Terrence Brown's Humbling Journey Led Him to UNC

Too often we only look above the surface when making determinations and judgments on things or people, failing to acknowledge that what we see is just a portion of a larger, more intricate puzzle.

Watch Terrence Brown play, with his rim runs, dunks, acrobatic layups, and no-look passes, and you think you’ve got him figured out.

He’s a talented basketball player, you’re aware. But you think he probably was highly rated coming out of high school with offers from schools across the country. He was likely always the most talented player on all of his teams, dating back to his time at Columbia Heights (Minn.) High School.

Except, that’s not the case. There’s a lot more to his story if you take a longer look.

Unranked out of high school. Seven points per game as a freshman, 20.6 points per game as a sophomore in the Northeastern Conference, and 19.9 points per game as a junior in the Big 12, considered the best conference in college basketball last season by many.

Beneath the flash and scoring prowess is a player just wanting to show he belongs.

“I’d definitely say getting to where I am now is because of resiliency,” Brown told Inside Carolina of a college journey that’s taken him from Fairleigh Dickinson to Utah and now UNC. “I’ve had to go through a lot of adversity to get where I’m at now, and I’m not satisfied at all. I think keeping God first and always keeping my family closer, knowing where I came from, that’s the stuff that’s brought me from grinding in Minnesota to about to play at North Carolina. I understand that you have to be humble because as quickly as you get all this, it can be taken away.”

Brown recalls the early mornings and late nights of being in the gym with trainers, family, friends, and mentors. Each of them pouring into him confidence and hope for better days. His mom, though, set the standard he strives to match.

“When I was at FDU, I’m playing Division 1 basketball at not the highest level, but good basketball,” said Brown. “My mom was working three jobs at the time. So I’d go out and score 30 points or 20 points in a game, and I’d still have to go back to my dorm room and ask for money for food. How can times like that not keep you grounded? She’s done so much and worked so hard to make it possible for me to play at a school like North Carolina.”

Minneapolis is a tight-knit community, Brown says, and he sees himself as next in line to inspire kids from his hometown. The story of a skinny, unranked guard who went from only three scholarship offers out of high school to a lead guard at one of college basketball’s top programs is one he believes will resonate.

“There were so many greats from the area that I looked up to,” he said. “McKinley Wright (Colorado), Tyus Jones (Duke), Trey Jones (Duke), Zeke Nnaji (Arizona), Khalid El-Amin (UConn). I saw and heard about those guys working hard every day, at a high level, so I knew there wasn’t really a ceiling for what I could accomplish. Their success, and like I said my family, keep me grounded. Because there’s more work to be done.”

More work to be done to reach his dream of playing in the NBA, which starts when he arrives in Chapel Hill on Saturday to begin his Tar Heel career. Brown said he picked UNC because of Malone and the chance at winning the Tar Heels provide.

“I had a great individual season at Utah, but the team didn’t,” he said. “I wanted another opportunity to go somewhere and win. I also want to play in the NBA. Once I saw that Coach Malone was going there, it felt like a no brainer. He’s been at the highest level and won a championship. Plus, he’s such a straight-forward and caring person. He has a great heart and he checks in with me all the time. Coach (Sean) May was telling me that usually the assistants bring players to the head coach to look at. He said, with me, Coach Malone brought my name to the assistants. That stuck out to me and showed the love was real with the coaches.”

He’ll wear jersey No. 1 for the Tar Heels next season, in honor of his late aunt.

“I chose that number because the Carolina visit was the only visit she got to take with me,” said Brown. “The last number she ever saw me wear was the No. 1 UNC jersey.”