URI’s Seven-Footer Javonte Brown on Escaping Fires and Visiting Prisons

URI’s Seven-Footer Javonte Brown on Escaping Fires and Visiting Prisons

When URI’s seven-foot center Javonte Brown was a ninth grader, his mom Felecia took him to work on a school-sponsored take your child to work day. When I asked her how it went, she smiled and said, “It scared him straight.” She then emphasized, “Yes, it did.”

Felecia Brown is the Superintendent of the Central North Correctional Centre in Ontario, Canada. It is a maximum-security prison with a 1,184-inmate capacity formally known as “The Superjail.” When asked about the visit, Brown said, “I remember it like it was yesterday. I was very scared seeing all those inmates and never want to be in that situation.” Javonte is a straight shooter, not just with a basketball.

 

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Best game with mom in attendance

Brown had a large contingent of family at the Ryan Center for the recent LaSalle game. His mom, grandmother, sister, and several cousins were all decked out in Rhody Blue #31 URI jerseys and rooting loudly for him. With Moma and family cheering him on, Brown played one of his best games of the season. He had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 13 points. Brown had 2 blocks and altered opponents’ shots several times. There were also times when an opposing guard beat his man but backed off his drive to the hoop when he saw Brown underneath waiting for him.

 

URI owned the paint

In a recent game, URI scored 44 points in the paint to 22 for LaSalle. When asked about owning the paint, Brown said, “To me, it’s about real estate. I have to take a lot of real estate in the blue area. I have to try and own the paint on both sides of the court.”

 

Frequent flyer in the portal

Brown has taken the new modern-day path to URI. The Toronto native left home to hone his skills and play against better competition at Thornlea Secondary High School in Western Michigan. He has been in the portal three times in college and is now with his fourth team.

He was highly recruited out of high school and committed to UConn. He only appeared in two games in Stores completing the year as a redshirt. Entering the transfer portal, he went to Texas A&M in the SEC and played there for two years. Brown felt he could find a better situation, entered the portal again, and transferred to Western Michigan of the MAC. There he came off the bench playing in 23 games averaging 4.2 rebounds per game and 8.8 ppg.

The big man was coming into his own and getting a lot of attention. His mom told me coach Archie Miller had been recruiting him for years, going back to the coach’s time at Indiana.

 

Coming to URI was the best decision

Brown signed on with the Rams and loves it at Rhode Island, saying, “Coming to URI is the best decision I have ever made. The coaching staff and players are like a tight-knit family.” He continued. “I love the people and the culture, and the fact that people are so serious about basketball… and the seafood is great!”

His mom agrees, saying, “URI has been a great fit. They see what I see in him. His skills. His discipline and his passion for the game.”

 

 

About that fire

I asked Brown about jumping around from school to school and being at his fourth stop. He knew where the question was going and tackled it head-on, relating a childhood story to help explain his mindset. He said he recognized people may think he is a malcontent or complainer who is never satisfied. He insisted this was not the case and told about being 12 years old when, early one morning, the house he lived in caught fire. He and his family had to quickly evacuate. The house was destroyed, and he had to move in with his grandmother and transfer to another school district.

Brown explained that from this experience he developed maturity and resolve. He had to adjust quickly and get used to new people and new situations. His moving from school to school was solely about getting to a better situation for his development. He said adjusting to new situations is a skill that stems back to his childhood. He sees no problem with moving around to get to a better situation.

 

3,000 seven-footers

By most estimates there are only 3,000 seven-foot-tall people in the world. For those who play basketball, their height gives them an advantage, but there are burdens they face their entire lives. They are targets of staring, pointing, and constant questions about their height.

Brown has experienced all of this and has no problem with it. He said he would probably do the same thing if he was short and saw a tall person. Brown vividly remembers the first time he dunked a basketball. He was 14, playing in a showcase game, had a breakaway, and even surprised himself by going up and dunking the ball.

 

High expectations placed on seven-footers

Hitting seven feet in height is like a magic number. It gets everyone’s attention, and for those who play basketball, it brings unfairly placed high expectations. If you are so tall, you don’t have to jump very high to dunk a basketball, and there is a general expectation that you should be a good player. If you are that tall, how can you ever miss a shot or not get every rebound?

The facts, however, are that extremely long legs and arms make coordination more difficult. It takes longer to move long legs, and seven-footers compete against players with elite athleticism and quickness.

Brown has experienced these expectations first-hand. He feels that people think, “That because seven-footers are close to the rim, they expect them to do everything correctly. “ 

 

Seven-footers at URI

Seven-foot players are a rarity at URI. Besides Brown and current redshirt freshman Moek Icke, going back the last 40 years, URI has had four seven-footers on its roster.

- James Eitner, 7’0” 1989, played one year for coach Al Skinner. Appeared in 7 games averaging .9 rebounds and .6 points.
- Michael Andersen, 7’0” 1994-1997, played four years for coach Al Skinner. Appeared in 117 games and averaged 5.6 rebounds and 7.7 points per game.
- Will Martell, 7’0” 2008-2011, played four years for coach Jim Baron. Appeared in 117 games, averaging 4.1 rebounds and 5.7 points per game.
- Blake Vedder, 7’4” 2011-2012. The tallest player in URI history. Played two years for Baron. He appeared in 16 games and averaged .6 rebounds and .8 points per game.

 

Brown’s stats lead the pack

Like many players, Brown has had an up-and-down year, with his performance and playing time varying greatly. Brown is a team captain and has started all 28 games this season. He averages 8.4 points per game and is third in the A-10 in field goal percentage at 67.4%. He averages 6 rebounds per game, and his 46 blocked shots rank him fourth in the A-10. He has 15 steals. Brown does all this while averaging only 21 minutes per game.

Statics show Javonte Brown is the best seven-footer URI has ever had. He may also suffer from “seven-footer expectations” more than any other seven-footer has.

 

 

Brown season highlights include:

- Recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, along with two steals and two blocks against La Salle
- Had nine points and four rebounds at George Mason
- Scored eight points, with seven rebounds, and blocked four shots against Massachusetts
- Had 16 points and five rebounds at Loyola Chicago
- Scored six points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals at Richmond
- Had nine points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots against George Washington
- Scored nine points, grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds, and blocked a career-high six shots against George Mason

 

Brown’s best game was when his mom and family were in the stands. It would be a wise investment for Coach Miller to pay for his mom and family to attend every game!