Philip was the Swiss Basketball LNB Men’s Forward of the Year in his rookie season.Īlthough a lot of his teammates speak English, Switzerland itself is a French speaking nation. It’s evident, despite Philip’s humble approach, that he is an asset to his team. “The teams also carry a lot of pride in their individual teams,” Philip noted. Not only are the balls a sightly different design, the rules are varied, the game is more physical and is played at a slightly slower pace. In Switzerland, the basketball system is different than here, Philip says. Philip’s team in Switzerland is a club team, similar to our NBA, called Meyrin. After two years he has chosen to sign with the same team again because he has had such a good experience. Agents contacted him and, in the end, Philip chose to play for Switzerland. “The coach had a lot of trust in me and I was able to develop into a much better player.” At that point, Philip was able to entertain more options for his future in basketball. His career started beginning in earnest, Philip says, during his basketball seasons played at local North Greenville University. Philip lives in Geneva, right down the street from the United Nations. In fact, he’s gone about as far away as you can imagine – across the ocean to Switzerland. Philip, although certainly placing a high value on family too, hasn’t stayed just down the street. It takes a lot of food to keep a basketball team playing. I really like it here in TR.” That local connection really helps too when Andrew has what is possibly the largest local cheering section at Furman’s home games.īeing so close to home has allowed Suzanne’s own rock star hosting skills to shine too as her kitchen table is often crowded with lanky young men from the Furman team, eating and eating and eating. Although he was offered many other choices, Andrew says he’s glad he made his choice to be a Paladin. Andrew was Greenville County Player of the Year for two years running, along with a handful of other accolades.īefore his senior year, Andrew had committed to Furman University. “I really came into my own by junior and senior year,” he said. Andrew especially shined during his career with the Devildogs. “I didn’t have a lot of killer instinct in me then, I had to develop that later.”īoth boys, however, excelled at TR high on the court. “I felt like I didn’t know anyone at first and I was injured a lot,” Philip confessed. For Philip, the transition from homeschool to a public school sports program was a challenge. Prior to attending TR High, the Brown brothers were homeschooled. He recently made Furman basketball history by connecting on his first two three-point attempts to establish a new school record with 11 consecutively made three-point baskets.īoth Philip and Andrew are graduates of Travelers Rest High School and played on the TR basketball team. Andrew is now twenty years old and a sophomore at Furman University. “I was at a yard sale once,” Suzanne shared, “And a former coach approached me and encouraged me to get those boys on a team.” Clearly, she listened. Maybe it was their height, but the boys were both sought after from young ages to play ball. “We did beat on him pretty bad,” Philip laughed. We’ll let the Browns keep their family secrets, but the whole gang laughed as they recollected the years of Andrew working hard to try to compete with his older brothers. Philip said he reached the height of six and a half feet while he was still in middle school! And, even back then, the boys were competing with one another. Multi-sports playing helps the player to transition better to one sport later.” “I think it’s a danger to play just one sport. Rex also said he really believes that playing two sports gives athletes an edge. Of course, with a house full of children, even two sports can send a family in a lot of different directions on a weekly basis. He said he and his wife felt strongly that they didn’t want sports to be the entire focal point of their family. “We limited the kids early on to two sports only,” Rex shared. Some of the family had gathered in their living room to chat about basketball and Switzerland and family.ĭuring their younger years, the boys played basketball and baseball. “The boys always walked around with basketballs under their arms,” Suzanne shared one winter day recently. Rex is a Senior Engineer for Bunnell-Lammons Engineering and Suzanne is a homeschool mother and the Executive Director of the Upstate Homeschool Co-op.Īlmost as long as their boys have been breathing, they’ve been playing ball. They have seven children – six sons and one daughter. Rex and Suzanne Brown live in Travelers Rest with their family. Standing in his crib as a toddler, with a surprisingly deep baby voice, a much younger Philip Brown spoke the noun that would shape his life.Īt least that’s what his mother, Suzanne Brown, says.
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