Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22)
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Sometimes, a thing is just natural for someone in a way that it isn’t for others. That’s what basketball is to Sam Brown, and it was evident in La Salle’s 63-54 victory over Springside Chestnut Hill (2-2) on Tuesday. The senior guard missed the first two games of the season, victories over Germantown Academy and Norristown, as he was on his official visit to Rutgers, not for basketball, but for football.
Sam Brown (above, last season) scored 22 points in his first game of the season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
Brown is a dynamic two-sport athlete who’s coming off a Catholic League MVP season on the gridiron as La Salle’s running back. A four year starter on varsity, he led the Explorers to their first PCL championship since 2015, rushing for over 1000 yards, but Tuesday, it was time for him to get back on the hardwood.
The 6-foot-2 guard has been playing basketball since he was five years old and has been a big contributor for the Explorers the past two seasons. Brown considered playing Division I basketball, but he ultimately chose football.
“I thought about it last year, but after a while, I did a lot of talking with my family and I was like, ‘I think football is what I want to do,’” said Brown.
On the court, Brown uses some of the skills he’s developed from football to his advantage, including reading the defense when running the point.
“Football helps me out a lot because when it’s 11 v. 11, there’s a lot of things you have to read, especially as a running back,” Brown said, “so that helps me a lot on the basketball court, finding the open man.”
Brown also doesn’t shy away from contact and uses his strength from football to overpower smaller guards and get to the basket. He uses his size to post up smaller defenders and help finish through contact when challenging bigs at the rim.
“He’s physical and I just think he’s not afraid,” La Salle head coach Michael McKee said. “He’s got good skills, he’s versatile, he’s athletic and strong. He can get to the foul line as well.”
Brown scored 22 points (4-of-7 FG), 14 of which came in the fourth quarter when his team was going through a bit of a slump offensively. The Explorers (3-0) got off to a hot start, scoring 23 points in the first quarter, but could only muster 40 points in the next three quarters combined.
Junior Horace Simmons knocked down his first three shots from long range in the first quarter, finishing with 16 points. Senior Nix Varano (Army) scored 18 points, hitting three triples, but the sharpshooter struggled with his shot in the second half, like much of the rest of the team.
Thanks to a 24-point effort by SCH senior guard Darius Isaac, the Blue Devils tested La Salle in the second half. At one point in the third quarter, SCH got the La Salle lead down to six after the Explorers had led by as many as 18 in the first half. When SCH made a big push, it was Sam Brown who pushed back.
He only attempted two field goals in the fourth, making both, but Brown’s ability to draw fouls and get to the free throw line made the difference. Brown knocked down 10 of his 11 free throws in the fourth, and got to the line a total of 15 times, only missing once.
“I’ve always been known as a quiet guy that doesn’t really talk too much and more of a lead by example person,” said Brown. “But this is my senior year and I had to do the same thing with football and helping out some of the younger guys on the team.”
“The thing with Sam is that he’s mature,” said McKee. “He knows he’s a good player and he knows what he can do to try and help this team be successful.”
Brown has been a solid contributor since his sophomore season and was the leading scorer for a La Salle team that just missed the PCL playoffs last year. He averaged 15.6 points, while dishing out four assists and pulling in five rebounds per game.
Along with Brown, Varano and Simmons have been big contributors for La Salle for multiple seasons. Varano, an Army commit, averaged 12.8 points last season, and is one of the best shooters in the area, hitting 39 percent of his threes last year. Simmons averaged 12.6 points as a sophomore, while shooting over 50 percent from three and has garnered the attention of many Division I programs. Over the summer, playing for Philly Pride AAU, Simmons received offers from Albany, Marquette, Penn, Richmond and George Washington.
A balanced scoring attack from that trio will be key for La Salle going forward, as will getting cleaner looks.
“I don’t think we weren’t throwing the ball all over the place and turning it over,” McKee said. “I think it was more like we aren’t getting the best shot we can get, but once we figure that out, we’ll be harder to guard and that’s going to be key for us, to work to share the ball a little more.”
Brown and La Salle will head into a battle with the defending 6A state champion, the Reading Red Knights, at the Diane Mosco Shootout at Archbishop Wood on Saturday—a tough non-league test for the Explorers before they head into PCL play in January.
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