Westchester ’s Brown: Anchors aweigh
BY MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Nick Brown has big goals for his basketball career. But he has even bigger goals for life beyond the hardwood.He’ll have the opportunity to achieve both while serving his country.Brown, a senior at Westchester Countr y Day School, has been accepted into the Naval Academy, where he plans to continue playing basketball on scholarship, and aims to parlay that into a medical degree.
“I’m excited for this journey,” he says. “Many people may think that it’s different, but I accept it to its full capacity. I get to play for my country and serve my country on a daily basis, and I get to help people ever y day and be a benefit to others.”
Brown has been one of the area’s top basketball players in recent years — a standout at Westchester in the NCISAA 2A ranks as well as a contributor on his Team CP3 AAU team that featured many of the state’s top players.So, there were plenty of schools interested in him, including a number of NCAA Division I mid-majors. But, once Navy starting recruiting him and he began to see the benefits, Brown began to envision where this decision could take him.
“I never would’ve thought I’d be playing for the Naval Academy,” he says with a smile. “But once I started doing some research on it after they contacted me, I just saw everything thatcomes with it — how it could benefit my family in the future, the history behind it — and I’d like to be part of that.
“Initially, I was a little hesitant until I did the research. I could see my future — they laid it all out. And it was just the family aspect. The coaches were very open with me, told me the ins and outs, how it’d be on a daily basis and basically showed me my future for the next few years.”
Navy really wasn’t on Brown’s radar to begin his recruitment. But Westchester coach David Carrier tells how he and Brown, a 6-foot-3, 160-pound guard who was selected NCISAA 2A all-state as a senior, eventually wound up considering it as they searched for the right fit both athletically and academically.
“So, he was playing in a tournament locally and I decided to go watch him play,” Carrier says. “I’d sit there and see what coaches were there and I’d go talk to them about Nick. It just so happened that Navy was there and his dad was there. And I was like, ‘I wonder why we’ve never thought about Navy before?’
“We just never thought about it — it sounds stupid, but we never thought about it,” he says with a laugh.
“So, I sat with their assistant coach and it didn’t take much. He asked, ‘Well, does he have the grades?’ And I said, ‘Oh, yeah. He’s the total package.’ His eyes about bugged out of his head and he said, ‘Really?’ That was it.”
The plan, Brown says, is to spend four years in the academy (from which he will also earn an engi-neering degree), four years in medical school to study anesthesiology and five years in a naval hos-pital to fulfill his ser vice obligation. And, in the meantime, he wants to continue pursuing basketball as far as it’ll take him.“I’ve always been fascinated with anesthesiology, since like middle school,” he says.
“And with this path, they told me I’d come out with zero expenses. So, there was that aspect too, of living out my dream of being successful. Plus, they have an invitational with three of the top schools to play in front of NBA scouts. So, I’ll have the opportunity to fulfill my dreams there too.”
Added Carrier: “He’s so goal-driven and so mature for his age that he knows he’s going to have the best education you can get, play basketball at the Division-I level and he wants to become an anes-thesiologist — which he’ll have paid for if he holds up his end of the bargain, which I know he will.“Nick’s parents are great. They’re so supportive of him, his coaches, his teachers, and they trusted him to make his own decision. But I remember talking with his dad about schools — and there were some good schools recruiting him. He said, ‘If you think about it, he’d be crazy not to go there.’ ”
The process to even apply was lengthy and time-consuming, Brown said, and required him to be nominated by an official source — he selected Sen. Richard Burr and Rep. Ted Budd. So, to be accepted was an accomplishment in itself. But there are also many more challenges ahead.
“I’m truly honored,” he says. “They said from day one — and even all the teachers have said — it’s going to be a rough journey. They said that there are going to be days that I’ll think, ‘Can I do this?’ But they’re there to have your back, and there are so many people to make sure you make it through.“I just have to fight through it. And I know it’s possible because people have done it before. I just have to be all in for the challenge. ... After I did the research and then when I went up there and talked with the coaches and the students, I felt like this is definitely the place for me.”
Now, with graduation approaching, Brown looks forward to embarking on the next step toward achieving his goals.“I’m very excited about it,’ he says. “I think my parents are even more excited about it than I am — they talk about it just about ever y day. I’m definitely ready for this journey, but I’m definitely going to miss Westchester. Coach Carrier is like one of my second dads — I love that dude.“
Just all the bonds with all my friends, all my AAU teammates.” “He’s a part of a lot of big families,” Carrier adds with a laugh. “I’m probably going to be in contact with them just about ever y day,” Brown continues. “I just have such a big support sys-tem behind me and they all want to see me suc-ceed.”
