When Todd Kimble took over the Petal program in the spring, he told so-to-be senior Mykah Brown that he was the going to be the primary ball handler that winter. After a few practices, Kimble knew he had something special in Brown, so he started to get the word out to junior college coaches.
“He told me he was going to take care of me as long as I did what he told me to do and worked hard,” Brown said. “He kept his word.”
On Monday, Brown made it official with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College by signing to play basketball for the Bulldogs, which was the program Brown has always wanted to sign with if he went the junior college route.
“I’m just excited to start a new journey,” Brown said. “When I went on my visit, as soon as I stepped foot on campus, my heart was there. Really since the 10th grade, if I wanted to go JUCO, I knew Gulf Coast was going to be the place. It was something about the atmosphere there that I loved.”
Kimble said not too many college coaches knew about Brown during the summer, but Kimble made sure those coaches got familiar with him quickly.
“I said, ‘Look, I have a guy who can play in your league,’” Kimble said he told coaches. “Every coach that has walked through that door has said, ‘We have to have him.’ He has been a guy from this summer till now who’s really increased his stock.”
Brown said he was first introduced to MGCCC assistant coach Matt Hardy earlier this season when Petal played Biloxi in a tournament on the coast. Hardy got Brown’s contact information then, then the relationship blossomed from there. The game Hardy saw was Brown’s first time as Petal’s point guard, too, which makes Brown signing with the Bulldogs all more impressive.
MGCCC was in need of a ball hander to help run its dribble-drive offense, and Brown had become a perfect option because he has developed in that position at Petal as a senior.
“They need a good point, and (Hardy) was talking to me about that,” Brown said. “I went and saw them play a couple of times and saw how their offense functioned. I really liked it. I think I could fit in that playing style really well.”
Brown has always wanted to be the point guard, so when Kimble told him about the new role, Brown was excited.
“I knew I could do things with the ball in my hands, and it’s working out pretty well,” Brown said. “I still have a lot of work to do, though.”
Kimble calls Brown the glue to his team. He averages nearly 12 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, three assists and two steals a game, and all his numbers are improvements from his first two years on the varsity team. His leadership, though, is Brown’s biggest accomplishment.
“Being the point guard, it kind of comes with that position,” Brown said of developing the leadership role. “It’s not always good, and sometimes the bad falls on me being the leader, so that’s been the biggest jump.”
The Panthers are 12-3 overall and 2-2 in region play, as two of their three losses have come from Meridian. With his signing day out of the way, Brown can focus on helping his team make it deep in the 6A playoffs. Having the weight of his college decision off his back will free Brown up more on the court.
“Sometimes when I’m playing, I try not to think about it, but it’s hard,” he said. “I’ll think who’s up in the crowd watching me and stuff. Now, I don’t really have to worry about that. I can just play my game and not worry if I mess up and (a college coach) seeing that. It takes a lot of pressure off of me.”
