By Dan Ninham
Jack Brown is a member of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe. He is a graduating senior looking for an opportunity to play college basketball next season. The opportunity may exist nearby but he is also interested and available to travel.
Brown is a part of a legacy of high scorers for the Red Lake HS Warriors basketball team. He broke the school record with 12 made three point field goals ending with 45 points. He had more than four games with nine or more three point field goals made in his career.
Brown was scrambling to get his 1000th career point as the game days continued into the 2024 Minnesota Class A Section Tournament this past season. The math included the more section games won the more games he could score to achieve this milestone and get his name on the gymnasium banner.
His traditions as an Anishinaabe helped him to stay focused. He said, “I hand drum every morning on game days, because it helps me focus and keeps me focused all game.”
“I had to get 609 points this season,” said Brown. At the beginning of the section tournament he had to get 60 points.
Head Coach Nolan Desjarlait encourages the athletes to get good grades and this is for all athletes since he’s also the long time Athletic Director.
Playing with the Silver Medal-earning Team Minnesota in the 19U basketball tournament at the North American Indigenous Games helped Brown come out of his shell. “In Halifax it may have been some of the best ball I’ve seen him play, people start calling him ‘Downtown Brown’,” said Chris Jourdain, Team Minnesota chef d’mission and assistant varsity basketball coach for the Red Lake Warriors. “With only one sub they had to play some smart basketball against some top competition from across Turtle Island.”
Volunteer assistant varsity coach and former Red Lake HS Warrior Rob McClain played NCAA D1 basketball and was also a former NJCAA All American at United Tribes Technical College. McClain served as the bench coach for several games into the section tournament. He said, “Jack Brown is an awesome shooter and scorer overall. He’s a kid that can get hot very quickly and just has a good touch to his shot. You can see he has put in a lot of work. So to see him get his 1000 was just a nice touch to his legacy and the Warriors’ history.”
To play at the next level each athlete needs to play both ends of the court equally well. Coach McClain said, “I honestly think to be able to play at the college level but he has to show he is a capable defender. I think if he shows he can guard at a high level he can gain more college interest.”
There are still opportunities for late bloomers in the post-senior recruiting time to show what they can do to college recruiters. The NCAA-certified tournaments are always important to shine at. There are also many native tournaments available on a national scale that coaches may also attend when they know who they are observing.
“I plan on attending tournaments this summer in Oklahoma, Las Vegas, Seattle and Arizona,” said Brown.
One opportunity to play may be at the local Red Lake Nation College (RLNC), a two-year tribal college. The men’s basketball team started four years ago with a condensed season, started and ended abruptly the next season, and didn’t start last year until the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), comprised of Tribal Colleges throughout the country, held their education conference and men’s and women’s basketball tournament in the Twin Cities. A team was put together quickly and ended up taking third place.
Player-coach Dustin Harris thinks the RLNC Eagle will be making a return to the court next school year. He had his recruiting eyes on the lone Warrior that is looking to go to college and play next season.
“He can shoot the lights out,” said Dustin Harris.” I believe he’d be a threat on a college team.”
See Brown score his 1000 career point: https://youtu.be/tr5g9nY_kKQ?si=gTn2-cjnK0YpOl0I
