Aaron Brown (right) led Penn Wood to back-to-back appearances in the Pennsylvania Class AAAA state high school championship game, including a title in 2009.
WEST VIRGINIA basketball coach Bob Huggins received a strong commitment for the 2011 class over the July 4 weekend.
Place emphasis on the word "strong.''
The commitment came from Aaron Brown. And this Aaron Brown, well, he's no clown. He's a muscled, 6-foot-5, 200-pound specimen from Penn Wood High in Lansdowne, Pa., outside of Philadelphia, about a four-hour drive from Morgantown.
"It all came down this past Saturday,'' Brown said.
The catalyst for the decision?
"I don't know, man,'' Brown said. "I just took the visit to West Virginia and it felt like home. I went a couple weeks prior [to Saturday's commitment] and just loved it.''
Apparently, Huggins loves Brown as well.
"He's a tough, hard-nosed kid,'' said Brown's coach, Clyde Jones. "And he's driven. He's committed to getting better. He has no fear.''
There are a few concerns about Brown, but none that kept schools like Florida, Providence, St. Joe's, Rutgers, Temple, Seton Hall and Penn State from offering.
All, including WVU, saw his strengths as well. Including his strength.
"He's a very strong kid,'' Jones said. "Strong hands. And he's a very good leaper. It may have helped that when he came [to Penn Wood] he was playing as an undersized center.''
Indeed, Brown first attended a strong high school program in Roman Catholic High in the heart of Philadelphia and played center at 6-5. He transferred to Penn Wood, apparently to become a wing player, and the positive result has been obvious. Last season he averaged 18.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists. His new school won a state title in 2009 and played in the championship in March.
Overall?
"I don't think there's any question he's the best player in the state,'' Jones said.
C.J. Aiken of Plymouth-Whitemarsh, which defeated Penn Wood in this past season's Class AAAA finals, was the classification's player of the year last season. Aiken signed with St. Joseph's. But Brown joined Aiken on the first-team all-state list - with a year of high school to go. As well as a lot of determination.
"I play hard,'' Brown said. "That's why Coach Huggins and [WVU assistant] Coach [Billy] Hahn like me. They like the way I play.''
Brown said he spends two hours in the gym every day and an hour in the weight room.
"I work out a lot,'' he said. "I keep in shape. I want to keep my physicalness.''
OK, so, no, that's not a word. But you know what the kid means.
"I do 10 reps of 110 to 120 pounds,'' Brown said. "And I do 10 sets [of reps].''
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Very strong forward
WVU lands basketball commitment with muscle
WEST VIRGINIA basketball coach Bob Huggins received a strong commitment for the 2011 class over the July 4 weekend.
Place emphasis on the word "strong.''
The commitment came from Aaron Brown. And this Aaron Brown, well, he's no clown. He's a muscled, 6-foot-5, 200-pound specimen from Penn Wood High in Lansdowne, Pa., outside of Philadelphia, about a four-hour drive from Morgantown.
"It all came down this past Saturday,'' Brown said.
The catalyst for the decision?
"I don't know, man,'' Brown said. "I just took the visit to West Virginia and it felt like home. I went a couple weeks prior [to Saturday's commitment] and just loved it.''
Apparently, Huggins loves Brown as well.
"He's a tough, hard-nosed kid,'' said Brown's coach, Clyde Jones. "And he's driven. He's committed to getting better. He has no fear.''
There are a few concerns about Brown, but none that kept schools like Florida, Providence, St. Joe's, Rutgers, Temple, Seton Hall and Penn State from offering.
All, including WVU, saw his strengths as well. Including his strength.
"He's a very strong kid,'' Jones said. "Strong hands. And he's a very good leaper. It may have helped that when he came [to Penn Wood] he was playing as an undersized center.''
Indeed, Brown first attended a strong high school program in Roman Catholic High in the heart of Philadelphia and played center at 6-5. He transferred to Penn Wood, apparently to become a wing player, and the positive result has been obvious. Last season he averaged 18.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists. His new school won a state title in 2009 and played in the championship in March.
Overall?
"I don't think there's any question he's the best player in the state,'' Jones said.
C.J. Aiken of Plymouth-Whitemarsh, which defeated Penn Wood in this past season's Class AAAA finals, was the classification's player of the year last season. Aiken signed with St. Joseph's. But Brown joined Aiken on the first-team all-state list - with a year of high school to go. As well as a lot of determination.
"I play hard,'' Brown said. "That's why Coach Huggins and [WVU assistant] Coach [Billy] Hahn like me. They like the way I play.''
Brown said he spends two hours in the gym every day and an hour in the weight room.
"I work out a lot,'' he said. "I keep in shape. I want to keep my physicalness.''
OK, so, no, that's not a word. But you know what the kid means.
"I do 10 reps of 110 to 120 pounds,'' Brown said. "And I do 10 sets [of reps].''
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WEST VIRGINIA basketball coach Bob Huggins received a strong commitment for the 2011 class over the July 4 weekend.
Place emphasis on the word "strong.''
The commitment came from Aaron Brown. And this Aaron Brown, well, he's no clown. He's a muscled, 6-foot-5, 200-pound specimen from Penn Wood High in Lansdowne, Pa., outside of Philadelphia, about a four-hour drive from Morgantown.
"It all came down this past Saturday,'' Brown said.
The catalyst for the decision?
"I don't know, man,'' Brown said. "I just took the visit to West Virginia and it felt like home. I went a couple weeks prior [to Saturday's commitment] and just loved it.''
Apparently, Huggins loves Brown as well.
"He's a tough, hard-nosed kid,'' said Brown's coach, Clyde Jones. "And he's driven. He's committed to getting better. He has no fear.''
