Pack recruit Brown matures on, off the court

CHATHAM, Va. -- This is the second of two stories on incoming guards at North Carolina and N.C. State.

Two weeks ago, before N.C. State and North Carolina met at the Smith Center, a small crowd - including Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe - watched a slim-framed basketball player named Lorenzo Brown put on a quiet show.

Without flash or seemingly much effort, the 6-foot-5 guard torched UNC's junior varsity squad for 21 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and five steals.

He exhibited a silky jump shot. He surveyed the floor and identified defensive gaps, delivering money passes. He moved in the lane with blazing speed, freed by a breakneck first step. He possessed an ability to leap and hang in the air while double-clutching for a shot.

State coaches - Lowe briefly - watched as the program's most highly anticipated recruit since Julius Hodge went to work. Standing outside of the locker room after the game, some Wolfpack players offered Brown congratulatory handshakes.

The manner in which they acknowledged him said, "We can't wait until you get here."

A fifth-year player at Hargrave Military Academy, Brown is regarded as one of the top scorers in the nation, a five-star prospect with the potential to help lift the Pack from its current place near the bottom of the ACC.

"He's a special player," said Bob Gibbons, national scout for All-Star Report. "He should be an immediate impact player."

Brown is the prized recruit in State's incoming class, ranked among the nation's best.

"He's long, he's got range, he's athletic, he's got handle, he can score," said Van Johnson, national scout with Baseline Hoops Sports Report. "He can do a lot of things with a basketball. A lot of things. He's got natural talent."

Added Scout.com national basketball director Dave Telep: "He's ready to play in the ACC, he's ready to start in the ACC. I believe we're talking about a guy who can come in and have a serious impact on N.C. State's basketball in the backcourt next year."

Hitting the books

Before he can help resuscitate a program, Brown must first rescue himself from preparatory school. He graduated from Centennial High School in Roswell, Ga., last year but failed to academically qualify for admission to State. He arrived at Hargrave in September with the mission of raising both his grade point average and ACT scores, something he acknowledges carelessly dismissing while in high school.

Hargrave's strict regimen has offered Brown an opportunity to reapply himself academically. Teachers and coaches say he's capitalized on the second chance, focusing his energies on the books in order to achieve the basketball dreams he's held since he was 8 years old.

"Everything I do now is a new opportunity for me," Brown said. "I had to come to prep school. I messed up in high school. I just have to go hard in everything I do. ... I'm more mature now."

News that he had not scored high enough on the ACT to attend State devastated Brown. He had always envisioned himself wearing a college uniform and had warmed to the Pack coaching staff and players, selecting the program over Florida.

He feared the worst.

"I thought I was done," he said. "I didn't think there was any hope for me."

Hope came in the form of Hargrave, a military school Brown and his family knew little about. He didn't want to go but saw it as his only way to pull out of a bad situation.

He blamed himself, thinking back to evenings he went home after class instead of attending standardized testing courses. He had gone twice and quit.

His mother talked to him, but he didn't listen.

"I look back in high school and feel [silly]," he said. "I know I should have been in that class right after school. Instead of going and doing whatever. I call that a mistake. The choices that I made. Bad choices."

Brown showed up at Hargrave prepared for whatever they would throw at him.

It took a month to adjust to uniforms and marching, yet he learned to embrace the discipline. He applied his best face for the two-hour mandatory study halls and plunged into his study guides.

Brown, 19, earned the reputation as Mr. No Maintenance, complying when asked to complete a task and coming to class prepared. He threw out the who-cares attitude of high school and tackled his lessons, earning praise from the faculty for his approach.

Brown recently took the ACT and awaits the results.

"We're pretty confident that he has his scores that he needs," Hargrave reading teacher Jane Kindrick said.

His mother, Kim Banks, has seen a significant change in her son.

"What he was trying to prove was to himself," she said. "He knows that he can do it. ... College is something he wants to do. He was always talking about playing basketball in college."

