by Aaron Hunter
Staff Writer

At a first glimpse, some may doubt that Jaron Brown could be a factor as an undersized center; but once you see him finishing around the hoop off a wide array of post moves, you’ll understand why he’s leading the Shoreline Community College basketball team in scoring and rebounding.

Brown, an SCC sophomore, currently averages about 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. He was supposed to attend PLU after graduating from Decatur High School. During the recruiting process however, they switched coaches, and SCC coach Jeff Menday brought Brown to Shoreline.

Basketball didn’t always come easy for Brown. When he was a sophomore in high school, he tried out for the basketball team and ended up on the freshman team.

Brown saw this as an insult. “This was discouraging for me and I wanted to quit,” he said.

But he stuck with the freshman basketball team and persevered, improving so much that he became a starter on varsity the very next season as a junior.

Brown continued to improve the following season as a senior, earning himself a spot on the All-South Puget Sound League all first team and All-State Honorable Mention.

Brown claimed that this has been a successful season for him, but that the overall team performance is not at the level that it should be.

“We’re a much better team than our record shows,” said Brown, whose team currently stands at 11-9 overall, 3-5 in the north division.

As for Brown’s success, that may be attributed to an odd superstition involving socks.

“If I lose a game while wearing a certain pair of socks, I have to keep washing and wearing those socks until I win a game in them,” said Brown. He started this superstition as a sophomore in high school and decided to stick with it after improving.

Brown’s game—which consists of solid post moves, strength and a soft touch around the hoop—has gotten the attention of some National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) scouts.

Schools Brown is considering include NAIA division II Evergreen State in Olympia, Washington, and NAIA division I Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT.

“I came to Shoreline to get my AA and transfer, so hopefully I’ll be playing two more years somewhere [else],” said Brown.

Brown’s dominant post presence will be on display in their next game, Saturday February 2 at 7:30 p.m. against Everett Community College.