12B
Fridav. March 29, 1991 / University Daily Kansan
The Seniors: Terry Brown
Brown follows championship dream
By Jonathan Plummer
Kansan staff writer
Like many young people in the town of Clyde, N.Y., population 2,491, a junior high-school kid named Terry Brown practiced shooting baskets against the goal in the Clyde-Savannah High School parking lot.
tony Pantanzo, Brown's high school coach, said Brown worked hard to meet his goal.
And there he made a decision to follow his dream to play for an NCAA Division I team and help it win a championship.
"As a youngster he made the decision that he really wanted to play basketball." Pantano said. "He was constantly practicing, seven days a week. 365 days a year."
"He was a great football player, and after a two-and-a-half-hour basketball practice, he would put on a weight jacket and get a basketball and run two or three miles, dribbling the ball."
It was a coincidence that Brown made the varsity basketball team as a freshman, Pantanza said. From about 500 students in the school, he had been able only to field a varsity team of seven.
“At the first scrimgam, I needed another man to balance the teams, so I went to the J-V coach and I asked the player to come to the practice,” he said.
"Terry came, and I saw him play and I said, 'Well, I've found my fifth man.'
Pantanza said Brown did not slow down during the summer and often could be found playing on the goal in the parking lot.
"In the summer he used to play kids three-on-one for soda money." Pantano said.
"If the kids guarded him too close, he would charge the goal, and if they laid off him, he would hit the jumper. He would have to be careful." He was always looking for a game.
In high school, Brown would go on to be an All-American in basketball, an All state selection in football, in which he played wide-receiver and linebacker, and a letterman in track, in which he participated in the high-long and triple-jump.
Keeping priorities straight
As more and more colleges took notice of Brown's skills and achievements, Pantano said he told Brown to keep his priorities in order.
Many schools, including Pittsburgh, Arkansas and Georgetown, showed an interest in Brown.
"I always told him: number one, take care of school and work hard on your skills, and everything will be fine."
Brown ended up at Northwestern Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Okla., where he continued to gain recognition for his outstanding championship game of the 1988-89
season, Brown scored 26 points and was named most valuable player.
But Larry Gipson, Northeastern Oklahoma coach, talks of Brown not only as a player but as a member of the team.
"His goals were centered on the team," Gipson said. "The rest of the players had a lot of respect for him and I felt he was a leader in the team and carry it offensively."
Gipson said he saw Brown continue to work at his personal goal of making a Division I team.
"He was extremely hard-working," Gipson said. "He was one of the best competitors I've ever seen.
'Terry Brown Day'
Tuesday, Terry Brown stood in Allen Field House as reporters took turns asking him about how he played golf. He was in the first game of the Find Four.
Brown said that it was difficult to keep focused on winning the game with the extra attention that was being put on him.
"I try not to think of that and block that out of my mind," he said. "I just try to keep my mind on what we do the best."
"It was part of my dream to play on TV. It was part of my dream to get to the Final Four. Part of my dream came true. Hopefully, we can win it."
Brown is not the only one hoping his dream comes true.
In Miami, Okla., Coach Gipson said he and those Brown played with were rooting for him.
"He was such a team player," said Ginson.
And in Clyde, Barbara Marchitelli, the village clerk, said Mayor Richard DeVito was talking to Coach PanTantoo about naming a "Terry Brown"
Marchitell said she, along with the rest of the town, was looking forward to watching Brown on television tomorrow.
But that won't happen until tomorrow. Marchelli said that Tuesday — near the sign in front of the high school that reads "Go'Jayhawks" — kids, as always, were shooting baskets in the parking lot.
And one of them, she said, could be dreaming of reaching his goal: to be just like Terry Brown.
Julie Jacobson/KANSAN
Brown attempts a three-point shot over a Wichita State defender.
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