Feb. 9, 2010

Brown, Coaches Hope Rebound Record is First of Many Successes

Youngstown -- Youngstown State freshman Brandi Brown and the Penguins’ coaching staff is hoping that Feb. 6, 2010, is the first of many record-breaking days for the young forward in what has started to be a very promising career – to say the least.

Brown broke YSU’s freshman rebounding record against UIC on Saturday, surpassing Jen Perugini’s previous mark of 239 in 28 games that was set in 2001-02. Perugini was voted the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year that same season.

Brown’s ability to rebound is a story in-of-itself. The 5-foot-11 forward from Pomona, Calif., is averaging a Horizon League-leading 11.1 rebounds and has grabbed 244 in the first 22 games of her career. That rate also ranks her ninth in the country behind only one other freshman. The closest player to her in the battle for the league’s rebounding title is averaging 9.3 boards, which means Brown will be tough to catch if she can even come close to maintaining her current pace. If she can hold on, she’ll be just the third freshman in conference history to lead the league in rebounding. Perugini was the first, and two-time Horizon League Player of the Year Traci Edwards from Milwaukee was the second in 2005-06.

“Brandi is the most natural rebounder I have ever coached, and we are so thankful that she is wearing a Penguins uniform,” YSU head coach Cindy Martin said. “Brandi just knows exactly how the ball is going to bounce off the rim, sometimes even before the ball knows.  Then she’s explosive enough that she just soars up in the air and snatches it down.”

Rebounding is a skill that Brown has always worked hard at to master. She averaged 19.6 rebounds as a senior at Claremont High in California, and she grabbed as many as 35 rebounds in a game.

“It means a lot to me to break the freshman rebounding record because rebounding is something that I take pride in,” Brown said. “So, to see some of my hard work pay off feels really nice.”

It was at Claremont High where YSU assistant coach Bernard Scott watched Brown play for the first time, and it was a classic case of being in the right place at the right. Scott was in town to recruit Maryum Jenkins, another freshman for the Penguins, and Jenkins was playing against Brown’s team. Brown had one of her typical games at Claremont, where she also averaged 24 points and 2.3 steals as a senior, and she caught Scott’s attention. The pieces fit together, and Brown signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Youngstown State on April 15, 2009.

“Coming into this season I was very optimistic about what I could possibly do,” Brown said. “I didn't expect to have as much success as I'm having as a freshman. However, I'm thankful for the opportunity that I've had to come in and play big minutes and be able to make my mark on this team.”

It’s not as if the rebounds have come in phases despite her being slightly undersized. Brown has had at least 10 rebounds 14 times through the first 22 games, highlighted by 19 versus Loyola and 18 against Bowling Green. She’s grabbed at least eight in each of YSU’s 11 Horizon League contests. She’s done it on both ends of the floor, too, as her 102 offensive rebounds are almost double what any other league player has managed.

Brown has also shown that she is far from a one-trick player. Despite facing double teams nearly every night for the past month, she is averaging 11.4 points, which leads all Horizon League freshmen, and 1.7 steals. She’s been even better in conference play, averaging 12.3 points and 2.4 steals, the latter of which ranks third in the conference. Brown has reached double figures in points and rebounds in the same contest 10 times, which is three times more than any other player in the Horizon League. In fact, she is just one of 30 Division I players in the country to have at least 10 double-doubles. Only six of those 30 are freshmen.

“Brandi scores extremely well from the low block,” Martin said. “At 5-11, she had to learn some new moves to still be able to score against the size and athleticism of the centers in our conference. Coach Meredith Baugher has done a great job teaching her how to seal and when to release for a quick shot and then how to make a counter move to beat her defender. What’s exciting is she will continue to find new ways to score.”

Brown knows she has room to improve – she was still 17 years old when Horizon League play began - and, inside the women’s basketball program at YSU, that’s possibly the most exciting thing.

“I would like to continue to improve on being a vocal leader, and I would also like to become a better defensive player by moving to the right spots and being in the right position on the floor,” the freshman said. “For this season, and over the course of my career, I would like to continue averaging a double-double. As a team, a Horizon League Championship is a goal that I think we can achieve in the future.”

Brown and the Penguins have at least eight more games remaining in the 2009-10 season, so her statistical line is far from complete. In addition to holding YSU’s freshman rebounding record, she already ranks ninth among freshmen in school history in points with 250, and she needs two more steals to crack the top 10. Extrapolating her numbers to 30 games, she’ll finish with 332 rebounds, 340 points, and 50 steals, which would give her the third-most points by a freshman in school history and the seventh-most steals.

“The chance that I have to break the freshman scoring record motivates me, and makes me want to play at my fullest potential every game.”

Martin thinks Brown has the credentials to earn even bigger recognition. Statistically, she is the top freshman in the Horizon League, and she is considered a front-runner to join Perugini as the only two Penguins in school history to earn conference newcomer-of-the-year honors.

“Brandi has made an immediate impact in our program this year as a freshman, and, to me, there is no better candidate for the Newcomer-of-the-Year award,” Martin said. “That is the goal that Brandi and our staff set last spring when we signed her, and she sure has lived up to her end of it.”

Brown and the Penguins will be back on the road this weekend when they play at Butler and Valparaiso.