HALL OF FAME FEATURE: Damien Brown '09

Damien Brown still remembers the gut-wrenching feeling as if it were yesterday. A moment of euphoria one second thinking his team was about to win the 2006 men’s basketball conference tournament, then having it ripped away moments later by an unlikely turn of events with 0.3 seconds left that ended with an overtime loss.

“Nothing is guaranteed,” said Brown as he thought back to that painful moment 17 years ago during his freshman year. “No matter how good or great you think you are, there’s always something waiting around the corner — waiting to take it away if you slip up for just that one second. That’s what happened to us in those 0.3 seconds of that championship freshman year. Everything was going in the right direction and, in the snap of a finger, what you thought was about to be yours was gone. It was just humbling and heartbreaking.”

That humbling moment, along with several others throughout his high school and college career, didn’t define Brown. It only drove him. When he finished his collegiate career, he left Averett with four championship rings, three NCAA Tournament appearances, his name etched in record books and a lifetime of memories and bonds with teammates. On Oct. 8, he’ll add Averett Athletics Hall of Fame member to his resume as a member of the 2022 induction class.

“It’s special when I actually take the time to think about or reading the write-up when it was all announced,” Brown said. “Not that I forget any of it, but I do forget that it wasn’t normal. To me, it was just another day in the office. But when I really, truly reflect on it and figure out how I was able to do all of that, it really goes back to my roots.”

That started at home with his mom and dad, as well as his uncle who was a mentor. Both his dad and uncle played college basketball and his uncle also played overseas. The helped instill a strong work ethic and the importance of having a strong backbone in his faith. Those things helped Brown overcome obstacles even before he got to Averett.

As a freshman in high school in Raleigh, North Carolina, Brown said he was cut from his high school team. He made the junior varsity team as a sophomore and eventually made the varsity team as a junior. However, there wasn’t much playing time to go around.

“I was kind of like the up 20 or down 20 kind of player because I wasn’t getting into the game unless we were up 20 points or down 20 points,” Brown joked. “Having that slice of humble pie, knowing that I was getting better every day in practice because I literally had three Division I players all playing my same position in high school, so I barely saw the court. It is what it is, but I was able to really develop that work ethic from my parents and my mentor, but also from those relationships and that camaraderie built in high school of failing and learning how to succeed and overcome those obstacles of not always being the best. Seeing what the best looked like and playing against the best to also understanding what it took to grow that within me so that when my number was called senior year of high school when I was co-captain, it was go time.”

Brown caught the eye of then Averett head coach Jimmy Allen, who had just taken over the Cougars’ program in 2004-05. The year before Allen arrived, Averett went 0-25. In Allen’s first year, the Cougars took a big step in the right direction by going 13-14, with a 6-6 record in conference play. Things were trending up and Allen knew the 6-foot-7 Brown could be a piece of the puzzle to help the program turn the corner.

Although Brown had other offers, one thing that Allen said stuck with Brown and helped lead to his commitment to the Cougars.

“Out of all of them, they were the only ones that didn’t promise me playing time, but they promised me playing time if I was able to work for it,” Brown recalled. 

When Brown arrived on campus and went to the first open gym session with the men’s basketball team, it was an eye-opening experience. Still, he accepted the challenge.

“I remember coming in to that first open gym and being like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of talent. This is college, I’ve got to step it up now because everyone was the best of the best from whatever high school program they came from,’” Brown said. “And then it was being humble because I realized I may not get as much playing time as I expected. But, remembering what Coach Allen was telling me, if I was willing to put in the work and the time and buy into the program and system he was trying to develop, then I knew I was going to give myself my best shot to really actually get some chances. I knew my abilities and my work ethic was there, which developed even more playing for Coach Allen and his coaching staff. They really brought the best out of us.”

During his freshman season, Brown found himself in Allen’s core rotation. Midway through the year, it was evident to Brown that something special brewing. Two seasons removed from being winless, Averett won 20 games during Brown’s first season in Danville while clinching the USA South Conference’s regular season crown. Averett looked poised to cut down the nets when the Cougars were up by three in the final seconds of the conference’s championship game. But a late foul on a 3-point attempt gave Christopher Newport University the opportunity to hit three free throws to force overtime, and the Captains went on to win and shock the Cougars.

History has shown that devastating moments in sports can linger from one year to the next. Not for Brown and the Cougars. It only fueled them.

“That really propelled us to form a tighter bond together to where we knew what it took to get there, what it took to reach that championship goal and now we also knew what it took not to feel like the loser on the other side,” Brown said.

During Brown’s sophomore season, the Cougars again won 20 games on their way to the regular season crown. This time they finished off the championship game by knocking off N.C. Wesleyan University 108-105 in double-overtime to secure the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 1990. Brown scored 24 points with 11 rebounds in the title game to help earn him 2007 USA South Tournament MVP honors.

During Brown’s junior season in 2007-08, Averett dealt with injuries that caused the team to sputter for a stretch in the regular season and they limped into the conference tournament with a losing record. The Cougars, however, drew upon their past experiences and managed to win the conference tournament for a second consecutive season and earn another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

That same core group was intact for Brown’s senior season in 2008-09, giving the Cougars a shot at a fourth consecutive conference title of any kind and an opportunity to get to a third consecutive NCAA Tournament. 

