(Photo courtesy of Hunter Hensel)
BROOKLYN, NY – Upsets have dominated the headlines so far during the Atlantic 10 Tournament, with the top four seeds, who had all earned double-byes, losing in the quarterfinal for the first time since 2006.
But, the biggest underdog this week in Brooklyn may be Noel Brown, St. Bonaventure’s redshirt junior backup center who has stepped up and been the catalyst in their run to the semifinal.
Brown is in his first season at St. Bonaventure after transferring from intra-conference rival George Washington, and has primarily played in a low-usage reserve role, backing up All-Conference second teamer Chad Venning. During the regular season, Brown averaged a career high 5.9 points and 2.1 rebounds over 13.6 minutes per game.
After Brown’s second season at GW, Jamion Christian, the head coach who recruited him, was fired. Chris Caputo, GW’s current head coach, replaced him, and inherited a roster of players meant for a different system. Caputo prefers to play a smaller, quicker and more defensively versatility lineup, which did not put the 6-11, 265 Brown in a position to succeed.
“It was kind of a thing where I felt like the direction that the team was heading, not that it was bad or anything, just something where the focus wasn’t trying to get me to a certain level of play and I just wanted to give myself a shot,” said Brown. “Even if it worked out or didn’t work out, I wanted to give myself the best opportunity, the best shot and see what it looks like in a year.”
Brown continued, “St. Bonaventure, they just promised to work me out. They didn’t make a bunch of core promises, none of that extra stuff. They were just like, ‘There’s a real opportunity for you, we can work you out if you do these things, you’ll be in good shape.’”
The first time Brown really became aware of St. Bonaventure was during his first season of college basketball in 2020-21. In the final game of the regular season, GW trekked up to Olean, and lost 41-88. Brown played 14 minutes and had four points and two rebounds.
“They beat us by like 50. It was nuts,” said Brown. “After that, I kind of had an imprint of the Bonnies.”
Brown also had someone in his ear who knew what it was like to play, and win, at St. Bonaventure. His teammate for two seasons at GW, Brendan Adams, is the brother of St. Bonaventure legend Jaylen Adams. The former A-10 co-Player of the Year who helped upset UCLA in the NCAA Tournament spoke about the success he had and the culture at St. Bonaventure, and helped convince Brown to give them a shot.
Head coach Mark Schmidt also seemed like the perfect person to help Brown blossom. Venning, at 6-10 255 plays a similar bruising, physical post-centric basketball, and was able to transform his game when he transferred to St. Bonaventure. In his first two seasons of college basketball at Morgan State, he was effective in limited minutes, but struggled to get any real opportunity, only starting 11 games his sophomore season and averaging just 13.8 minutes per game. Schmidt was able to help develop Venning into one of the top centers in the conference. This season, he averaged 14.0 points per game, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while shooting 53.7% from the field.
“I think we made a living on individual instruction programs, skill development. We didn’t want [Brown] to just be a rebounder or a physical guy. We wanted him to have skills,” said Schmidt. “I thought he’s really worked on his jump hooks with his right and left hand. And he’s going to be a guy that’s going to come off the bench and spell Chad [Venning]. But we wanted him to be a productive player.”
“My footwork, my moves, they were like, ‘it’s good, you have a good base, but your footwork can be so much better.’ They started drilling that over and over again,” said Brown. “Offensively, they’ve just gotten me to progress to see more reads, make plays, not necessarily when I’m scoring but trying to get other people open and run the offense.”
While Brown still was coming off the bench and playing a limited role, he was having by far the most efficient and productive season of his career and looked like a completely different player. He shot 72.5% from the field, up from an already respectable 58.1% that he shot in his junior season at GW. Brown was also showing off a far more advanced offensive skill set, proof that the plan that Schmidt pitched to Brown in the offseason and the work that they both put in was working.
Despite his clear improvement, Brown still rarely closed games, and mostly acted as someone who could step in and play a style of basketball similar to Venning so St. Bonaventure wouldn’t need to alter their schemes in a major way when Venning sat.
In his reserve role, Brown was able to earn the trust of his coaches and teammates. When Venning began to struggle when things mattered most, Brown was there.
In St. Bonaventure’s first game of the tournament as the No. 7 seed, a second-round matchup against No. 10 La Salle, Brown was subbed in for the second time at the 10:58 mark for Venning, and took over. He quickly scored five points, extending St. Bonaventure’s lead to nine.
After checking out for about two minutes, Brown re-entered the game and immediately scored again. And, just as the first half clock was winding, Brown got the ball in down low and nailed a turnaround jumper at the high post off the glass for his ninth points of the half and to beat the buzzer, sending St. Bonaventure to the break with a 42-34 lead.
