Sherwood Brown And Maine Red Claws Conclude Season

(Courtesy of Mike McSweeney)

The Maine Red Claws concluded their season on Friday night as Sherwood Brown contributed five points, and they fell to the Iowa Energy, 142-122.

Maine finished the year 19-31 and will not qualify for the NBA Development League playoffs. They encountered multiple problems throughout the season including Romero Osby and Kammron Taylor going down with season ending injuries. To bring in backcourt depth, the Red Claws signed Florida Gulf Coast alumnus Sherwood Brown in early January.

"I was waiting for my moment to get another opportunity," Brown said on Jan. 19. "As the days went by I got more anxious to get back out there."

In his first appearance in a Crustaceans uniform, Brown tallied seven points in front of his former coach and current USC head man Andy Enfield.

"It just shows he [Enfield] still cares about us" Brown said. "I didn't even speak to him before the game and didn't know he was going to be there."

The 2013 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year continued to grow from there and recorded a double-double on Jan. 25. The best performance of his professional came on March 21 as he recorded 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. The minutes and starts kept growing after multiple teammates received NBA call ups.

"Opportunities present themselves in mysterious ways," Brown said on March 25. "You can never really ask for an opportunity. They just appear and you have to grasp it and take advantage."

In his rookie season, Brown got the start on four occasions and put up double digit scoring numbers in eight contests. In total, the 6'4" made appearances in 30 games.

Final Season Average: 22 minutes, 7.3 points (46.2 FG%, 35.7 3-PT FG%), 4.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists


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Sherwood Brown Taking Advantage Of Increased Time

(Courtesy of Mike McSweeney)

Florida Gulf Coast alumni Sherwood Brown recently picked up two starts for the Maine Red Claws and has received extended minutes as of late.

"I've always got the same mind set," Brown said when asked about starting instead of coming off the bench.

This increased time spurred from both Chris Babb (Celtics) and Chris Wright (Bucks) receiving NBA call-ups and fellow guard Abdul Gaddy going down with the flu for a game.

"Opportunities present themselves in mysterious ways," Brown said. "You can never really ask for an opportunity. They just appear and you have to grasp it and take advantage."

And take advantage, Brown has. On March 21, on the road against the Delaware 87ers, the 2013 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year got the start and scored a career high 21 points while adding 6 rebounds and 7 assists. He followed that up by scoring 14 points (all first half) on 4/6 shooting from beyond the arc on Sunday, March 23.

"I've always been scorer since I started to play basketball. I felt the need to step up and I was expected to," Brown said.

Although the Red Claws have officially been eliminated from the NBA D-League playoff race, you can catch Maine in action on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. as they take on the Canton Charge.

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Sherwood Brown Posts Double Double In Best Performance Yet

(Courtesy of Mike McSweeney)

In his fifth game with the Red Claws, Sherwood Brown put together his most impressive performance of the young season.

His 11 rebounds and +24 plus/minus were both team highs as he led a ferocious Red Claws comeback that ended in a 115-104 win.

Full Stat Line: 19 points (6/8 FGs, 2/4 3-PT FGs, 5/6 FTs), 11 rebounds, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. 28:35 minutes: +24 (team high).

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Sherwood Brown Back At Home: On The Court (With Maine Red Claws)

(Courtesy: Mike McSweeney)

After a month of practicing and waiting for his next chance, Sherwood Brown finally has a couple of D-League games under his belt and is feeling confident.

"I was waiting for my moment to get another opportunity," Brown said. "As the days went by I got more anxious to get back out there."

In two games, the former FGCU guard is averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds a game with the Red Claws. In his debut against the LA D-Fenders, now USC head coach Andy Enfield was in attendance.

"It just shows he still cares about us" Brown said. "I didn't even speak to him before the game and didn't know he was going to be there."

After two excursions overseas, Brown felt that the D-League was best for him both because of the location and for its one on one skill development.

While the D-League website boasts that 126 current NBA players have D-League experience, there is no doubt that players have the odds stacked against them.

"I've always been seen as an underdog my entire career," Brown said.

In his usual fashion, Brown has already drained a couple threes and thrown down a few dunks. You can catch Sherwood and the Red Claws on Monday, Jan. 20 at 3:00 p.m on YouTube.

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Sherwood Brown Tallies Seven In D-League Debut

In his long awaited professional debut, former Florida Gulf Coast guard Sherwood Brown, of the Maine Red Claws, tallied seven points against the LA D-Fenders.

