by Norm Weber in Our Hometown News
BEREA, OHIO -- Now in his final year of college basketball, Strongsville native Kyle Brown is seeing it all come together and is hoping to end this season in March by leaving the Baldwin Wallace program in good hands.
It has been quite a basketball road for Brown since he left Strongsville High in 2006. He started out at Hillsdale College in Michigan, transferred to BW as a sophomore under Steve Bankson and gained a better stake in the ground when Strongsville native Duane Sheldon became the new Yellow Jacket coach last year.
This will be his first year of college basketball in which he has had the same coach two years in row and he couldn't be happier, particularly considering that that coach is a Strongsville guy.
"It has been three different experiences for me,' said Brown. "It was a nice to go to a Division II school like Hillsdale, but I knew that if I didn't like it, I could come back home and go to BW. I respected the program that coach Bankson built here and not that I was looking only at colleges that would give me money for athletics, but coach Sheldon and Heidelberg was the only Division III program I was considering When I heard he was coming back, I was thrilled to death."
Brown was on a full athletic scholarship at Hillsdale as a freshman, which came in handy at unique school such as Hillsdale. The 'Dale is one of only a handful of colleges across the country that does not accept federal funds, which means scholarships must come from private sources, making it more of a financial burden on individuals and families to attend. All state-sponsored and most privately funded colleges and universities accept federal funds, but Hillsdale refuses in order to avoid having government officials and bureaucrats dictate its curricula.
"Most of the classes I took at Hillsdale could not be found at most colleges,"said Brown. "When I came here, nearly all of my credits did not transfer in (only 7 of 35 did), which means I will easily be here for a fifth year in order to catch up and satisfy all the requirements for my degree."
This is Brown's final year of eligibility so a playing role will not be available next year. Brown is hoping he still has a spot in Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium somewhere as well, either as a student assistant coach or some other type of advisor to the team. He is a captain this year after making All-Ohio Athletic Conference in 2007-08.
"In how Kyle can help us, just as important in what he does on the court is his leadership," Sheldon said. "He is up for the challenge of being a big-point guy and a leader. I expect him to have a good senior year. We know Kyle can guard, rebound and score. He should be able to handle the challenge of leading as well. I tried to get him to come to Heidelberg out of Strongsville, but I am glad he didn't now."
Through getting tutelage under the three coaches, the two schools and the two eras at BW (Bankson was here nearly three decades), Brown has learned to adapt to any changes.
"Definitely they were different styles of coaching," said Brown. "It was a ot of change for me. It was hard getting used to the whole academic program. At the same time I had to adjust to a new coach. Then we get another new coach and I had to start all over again. Hillsdale, coach Bankson, coach Sheldon, it was a whole new offense each time."
"Coming back as a two-year letterman, I am finally feeling comfortable here."
He has accepted the leadership role.
"I am not a vocal leader but would rather lead by example," Brown said. "I do have to go out there and scream at them every once in a while. It rings back to senior year at Strongsville. I started four years at Strongsville, we had a scrimmage against Marquette when I was at Hillsdale, and I played summer leagues against pros. I am using all these experiences to help out all these kids and get them on the same page."
Having a coach who went to the same high school as he did has also been a bonus for Brown.
"It helps in recruiting when a coach has those kinds of connections," said Brown. "He can say things like, "I liked it here and you'll like it here." It's nice having a lot of friends close, putting more of fans for us in the seats."
Sheldon also played his college ball at BW. The team was a rough 8-17 his first year.
"We think we can turn it around; I do not want to go out on an 8-17 team," Brown said. "We had a loss the first game of the season and got it out of the way. For these freshmen it was their first time playing college basketball. We've been watching a lot of film and coach has showed us a lot of things on which we can improve. Under coach Bankson, I was more of a post player. Now I have more freedom to be out on the perimeter more, which is what I had at Strongsville."
Brown likes the idea of being at a residential college, but also to be able to drive down Prospect to go home and get a free meal every now and then.
"I hope we can get some more Strongsville guys to come here," said Brown.