Well timed ⏰@nsbrown19 || #Unfurl pic.twitter.com/5w0VOzYuIw
— Bonnies Men's Basketball (@BonniesMBB) March 13, 2024
Brown only scored two more points in St. Bonaventure’s 75-73 win, but continued to be effective while he was on the court. He ended with a game-high +/- of +9, and played just one fewer minute than Venning, who had a team-low -6.
Speaking after the win over La Salle, Brown addressed on his development this season.
“Honestly, I just have to say — I keep saying “my guys,” but honestly, it is my guys and the coaches, the amount of people that have poured into me here,” said Brown. “They made me feel like I could turn around and see a whole family behind me, even though I’m not at home. These guys really stepped up. I think it’s just consistency, too.”
Up next for the Bonnies was a matchup with No. 2 and co-regular season champion Loyola Chicago. Once again, Venning struggled, paving the way for Brown, who had established that he was a more-than-capable option.
Brown’s biggest impact came late in the second half. St. Bonaventure was down 47-58 with 6:02 left in regulation. As the Bonnies were trying to mount a furious late comeback, Brown subbed in at the 3:07 mark and was an immediate game-changer.
At the 1:06 mark down 55-58, Brown was able to corral a no-look pass from redshirt senior guard Daryl Banks III, draw a foul and get the contested layup to go.
NOAH BROWN AND ONE TIE GAME 😱 WHAT A PASS FROM BANKS
58-58, 39.6 left. USA NETWORK NOW pic.twitter.com/ihfgnHdJkb
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) March 14, 2024
A10Talk apologizes for getting Noel’s name wrong in the heat of the moment. Live tweeting highlights isn’t easy.
Brown then got the free throw to fall, converting the and-one and tying the game.
In overtime, Brown continued to see the court and contribute on both ends. He ended up fouling out in the second overtime period, but his timely free throw shooting, rebounding and interior defense while he was in was key for the Bonnies holding off Loyola.
Just like against Saint Bonaventure, Brown had a game-high +/- at +9, and Venning had a game-low -20.
“We were able to give [Brown] the ball inside. Loyola was pressuring us on the perimeter. From a coach’s perspective, or an X’s and O’s perspective, you want to relieve pressure by throwing the ball inside,” said Schmidt. “And Chad [Venning] struggled a little bit yesterday. And Noel was scoring inside and played good defense.”
Schmidt continued, “I just thought that his physicality and the skill around the basket was really good for us.”
Brown spoke about what’s led to him being able to step up when his team needed him most.
“I think first and foremost, definitely my faith in God. Every night before I go to sleep, and whenever I’m feeling panicked, I just open my Bible and read through some scriptures. It always calms me down,” said Brown. “And the next thing obviously, my family and the team. I’m thankful for this opportunity and what’s happening, but it’s not necessarily just me out there, you know what I’m saying? I’m representing everyone who pours into me.”
It’s become clear that those within the St. Bonaventure program aren’t surprised by Brown’s dominant conference tournament performance.
“It’s been that way all year. We wouldn’t have the record that we have without Noel’s presence. Chad [Venning] can only play 20 minutes a game. Noel has been a godsend,” said Schmidt. “You hear him speak, he’s articulate, he’s smart. He’s just–he’s been everything. He’s the best backup five-man that we’ve had since I’ve been here.
Schmidt continued, “We wouldn’t have just won the last two games, but we wouldn’t have won a lot of games this year without his productivity.”
“Right now, yes, it’s me for the past two games. Next game it could be anyone,” said Brown. “I’m grateful right now. God is using me, giving me this platform. I think honestly, I’m just blessed right now.”
With the way things are looking, it’ll be tough for Schmidt to shy away from playing Brown. But, Brown only played about five minutes and was held scoreless in each of their two losses to semifinal opponent No. 6 Duquesne in the regular season.
“I just try and do my best and stay focused and support the team however I can,” said Brown. “I know it’s not always going to look like scoring, it’ll be passing, setting good screens, being physical, but these guys are important to me.”
St. Bonaventure likely would have been bounced in the second round against La Salle without Brown’s first half scoring. If they were able to advance, there’s no chance they would have come back against Loyola Chicago without Brown’s game-tying and-one and stifling interior defense that helped hold the Ramblers scoreless for the final 6:02 of regulation and the first 2:18 of the first overtime period.
Whether or not Brown continues playing such a critical role going forward, these past two games have been special. Brown is someone who was just waiting for his moment.
He was cast off of a GW team that finished last in the A-10 this season. Then, he tirelessly worked on his craft while backing up an All-Conference player. Now playing the most important minutes of St. Bonaventure’s season, Brown has showed just what type of player he was, and always could be.