“Senior year was special,” Brown said. “That was when we knew what it took, but we had that cockiness to us, too. We felt like the biggest and the baddest in the conference but we understood what it took to play with that target on our back. That’s a big testament to what Coach Allen did and a lot of credit to him and his coaching staff for the day-in-and-day-out preparation they did to have us ready. I still don’t think I’ve seen a scouting report as in-depth as his film studies were. For that senior year, for that core group, we knew it was out last chance.”

Although a hand injury hampered Brown late in the regular season, Averett again won the regular season title and fought its way back to the tournament championship game — against who else but Christopher Newport. For Brown and his fellow seniors that had stuck it out all four years, it was a full-circle moment. This time, however, would be different. Averett trailed by nine points in the second half before rallying back to put the Captains away 70-63 on their home court — the same court as that 2005-06 championship loss. The Cougars were going dancing for a third consecutive time. 

“When I look back on all this stuff or when I talk with Justin Parker, Ryan Frazier, Jeff Wehling and different players I still keep in touch with, when we talk about, it’s kind of crazy,” Brown said. “No matter what level of college basketball you look at, what we did was very rare. To reach the NCAAs three times in a row, to have record-breaking years with wins more than one time and win conference championships … even if you had another program that did that, that core group was able to do that for multiple years together and not let egos get in the way and let it affect the success. I think that’s a big testament to why we were able to do what we did for so long. Even though we had injuries here and there and had new freshmen coming in and out, it was that core group that understood that we had to buy into the system, be there for each other day in and day out, and we’ve got to put the team above ourselves or our own personal goals we want to achieve because we’ve seen what it looks like for that one split second where it’s all gone.”

After winning the conference title for the third time, the next goal was finally winning an NCAA Tournament game. The previous two years, Averett lost in the opening round — at Virginia Wesleyan University in 2007 and to Widener University in 2008. In 2009, Averett was sent to Kentucky to face pod host Centre College. 

“When we come to actually positioning ourselves again to have a chance to get into the dance, we knew if we get in, no matter who we are matched up with … they are in trouble because we are so dang hungry to get out of the first round,” Brown said.

The Cougars knocked off Centre 76-71 to earn only their second NCAA Tournament win in program history. Although the NCAA run ended the next night to Guilford College — a Final Four team that season — Brown and his teammates had much to be proud of during that four-year run.

Brown is one of only seven Cougars to surpass 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. He finished with 1,096 career points and 584 career rebounds, which still rank 11th and eighth all-time, respectively, at the time of his induction into the Averett Athletics Hall of Fame. In 109 career games, Brown finished with 5.4 rebounds per game, which ranks 12th in the Averett record book. He also added 10.1 points per game and held the career record for offensive rebounds at the time his career ended before it was later broken. Brown was named to the USA South All-Tournament Team in three of his four seasons, including his MVP campaign in 2007. Brown was named a 2007-08 Preseason All-American by both Sporting News and Street & Smith. He earned USA South All-Conference Second Team honors as a sophomore and USA South Honorable Mention recognition as a senior despite missing time with an injury. He participated in the USA South/ODAC All-Star Challenge following his senior season. During three of his four seasons, the Cougars won 20 games (which is the program single-season record accomplished four times overall). In 2014, Brown was named to the USA South's 50th Anniversary men's basketball team.

“Damien was a monumental piece to the success we had,” Allen said. “His unselfish nature coupled with an incredible work ethic was contagious. Damien was always so positive, motivated and has a great ability to bring other people along with him in striving to improve. He is still doing that today.”

After college, Brown played professional basketball in Japan for two seasons. These days, he lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with his wife Taylor — an alumna of the Averett’s women’s basketball program — and their four kids. Brown currently runs two businesses. He is a licensed health advisor who helps people find health care options. He also runs EAB Murfreesboro, a branch of a travel basketball organization in Tennessee. In both, Brown still calls on his experiences at Averett.

“Averett was just very special in developing me as a man,” Brown said. “I recall those moments a lot because in the business world in what I do with health insurance and running my basketball business, I’m always pulling different moments out or using a story from my own experience to teach and propel that next young kid or teach and propel that next sales agent of why this is just momentary. On to the next play is what we used to say. I still coach that way. Move on to the next play, learn from that mistake that just happened and don’t let it get you down to where now you can’t perform. Learn from it, get better — it’s not a loss, it’s a lesson. Figure out how to grow from it and keep moving forward with the best positive vibe you can.”

Brown will be inducted into the Averett Athletics Hall of Fame during Homecoming weekend. Brown will be the third member of that men’s basketball dynasty to be enshrined, joining Allen and former teammate Jonathan Rumley, who were both inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

“It’s going to be so great coming back because Averett holds such a dear place in my heart,” said Brown, who thanked his coaches and teammates for helping impact his life. Brown still keeps up with many of them today.

“All those moments we had and bonds we had, we are still friends to this day in an NFL fantasy league together,” Brown said. “It’s just amazing and rare, and I really cherish that because Averett brought us together.  

“All my teammates over the years, I can’t really think of one who I don’t still follow in one shape or form through social media or still stay in touch with,” Brown added. “It’s so cool to see how all of us have developed in life and how Averett was that stepping stone for all of us to blossom and go do whatever it is we are doing now. … We are all successful in our now endeavors. I really think that goes back to what we built as a program at Averett through the trials and tribulations and going through ups and the downs together to really weather the storm and know what it looks like to weather the storm. When we got out of college, it wasn’t a total shock when a problem hit us.”