing in high school and college?

T.B.: Probably speed. And it’s more physical here (in college). You’ve got to be mentally prepared for this. I mean, I came from a big high school, so every game there were a lot of people in the crowd and the games were always amped up. But I think the speed of the game is faster in college than it is in high school.

C.P.: What is one of your favorite moves?

T.B.: I like the spin move a lot. I think it’s always the hardest to guard, because if you get them in the right position and take the right angle, the defender’s always on your back.

C.P.: What is one of your favorite movies?

T.B.: Probably “The Dark Knight.” I actually wrote a paper on that last week.

(As you could have guessed, Batman is his favorite superhero.)

C.P.: What type of music do you like to listen to before a game that gets you in the zone?

T.B.: Hip-hop. Nipsey Hussle gets me in the zone a lot. NBA YoungBoy, Meek Mill — I think it depends on the mood. Some games it might be hard rap, some might be R&B. It just depends.

C.P.: What do you prefer, passing or rebounding?

T.B.: Passing… Ah, that’s tough. I’m in-between — I like rebounding a lot actually. I’m not that big, so when I rebound it makes me feel like I’m bigger than I am, so I’m in between.

C.P.: Pizza or Mexican food?

T.B.: Pizza.

C.P.: Do you know where you’re going next for your career?

T.B.: No, I don’t know where I’m going yet. Hopefully that gets figured out maybe around March. I’m in no rush, just trying to finish off the season strong.

C.P.: Is there any particular conference you’re looking at?

T.B.: Hopefully I can get into the Pac-12. That’s a power five conference — hopefully I can sneak my way in there.