After checking in with 3:08 remaining in the 1st quarter, Brown nailed a three pointer before the quarters end. Later in the game he connected on another jumper and hustled out in transition for an easy layup.

The Red Claws return home to battle the Erie Bay Hawks on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m ET on YouTube.

Official Stat Line (14:01 min) - 7 points (3/4 FG, 1/1 3-PT FG), 4 rebounds, 1 turnover.

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Sherwood Brown Waived By Ramat Gan

(Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson)

David Pick, of EuroBasket, has told the FGCUEaglesNest that Ironi Ramat Gan, just weeks after signing Sherwood Brown, has waived the former Florida Gulf Coast guard.

This is following a long array of activity in Israel. Brown had initially signed with Maccabi Haifa but was cut months later. Then the 2013 A-Sun Player of the Year decided to sign with Ramat Gan of the Liga Leumit. Now after being waived, Brown is back in the United States.

He was in attendance at the FGCU Men's Basketball game against Eckerd. It has yet to be seen if and where Brown will continue his basketball career, but back in June the FGCU basketball star and friend Peter Cuderman founded Excelitrex Business Solutions.

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Sherwood Brown Signs With Ramat Gan

Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

Just about a week after being cut by Maccabi Haifa, former FGCU guard Sherwood Brown has decided to stay in Israel and sign with Ironi Ramat Gan of the Liga Leumit. Ramat Gan is just an hour south of Haifa.

The Liga Leumit is the second division in Israeli and is considered the "minor league" Israeli league. Ramat Gan is currently 1-2 through the first three rounds of the season, sitting in 13th place in National League. Their next game is on Tuesday, Nov. 5 against Galil Elyon.

The Orlando native Brown joins Josh Crawford, who played for Iowa and then Indiana State, as the only Americans on Gan's roster.

Prior to this, Brown had worked out with many NBA teams but was passed up, signed with Maccabi Haifa, and was cut by Haifa. When talking with the former Eagles guard over the summer, he said that his plan was to play overseas a year or two before trying hard at the NBA.

This story is developing so check back at FGCUEaglesNest.com for more as it becomes available.

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Sherwood Brown Cut By Maccabi Haifa

Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

Sherwood Brown, after signing with Maccabi Haifa in July, was cut by the defending Israeli Winner League Champions. This came after Haifa choose not to register Brown for the Winner League and benched him for their Euro Cup games.

As outlined in this previous article, his non registration and now release was the culmination of many factors. These include roster restrictions that put foreign players at a disadvantage.

It was rumored back in September that Haifa coach Danny Franco wanted to cut Brown but nothing came of it until now. After Brown's senior season at FGCU, in which he led the team in rebounding and scoring, he worked out with many NBA teams including the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies.

In Haifa's NBA tour, Brown scored eight points against the Suns, was benched against the Pistons, and ended with two points against the Grizzlies and familiar foe Jamaal Franklin.

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The Sherwood Brown Dilemma

Sherwood Brown dunks in Haifa pre-game warmups

Sherwood Brown was passed up by NBA teams and as you may know, signed with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Winner League. His contract is one year with a team option for the second.

But the Israeli Winner League has started, and Haifa did not register to play Brown in these league games. However, he is registered to play in the EuroCup, or European competition.

This decision to leave him off the Winner League roster was a culmination of many factors. First of all, Israeli teams are only allowed to register eight foreigners the entire season. Haifa kept four, not including Brown, in order to leave their options open for future signings.

In addition, the Israeli teams have numerous other restrictions they must meet. Among them, teams must have two Israeli players under 22 years of age, and one between 22-25. With all of these limitations, there was simply no room for Brown on the roster.

In a David Pick article on One.co.il, Sept. 22 (might want to brush up on your Hebrew), it was said that Brown "may be cut unless something unusual happens". This was shown during Haifa's NBA tour when Brown was benched the entire game against the Pistons. The owner, Jeff Rosen, however supports Sherwood Brown and the foreigners.

While this is the case, in a Seth Soffian News-Press article (Oct. 11) Brown's agent Seth Cohen said "He's not getting cut."

In Haifa's first two Euro Cup games, which Brown is on the roster for, the former FGCU star saw no playing time. Now, the Greens will face Maccabi Ashdod (Oct. 27) in Winner League play before going back to the Euro Cup to battle VEF Riga (Oct. 30).

H/T David Pick

Follow us on Twitter (@FGCUEaglesNest) for the latest on this situation.

