What's in a name?
Pete Gillen and the Virginia men's basketball team hope a lot. Newly signed high school power forward Elton Brown has a similar name - and the Cavs hope an equally effective game - as former Duke star Elton Brand.
Brown, a senior at Warwick High in Newport News, Va., compares favorably to Brand, the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and reigning Rookie of the Year. Brown stands 6 foot 9 and weighs 250 pounds, while Brand is a shade thicker at 6-8, 275.
Brown, who is rated the No. 33 prospect in the country by Prep Stars, is not only similar in stature to Brand, but also in style of play. He is a low-post banger who does not possess dazzling athletic ability yet is an efficient scorer from both inside and out.
"He brings a physical dimension to a team," Warwick coach Ben Moore said. "He is multidimensional, he can step outside and put the ball on the floor. He has fantastic post moves."
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Mike Sullivan of InsidersReport.com, a top recruiting Web site, agreed
"He is similar in style to Elton Brand," Sullivan said. "Whether he has the same career at this point is to be determined."
Brown, who verbally committed to the Cavs Oct. 24, averaged 24.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and four blocks last season for Warwick. That was no small feat, considering the wealth of basketball talent in the Hampton Roads area. Brown hopes to add his name to a long list of stars who have honed their skills there, a group that includes NBA stars Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson and Joe Smith.
This past summer, Brown earned Most Valuable Player honors as his AAU team captured the 17-and-under national championship in Orlando. Brown was coached by legendary AAU coach Boo Williams and teamed up with another Cav signee, 6-7, 210-pound Jason Clark of Hargrave Military Academy, to form a deadly inside combination.
We "won the AAU national championship together," Brown said. "And now we want to win the college national championship."
Brown and Clark began talking two years ago about the possibility of playing together in college. The two forwards complement each other well, as Brown is a great low post scorer, while Clark is known primarily for his tenacious defense.
"Jason and I were always there for each other in AAU," Brown said. "If he missed a shot, then I got the rebound, and if I missed, he got the rebound."
The Cav coaches began recruiting Brown when he was a sophomore in high school, but over the summer they turned it up a notch.
"Gillen and the U.Va. coaching staff were always there for my AAU games over the summer," Brown said. "They stuck with me for a long time."
The Cavaliers had to wait anxiously, though, as Brown made trips to Temple and Florida State in addition to Virginia.
Moore termed his involvement in Brown's recruitment "very hands on." The Warwick coach helped outline for Brown the positives and negatives of each program after researching current players, coaching staffs and other players the schools were recruiting. In the end, though, Brown made the final decision.
"I chose Virginia because they play in the ACC, it is an upcoming program, and [because of] Jason Clark," Brown said. "It also gives me the most likely chance to start."
Brown now has one final obstacle to overcome before he can suit up for the orange and blue in 2001. He has yet to meet the qualifying standards set by the NCAA, but he said he is focused intently on his classroom studies.
"I'm working really hard to qualify," Brown said. "I realize how important it is to do well in school."
Since they came to Virginia two and a half years ago, Gillen and his coaches have not been interested only in a recruit's stats, but also his character. Moore said Brown fits that mold.
"He's pretty humble," Moore said. "He's a happy-go-lucky type of person who is selective of his friends and loyal to his mom and coach"
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