Dex
12-13-2004, 05:19 PM
In this business, it's often all about hunches.
Sometimes they are on the money.
Other times, you hope people have poor memories.
I don't know what the future holds for one Devin Brown. I do know that as I sat there in SBC Center last week and watched the Spurs dismantle Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers, I sensed that something special was unfolding before these aging eyes.
Brown may go the way of the Pet Rock when all is said and done. He may wind up as just another name on a long list of players who have worn the silver and black.
Or he could look back one day and find his retired Spurs jersey hanging from the arena rafters, just as his high school and college jerseys now hang in gyms at West Campus High School and the University of Texas at San Antonio, respectively.
If the latter comes to be, we might want to look back at a couple of early December games in 2004 as the moment when a San Antonio kid grew up in the NBA.
On Dec. 1 in Dallas, Brown hung 16 points on the Mavericks and earned high praise from a hard man to please -- head coach Gregg Popovich. But Brown had more guns in his holster, more bullets in the chambers, and the next night he would leave some Sixers players shaking their heads in San Antonio.
The Spurs trailed early as Iverson and company were getting too many open looks at the basket. With 6:25 remaining in the first quarter, Popovich looked to his bench for defensive help and inserted Brown for noted defensive standout Bruce Bowen.
It was the beginning of the end for the Sixers.
And the beginning of an historic night for Brown.
Brown is a soft-spoken sort off the court.
Yet he wears Michael Jordan's number 23 and a headband on the court.
The former takes guts. The latter is downright courageous on a Popovich-coached team where there is little room for anything that comes close to a "look-at-me" move.
Brown ended the quarter with a 3-pointer, a rebound, a steal and a pair of made free-throws.
He ended the game with an NBA career-high 24 points.
Brown shrugs off the performance as just an employee doing his job. But it may have been one more impressive step toward earning the right to wear the Jordan number and the headgear.
Earning his keep
Make no mistake. This is not about some hometown kid getting a chance to suit up for the Spurs out of some sense of community spirit or because he can help sell tickets.
That's not Popovich's style. And, at least for now, it's not Brown's role.
I asked Popovich after the Sixers game if he was surprised by Brown's recent play.
"No. It doesn't surprise me," Popovich said. "We've kept him here because he has real talent and a really good heart behind it. All of that started to show last season. He was very important to us last year down the stretch and into the playoffs."
Brown may have been the only bright spot for the Spurs in a Western Conference Semifinals series against the Lakers that saw the good guys blow a 2-0 series lead before losing four straight.
In two of those battles, on the road in a hostile Staples Center, no less, Brown looked particularly impressive. He followed a 16-point/7-rebound performance in Game 3 with a 15-point/6-rebound night in Game 6.
I asked Brown after the Sixers game what that Lakers series did for his career. There was no hesitation.
"It definitely gave me another year with these guys," he said.
As for the compliment from Popovich regarding his defensive capabilities, Brown -- who knows how to fill the peach basket with the basketball -- simply said: "It makes me feel good. I know first and foremost what I am going out there to do. That's to play defense."
But when the shots are falling like rain as they have recently: "That's great too," said Brown.
Solid ground
So what about the Jordan number and the headband?
Brown lowered his head and there was a chuckle. I had heard that same laugh before, from another Spur who used to light up NBA scoreboards like they were Christmas trees.
Brown is no George Gervin. Not yet. Not by a long shot.
But there are some similarities that go beyond the laugh and the ability to score.
One is a sense of humility that is rare in professional sports.
"I just want to keep improving," Brown said. "I just want to be a solid basketball player."
I looked Brown in the eyes and reminded him that this could all be the beginning of an amazing journey. He quietly, politely thanked me and then added: "I don't know exactly where it all goes from here. Right now, I just want to do my job and keep getting better."
There have been other NBA players before Brown who have experienced similar streaks of success.
Some became stars. Many more became insurance salesmen or maybe coaches.
It's way too early to predict which direction Brown's career will go.
But I have a hunch. If I'm right, one day I will look back and know exactly when and where it all began for an undrafted kid with a solid jump shot, a great laugh and, as Popovich says, an even better heart.
