Little Big Man

Darryl Brown is surrounded in the paint by the Campus Magnet trees - 6-foot-8 center Keith McAllister and 6-foot-5 power forward Malachi Peay. He pumps once, twice, three times to get McAllister off his feet. Then he bodies Peay, hesitates, and flips the ball in. Next time down, he goes up quickly before either can block his shot. A minute later, he drops in a soft jumper from the foul line.
This is just one example of why, at just 6-foot-3, Brown is one of the top low post players in the borough, averaging 11 points and 13 rebounds per game. The other reason has to do with the last three autumns when Brown got ready for basketball season by playing football. The bulky defensive end/tight end uses his wide, muscular frame against taller, more athletic opponents.
&#8220It helps me box out,” he said. &#8220I use my butt. It makes up for my height.”
And, just as astounding, he is doing it with basically no help in the paint. The surprising Commodores, 6-2 in league action and firmly in third place in Queens AA, play a frenetic end-to-end style based on the speed and quickness of a four-guard lineup.
It works well when the opposition is turning the ball over and Bayside is in the open court. Yet when the game settles into the half court, Brown is the focus - on each end of the court.
&#8220I love it,” he said, flashing his megawatt smile, &#8220doing all the dirty work. I box out, do what I can, grab rebounds, take charges, and block shots. It feels good to be the underdog.”
He's cornered the market on that role. Brown guards the other team's biggest player, whether it's McAllister or Cardozo's 6-foot-7 star James Southerland or Long Island City's 6-foot-8 dominator Kresimi Knez.
&#8220He's a big help,” said Ryan Davis, Bayside's leading scorer. &#8220I love him down low. I can always count on him to get a rebound. We can obviously use a little bit more help, but he's doing his job down there, showing what he can do.”
&#8220He's one of those guys who just do everything you ask him to do,” Bayside Coach Joe Capuana said. &#8220He's strong and he's quick. He's a relentless worker. He never misses a practice.
&#8220He's really a very under-appreciated player on the court,” the coach continued. &#8220There's so much to his game. Besides Ryan Davis, he's the most valuable player on the team.”
Capuana knows his work ethic well - he's coached Brown, a 92 average student with an interest in chemical engineering, in football during the spring and basketball in the fall the last two seasons.
&#8220He's a very hard worker, a very good student, you put those two things together, you're gong to have a very successful kid,” Capuana said.
A gym rat at an early age - Brown started shooting hoops at the age of five, joining the NYC Jaguars AAU program in the fourth grade - he joined the football program his sophomore year at the coach's urging, and started at defensive end and tight end this year. Fordham, Capuana said, is close to offering Brown a scholarship on the gridiron.
His sport of choice is basketball, but whatever gets him into a good school is the way he'll go. &#8220It all depends on money; that's my main concern right now,” he said. &#8220The less my parents have to pay, the happier I am.”
For now, he's the Commodores answer inside - pump faking, bodying and out-working all comers.