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Actions speak loudly for Elgin’s Brown

Elgin standout Kory Brown had his own version of the calm before the storm.

Before Elgin’s most high-profile home games in a season chocked full of them, the leader of the Maroons sat quietly in the coaches’ office, staring intently at a whiteboard with the game plan written on it.

While his teammates practiced their shots in the school’s basement gymnasium, the 6-foot-4 forward remained glued to the board, finding his focus as much as studying his assignments.

“Before those big games I always think he’s ill,” Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. “I ask if something’s wrong with him. Is it a problem at home? A problem with the girlfriend? Is it something from class? He just says, ‘No, I’m ready to go.’

“When he gets quiet, that’s when you know he’s ready. That’s when you know he’s going to do something special.”

The fact that Elgin’s best player was at his best in the Maroons’ biggest games of the season is just part of the reason Brown’s team is 26-3 and preparing to compete for a sectional championship.

For his outstanding season, Elgin senior Kory Brown has been named the honorary captain of the Daily Herald All-Area team in the Fox Valley for the second straight season. A 17-year-old resident of Hoffman Estates, he becomes the fourth player to earn the award twice, joining Johnny Moran of Jacobs (2007-08), Eric Vierneisel of Jacobs (2003-04) and Elgin’s Sean Harrington (1998-99).

“I feel I need to take over,” Brown said of his big-game mindset. “That’s how the coaches feel, that’s how I feel, that’s how some of the other players feel. They tell me when it’s that time, you need to get the ball in your hands so you can either get a good basket or find a player. So that’s what I do.”

Brown’s quality performances in Elgin’s biggest games became commonplace.

On Dec. 12 against Neuqua Valley, he scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 5 shots to lead the Maroons to a 52-48 win in the semifinals of their annual holiday tournament. The victory set up a memorable clash the next night against nationally ranked prep school power La Lumiere (Ind).

Brown, whose outside shot has been questioned by college coaches despite the fact he shoots 61 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3-point range, sank his first 4 shot attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers.

He scored 11 first-quarter points to give the Maroons a 17-5 lead they wouldn’t relinquish en route to one of the biggest high school basketball upsets in the country this season. Brown finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

“This probably cost us a shot at a national championship,” La Lumiere coach Allan Huss said afterward.

“It’s probably one of the biggest statements we’ve made in a long time,” Brown said shortly after accepting his all-tournament award.

More big games followed. On Jan. 11, he scored 14 points in a 59-52 overtime victory over rival Larkin to become the 17th player in program history to reach 1,000 points in a career.

In a Jan. 21 game played at the Sears Centre, Elgin exacted its revenge on Huntley, the team that ended the Maroons’ season in a sectional semifinal a year ago. An inspired Brown tied his career high of 30 points. He sank 8 of 11 shots, 8 of 8 free-throw attempts, and finished with 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

“When we played them he was downright unstoppable,” Huntley coach Marty Manning said. “He got to the basket pretty much at will, he hit the offensive boards hard and he hit a bunch of outside jump shots. When you can do all three of those things at the high school level, you’re pretty much un-guardable.”

Brown went out in style in his last game at Chesbrough Field House, dunking on a breakaway to defeat state-ranked Metea Valley in a UEC crossover between first-place teams. On the same night he was named MVP of the Upstate Eight’s River Division, he scored a game-best 21 points to pass Marcus Smallwood for fifth place on Elgin’s all-time scoring list.

After scoring 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in a regional semifinal win against South Elgin, he excelled in the regional final, scoring 10 of his game-high 24 points in the third quarter of a 57-52 victory over St. Charles East.

“The regional title definitely stands out,” Brown said of his favorite games thus far. “And La Lumiere was a lot of fun. Those two stick out the most.”

Entering sectional play Wednesday, Brown had scored 473 points in 28 games for an average of 16.9. He needed 43 points to pass 1971 graduate Rick Hopkins for fourth on the school’s all-time scoring list.

He also averaged 8.7 rebounds per game to go with 59 steals, 58 blocked shots 7 charges taken. Brown averaged 16.1 points and 6.1 rebounds as a junior.

“He’s gotten a lot better,” Sitter said. “I know he’s only averaging a point per game more and maybe a couple rebounds, but his game has just elevated to another level. He is so strong inside. He still looks like a skinny little beanpole, but people bounce off him, whereas, he used to bounce off other people. It’ll be exciting to see what’s going to happen in his four years of college.”

Brown remains uncommitted but has been gaining more interested as the season progresses. Loyola has been an interested observer in the stands of late. Whichever college program eventually gets Brown will gain an all-around student athlete. Among the most popular students at Elgin High, he has never had a detention. He is admired by students and faculty alike.

“He’s definitely the big man on campus, but you’d never know it by talking to him,” first-year Elgin principal Jerry Cook said. “He carries himself with a lot of humility and grace. Everyone looks up to him because he is an understated leader.

“He really welcomed me in my first year here and made me feel comfortable being in the school. It seems strange to say that out loud, but it was one of those things where if he approves of you, everyone approves of you. He’s a fantastic kid and he sets the tone in the hallways.”

The three-year varsity ride is almost over for Brown. But not before he and his teammates face yet another in a series of big games: a sectional title matchup against defending champion Rockford Auburn (29-2).

“One of our goals was to make it further than last year, so we’re glad to be in the sectional final,” Brown said. “At the same time, we want to win the sectional and make that trophy ours.”

Don’t expect to hear much noise coming from Brown in the Elgin locker room before the game. But that’s just the calm before the storm.

The 2011-12 Fox Valley all-area boys basketball team

Images: All-Area basketball

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