A love for the game

Kim Banks placed a basketball in her son's hands when he was 3. She bought him a Fisher-Price basketball hoop and he dunked until it no longer stood upright.

Born into a family of hoop lovers, he watched games on television and never put the ball down. While taking baths, he shot soap bars through the towel racks.

"He's in the tub for two hours and all you hear is boom, boom, boom," said Kenane Brown, his sister.

He shot socks through hangers. After school, he walked through the woods near his home to play pickup at the local recreational center. It's where he met guard Ryan Harrow, another 2010 State recruit, who introduced him to AAU teams.

The two became friends.

"He didn't talk to people that he didn't know and he barely talked to us," Harrow said. "But when it's time to play, he comes alive. He would make a move that you didn't think was possible. This quiet boy can do all this."

Some of those moves came from watching a lot of Michael Jordan games. A native of Illinois, where his family lived until they moved to Georgia when he was 6, Brown was mesmerized by Jordan's Chicago Bulls teams.

"I just like Jordan's fight," he said. "He never gave up on what he did. That's the kind of person I am, I just like to keep going."

Brown, who is nicknamed "Zo," also liked Jordan's creativity. He would spend hours on the court making up moves.

Brown became known for a smooth style of play. Early on, people told him his body language looked effortless, like he didn't care.

"I care," Brown said in his expressionless way. "I try not to worry about anything when I'm playing. I just try to do what I do best. It just happens like that. I feel like I'm just there."

Gaining consistency

In high school, Brown developed a reputation for taking games off, which many think cost him votes for the McDonald's All American team.

It's certainly an aspect of his game observers will look for while at State.

"If he brings that effort on a consistent basis, he has pro potential," said Johnson, who observed Brown against Oak Hill Academy earlier this season. "He can be as good as he wants to be. It's a matter of how bad does he want it."

Brown, who prides himself on a high basketball IQ, said he took that criticism "to heart" and addressed it, among other things, during his time at Hargrave.

Consistency was among the first things Hargrave coach Kevin Keatts talked to Brown about when arrived. He hasn't had to remind the young guard, who has filled the stats sheets at the school and polished his game.

Brown has developed a more reliable jump shot. He's also bulked up to 185 pounds. Primarily playing point guard, he's worked on eliminating turnovers.

"I think he's getting a lot done and I think he's playing hard, but he's doing it his way," Keatts said.

Comparisons of Brown this season against his last show he's learned from some pointed criticism.

"He didn't say anything about it, but I noticed he started playing a little bit harder every game," Harrow said. "To where he knew he could take over whenever he wanted to."

A quiet fighter

Brown may be able to take over a game, but he'll never be the one to tell you.

"He doesn't have an ego," Keatts said. "If you just sit in a room and listen to guys talk about how good they are, you would never know Lorenzo Brown could play because he doesn't let you know that."

He talks with his feet, moving as fast as the Southern rap beats that he enjoys. Speed and explosiveness make the scouts shout superlatives.

His unselfishness has earned him praise from teammates and caught the eye of Lowe, who complimented Brown and Harrow, both prolific scorers, for a pass-first mentality.

"Those two guys [Brown and Harrow], they're special players," he said. "They're special players because they help make other people better and they have a great passion for the game."

Brown has a passion for N.C. State born out of loyalty. They stuck with him from the start. Harrow was first to talk to him about the Wolfpack, and Brown's relationships with coach Larry Harris and Tracy Smith solidified his bond to the team.

He leaves Hargrave in March and plans to enroll at N.C. State in July. He's just waiting to get a chance to prove himself - academically and athletically.

"I want to make A's and B's as soon as I get there, that's my goal school-wise," Brown said. "With basketball, I want to win. I'm not a losing type guy. I know [N.C. State coaches] are not. Their players are not either. But we need to bring more to the program. Bring some more fight."

A quiet fight.