Sterling Brown

Sterling Damarco Brown was born in 1995 in the Chicago suburb of Maywood, Illinois. He played high school ball at his hometown Proviso East High School, leading the team to a state runner-up finish in 2012 and a state semifinal appearance in 2013. By the time Brown graduated, he was a Mr. Basketball finalist and named All-State third team after averaging 13.4 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading his team to a 30-5 record. He spent the next four years at Southern Methodist University, playing in a combined 136 games over four seasons and starting in 106. Brown improved his points per game total from 4.4 in his freshman year to 13.4 as a senior, good enough for 13th in the AAC. The 6.5 rebounds he pulled in per game during his senior season ranked him 16th in the league. You can follow Sterling Brown on Twitter @Thatnegus_sb. Brown was attracted to SMU from Illinois by coach Larry Brown. The 6-6 wing started 26 games as a freshman and recorded 4.4 points and 3.8 rebounds. He also showed promise as a marksman by hitting 36.2 percent of his three-pointers. The guard would notch a season-high 15 points in a win over Memphis. He came off the bench for the first half of his sophomore season, but started the majority of the American Athletic slate and averaged 5.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists. The team was put on probation during Brown's junior season, but managed to win 25 games. Brown ended up contributing 10.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists while dropping 53.6 percent of his long-range shots. The wing led the Mustangs to a 17-1 conference record with 13.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He also scored at least 16 points in his last six games, including a first-round loss to USC in the NCAA Tournament. Brown went on to participate in 109 victories at SMU - the most in school history - and ranked Top-15 in rebounds, assists, three-pointers, and steals.