Sometimes they are on the money.
Other times, you hope people have poor memories.
I don't know what the future holds for one Devin Brown. I do know that as I sat there in SBC Center last week and watched the Spurs dismantle Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers, I sensed that something special was unfolding before these aging eyes.
Brown may go the way of the Pet Rock when all is said and done. He may wind up as just another name on a long list of players who have worn the silver and black.
Or he could look back one day and find his retired Spurs jersey hanging from the arena rafters, just as his high school and college jerseys now hang in gyms at West Campus High School and the University of Texas at San Antonio, respectively.
If the latter comes to be, we might want to look back at a couple of early December games in 2004 as the moment when a San Antonio kid grew up in the NBA.
On Dec. 1 in Dallas, Brown hung 16 points on the Mavericks and earned high praise from a hard man to please -- head coach Gregg Popovich. But Brown had more guns in his holster, more bullets in the chambers, and the next night he would leave some Sixers players shaking their heads in San Antonio.
The Spurs trailed early as Iverson and company were getting too many open looks at the basket. With 6:25 remaining in the first quarter, Popovich looked to his bench for defensive help and inserted Brown for noted defensive standout Bruce Bowen.
It was the beginning of the end for the Sixers.
And the beginning of an historic night for Brown.
Brown is a soft-spoken sort off the court.
Yet he wears Michael Jordan's number 23 and a headband on the court.
The former takes guts. The latter is downright courageous on a Popovich-coached team where there is little room for anything that comes close to a "look-at-me" move.
Brown ended the quarter with a 3-pointer, a rebound, a steal and a pair of made free-throws.
He ended the game with an NBA career-high 24 points.
Brown shrugs off the performance as just an employee doing his job. But it may have been one more impressive step toward earning the right to wear the Jordan number and the headgear.
Earning his keep
Make no mistake. This is not about some hometown kid getting a chance to suit up for the Spurs out of some sense of community spirit or because he can help sell tickets.
That's not Popovich's style. And, at least for now, it's not Brown's role.
I asked Popovich after the Sixers game if he was surprised by Brown's recent play.
"No. It doesn't surprise me," Popovich said. "We've kept him here because he has real talent and a really good heart behind it. All of that started to show last season. He was very important to us last year down the stretch and into the playoffs."
Brown may have been the only bright spot for the Spurs in a Western Conference Semifinals series against the Lakers that saw the good guys blow a 2-0 series lead before losing four straight.
In two of those battles, on the road in a hostile Staples Center, no less, Brown looked particularly impressive. He followed a 16-point/7-rebound performance in Game 3 with a 15-point/6-rebound night in Game 6.
I asked Brown after the Sixers game what that Lakers series did for his career. There was no hesitation.
"It definitely gave me another year with these guys," he said.
As for the compliment from Popovich regarding his defensive capabilities, Brown -- who knows how to fill the peach basket with the basketball -- simply said: "It makes me feel good. I know first and foremost what I am going out there to do. That's to play defense."
But when the shots are falling like rain as they have recently: "That's great too," said Brown.
Solid ground
So what about the Jordan number and the headband?
Brown lowered his head and there was a chuckle. I had heard that same laugh before, from another Spur who used to light up NBA scoreboards like they were Christmas trees.
Brown is no George Gervin. Not yet. Not by a long shot.
But there are some similarities that go beyond the laugh and the ability to score.
One is a sense of humility that is rare in professional sports.
"I just want to keep improving," Brown said. "I just want to be a solid basketball player."
I looked Brown in the eyes and reminded him that this could all be the beginning of an amazing journey. He quietly, politely thanked me and then added: "I don't know exactly where it all goes from here. Right now, I just want to do my job and keep getting better."
There have been other NBA players before Brown who have experienced similar streaks of success.
Some became stars. Many more became insurance salesmen or maybe coaches.
It's way too early to predict which direction Brown's career will go.
But I have a hunch. If I'm right, one day I will look back and know exactly when and where it all began for an undrafted kid with a solid jump shot, a great laugh and, as Popovich says, an even better heart.