BY MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Nick Brown has big goals for his basketball career. But he has even bigger goals for life beyond the hardwood.He’ll have the opportunity to achieve both while serving his country.Brown, a senior at Westchester Countr y Day School, has been accepted into the Naval Academy, where he plans to continue playing basketball on scholarship, and aims to parlay that into a medical degree.
“I’m excited for this journey,” he says. “Many people may think that it’s different, but I accept it to its full capacity. I get to play for my country and serve my country on a daily basis, and I get to help people ever y day and be a benefit to others.”
Brown has been one of the area’s top basketball players in recent years — a standout at Westchester in the NCISAA 2A ranks as well as a contributor on his Team CP3 AAU team that featured many of the state’s top players.So, there were plenty of schools interested in him, including a number of NCAA Division I mid-majors. But, once Navy starting recruiting him and he began to see the benefits, Brown began to envision where this decision could take him.
“I never would’ve thought I’d be playing for the Naval Academy,” he says with a smile. “But once I started doing some research on it after they contacted me, I just saw everything thatcomes with it — how it could benefit my family in the future, the history behind it — and I’d like to be part of that.
“Initially, I was a little hesitant until I did the research. I could see my future — they laid it all out. And it was just the family aspect. The coaches were very open with me, told me the ins and outs, how it’d be on a daily basis and basically showed me my future for the next few years.”
Navy really wasn’t on Brown’s radar to begin his recruitment. But Westchester coach David Carrier tells how he and Brown, a 6-foot-3, 160-pound guard who was selected NCISAA 2A all-state as a senior, eventually wound up considering it as they searched for the right fit both athletically and academically.
“So, he was playing in a tournament locally and I decided to go watch him play,” Carrier says. “I’d sit there and see what coaches were there and I’d go talk to them about Nick. It just so happened that Navy was there and his dad was there. And I was like, ‘I wonder why we’ve never thought about Navy before?’
“We just never thought about it — it sounds stupid, but we never thought about it,” he says with a laugh.
“So, I sat with their assistant coach and it didn’t take much. He asked, ‘Well, does he have the grades?’ And I said, ‘Oh, yeah. He’s the total package.’ His eyes about bugged out of his head and he said, ‘Really?’ That was it.”
The plan, Brown says, is to spend four years in the academy (from which he will also earn an engi-neering degree), four years in medical school to study anesthesiology and five years in a naval hos-pital to fulfill his ser vice obligation. And, in the meantime, he wants to continue pursuing basketball as far as it’ll take him.“I’ve always been fascinated with anesthesiology, since like middle school,” he says.
“And with this path, they told me I’d come out with zero expenses. So, there was that aspect too, of living out my dream of being successful. Plus, they have an invitational with three of the top schools to play in front of NBA scouts. So, I’ll have the opportunity to fulfill my dreams there too.”
Added Carrier: “He’s so goal-driven and so mature for his age that he knows he’s going to have the best education you can get, play basketball at the Division-I level and he wants to become an anes-thesiologist — which he’ll have paid for if he holds up his end of the bargain, which I know he will.“Nick’s parents are great. They’re so supportive of him, his coaches, his teachers, and they trusted him to make his own decision. But I remember talking with his dad about schools — and there were some good schools recruiting him. He said, ‘If you think about it, he’d be crazy not to go there.’ ”
The process to even apply was lengthy and time-consuming, Brown said, and required him to be nominated by an official source — he selected Sen. Richard Burr and Rep. Ted Budd. So, to be accepted was an accomplishment in itself. But there are also many more challenges ahead.
“I’m truly honored,” he says. “They said from day one — and even all the teachers have said — it’s going to be a rough journey. They said that there are going to be days that I’ll think, ‘Can I do this?’ But they’re there to have your back, and there are so many people to make sure you make it through.“I just have to fight through it. And I know it’s possible because people have done it before. I just have to be all in for the challenge. ... After I did the research and then when I went up there and talked with the coaches and the students, I felt like this is definitely the place for me.”
Now, with graduation approaching, Brown looks forward to embarking on the next step toward achieving his goals.“I’m very excited about it,’ he says. “I think my parents are even more excited about it than I am — they talk about it just about ever y day. I’m definitely ready for this journey, but I’m definitely going to miss Westchester. Coach Carrier is like one of my second dads — I love that dude.“
Just all the bonds with all my friends, all my AAU teammates.” “He’s a part of a lot of big families,” Carrier adds with a laugh. “I’m probably going to be in contact with them just about ever y day,” Brown continues. “I just have such a big support sys-tem behind me and they all want to see me suc-ceed.”
