Brown adjusts well to new role

Published 10:46 pm Friday, January 18, 2019

Neecole Brown was voted Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week after putting up 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds against rival Nansemond River High School.

The King’s Fork High School senior has gotten off to a solid start this season. She is one of the leaders for a Lady Bulldogs basketball team that has a 12-3 record. They are 2-0 against their Suffolk counterparts, with their most recent rivalry win coming against the Lady Warriors. During that game, Brown was on the cusp of a triple-double, which isn’t an easy thing to accomplish on any level.

“I think I played pretty well,” Brown said. “Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect game, but altogether I believe I played well.”

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Brown admitted that would have been nice to get those extra two rebounds for the triple-double, but at the end of the day as long as she could help her team, that’s what counted. Against I.C. Norcom High School back in December, Brown was flirting with a triple-double again, putting up an 18-point, 10-rebound and 8-assist stat line. Brown has liked how her senior season has gone.

“It seems to be going by so fast,” she said. “But I am appreciating every moment I have on the court and with my team. It has been nice to be able to call myself a senior finally.”

But Brown has had no shortage of success ever since she was a freshman. The Lady Bulldogs have been to at least the final four in the state every year she has played, and they even made a state championship appearance when Brown was a sophomore.

Each year, Brown played a different role for her team, and this year has been no different. After former Lady Bulldog point guard Camary Harris graduated and went on to play in college, Brown had to step into the point guard role. It was a new thing for her, but she has embraced it.

“I have adapted to my new role, and I do what I can to help my team,” she said. “Changing roles is something I have always done. It takes a lot to have the ball in your hands a majority of the time and make the right decision consistently. I believe I have what it takes to be a good point guard for this team.”

Her teammates drive her. When she sees them playing hard, it motivates her to play twice as hard. Even when they are having a rough night, she wants to do everything she can for her team. Coach Maurice Fofana said coming into the season that between Brown and Nylah Young, there were no two senior leaders he’d rather have.

A lot of Brown’s inspiration comes from her aunt, who is currently battling breast cancer.

“Her fight inspires me to keep going when I’m tired or when I am having a rough night,” she said.

There is still a good number of regular season games before playoffs hits, but Brown hopes to try to bring a state championship to King’s Fork before her season is over.