The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Brown Leaving Legacy at UAB as Senior Day Approaches
2/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
The moment is forever frozen in time.
Robert Brown, then a UAB junior, racing from the baseline, squeezing through the double screen set by teammates Tosin Mehinti and William Lee, gathering in the crisp inbound pass from Denzell Watts and firing a 3-point shot from the right wing just before backpedaling in the other direction while the ball dropped through the net at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
Technically, the shot didn't provide the winning points -- Lee took care of that 27 seconds later, but it's difficult to think about that game without immediately remembering Brown's 3-point dagger. That's why the shot is frozen in time, much like Mo Finley's jumper that lifted the Blazers to a NCAA Tournament win over No. 1 seed Kentucky in 2004 or Robert Shannon's 3-pointer that lifted the Blazers to a 58-56 NIT win over Alabama in 1993.
Ask Brown about his favorite UAB moment, however, and you don't necessarily get the expected answer. Sure, he quickly mentions how special the shot was; but just as quickly, he brings up another play. This one was critical in UAB's journey to the NCAA Tournament. This one came on the other end of the floor. This one was made by a teammate.
"One play that always stands out is Nick (Norton) getting a five-second call against Western Kentucky, toward the end of the (Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal), when we were trying to pull that one out," Brown said. "I think about it a lot. Without the five-second call, we probably don't win the game and get to the next round of the tournament. That's something that I look back on last season as a pivotal moment for us."
Perhaps that best displays the unselfish and team-first attitude that Brown carried through his three years in the UAB program. The 6-foot-5 swingman has the ability to be among the top scorers in Conference USA, but that wasn't his quest.
"Doing anything I can, anything the team needs to win, is my only goal, my only objective," said Brown, UAB's lone senior, whose final two home games as a Blazer are Thursday night against Marshall and Saturday afternoon against Western Kentucky.
Making that happen comes in many different forms. He is often one of the team's top offensive options with the ability to score from long range or get to the basket. He is also second on the team in assists and a defender capable of guarding inside and outside.
UAB head coach Jerod Haase has a long list of the ways Brown helped lead the Blazers to a 22-5 record thus far and put themselves in position to claim a Conference USA regular-season title. The list includes scoring, leadership, a vastly improved assist-to-turnover ratio, defensive savvy and experience. He also includes an off-the-court persona that makes Brown a "great ambassador to the program."
However, that's just a start.
"Those things are secondary to his attitude toward UAB and the success of the team," Haase said. "He's a senior this year and not once was there an indication of `This is my team, this is my time to shine, this is my night to prepare for my future.' It was all about the UAB basketball team and this year."
To understand how important that is for Brown, it's probably best to start from the beginning for the Clermont, Florida native. He played three varsity seasons at East Ridge High in his hometown, averaging 21 points and earning all-state honors as a junior, before being placed at Hargrave Military Academy by the Virginia Tech coaching staff. He arrived at Virginia Tech in 2011.
Current UAB associate head coaches Rob Ehsan and Jeff Wulbrun were members of Seth Greenberg's Virginia Tech staff during Brown's freshman season. They watched as Brown averaged 6.8 points with 36 3-pointers in his first college campaign.
"As a freshman, you saw flashes," said Ehsan, who built a close relationship with Brown. "He was very inconsistent. Sometimes he looked unbelievable; sometimes he really struggled."
The next year, under a new coaching staff, Brown averaged 8.3 points. However, for the second consecutive season, the Hokies had trouble winning games. He decided to look for a new destination and the Blazers jumped into the mix.
"I remember being in Coach's office," Ehsan said. "Coach asked me `What do you think about him? How good is he?' I told coach, `He's got the potential to be really, really good.'
Several schools jumped into the mix. UAB's recruiting spiel was actually very simple.
"I remember telling him on his official visit here, `We want to get you excited and happy about basketball again and feel good about the game you love. We think you can do that playing for Coach Haase,'" Wulbrun said.
That's exactly what happened. Brown sat out his first season as a transfer and was outstanding in his initial season on the floor. Brown averaged 13.7 points last season, earning All-C-USA third team honors. He capped the season off with two marvelous postseason weeks.
"Before the conference tournament, you looked in his eyes and it was a look that he wasn't going to be denied," Wulbrun said. "He competed so hard and played at such a high level in those games."
Brown averaged 15 points with seven 3-pointers during the conference tournament and was selected to the tournament MVP. He followed that with 46 points, hitting 7-of-15 3-pointers in NCAA Tournament games against Iowa State and UCLA.
That type of performance carried over to what has been a sensational and steady senior year. Brown is not the team's leading scorer but he's certainly the team's MVP. He's lived up to the `Big Shot Brown' moniker that a TV announcer gave him during last year's postseason. But he's also been one of the team's most solid defenders and a player capable of doing a lot of things to help the team win.
Now he's down to the final part of his college career.
"I try not to think about it too much but it's kind of inevitable," Brown said. "It's been five long years and a lot of ups and downs but this has been one of the better experiences I've had in my life. At Tech, I was able to play Georgia Tech and North Carolina and those bigger schools every night. That was a great opportunity and experience to be able to play them all the time. But to be here and have the things we've accomplished on the court, it means a lot more."
Thursday, he'll try to help UAB maintain sole possession of first place in C-USA with second-place Marshall coming to town. On Saturday, he'll take part in an emotional Senior Day celebration and hopes to close out the Bartow Arena portion of his UAB journey with a win over Western Kentucky.
"Definitely winning out," Brown said when asked what he wants the remainder of his time in a UAB uniform to include. "I think the most important thing is finishing at home strong and getting these next two wins, then get the regular-season title, get the tournament title. From there, make a run, win the tournament. I don't want to cap it at Sweet 16 or second weekend or anything like that. I just want to be able to make some noise once we get to the tournament."
The Conference USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are set to return to Birmingham for the second consecutive year, marking the third time the Blazers will host the event. The men's tournament, as well as the women's semifinals and championship, will be played at Legacy Arena in downtown Birmingham, while the women's first round and quarterfinal action will take place at UAB's Bartow Arena.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), on Instagram (@blazerhoops) or on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABMensBasketball). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
