West Orange Times & Observer: Sports Spotlight — Kordell Brown

After finishing a historic year with the Ocoee High basketball team, senior Kordell Brown is looking forward to bigger things after graduation. Brown will be attending Avon Old Farms School in the fall to work on his studies and play basketball before going to the collegiate level.

How did you first get into basketball?

I think I first picked up a basketball when I was 4. My parents, they were both basketball players — we came from a small city — and they weren’t necessarily legends, but they were pretty close to it. They basically instilled basketball into me, and I just loved it from there.

How do you feel about how your senior season went down?

It was a pretty historic season, but I feel like we could have done more. We could have gotten a state title — but we were for sure going to go down as a historic team.

What is the biggest change that you’ve seen in yourself since you first started playing at Ocoee as a freshman?

I want to say maturity. When I say maturity, I mean as in I used to be mad all the time if I made a mistake or something like that, and I learned to live with mistakes and just keep playing.

Is there a highlight moment that stands out?

It had to be my freshman year, when we won the district championship. That was my first time winning an actual championship, because I won one in middle school — when I was in seventh grade — but at that level … it opened my eyes that you could be better and strive for better.

What is your favorite part about playing at small forward? The hardest part?

My favorite part would be the versatility you get playing that position. Small forwards can do anything — they can pass, dribble, and they’re the most skilled players on the court. They go inside-out and just play anywhere they want. There is really no hard part — it’s not like being a point guard where you have to make heavy decisions while passing — but I would say hard matchups. If you have a hard matchup to go against, and you don’t really know how to go at them — you don’t know whether to go inside against him, or outside against him.

Do you have a favorite player that you enjoy watching?

I would go with Carmelo Anthony actually. I try to model some of the things that he does, like jab step and utilizing that to its full potential.

What was your favorite memory of playing basketball at Ocoee?

It was definitely the senior season. The bond that I had with these guys was just beyond basketball. That relationship that I had with them is like, forever — we’re going to know each other’s kids.

What happens after you graduate?

That first or second week of June I’m going to post-grad (at Avon Old Farms School) — that’s a likely destination for me. It’s like a college preparatory before you go off to college — I want to be a pharmacist.