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Sherwood Brown and Maccabi Haifa Wrap Up NBA Friendlies

Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

Sherwood Brown and Maccabi Haifa, before entering league play, faced off against the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, and Memphis Grizzlies.

In the first game against the Phoenix Suns (Mon, Oct. 7), Brown recorded 8 points, on 3/6 shooting (2/4 3 point FG), 3 rebounds (2 def, 1 off), 1 block, 1 turnover, and 1 personal foul. During a two minute period during the 4th quarter, Brown scored 8 points straight for Haifa. Two of Brown's shots during that period were 3 point FGs and the 3rd was a 3-foot jumper. He was fouled on the jumper but could not complete the three point play. His -3 was also the best on the Haifa squad.

Brown did not see any playing time in Haifa's second game against the Detroit Pistons.

In the third and final friendly in the U.S, Sherwood Brown saw a familiar face on the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis rookie Jamaal Franklin went head to head with Brown in FGCU's battle against San Diego State in the NCAA Tournament round of 32. Brown saw 13:59 min. in which he went 1/4 from the field, scoring two points, and snagging two rebounds. He matched up with Franklin a couple of times, and the Memphis rookie went 1/2 from the field and scored 4 points.

Haifa begins the Israeli League on Oct. 21 against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

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Sherwood Brown Interview Extended

I was able to ask Sherwood Brown some other questions, along with the Road To the NBA. Here are his responses. Enjoy and feel free to leave comments/suggestions.

"Coach Enfield is a really good shooter, one thing he definitely helped me with was my shooting form, he took my shooting form to another level, made me a more consistent shooter. Also he helped me work on 1 on 1 moves to help become a better all around scorer. He gave me confidence. You can't do much in this type of business unless you have a lot of confidence."

"The pace of the game, its definitely a lot faster pace than in college but even though, our team we played at a very fast pace anyways so I don't think it will be too hard for me to adjust to. But its a long season, one thing I definitely have to be able to do is take care of my body the whole season, stay durable."

"One thing I have always been good at is rebounding the ball, for my size. No matter what level. My coach always said 'If you're a good rebounder in high school, you're going to be a good rebounder in college, you're going to be a good rebounder in the next level, wherever you end up. That is definitely something I can take to the next level."

"When I started going to FGCU, one thing I definitely wanted to do is be the beginning of something new, so it just feels that much better when you set out do to something and you accomplish that goal."

"We had a pretty good season, we lost some games that we felt we should have won but we also won some games that were total confidence boosters, we beat University of Miami, that was a huge confidence booster for us. We played Duke, we played them tough, that was also a big confidence booster. After we went into the tournament, we knew he had a really good team we just had to keep everyone on the same page at the right time and that's what we did, we just got on a good little winning streak and carried it on."

"We beat Georgetown. A lot of teams, after the win the first game, then they just satisfy, but we were always hungry and that helped lead us to more victories."

"Its definitely a dream come true. Everyone has a dream, every basketball player has a dream of playing in the NBA and so to actually get a chance to make my dream become a reality is just really special to me"

"Yeah, coming out of high school I was always the underdog and it helped me, its just gave me that motivation to play hard and get better. Me being the underdog, something that I'm used to so I just gotta take that hunger and continue to do what I do best and stay motivated"

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Road To the NBA: With Sherwood Brown (Episode 1)

I was able to sit down with Sherwood Brown and bring you the first episode of the Road To the NBA. Here is the overall timeline of the process so far, he will be checking in again to do the next episode in a couple of weeks. I asked other questions as well, let me know if you want me to post the full interview. Please Enjoy.

"It all started with, I had to get an agent right after the tournament ended because there was kind of a lot of stuff that I was missing out on just because I hadn't had an agent yet. I got an agent about a week and half after the tournament was over. Seth Cohen is my agent (Verus NBA Management). My AAU coach, she hooked me up with my agent right now."

"And ever since then, I came up here [Chicago] about two weeks and I started working out with tech. You know it has been a lot of gruesome workouts but I'm here for the intense workouts. I have been doing three a days, three times a week and every other day has been 2 a days. I am just here working hard."

"I am going to continue to work out and get better at some skills that I need to possess at the next level. In the next couple of weeks I will be having some workouts with some NBA teams so I'm going to continue to stay conditioned and get ready for those."

"I'm gonna have a sit down with my agent tomorrow and he has a couple of teams lined up for me to go work out with so after I talk to him tomorrow I will find out about my schedule for the next couple of months."

Idea: Only Gators

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