Brown hoopsters eager to finally play again
Last year, the Ivy League made the decision to cancel fall and winter sports for the 2020-2021 academic year because of the pandemic. It was a blow to Brown University’s men’s basketball coach Mike Martin and his group after the hard offseason work they put in.
It was frustrating because Brown took big steps forward. The school went 20-12 in 2018-2019 and then 15-12 before the season was shut down in 2020. Those 35 wins in a two-year period are the most in Brown history.
How will taking a year off affect this Brown team?
The biggest question for Brown this season is how will not playing for a year impact this Bears team? Can it replicate the success it was on prior to COVID-19 stopping the momentum?
“It was definitely tough last year watching other college guys play,” said senior forward Tamenang Choh. “Obviously our season got canceled — as we all know. That was the hard part about it. But it was good to reset a little bit and let your body recover.”
Choh averaged 13.2 points per game the last time Brown played, making him the team’s highest returning scorer. The senior also grabbed 8.1 rebounds per game. Choh is a two-time All-Ivy player.
The Bears will also be led by Jaylan Gainey, who is the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. He led the league in blocked shots (2.1 per game). The senior also scored 5.9 points per game and grabbed 5.1 rebounds per game.
Brown added Paxson Wojcik, a transfer from Loyola Chicago. He led all scorers with 26 points in the team's scrimmage on Oct. 16 and gives the Browns a sharpshooter.
The time off last season was frustrating, but Gainey said they worked hard to stay prepared.
“We took that as an opportunity to get better. We didn’t see it as a setback. We stayed in the gym,” Gainey said. “It wasn’t a bad transition. I think it went real smoothly. Over the summer we worked out hard. We pretty much stayed conditioned and played.”
Tough non-conference slate
Martin has high hopes for his team this season. That’s a reason why he arranged a strong non-conference schedule. Brown will play two top-25 ranked teams (North Carolina and Maryland). It will also travel to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to participate in the Paradise Jam tournament.
The strong slate of games should prepare this team for Ivy League play. Then it’s up to the Bears to showcase the talent no one saw a year ago.
“Really think it’s an aggressive and challenging nonleague schedule,” Martin said. “But that was done with a purpose, because we think this team can handle it. We want to chase an Ivy League championship. We expect to be right there.
“We thought that this team was ready. We think it’s our most talented team. It certainly has the most depth of any roster I’ve ever had at Brown. We felt we could compete. We also thought it was necessary if we wanted to win an Ivy League championship to put ourselves in this position in the non-conference. These guys deserve it. They deserve an opportunity.”
Brown opens its season next Tuesday by hosting Salve Regina.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Previewing the Brown men's basketball season
