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Tladi Conway noticed something when Syracuse played Virginia Tech on Jan. 11. Maliq Brown, one of Conway’s former players, was still doing the little things — the ones that every basketball team needs — that he did at Blue Ridge School in Virginia, where he won four state championships. 

Conway watched Joe Girard III miss a jumper off the rim and the Hokies grab the rebound, but Brown poked the ball out and made a basket. “You’re still at Blue Ridge,” Conway thought to himself. 

Syracuse won that game, 82-72. Brown recorded his first career double-double — 11 points and 12 rebounds — by doing the little things. He collected five offensive rebounds, notched two steals and still recorded double-digit points without the Orange running an offensive set for him. 

“He’s playing the same role with Syracuse that he played at Blue Ridge,” said Conway, a Blue Ridge assistant. “He’s that four man that comes in and gives energy and rebounds the ball. He’s on the top of the press. He’s using his length to get steals to just disrupt things on defense.”

At SU, plays like that have helped Brown carve out a significant role for himself as a freshman. He started the season struggling to find minutes, but registered double-digit points against Oakland and Monmouth in December and played 36 minutes at Virginia in January. Since his double-double against Virginia Tech, Brown has averaged 25 minutes per game and had a career-high 18 points against Georgia Tech on Saturday. For Brown, though, there have been few adjustments since high school, and that’s because his role — as Conway said — hasn’t changed. 

“It definitely feels the same,” Brown said. “I got used to it very quickly… just coming in here, still doing the same stuff in basically the same role.” 

Conway said Brown was frustrated early on this season with inconsistent minutes. Conway reminded Brown that he was once in the same situation at Blue Ridge — the low man on the totem pole who had to prove to the coaches he could do more than they expected of him. 

Brown spent the first few games of his freshman season shuttling back-and-forth between the varsity and JV teams. Soon, he started to earn spot minutes because of his defensive and rebounding abilities, said Blue Ridge assistant Parker Kirwan. 

Blue Ridge pressed for the majority of its games, Brown said. His strong ability to read offenses, close gaps and get his hands on the ball, in addition to his 7-foot-2 wingspan, made him “the perfect person to have on the ball in a press,” Kirwan said. Like at Blue Ridge, Brown guards the inbounder on SU’s press. 

As a freshman, Brown was on the court for the entirety of a second-half comeback in the title game because of his pressing skills, Kirwan recalled. 

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“They’re not having the season that they’re having this year because he’s not there. It’s a gaping hole now here in the inside position, and they can’t press like they used to be able to press with Maliq,” said Peter Cole, Brown’s faculty advisor at Blue Ridge. “He was instrumental in four state championships in a row.”

Brown also carved out a role for himself in high school by dominating on the boards. Kirwan attributes Brown’s rebounding prowess to the forward’s long arms and positioning. Brown credits his background as a wide receiver, which he played during his first two years at Blue Ridge. Brown is tied as Syracuse’s second-best rebounder this year and has recorded six games with at least seven rebounds. 

“He’s just a magnet to the ball,” Conway said. “He’s always around the ball, somewhere, somehow.”

Brown’s “low maintenance” style was key for Blue Ridge as an underclassmen. But as he got older, the team needed him to score more. Cole told Brown he needed to have more of a scorer’s mentality. At that point, the forward could “take over” games with his defense, but was a passive shooter, Cole said. 

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Brown took more shots as a junior. He spent a lot of time working on 15 and 17-footers to expand his offensive game. He perfected his shooting form with a device that his head coach, Cade Lemcke, gave him when he visited Blue Ridge as an eighth grader. At the time, Brown was 6-foot-6, still adjusting to his body after a growth spurt during eighth grade. Conway said Brown’s jump shot was “funky,” with his elbow sticking out toward the rim and his shot too low. 

“It was not it,” Conway said, laughing. “But that’s fine because if you know Maliq, scoring isn’t really his thing anyway.”

At first, Brown didn’t understand how the device would help. It resembled a sweatband and had a gadget that went on Brown’s shooting arm to position his elbow in while keeping his arm straight. But after wearing it every day during the summer before his freshman year, he and Blue Ridge’s coaches saw improvement. Brown said the device became “locked in” his head so he always knew how far his arm was supposed to go behind his head.

Blue Ridge started practices with form shooting, with players shooting with one hand to the 3-point line and back, and then using two hands. By his sophomore season, after a year and a half of using the device and perfecting his form, Brown was in good shape, Kirwan said. 

“He’s worked extremely hard on the form you see today,” Conway said. “His shot did not look like that when he first came to (Blue Ridge).” 

It took Brown about half of his senior year to realize he had to score for Blue Ridge to win, Conway said. But once he made the adjustment, he consistently notched double-doubles. The Barons still rarely ran offensive sets for Brown — only about three or four the whole season, Conway said — but he could still easily score 20 points every game. 

“It definitely was an adjustment,” Brown said. “My junior, senior year was a lot of adjustments, just working hard, workouts after workouts, on different things I needed to add to my game.”

Santiago Noblin | Presentation Director

Conway thought Brown would commit to nearby Virginia Tech, but VT’s coaches questioned the forward’s offensive ability late in the process and pulled back. And UVA, located just 20 miles from Blue Ridge, didn’t even offer Brown. Conway saw Syracuse as a great fit, given Brown’s frame and wingspan. Kirwan thought Brown was “built” for the Orange’s 2-3 zone. 

Brown developed a good relationship with Syracuse assistant coach Gerry McNamara and knew SU was the right place after his visit, Cole said. Brown said preexisting relationships with Justin Taylor and Judah Mintz, both of whom are from the Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C. area, were factors in his commitment, too. 

Brown’s gradual progression into the lineup this season has mirrored what he did in high school. With Syracuse trailing Virginia late in the second half on Jan. 7, Brown and Taylor trapped Armaan Franklin on the press, and Brown knocked the ball out, secured it and threw it crosscourt to Girard for a wide open 3-pointer. 

Brown made that play countless times at Blue Ridge. He stood at the head of the press, used his length to steal and made the perfect pass to an open player. Brown hopes to expand his scoring ability, but for now, his niche role — built around his rebounding and pressing skills — has produced a breakout season in his first year at SU. 

“He’s a true glue guy,” Conway said. “And that’s rare to find these days.”

Published on January 22, 2023 at 10:47 pm

Contact Connor: csmith49@syr.edu | @csmith17_