City of Basketball Love

Aron Minkoff (@AronMinkoff) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Rasheed Browne was not the most likely Division I prospect that’s ever come through Neumann-Goretti’s program.

While some of his former teammates, like Ja’Quan Newton (Miami) and Lamarr Kimble (St. Joe’s), had D-I coaches’ attention from their freshman year at the South Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse, Browne quietly rose through the ranks after coming in as a player described by head coach Carl Arrigale as a “as a very, very good shooter...but he couldn’t guard a lamp post.”

This past summer, when most of his teammates and fellow rising seniors were traveling the region and the country with their various AAU programs, Browne made the choice to stay in Philadelphia and focus on himself.

“I decided not to play and work on my game,” Browne. “I think that helped me a lot. I worked on my flow and being better prepared. I worked on my game mentally which helped me be better prepared and play a lot better.”

The unorthodox plan paid off when a hot start to the year led to his first two Division I offers, from Florida Gulf Coast University and Morgan State.

Ultimately, the offer from FGCU was too good to pass up, and he committed to become an Eagle on Saturday.

“It feels great,” he said. “My mom was happy for me to be going to college and playing Division I basketball.”

He’s the second Saints senior to commit to a Division I program, joining wing Zane Martin (Towson). A third senior for Neumann-Goretti, Vaughn Covington, has yet to commit but has an offer to VMI.

Browne, who said had known for a “couple of weeks” that he would chose FGCU as his next home, picked up two offers to play Division I basketball (Morgan State was the other) during his senior year.

“He’s a guy that did it the right way,” Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale said. “He did it the hard way, through the high school ranks, really put in a lot of work in the gym this summer instead of running around on the circuit playing all those games, he didn’t play a lot of AAU this summer.

“He worked on his game and he bet on himself that he would have a good enough season and our program attracts enough attention, that something would come his way,” Arrigale continued. “And I’m happy for him, he deserves it.”

Browne, now one of the Saints best defenders, did find his scoring touch in his senior campaign averaging 11.5 ppg.

A lot of this is attributed to Arrigale and the Saints coaching staff guiding Browne to become such a complete player.

“We re-worked his shot back to a combination of the old way,” Arrigale said. “He worked on his body a lot this summer to get himself in better shape and he got more athletic. He put it all the together for his senior year.”

FGCU finished in a tie for second in the Atlantic Sun standings this year at 8-6 in conference play with a 17-13 mark overall. The Eagles notably defeated Notre Dame this season on the road and will be the No. 4 in their conference tournament.

Browne has the opportunity to make an immediate impact with senior guard Julian DeBose (9.1 ppg) graduating after this season, but that was one of only a few factors he chose the school that earned the “Dunk City” moniker during its run to the 2013 Sweet 16.

“I can have an impact right away,” Browne said. “It is the most comfortable place for me...It is right near the beach. there is comfortable weather and the school is great.”

In fact, Alico Arena--the home of the men’s basketball team--is across the road from Miromar Lakes, a set of lakes that surround the campus. The campus is also about 26 miles away from Fort Myers, which is on the Atlantic Ocean.

Browne and the Saints still have a chance to play as many as five games remaining should they make a seventh consecutive trip to the PIAA AAA championship game. Their first test comes in the way of Eastern Lebanon County (Elco) on Friday March 4 at Archbishop Ryan High School.

“Maybe this will get him to relax, he hasn’t been playing that well lately,” Arrigale said. “Maybe it’ll be the weight off his shoulders.”

Browne echos that feeling.

“It feels great so now I can just focus on states,” he said.