May 26, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams announced the commitment of combination guard Parrish Brown from Chicago, Ill., to play for the Terrapins beginning in the 2005-06 season. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound guard finished his junior-college career as a JUCO Region IV Player of the Year finalist at Kennedy King Community College in Chicago.
"Parrish is a strong, aggressive combo guard who is extremely capable at the point," said Williams. "We are very pleased that Parrish will be joining us, and we think he will be able to help us immediately in the coming season."
Brown averaged 22 points per game, five assists and five rebounds and was rated as a Top 25 junior-college prospect by several recruiting services. He was a JUCO All-Region IV selection in 2005 and a candidate for All-America honors.
"I like the coaches, the staff and just the whole atmosphere surrounding the University of Maryland," said Brown. "I am very excited to get started and begin my career as a Terrapin."
A hard-nosed, heady player with the ability to run the point or play at the shooting guard position, Brown excels at both ends of the floor. He is an adept perimeter shooter, a dynamic slasher, an athletic finisher and a persistent defender.
Kennedy King coach Garland Dildy described Brown as an unselfish player who makes good decisions when running the offense, but who also possesses the ability to score and is difficult to guard one-on-one.
"Parrish is a gym rat, and I think he will have a tremendous career at the University of Maryland," said Dildy. "He is a humble young man, and he is very coachable. Parrish plays every game - every possession - with his heart and soul, and he is willing to lay it on the line, night-in and night-out, to earn victories."
Brown, a 2002 graduate of Thornridge High School on the south side of Chicago, will begin his Terrapin career as a junior. He joins an incoming Terrapin class that includes small forward Shane Clark (Philadelphia, Pa./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.) and local big man Dave Neal (McLean, Va./Bishop O'Connell). Clark, a two-time MVP of the annual Philadelphia vs. New Jersey Eddie Griffin Classic, scored 18.0 points per game and averaged 8.0 rebounds during his 2005 senior year at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. Neal was a 2005 Washington Post All-Met selection and the MVP of the prestigious Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament in Cumberland, Md. He averaged 20.2 points and 13.3 rebounds as a senior.
Maryland returns a core group to the hardwood from a team that posted a 19-13 record and reached the semifinal round of the 2005 Postseason NIT. The squad played the 10th-toughest schedule in the nation, defeated four ranked teams, finished fifth in the NCAA in scoring average and set a school record for home attendance (299,391) in 2004-05.
