UMBC men’s basketball sophomore Dion Brown recently chatted with PressBox about the challenges of recovering from a torn ACL, building off of his freshman year and more. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard averaged 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for the Retrievers in 2022-23, earning America East All-Rookie Team honors for his efforts. Brown is a native of Great Barrington, Mass., and spent his final year of high school at Vermont Academy.
PressBox: How did you become interested in basketball?
Dion Brown: I pretty much just grew up around family who has always been involved with basketball, from my parents — both of them — to my uncles and my siblings. I’ve kind of just immersed in the sport since I was young, so it was hard not to pick it up in a sense.
PB: Who was the biggest influence on your game growing up?
DB: I’d probably my stepdad, [Jeremy Thompson], just because he always taught me to pursue whatever I want to do seriously. Whether that be playing video games or becoming an artist, he always told me to push toward being great at what I want to do.
PB: You suffered a torn ACL in your left knee during your senior year of high school in 2021-22. How did that happen?
DB: The opposing team threw the ball down the court. I had run, jumped in the air, landed and kind of pivoted as I landed that it felt like a pop in my knee. I was limping on the court. I wasn’t sure what had happened. I just fell.
PB: What kind of challenges did ACL rehab present?
DB: It was very challenging. That was my first major injury that prevented me from continuing to play sports. I was out for nine months, but luckily at the time I had already committed to UMBC. As soon as I got hurt I told my coaches immediately about it, so they knew. It was very much a challenge for me just with the get back and everything. Mentally, it was a challenge. Physically, it was a challenge, obviously. I mean, I was out for nine months. I couldn’t do what I love to do for nine months.
PB: What is the most difficult part of an ACL rehab?
DB: For me, I’d say just down the stretch around the five, six-month mark. You feel like you can play. You feel like you’re ready to go, but even though you feel you can go, you still have to wait for another three to four months. There’s nothing harder than that, personally, for me.
PB: How did you prepare for your freshman season at UMBC without being able to play?
DB: Just lifted a lot. I lifted as much as possible because I knew, not from experience but just from being a basketball player, that the difference in physicality was going to be immense because I went from playing in high school against people who were similar age, similar size, to playing against grown men the very next season. So I knew there wasn’t anything to really prepare me for that besides getting stronger. I didn’t know what to expect, but I think I did a pretty good job of preparing for it.
PB: Why did you choose to go to UMBC?
DB: I chose UMBC mainly because once I got to meet the coaching staff, I realized there was so much more than just a basketball team over here. It was really a family, from the administration to the head coaches to the physical trainers. I mean, everyone. You could tell it was much more of a family environment than a professional environment, and I enjoyed that. My mom enjoyed that. And my mom, [Casey Mazeralle], also was a big fan of the campus and stuff. She thought it was beautiful … so that was a big plus for it as well.
PB: What is your favorite memory from your freshman year?
DB: Definitely just moments in the locker room. We had a very funny team. There were always great times in the locker room, music’s playing, we’re all laughing, hanging out, making fun of each other. Just great vibes in the locker room at all times.
PB: You had games with 21, 19 and 19 points as a freshman. How can you produce like that more consistently as a sophomore?
DB: I’d say I need to get in the gym more often when I’m not actually playing just to maintain that confidence I have on the good days and the bad days. Not everyone’s going to have a great game, but even on those days where I don’t score a lot, I should be able to produce with assists, rebounds, steals. I just have to make sure I’m in the right headspace no matter if I’m playing well or not.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about UMBC?
DB: I keep harping on this, but the family environment from the coaches. I feel like it’s much more than just the coach-player relationship. I feel like I can reach out to them with any issues, whether it’s basketball, home-related, family-related, injuries. I just feel like I can talk to them about anything and that’s a big plus.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Baltimore?
DB: I come from a small town, so just the city aspect of it all, it’s fun. There’s always something to do, there’s always somewhere to go, and I’m not completely used to that because I come from a town of maybe 2,500 people. That big-city environment was a big upside for me.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
DB: I’d probably say either Devan Sapp or [Regimantas Ciunys] just because I’ve known them the longest. We had a lot of transfers come in this year. We lost a lot of guys, but Devan and RC are two guys that got here with me and [some] of the only people that stayed here with me. So just because I’ve known them the longest, I’ve gotten a chance to build a really strong relationship with them.
PB: How do you successfully integrate all these new faces into the team in one offseason?
DB: It’s definitely not easy to do. It really just starts at practice. We have to figure out how to play with each other, how to become more than just friends, more than just teammates, become a family. That all comes down to the coaching, it comes down to us ourselves wanting to do that, it comes down to the basketball aspect. It just comes down to us wanting to be a great team. In order to be a great team, we’re going to have to get along and get to know each other on and off the court.
PB: Who did you look up to during your freshman year at UMBC?
DB: There were two, actually — Jarvis Doles and Tra’Von Fagan. They would always give me little pieces of information to hold on to as a younger guy, things to look forward to, difficult things during practice. Maybe I messed up, they’d tell me to keep my head up. Maybe I’d get yelled at by a coach, they’d say, “Keep your head up, try it again.” They were just always two guys who had a lot of advice and a lot of information to give to me.
PB: What advice would you give to younger players?
DB: I would definitely say just find something that you’re good at and become great at that. Not everyone in college, or any level for that matter, can be a great scorer. But you’re not going to just play because you’re a great scorer. You can be a great rebounder, great defensive player. So just find whatever role you’re good at and really excel in that role.
PB: What are your goals for after basketball, whenever it ends?
DB: I’ve always wanted to be kind of a social worker to help broken families, but the other part of me wants to play basketball until I’m 60 years old. It’s going to be back and forth between basketball and my actual career afterward.
PB: Why are you interested in social work?
DB: My mom, actually, was always interested in the idea and we talked about it growing up a little bit.
Photo Credit: Pamela Cowart-Rickman