M
aliq Brown sits still, gazing at the rows of banners lining the Carmelo K. Anthony Center’s far wall. He dons a blank hoodie, sweatpants and a hooded North Face down jacket. Gray New Balance sneakers complete the look. Quiet but presentable, nothing flashy nor remarkable.
He nods every so often — a polite gesture to show he’s listening — yet remains expressionless. Prompt Brown to smile and you’ll feel a sense of major accomplishment. But it’s the emergence of a well-concealed grin — hidden by Brown’s monotonous answers to slalom through questions — that displays engagement.
Brown’s laid-back, easygoing nature can be misconstrued as passionless. Yet, throughout his sophomore season at Syracuse, he’s an irreplaceable, multi-faceted center, despite entering the campaign as a power forward. He averages just under 10 points and seven rebounds but logs almost 30 minutes a game due to SU’s sparse frontcourt options. He also leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in steals.
“Maliq was always that quiet storm. Always the quietest one,” his mother, Tasha, said. “But he’s a winner and he always wants to see others win.”
Brown will continue to be an invaluable asset for Syracuse in the 2024 ACC Tournament. Expect Brown to do what he always does: help with defensive stops, generate turnovers and sneakily stuff the box score. But don’t anticipate any extracurricular antics or excessive boasting.
He treats the sport differently, abiding by Tasha’s mantra: “You show up louder when you’re silent.”
It’s been a while since Brown celebrated outwardly. From elementary through middle school, he excelled at football and basketball. He dominated across every youth league statsheet, so certain self-imposed limits had to be implemented. On car rides to games, Brown and his father, Preston, concocted new ways to level the playing field.
Specific strategies included walking out of bounds at the 1-yard line instead of sauntering through the end zone, or letting the defense catch up on fast break opportunities following steals. Brown’s surprisingly compassionate acts applied to teammates too, helping everyone score.
When Brown enrolled at Blue Ridge School in Virginia as a freshman, he remained selfless against improved competition. The program won four consecutive state championships and Brown averaged a double-double his senior year.
Blue Ridge assistant Tladi Conway remembered tinges of worry given his star’s calm demeanor. He wondered if Brown cared. Then, doubts were wiped away by vicious rebounding and an unrelenting series of two-handed dunks.
The origins of Brown’s humility can be traced back to his childhood and the constant acknowledgment of his parents’ hard work.
On weekdays, Tasha leaves by 5 a.m. for her human resources job as a payroll manager. She won’t get to work until 7, completing the arduous two-hour commute — each way — for the last 26 years. And from Preston, a therapeutic teacher at a special needs school in Culpeper, Brown learned patience — sometimes it’s OK to be methodical and stoic.
There have been times when Brown’s reserved manner wasn’t appreciated. Tasha recalled an unorthodox AAU practice with Team Loaded — a regional powerhouse based in Richmond, Virginia — where coaches put Brown through a specialized drill to elicit more emotion.
For over half the session, Brown needed to dunk the ball and scream. If he didn’t yell, he’d have to keep doing it. The fact that his on-court production had no correlation with how loud he was made the entire process even more embarrassing. It just wasn’t him.
Even while throwing two-handed jams and posting historic statlines, Maliq Brown displays a methodical approach as SU’s versatile center. Nick Luttrell | Staff Photographer
Aside from playing with Team Loaded, Brown frequented workouts with former coaches at Blue Ridge and local trainer James Thompson — an old teammate of Preston’s. This past offseason, he spent most of his time with Thompson, emulating game-like situations.
Split in two 20-minute halves, the pair never practiced longer than 40 minutes. They carried out exercises to bolster Brown’s impact on a guard-reliant Syracuse squad. He read misses off of the rim to rebound better. He concentrated on executing efficient rim-runs and pivots. He perfected skip passing, hedging off of screens and tightened up on shooting mechanics.
Off the court, Brown picked up plyometrics. He took lifting more seriously, put on weight and cleaned up his diet. He emphasized cardio training by utilizing bikes and treadmills.
“I’m not taking anything for granted,” Brown said. “Just knowing I wanted to get better — bigger and stronger. Just knowing that my game will pick up this year.”
Thompson didn’t expect Brown at the center position this season. Focus over the summer was sculpted around readying Brown to play power forward. But, an abrupt injury to 7-foot-4 Naheem McLeod thrust Brown into a starting role.
Though considered undersized, Brown’s physicality and intangibles made the transition seamless. He held his own against some of the ACC’s top frontcourt players and never complained about getting touches.
“He’s a great teammate, people want to be around him,” said Blue Ridge assistant Parker Kirwan. “But he doesn’t care about being flashy. He cares about winning.”
Brown is piecing together a breakout sophomore campaign. He’s just the third Division I player in the last 15 years to record a coveted 5×5 game on Feb. 7, when he tallied 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists, six blocks and five steals.
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He’s totaled three double-doubles and produced a handful of notable performances, including a career-high 26-point outing against Duke. All while firmly maintaining his glue guy role from last year, and of course, there’s no showboating.
“He has the poker face demeanor, but he’s an intense kid,” Thompson said.
Remove Brown from the dramatic uptick in his statistics, or crescendoing rumblings about his NBA-caliber potential and he’s the same — shy, observant, level-headed. He FaceTimes Tasha and Preston every day and excitedly flicks on the apartment gaming console for video game marathons against cousins.
Collectively, his family has the easy task of keeping him grounded. If Brown ever needs a reminder about his beginnings, he can refer to jet black ink reading “Humble Beast” down his right shoulder blade.
Tasha was always reluctant to let Brown get a tattoo. But she agrees, it’s quite fitting now.
Simple and effective. Like his patented North Face jacket. And everything else he does.
“He’s been doing stuff like this since he was young,” Preston said. “I saw it coming… and you haven’t seen half the stuff he can really do.”
Photograph by Arnav Pokhrel | Staff Photographer
Published on March 7, 2024 at 1:44 am
Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff
