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Tiger hoops hero to serve as Zion's agent
As a junior at DePauw University in 2006, basketball player Austin Brown had a brief brush with fame that landed him on ESPN.
With the announcement Thursday that Brown, now a sports agent, will be representing a generational NBA talent, he’ll have a client likely to be the lead story on SportsCenter for many nights to come.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday that Duke’s Zion Williamson has signed with CAA Sports, where he will be represented by Brown as well as executive Lisa Joseph-Metelus.
Williamson, who averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in his one season for the Blue Devils, is almost certain to be the top pick of the New Orleans Pelicans on June 20.
Brown already represents a number of NBA players, including All-Star D’Angelo Russell of the Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris, Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton.
However, Williamson, who is likely to land one of the largest rookie shoe deals in NBA history, promises to be Brown’s biggest client yet.
A 6-foot-7 forward, Williamson was the consensus player of the year and frehman of the year in college basketball.
It’s not as if Brown is any stranger to performing under pressure. A four-year letterman for coach Bill Fenlon, Brown led the Tigers in scoring with 14.8 points per game as a senior. He also twice led DePauw in field goal percentage.
Brown started 33 of the 93 games in which he appeared for the Tigers.
But it was one particular game — one shot in fact — during his junior year for which Brown will forever live in Tiger basketball lore.
Playing for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship against Centre College, the Tigers found themselves tied at 61 with 3.2 seconds remaining.
The hope was to avoid the third overtime game of the season against Centre, but the Colonels had the ball out of bounds near midcourt with a chance to win.
The inbound pass was lobbed into the paint, where the DePauw’s Steven Schott and Reid Sakel tipped the ball back toward midcourt.
Brown caught the ball and launched a 61-foot shot that rattled through the hoop for a 64-61 win, an SCAC championship and an NCAA tournament berth.
Brown led the Tigers with 17 points and was named the tournament MVP.
The next week, their season ended at the hands of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Following a successful senior season for the Tigers, Brown earned his Bachelor of Arts before heading to Washington and Lee University to study law.
The law degree landed him at CAA Sports, where he was named the co-head of the basketball division in February.