James Brown Plays Longer Stretch As Quest For Backup Center Production Continues

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina created most of its crowd pops in the second half of Tuesday’s 77-58 victory against East Tennessee State, and one of them was created by an unlikely candidate.

Sophomore center James Brown — playing in his eighth game of the season — snagged an offensive rebound from a missed Jarin Stevenson 3-point attempt, got himself in position to score and finished the layup through contact early in the second half. His teammates loved the play, and the crowd inside the Smith Center shared that same excitement as the Tar Heels went ahead by 15. From there, Hubert Davis gave Brown a bit longer of an on-court leash than he’s accustomed to.

Brown didn’t light up the statsheet on Tuesday, finishing with two points, three rebounds and four fouls in seven minutes. Even his willingness to play through contact on offense didn’t always pay off, as he missed all five of his free throw attempts. But his inclusion into the rotation, as well as Davis’ willingness to keep him in the game through his foul issues, displayed a willingness from UNC’s head coach to experiment and find some effective play at center off the bench.

Brown played a brief stint in the first half and didn’t stay on the court too long after his and-1 early in the second half, but later in the period, Davis kept him on the floor for a touch over four minutes. Davis credited Brown for his hustle and willingness to stay active on the glass.

“​​He’s always talking in the locker room, in the huddle, during practice,” Davis said on Tuesday. “He’s someone that loves this place and wants to be a part of winning, and he’s gotten some extended minutes the last couple of games, and I think he’s played really well.”

The 7-foot Henri Veesaar leads the team in minutes, playing 31 per game. He’s second on the team in points (16.9) and rebounds (9.1) per game and first in blocks (1.4), turning in highly productive outings for the Tar Heels. He even scored a career-high 26 points on Tuesday as Brown found his spots here and there.

For the team to move through the course of the season, though, it will need to have options at his position to fill in when he isn’t in the game. An early example of UNC’s need to find good minutes behind Veesaar was its loss to Michigan State last month, in which foul trouble forced Davis to play Brown and High for longer stretches in the first half.

“As I said before, I don’t want to play Henri for 40 minutes,” Davis said. “And (Brown) coming off the bench and giving us good minutes at that position is really huge for us.

“I like the energy. One of the things that I highlighted from the last game (against USC Upstate) was him diving on the floor. He’s active, he’s getting after it. We can talk about the fouls, but the energy that he brings off the bench is something that I’ve liked over the last couple of games.”

Also in the reserves at center is Zayden High. High has played in each of UNC’s games this season, but in its last two outings, he played fewer minutes than Brown. High’s most productive game was his 11-point effort against North Carolina Central, and he also made crucial shots against Kansas and Kentucky. But beyond that, he hasn’t been able to string together stretches of effective play.

High’s minutes were scarce as a freshman in the 2023-24 season, playing behind Armando Bacot and Jalen Washington. And still this year, High hasn’t carved out a solidified role for himself to this point. He started the year averaging 10.3 minutes per game through four games, but he hasn’t played more than eight in a single game since. In his last five outings, he’s played fewer than five minutes in each one.

Brown also hasn’t established much of a rhythm in his time on the court. He’s only played in spurts, and he hasn’t logged more than eight minutes in any game this season. Like High, Brown rarely saw game action as a freshman.

“He’s definitely a lot better player than he has shown in the games,” Veesaar said of Brown on Tuesday. “He’s very skilled, and I feel like the nerves overall are getting to him during the games. It’s hard to get adjusted to a game when you play a minute or two-minute segments, but if you get in there for longer, like he did a good job of getting an offensive rebound and having a putback. I feel like just getting those repetitions is going to help us a lot, especially in ACC play when he’s going to come in and help us win a game.”

Davis has played the 6-foot-10 Stevenson at the ‘4’ fairly often this season as well. From a height perspective, sliding him to center on occasion could be a sensible solution. Stevenson is averaging 4.1 rebounds per game, and he’s had five or more boards in five of the team’s first 11 games. But through 11 games, it’s mostly been High and Brown at the ‘5’ when Veesaar is off the court.

To avoid running Veesaar into the ground, North Carolina must continue to explore its options at center when he’s off the floor. Davis’ choice to let Brown play for a longer stretch further emphasized that reality, as the post depth will be something to watch moving forward.