Christ Chapel basketball standout Stephen Brown holds his own

It was never a given that Stephen Brown would stay at Christ Chapel Academy for his entire high school career. And no one understood that better than the school’s basketball coaches.

They recognized early on that Brown was a special talent when it came to basketball. So much so that at some point the coaches figured Brown and his family would decide that he should attend another school where the level of competition was more challenging.

But then seventh grade, his first year at the Woodbridge school, passed and then eighth and ninth. Now in the 10th grade, Brown is still at CCA, leading the basketball team to new heights by doing what he does best: scoring from all over the court and playing tenacious defense.

Will he be back as a junior? That question remains.

But in the meantime, Brown is content where he is and Christ Chapel head coach Clinton Simmons is glad to have his star guard for at least one more season.

“I don’t think too much about it,” Simmons said. “My assistants are always telling me this might be Stephen’s last year, but he has to do what’s best for him to get a [college] scholarship. If that means going to a bigger private school, I’m all for that. I’m happy I got to coach him.”

Brown and his family have been forthright about the possibility of leaving.

“We’re going to weigh our options and pray about it, and see what’s best for Steve,” said Brown’s father Stephen. “We want it to be beneficial for him at the college level.”

Brown, who is second in the area in scoring among boys with a 20.9 scoring average and leads the area with 49 3-pointers, said he considered leaving Christ Chapel over the summer to attend Bishop Ireton in Alexandria, but the family and the school couldn’t work out the financial aid to allow him to enroll there.

So, he returned to CCA and has no regrets. Last year, the Lions reached the state tournament for the first time in school history and are currently on track to make it back to states again this season. The Lions are ranked No. 8 in the latest VISAA Division III poll.

Brown wanted to be part of a building program, and so far he has.

“I really love the school,” Brown said. “It’s been very supportive of the program.”
Brown came to Christ Chapel as a seventh grader after reading about the scoring exploits of the school’s other most noteworthy basketball player, Breyana Mason.

In her seventh- and eighth-grade years at CCA, Mason scored a total of 1,334 points before transferring to Forest Park as a freshman. Now a junior, she has committed to the University of Virginia.

In following Mason, Brown liked the fact that she was able to have the green light to score without feeling out of place because she was so young. And so Brown, who is the only other CCA player besides Mason in school history to score over 1,000 points, decided CCA would be a good fit.

As a seventh grader, Simmons could tell early on that Brown was a player.

“I told him that he can have a chance to play in college, if you progress and stay out of trouble,” Simmons said.

Doing both comes easily for Brown. A quiet, humble kid, Brown prefers just to mesh within the team atmosphere without drawing attention to himself. But he’s no doubt a hard worker, putting in the time to develop various aspects of his game.

One inspiration for him has been North Carolina point guard and Dumfries resident Kendall Marshall. Brown’s father coached Marshall at Rippon Middle School and has known Marshall’s father, Dennis, for years.

“How he carries himself and his work ethic, all of that is something Stephen follows,” Stephen Brown Sr. said in reference to Kendall Marshall.

To push himself more, Brown spent this past AAU season with Dennis Marshall’s 15 and under Team Takeover. The opportunity to play with public and private school kids at a high level of competition gave Brown all he could handle and he thrived, playing both the point and two-guard positions.

“He has a nice skill set,” Dennis Marshall said. “He has a chance to play Division I. He has a motor that doesn’t stop. He’s a great kid and great student.”

Marshall said Brown was the team’s best defender and usually drew the opponent’s top offensive threat. That doesn’t surprise Simmons, who remembers how well Brown played defense when he first got to Christ Chapel.

“I’ve never seen this before,” Simmons said. “He could follow a dribble pattern with his eyes and know when to the jump the kid and steal it.”

The biggest knock on Brown is his size. The 15-year-old stands about 5-8.

“I don’t think he’s hit his growth spurt,” Simmons said. “His dad is over 6-feet. If [Stephen] was taller, he would be on everyone’s board.”

Brown has gotten the chance this high school season to test himself against top-flight private schools.

The team was invited to the Landon Tournament over Christmas, where it went 2-1. The host school featured guard Joe McDonald, who has committed to George Washington. Brown was named to the all-tournament team there.

Christ Chapel also played nationally ranked Montrose Christian Dec. 10. The team lost 84-43, but Simmons believed it was a good experience. It also gave Simmons a chance to double check Brown’s commitment to the program.

“After the Montrose game, I felt maybe that Stephen got frustrated because we could not compete against them. They had so many tall kids,” Simmons said. “But I asked him if he was staying and he said, ‘I’m here for the season.’ ”

Simmons said one of the big advantages of having Brown at CCA is that he attracts other players who want to come and play with him. Simmons said Barry Rhodes left John Paul to enroll at CCA just for that reason.

“[Brown] definitely helps us,” Simmons said.

Perhaps Brown’s most noteworthy accomplishment was winning the 3-point title at Hoops Fest 16 last March. The youngest shooter in the field, Brown calmly sank 3-pointer after 3-pointer.

“It was a big accomplishment,” Brown said. “It put Christ Chapel on the map.”
CCA has a history of having underclassmen thrive as basketball players since they have the chance to play varsity earlier than their freshman year. Former Potomac and Maryland standout Eric Hayes went there as did Tre Campbell, who is at O’Connell. Both left after their eighth grade years.

Brown has chosen to stay longer, even if this might be his last year. But it’s still been worth it.

“Steve wanted to build something here, but we knew he would not stay forever,” Simmons said.

Sports editor David Fawcett can be reached at 703-530-3911