Brown headed to Big Bend
Big Bend runs a fast-paced offense, Brown likes its style of play

By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Thursday, May 29, 2008 10:16 AM PDT

Ray Rodriguez | Argus Observer New Plymouth graduate Jaimie Brown (second from left), sits down for a final time at Pilgrim Pavilion in New Plymouth to sign his letter of intent. Seated are (from left to right), former coach Tyler Gaston, Brown, his mother Kathy and his father Bill. Brown has signed on to play basketball at Big Bend Community College.

New Plymouth—Throughout his high school career, New Plymouth graduate Jaimie Brown has received plenty of accolades from back-to-back Western Idaho Conference Most Valuable Player awards, first-team all-state recognition and player of the year honors.

The one piece of basketball hardware Brown does not have, is a state championship.

With high school in the rear view mirror, Brown has set his sights on the elusive championship ring at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Wash.

Brown received a scholarship to attend the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges school to play basketball, and will major in business management.

“I am excited. Of course, I am going to miss it here a little bit, but it’s just something everybody has to go through,” Brown said. “I’m ready for it, and I am sure it will go pretty smooth.”

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Brown mulled over the prospects of many potential suitors, but chose to join a Viking crew which finished with a 20-8 overall record, wound up in second place in the Eastern Region and earned a spot in the NWAACC basketball championships.

Big Bend returns nine players from last year’s squad, including Fruitland graduate Paul Christensen, and with the addition of Brown and a few other freshmen, the Vikings could be reloading the roster for some major post-season moves in 2009.

Big Bend plays a fast-paced style of offense and was second in the league a season ago averaging 91.7 points a game.

“What attracted me is that they play fast-paced and score a lot of points,” Brown said. “That’s what I have the most fun doing, and that’s what I do the best. It was just the place I wanted to play. The coach is a really great guy, the players are great, and I like their gym too. Those are the main reasons.”

Another major reason is Brown was told he would secure a starting spot as the team’s shooting guard next season.

Once Brown sets foot on the campus at Big Bend, he has a few goals to accomplish.

“The first thing I will do is start lifting because I need to gain quite a bit of weight by the time the season starts next year,” Brown said. “I am just going to work on every little aspect of my game to develop into the best I can be, so I can get out of the junior college after one year.”

At New Plymouth, the 6-foot-4 inch guard played a versatile role, often handling the ball at the point, but could also fill roles on the post and the wing.

In his senior year, Brown averaged 17 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and six steals a contest, on a team that had only two returning starters.

With those numbers he helped lead the Pilgrims to a district championship and a state playoff berth.

All those numbers are impressive, but last year, Brown was working on his third different coach in three years.

So Brown has had to adjust to three different philosophies and was still able to maintain a high level of play to propel his team to state berths in every season.

“Playing here I think has taught me a certain amount of leadership. I have been on varsity the last three years,” Brown said. “I was one of the few remaining varsity players left over, so it’s made me learn to help everybody, go through the system, learn how practices go. It’s a great basketball environment in New Plymouth and that’s helped a little bit in getting me exposed.”

The one stronghold in getting Brown to the next phase in his life has been the support of his parents, Bill and Kathy Brown.

Brown credits them for everything he has become.

“They’re probably the reason why I am here,” Brown said. “They put so much money and time in helping (me) get better. They were at all my tournaments and games and it has meant a lot to me. They might not think so, but it really does. If it wasn’t for them, I probably would not be getting a scholarship.”