Laura Clark / Nelson County Times
Published: February 12, 2008

He practices when not eating, sleeping or in school. He doesn't take the night off when practice isn't scheduled. Brown will either go over to Tye River Elementary School for some pick-up with teammates and older guys or hang out until the girls finish practicing to shoot baskets late into the evening. In the summertime, basketball (plus weightlifting and conditioning) dominated his days.

While the love of the game could be motivation enough, Brown said his teammates, winning, and remembering when he was the guy getting juked by better players contribute to his work ethic.

As a 5-foot-6, 130-pound freshman at Albemarle County High School, Brown said he routinely got beat up on the court.

"There'd be times when I was like, 'Man, I can't compete with these guys,' but then I'd be thinking in my head, 'Man, I'm going to make myself better so they'll be like, I can't compete with him,'" Brown said.

Brown transferred to Nelson County High School as a sophomore, and played for the varsity team. Junior year, Brandon Garrett's first season coaching the Govs, Brown said his skills and an 8-inch, 50-pound growth spurt helped things come together on the court.

"He's so quick, but he's pretty strong," Garrett said. "He had that before I got here, it was just figuring out how to use it, do the little things."

While Brown had no trouble scoring last season,

Garrett said he had some bad habits on defense, like not moving his feet well or seeing the ball.

But offseason camps and a spring league turned Brown's defense around. Being one of the taller players on a small team, he's often asked to guard a big man inside, as well as on the perimeter. He leads his team and the Dogwood District in steals with about four a game.

Offensively, Brown is the leading scorer (team and district), and he passed the 1,000-point career mark the first game of this season. He is scoring less than last season, but that fact doesn't faze him.

"Even if he's scoring below his average, he's still passing the ball, getting eight, nine, ten assists, rebounding. I think he's become a lot more unselfish player. He gets his teammates involved," Garrett said.

The team's record this season, 19-1, compared to a 9-12 finish in 2007, is the biggest indicator of both Brown and the team's development during the spring and summer. Garrett said Brown evolved into a disciplined leader.

"The guys around me, I feel like they trust me enough to have the ball in my hands," Brown said. "It's kind of like keep your composure and play good at all times. Course we all want to score, but we want to win. And when we win, we want to not care who gets the credit."

But as the leader in nearly every stat category, as the point guard who creates the plays, Nelson depends on Brown to fill that role. Teams routinely assign its best defender to him.

"I like it," he said, "when they're like, 'Yeah, we're going to shut Thomas down. Thomas you're not getting the ball.' And I won't say nothing. I'll smile. When they talk junk to me, it motivates me."

As tournament time approaches, Brown is more motivated than ever.

"I haven't played in a regional game before in my life. I haven't played in a district championship game before in my life," Brown said. "All of us have that same goal. We're going to handle our business."

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