Falcons look for 3-peat after suffering tragic loss
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
Falcons coach Brian Brashear (right) and senior Noah Brown are on a quest for a third straight Section 4-AA championship.
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
Brownsville, led by senior Noah Brown, will be in the spotlight this season as the Falcons strive for a third consecutive section title. Check tomorrow’s edition of the Herald-Standard for “Hoops 2015-16” to see previews and schedules on all 32 area boys’ and girls’ basketball teams.
Everything was looking up for Brownsville coach Brian Brashear heading towards the 2015-16 season.
The Falcons were coming off back-to-back section championships for the first time in the program’s history and returning a solid core of seniors, led by the reining Herald-Standard Player of Year in 6-foot-4 Noah Brown.
Then tragedy struck. One of those seniors, talented 5-11 starting guard Andre Smith, died in an automobile accident.
The sudden loss hit the team hard.
“Andre was really close to a lot of our players,” Brashear said. “What happened was a tragic thing. We all took it hard. It was a total shock.
“Andre was an outstanding young man, very polite, a great athlete and a great kid to be around. It’s a hard thing for the team to absorb.”
Brashear and his players feel Smith is still with the team in spirit.
“We all know Andre will be watching us from above,” Brashear said, “so the players want to give everything they’ve got to be successful this year.”
The Falcons will take aim at an unprecedented third consecutive Section 4-AA crown, having tied Charleroi for first place last season while winning the title outright two years ago. They are 30-14 overall and 22-4 in section play over the past two seasons and Brashear has guided them to five consecutive playoff appearances.
Brown will be an important factor in keeping those streaks alive.
“He’s a leader who tries to make the entire team better,” Brashear said. “He has an inside out game, he can hit the outside shot, get to the basket and rebound well. If he can’t score, he finds a way to get the ball to someone else who can.
“Noah brings a lot to the table.”
He’ll have plenty of help with a solid group of seniors surrounding him, including 5-7 Tryvon Brown, 6-0 Travis Bevard, 6-1 Marcellous Grooms, 6-0 Cory Lent and 5-6 Len Michaux. Some of that group will start and all will see plenty of playing time for a deep Falcons team.
“We actually have a lot of leaders this year,” Brashear said. “They all can take charge in different ways.”
Two juniors, 6-0 Jared Gaddis and 5-10 DeJour Thomas, will also play key roles.
Rounding out the senior class of eight are 6-1 Cory Wellington and 6-2 Kenneth Poole.
Brashear will depend heavily on a quick defense to start up his offense.
“We like to play hustle defense, man to man,” he said. “We like to trap when we can. We want to create turnovers. Turnovers create more possessions and more possessions create more points.”
Brownsville has several outstanding defensive players, according to Brashear.
“Len plays good man-to-man defense and Marcellous, also, and Tryvon brings a lot of speed to the lineup at both ends,” Brashear said.
The Falcons have won 16, 14 and 16 games the past three years but Brashear sees room for improvement.
“We like to reflect back on last year not just about the section title but to try and correct some of the mistakes we made,” Brashear said. “We want to get better year by year, and the possibility of winning three sections in a row is motivation to keep it going.”
That goal won’t be easily attained, according to Brashear.
“We split with Charleroi last year and tied them for first so we know they’re a good opponent,” he said. “Frazier always plays us tough and Waynesburg, too. Both of them were playoff teams last year.
“If we want to win three in a row, we’ll have to earn it.”
(See more photos with story on our website.)