Traveling No Worry for Basketball Player

A long commute hasn't deterred Hezekiah Brown from playing basketball at Thomas Nelson.

Hezekiah Brown, a first-year player on Thomas Nelson's basketball team, said one of the biggest differences between the college and high school game is the dedication required at the former.

"You have to stay dedicated," he said, and he wasn't just talking about basketball. "Keeping up the grades is a little harder because it's more on your own, whereas in high school, you got a lot more help for classes. That's probably the hardest part."

No one can doubt Brown's dedication to academics or athletics. He started out in pre-nursing but is switching to business. His grade point average is over 3.0, but his goal is to get above 3.5. As for his dedication to the sport he's been playing all his life? He commutes from Stafford, a four-hour round trip, every Tuesday and Thursday for practice, and for home games on the weekend.

"They were the only school that was looking at me," he said of the Gators. "At first, we were looking at Airbnbs, but that's just too much money. So I was like, 'I'll just drive.'"

When he got his car, a 2018 Honda HRV, it had 53,000 miles on it. Now, the speedometer reads about 68,000.

Gators coach Chris Moore didn't realize Brown was commuting until six weeks or so into informal workouts, which was right before official tryouts.

"He was one of the hardest working guys I had out there in in fall workouts," Moore said. "Just having him around has been a joy because he's so selfless."

The Gators are having one of the best seasons in school history, and clinched a berth in the New South Athletic Conference championship game, which will be played Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. at Bethel High School. Brown, a true freshman on a team loaded with older, more experienced players, has struggled to find consistent playing time, but he still has impressed Moore.

"He works extremely hard, he's super athletic, and he jumps out the gym," Moore said, adding Brown's growth in his few months with the Gators is impressive. "I've only had him really five months just about, and his maturation has been incredible."

That potential could result in Brown playing at a four-year school. The coach mentioned the Division III level, the Apprentice School and Warren Wilson College in North Carolina.

"He's a sponge," Moore said. "He's always looking to learn. He's always looking to grow. He's always looking to get better. I think he's going be very good when he goes to his next destination."

Brown, who is taking all his classes online, has been communicating with the coach at Lesley University, a Division III school in Cambridge, Mass.

"He's heavily interested in me," Brown said.

Brown wasn't recruited out of Stafford High School (Class of 2021), but it was that dedication that helped him find Thomas Nelson. He wanted to play college basketball so he just started emailing coaches.

Moore, who has a policy of responding to any student in Virginia who reaches out, told Brown he would be welcome to try out for the Gators.

"He took a chance, he took a chance," Moore said.

Moore, in his third season with the Gators, said his assistant coaches spotted Brown's talent right away.

"At the beginning of season, my coaches actually were the ones that said, 'Hey man, he's got some skills to him. He can handle the ball pretty well,'" Moore said.

Moore said Brown needs to continue to learn how to play the college game, and the player agrees.

"In college, everybody's a top-tier athlete," Brown said. "Because there's somebody who's trying to take your spot, you just have to come to compete. And get better every day."

He hasn't thought about basketball after college. It all depends on where his life takes him. He's interested in stocks, NFTs and cryptocurrency. He's also thought about the military. (His mom and one brother are in the Air Force, and his father was in the Army.)

Ten years from now, he'd like to be living out his dream.

"But I don't know what my dream is," he said. "Whatever I'm doing, I want to be doing it to my full potential. That's all I know."

No matter how much traveling is involved.