Brown looks to help improve

Everyone underestimated Pitt forward Jennifer Brown because she is so skinny.

But her… Everyone underestimated Pitt forward Jennifer Brown because she is so skinny.

But her size didn’t stop the freshman basketball player from being named the Freshman Female Athlete of the Winter by The Pitt News sports staff.

Brown came off the bench and started 10 games for the Pitt women’s basketball team last season and played in 24. She averaged 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. She pulled down a total of 140 rebounds on the season and was a surprise to every defense she played.

She is the Kevin Garnett of the women’s basketball team — or at least that is how she views it.

“He’s so skinny, and everyone doubted him cause he was so skinny,” Brown said.

The 6-foot-3 freshman from Brooklyn, N.Y., knows there are doubters on the court when it comes to judging her size, but she points to something that cannot be measured that leads to her success.

“[Size does not] matter,” Brown said, “’cause have a big heart, so I’m going to go out and compete every night.”

And she did just that, despite the disappointing outcome in the win-loss column last season.

“It was a heart-breaking season for me, personally, ’cause I expected more to come out of it,” Brown said.

The Panthers finished with an overall record of 6-20 and a Big East record of 2-14. Pitt also ended the season with a 12-game losing streak.

But Brown is still excited for next year, and it can be seen in her preparation, as she and other teammates played a pickup game at the Petersen Events Center last Thursday.

“It’s a never-ending thing,” Brown said. “It’s all year round.”

It differed from her high school career, where she did not have to work as hard to win.

“You could slack off a play [in high school] and still win by 50,” Brown said. “But here in college, every play counts. Like if you slack off one play, that could be the difference between winning and losing.”

Brown was not accustomed to losing; her high school team went 24-4 in her senior year, in which she averaged 33 points and 20 rebounds per game.

She learned how to play by taking to the courts with her six brothers and five sisters.

“We had enough to run our own five-on-five,” Brown said.

And which Panther taught Brown the most? “Momma Kool-Aid,” Brown said, referring to senior forward Latoya Kincaid. “She was there every time you needed someone to talk to or push you on when you thought you couldn’t go on anymore. I owe everything to her.”

Brown is excited for the next season and cannot wait to play.

“I still haven’t reached my peak yet,” Brown said. “And one day here, I might be averaging 33 points, 20 rebounds by junior or senior year.”