Brown brings big success to men's basketball: HPU men's basketball player John Brown was a big reason for the 2012-13 season's success. Just a redshirt-freshman with three more years in an HPU uniform, he has High Point fans ecstatic for the future.

HPU men's basketball player John Brown was a big reason for the 2012-13 season's success. The team won its first-ever Big South Championship (the North Division regular-season title), set a program record with 12 Big South wins and made its first NCAA Div. I postseason appearance in the Collegelnsider.com Tournament. Just a redshirt-freshman with three more years in an HPU uniform, Brown and his teammates have High Point fans ecstatic for the future.

The anticipation for Brown's debut built last year as he was on campus attending classes, but did not play for the Panthers. People got to know Brown's infectious personality around campus and saw him working out by himself in the Slane Center and Millis Center. Fans saw him at games cheering on his teammates from the stands.

That anticipation was met on Nov. 9, 2012 as High Point hosted Triad rival UNC Greensboro for the first time in 10 seasons. The 6-foot-7 forward went off for 28 points, eight rebounds, five steals and three blocks as the Panthers beat the Spartans, 81-73. Brown earned his first of five Big South Freshman of the Week honors the following Monday.

His big-play ability was also evident in Brown's first official game--his alley-oop dunk on a lob-pass from fellow newcomer Allan Chaney was ESPN SportsCenter's No. 1 play. Most fans didn't even notice that the left-handed Brown dunked with his right hand on that play. By the end of the season, Brown had been featured on SportsCenter three more times.

What does Brown say about his big plays?

"I'm just satisfied that I can give the fans their money's worth," he says. "Of course they want to see us win but they also want to see us do it in fashion. I try to do both at the same time."

The winning has come as well, and it has Millis Center crowds energized. While Brown is someone that HPU fans constantly cheer for, the fans also help Brown and his teammates.

"The environment at the Millis Center is great, everybody is behind you 100 percent," says Brown. "Going on the road is hectic, and we've got to block everything out to concentrate on the game. Here, we just have to worry about playing our game and hearing the crowd cheer every time we do something good."

All season long, Brown was ranked among the top freshman scorers in the nation, trading places with some of the top names in the nation like UNLV's Anthony Bennett and UCLA's...