There are a few concerns about Brown, but none that kept schools like Florida, Providence, St. Joe's, Rutgers, Temple, Seton Hall and Penn State from offering.
All, including WVU, saw his strengths as well. Including his strength.
"He's a very strong kid,'' Jones said. "Strong hands. And he's a very good leaper. It may have helped that when he came [to Penn Wood] he was playing as an undersized center.''
Indeed, Brown first attended a strong high school program in Roman Catholic High in the heart of Philadelphia and played center at 6-5. He transferred to Penn Wood, apparently to become a wing player, and the positive result has been obvious. Last season he averaged 18.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists. His new school won a state title in 2009 and played in the championship in March.
Overall?
"I don't think there's any question he's the best player in the state,'' Jones said.
C.J. Aiken of Plymouth-Whitemarsh, which defeated Penn Wood in this past season's Class AAAA finals, was the classification's player of the year last season. Aiken signed with St. Joseph's. But Brown joined Aiken on the first-team all-state list - with a year of high school to go. As well as a lot of determination.
"I play hard,'' Brown said. "That's why Coach Huggins and [WVU assistant] Coach [Billy] Hahn like me. They like the way I play.''
Brown said he spends two hours in the gym every day and an hour in the weight room.
"I work out a lot,'' he said. "I keep in shape. I want to keep my physicalness.''
OK, so, no, that's not a word. But you know what the kid means.
"I do 10 reps of 110 to 120 pounds,'' Brown said. "And I do 10 sets [of reps].''
The player said the ace up his sleeve is using that strength to attack the basket. He's been described as a "high-energy'' wing. His weakness?
"Going right,'' he said. "That's what I need to work on. If I can do that, I will be unstoppable.''
Yes, folks, that means he's a lefty. (An aside: Ex-WVU lefty Darryl Prue has been promoted to director of basketball operations at Georgetown. He formerly held the position of video coordinator at the school.)
(Hey, you fit your notes in where you can.)
As for the player's jump shot, Brown said "it's coming along'' and warned "don't leave me open; I can make it.''
"He needs to work on shooting the ball off the dribble,'' Jones said. "Believe it or not, though, he shot 46 percent last season from 3-point range and 58 percent from the field.
"That's a testament to his hard work. He still needs to work on his ball handling and understanding of a wing man's role. But he's done a good job of improving on all those things.''
Brown said he feels most comfortable playing at the two, or shooting guard position.
"But as physical as I am,'' he added, "I can play [small forward] and bang. I can guard a [small forward], [shooting guard] or [power forward]. I think Coach Huggins likes that I'm versatile.''
And he probably likes that the strong Brown has given a strong commitment.
"This,'' Brown said of his commitment, "is it.''
nn
And finally . . .
Last week, we reported that Washington Dunbar High cornerback Vance Roberts committed to play football for West Virginia University.
At the time, his twin brother, Vernard, a running back, had not committed. All expected him too, though, and it didn't take long for the latter brother to follow the former.
Vernard Roberts is a 5-11, 185-pound running back who has been given a three-star rating both by recruiting services Scout.com and Rivals.com. He reportedly turned down Connecticut, Kansas, Marshall, Michigan State and New Mexico.
Vernard Roberts is the third known WVU commitment. The other is George Washington High tight end Cody Clay.
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Very strong forward
WVU lands basketball commitment with muscle
WEST VIRGINIA basketball coach Bob Huggins received a strong commitment for the 2011 class over the July 4 weekend.
Place emphasis on the word "strong.''
The commitment came from Aaron Brown. And this Aaron Brown, well, he's no clown. He's a muscled, 6-foot-5, 200-pound specimen from Penn Wood High in Lansdowne, Pa., outside of Philadelphia, about a four-hour drive from Morgantown.
"It all came down this past Saturday,'' Brown said.
The catalyst for the decision?
"I don't know, man,'' Brown said. "I just took the visit to West Virginia and it felt like home. I went a couple weeks prior [to Saturday's commitment] and just loved it.''
Apparently, Huggins loves Brown as well.
"He's a tough, hard-nosed kid,'' said Brown's coach, Clyde Jones. "And he's driven. He's committed to getting better. He has no fear.''
There are a few concerns about Brown, but none that kept schools like Florida, Providence, St. Joe's, Rutgers, Temple, Seton Hall and Penn State from offering.
All, including WVU, saw his strengths as well. Including his strength.
"He's a very strong kid,'' Jones said. "Strong hands. And he's a very good leaper. It may have helped that when he came [to Penn Wood] he was playing as an undersized center.''
Indeed, Brown first attended a strong high school program in Roman Catholic High in the heart of Philadelphia and played center at 6-5. He transferred to Penn Wood, apparently to become a wing player, and the positive result has been obvious. Last season he averaged 18.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists. His new school won a state title in 2009 and played in the championship in March.
Overall?
"I don't think there's any question he's the best player in the state,'' Jones said.
C.J. Aiken of Plymouth-Whitemarsh, which defeated Penn Wood in this past season's Class AAAA finals, was the classification's player of the year last season. Aiken signed with St. Joseph's. But Brown joined Aiken on the first-team all-state list - with a year of high school to go. As well as a lot of determination.
"I play hard,'' Brown said. "That's why Coach Huggins and [WVU assistant] Coach [Billy] Hahn like me. They like the way I play.''
Brown said he spends two hours in the gym every day and an hour in the weight room.
"I work out a lot,'' he said. "I keep in shape. I want to keep my physicalness.''
OK, so, no, that's not a word. But you know what the kid means.
"I do 10 reps of 110 to 120 pounds,'' Brown said. "And I do 10 sets [of reps].''
