by Brian Abate, Chris DiGeronimo, and Gianluca Milea
We sat down with (direct messaged) former Florida Gulf Coast University basketball star
Sherwood Brown. Brown and his teammates helped put FGCU on the map during their
Cinderella run to the Sweet Sixteen during the 2013 NCAA Tournament. During his senior year at FGCU Brown averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Since his time at FGCU, Brown has enjoyed a successful professional career with stops in the G-League, Mexico, and Lebanon.
In this edition of Scrambling, we take a stroll down memory lane with Sherwood as he relives his improbable journey from walk-on to Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year. He also talks about his career goals, role models, and everything he has learned since his time as an original “Dunk City” Eagle…
Q: What schools were recruiting you out of high school, and what stood out to you about FGCU that made you want to try to walk-on?
A: Coming out of high school I wasn’t highly recruited; I was recruited by schools that were very up North and a school in Boston and Indiana in particular. I didn’t even take visits to those schools because I didn’t want to play anywhere where it snowed, and I wasn’t getting recruited by any schools really in Florida except for FGCU. They told me they had a spot available but I would have to walk on the first year and through that year I had an opportunity to earn a scholarship, so I was very confident in myself and I just took that opportunity.
Q: You hit the national spotlight when you wowed the world in 2013 by flying high with FGCU to the Sweet Sixteen. What was that experience like and how did those tense games help you grow as a player?
A: The year 2013 was a big year for me personally, having an opportunity to play in that
spotlight in the NCAA Tournament I had to make sure that I made the most of the opportunity especially with it being my senior year. It definitely helped me grow as a player playing against those higher caliber players, those higher caliber teams and it just helped me realize that there isn’t much of a difference between me and these guys because on a one on one matchup I know that I can do my thing which I kind of proved in the tournament.
Q: What advice would you give to underdog teams in the NCAA Tournament?
A: The advice I would like to give to all the underdog teams is the other team ties their shoes the same way you do, they practice just like you do so don’t be intimidated to play against these bigger name schools. The only thing that is different is the name that’s on their jersey and the sponsorship that they have from major labels. Other than that, they sweat just like you, they get tired just like you so there’s no difference. I would say just go into the game with as much confidence and just do the same thing you’ve been doing the whole season.
Q: Are you still close with your teammates from FGCU? How many times have you rewatched Chase Fieler’s dunk against Georgetown?
A: Yeah, I’m still close with that nucleus of guys. I still talk with Brett (Comer), Bernard
(Thompson), Chase (Fieler), Christophe (Varidel), and also Coach(Michael) Fly and Coach
(Kevin) Norris. I actually watch Chase’s dunk very often; I watch it at least 20 times a year
especially around March Madness time.
Q: You were named Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year in 2013. How were you able to work your way up from a bench player to one of the best in the conference?
A: For me even when I was a walk-on I still felt like I was one of the best players on the team. I just knew that I was a freshman so usually freshman had to wait their turn to be able to be in the spotlight so I was down to wait my turn. While I was waiting, I took that time to get better individually as a player, so once my opportunity came, I was already ready for it. Once I got a little taste of the success I just wanted to get even better to the point where my goal as a senior became to be the player of the year and I was able to achieve that goal.
Q: There has been much debate for many years over whether college athletes should be able to profit and be paid for playing collegiate sports. What is your opinion on the idea of students being paid? Did you ever consider foregoing college and beginning your career overseas?
A: When it comes to college athletes being paid, I definitely think that they should. The NCAA is a billion-dollar industry and the student athletes are the ones who are putting it all on the line to earn the school that money and they aren’t getting anything to show for it. At the same time college athletes are poor, they don’t have any money to do anything. I remember my Senior year at the University, I barely had any money to eat, I was begging some of my friends that were not athletes to let me use their meal plan so that I could get more food.
Q: Who was your biggest role model growing up, both basketball-wise and personally?
A: My biggest role model basketball wise has always been Kobe Bryant, just the way he
approached the game he had so much love and respect for the game and it showed it in the
way that he played. He really left it all on the court, I just really love that about him. Personally, my role model has always been my father. The way that he handles his business and the way he conducts himself as a man, it kind of made me into the man that I am today. I just hope I continue to follow his lead and I’m able to provide for his family like he has.
Q: What did you learn from your time in the G-League? How did that compare to the game
overseas?
A: In the G-League I definitely learned a lot because playing with players who were already in the NBA it’s natural to just learn things from them because at the end of the day that is where we all want to end up. From the coaching standpoint I had to take advantage of utilizing all of the player development coaches that they had, it’s a very big luxury because overseas you don’t have that opportunity. Sometimes you can’t use the gym when you want to get some extra work in, it’s not available because the gym is also being shared by the handball team or the futsal team, so you kind of have to share with all those other guys.
Q: Basketball has allowed you to travel the world as you have played in places like Florida,
Maine, Lebanon, and most recently Romania. What has been your favorite city to explore
beyond basketball?
A: I would say my favorite place to explore was China. For me China is such an interesting
place. You have very big cities like Shanghai and you also have very rural cities like for example a city I would spend a lot of time in was Haikou. It is a very beautiful city; you would even randomly run into some foreigners there. The Chinese culture is very interesting to me. It’s like one I’ve never been a part of. I lived in Middle Eastern countries and European countries; I’ve even lived in Mexico but China is the one that stands out the most by far.
Q: What are some goals and aspirations you have for your basketball career?
A: For my basketball career I have already achieved my goals that I have set for myself
because my goals were never really that high coming out of high school for basketball. I never thought I would have the opportunity to play professional, let alone lead my team to an NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance. Being a walk-on those are not things you really think about. For meI was happy to be on a team and the next year I was happy to be on a scholarship. It wasn’t until I went into my junior year where I realized that I could do this and make it to the professional level. Now that I did that my next goal is to make it to the highest form overseas which is the Euro League, it’s a long shot but just like becoming the Conference Player of the Year after being a walk-on was a long shot, so I’m sure it can be done. I just have to make sure I put in the work and do my due diligence because it would be crazy for me to expect something knowing I didn’t work hard enough for it.
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