ALBANY — He couldn’t put an actual quantity on it.
However it’s honest to say that one of many latest Nice Danes has seen his fair proportion of UAlbany males’s basketball video games through the years.
“Let’s simply go together with so much,” Jackson Brown, laughing, mentioned Tuesday evening in a telephone interview.
That is sensible.
In any case, dad Will Brown is the pinnacle coach of this system and has held that place since earlier than the 18-year-old Jackson Brown was born.
“This,” Will Brown mentioned, “goes to be fascinating for each of us.”
Jackson Brown, who starred domestically at Catholic Central, will serve in the course of the 2020-21 season as a walk-on for the Nice Danes. Initially set to go to Emmanuel Faculty in Boston, a need to remain nearer to residence given the uncertainty associated to the coronavirus pandemic ultimately led Jackson Brown to go to the varsity with which he’s all the time had a connection.
At Emmanuel, Jackson Brown would have performed Division III basketball. Whereas he briefly thought of heading to prep college or Castleton College after de-committing in March from Emmanuel, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard from Latham who averaged 17 factors per recreation as a highschool senior saved coming again in his thoughts to spending the 2020-21 college yr at UAlbany.
What adopted have been a number of lengthy talks with dad and mother — “Extra my mother” — concerning whether or not it was doable for him to go to UAlbany, not less than for his freshman yr. They weighed the positives and negatives, and earlier this summer season, Jackson Brown confirmed the choice to go forward with turning into a Nice Dane.
“I do know, deep down, his mom is pleased he’s near residence,” Will Brown mentioned. “Dad received’t remark till I coach him just a little bit.”
The plan is for Jackson Brown to redshirt in the course of the 2020-21 season, permitting him the prospect to keep up his 4 years of enjoying eligibility — which he could use elsewhere. He’s taking issues day-to-day, and his focus this upcoming season is on ensuring he improves as a lot as doable throughout his first yr of school basketball.
“For me, due to what I do for a dwelling, it’s most likely unfair to Jackson as a result of I’m most likely overly vital, however I by no means wish to be the dad or mum that’s blinded,” mentioned Will Brown, who grew to become UAlbany’s interim head coach in the course of the 2001-02 season and this system’s full-time head coach for the 2002-03 season. “I wish to be sincere with Jackson, and I’ve been. I informed him that I believed if he retains working, that he had an opportunity to be a extremely good Division III participant, and there’s nothing fallacious with that. However, I additionally informed him that you simply don’t know. . . . In his thoughts, he desires to see how good he can get, and what degree he can ultimately play. If it’s Division III, it’s Division III. If it’s Division II, it’s Division II.”
Particularly in recent times, Jackson Brown has been across the Division I Nice Danes frequently. He was buddies with a number of of his now-teammates earlier than becoming a member of this system, and mentioned he obtained textual content messages of help welcoming him to this system from a number of Nice Danes earlier this summer season.
Will Brown performed for his father Invoice Brown in highschool. He is aware of it’s not all the time straightforward for the son of a coach in a group’s locker room, and mentioned he’s mentioned with Jackson Brown that there will probably be instances when his teammates aren’t thrilled together with his dad.
“However I’m not going to let that hassle me,” Jackson Brown mentioned. “I simply wish to work onerous. . . . Actually, it’s been nice thus far. I hope the opposite guys would say the identical. However I already had nice relationships with a number of the blokes on my dad’s group as a result of I’ve been round them always. Labored out with them always. With them, and the teaching employees. I imply, his teaching employees has recognized me since I used to be a child.”
Will Brown joked that his assistant coaches are seemingly taking bets on what number of practices the pinnacle coach will go earlier than he kicks his son out of a exercise. The possibility to teach his son, although, is a particular one for Will Brown.
“As a lot as I’m nervous about this subsequent chapter, I’m actually excited for the chance as a result of I do know what it meant to have the chance to play for my dad,” Will Brown mentioned.
UAlbany, which has eight new gamers on its 2020-21 roster together with Jackson Brown, had a digital group assembly Sunday. Subsequent week, the Nice Danes are in a position to begin exercises with restrictions. At all times sporting masks, the group is ready to carry weights and take part in small-group basketball exercises that may see not more than 10 folks — together with coaches — within the facility at one time. Every participant throughout these exercises will use his personal basketball.
“There’s a number of challenges,” Will Brown mentioned, “however our guys are as much as it.”
Teaching his son will probably be a problem, however one Will Brown mentioned he’s excited to tackle this upcoming season. Basketball solely grew to become a spotlight for Jackson Brown a couple of years in the past after he spent a few years enjoying baseball, and Will Brown has loved getting the prospect to place his son by exercises these final couple years.
And, now, he’ll actually coach him.
“I’m not going to shortchange him, and I informed him there’s going to be loads of days the place he’s not going to love me,” Will Brown mentioned. “I wish to see his desires come true, and I understand how onerous you must work to play at any degree.”