On-the-mend backup quarterback Jarrett Brown dribbled a tennis ball into player interviews last night and was asked if he was adding tennis to he repertoire. He said he was not. He was then asked if it was preparation for basketball season. The answer was no again.

“Do you even have a choice to make there?”
“With basketball? No.”
“So you’re not playing, right?”
“Nope. Spring football. I need to focus on that.”

Brown, a well-recruited high school basketball player, joined the men’s basketball team in January two weeks after the Fiesta Bowl. He did “pretty good” and scored 13 points in 13 games, but was most commonly praised for the way he helped the team in practice. The Sweet 16 run, though, cut into spring football as the Mountaineers tried to learn the new offense.

Turns out the Bob Huggins offense was no treat, either.

“They have too many plays. I was trying to learn the 2 (shooting guard) and the 3 (small forward) and figure out where everyone else was supposed to be.”

Those days are now behind him. With Pat White set to graduate and Brown clearly ahead of Brad Starks and Coley White and certainly aware of Geno Smith, Brown said he decided long ago to put his hoop dreams on the shelf. 

“Actually, Huggins came to me before I could go to him. He said, ‘You’re not going to try to play for this team, are you?’ He understood what was going on.”