The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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76 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2021 "My dad told me to take one out, because he didn't want me to burn my body out before high school and college," Brown recalled. "I took away baseball, and then football just faded away as well. "I always knew basketball was my main sport. Around eighth and ninth grade, I started taking it very serious and I knew I could be really good." His dad, Brown recalled, stressed all the right approaches — go to school, get good grades, stay out of trouble. His mom, Chelsea, did as well, with an added twist regarding his competitive side. She'd get on him if he wasn't up to par on the basketball court, playing the tough cop of the parents. "I'd probably say my mom — es- pecially if I had a bad game," Brown said. "I knew she did it out of love." She still does, with an interesting approach to following her son's on- court adventures. She makes sure he can hear her, even when he's not ac- tively listening. "While I'm playing my games, she'll be texting my phone," Brown said. "After the game, I'll check, and I'll have like 30 or 40 messages from her. She says 'Good shot,' 'Good re- bound,' 'Good pass,' 'Be aggressive.' "She does that because she feels that I can hear her. It's crazy. She's been doing that since I've been in college." Brown's brother Chenar, a base- ball player, is a freshman at Jackson State University. The two of them stay close, talking every day on the phone. "He always looked up to me," Brown assured. "I wanted to keep him on the right track. I tell him to stay fo- cused. Don't worry about anything else. Don't worry about girls. Focus on your sport, and get the grades. Ev- erything I do, he wants to do." Brown did everything well, on his way to Wake Forest. At First Acad- emy in Orlando, he became a consen- sus four-star recruit, averaging 24.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as a senior and McDonald's All-Amer- ica Game nominee. He became the Gatorade and 4A Florida Player of the Year in 2017, and his phone got a workout as hard as he'd been putting in. "It was overwhelming," Brown re- called. "So many schools reached out to me. I had good relationships with all of them, but I was afraid of mak- ing them mad. You just have to do the best for yourself and your future. "A coach would call me every two seconds. You'd be on a phone call for 30 minutes straight, then hop on another one. At the same time, it was good. I have a lot of friends who would die to be in that position." Brown settled on Kansas, Wake Forest, Maryland and Florida as his final four choices, coming out of high school. He chose the Demon Dea- cons, for athletics, academics and a place to play early. He certainly did that, starting 29 games as a true freshman. "It was really good," he recalled. "I came in, worked my behind off, and got the starting spot. I wanted to do my job and play my role — hit open shots and defend." His role expanded significantly in his sophomore and junior seasons. Unfortunately for Brown, the team results did not. "It was really frustrating," Brown admitted. "You put a lot of hours in. To not win, it was really frustrating." That's when he made a key deci- sion, seeking out a program ready to contend for high honors. Brown knew Howard only through his NBA reputation, but when the phone rang this time around, he was more than ready to listen. "He called me one morning and said he was really interested," Brown recalled. "He really liked my game, and he wanted me to be part of something special. "I watched a lot of film, and watched how he coached. It just felt like the best fit for me. I told Coach Howard, I wanted to win. I got my numbers. I just wanted to win." READY TO RISE Brown's transfer didn't mean he'd automatically get to take the court this year. Even when his NCAA-de- termined immediate eligibility came through, Howard played it down in an impromptu team gathering, as if he was about to deliver an unsettling message. "He said he'd been receiving bad news all day," Brown recalled. "Then he broke it out to me, and it was re- lief. My teammates were happy, and I was happy myself. I thank God for that, and thank the coaching staff." Howard gives thanks himself, for a player who has made a significant impact on a Big Ten title contender. "What Chaundee has done has been overlooked," Howard said. "If you want to know what playing like a team, sacrificing, and doing whatever you can to help the team win, taking your ego out of the equation and giv- ing to the team [looks like], all you have to do is Google Chaundee Brown. "He's shown amazing character. When he got his eligibility, you could see how his teammates all just roared in excitement — hugging and jump- ing up, because they appreciate the Brown, who came off the bench in 14 of the Wolverines' first 15 contests this season, stood fifth on the team in scoring (8.3 points per game) and sixth in minutes played (20.4). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL