The defense Zach Brown learned to play at WSU has helped deliver AfterShocks TBT wins
Good defense is vital to winning games in The Basketball Tournament, but it won’t always receive the attention it deserves.
A perfect example played out at the end of the AfterShocks’ dramatic 69-65 win over Team Challenge ALS at Koch Arena on Tuesday.
Conner Frankamp will be remembered as the hero, and deservedly so, after delivering his second straight game-winning shot for the AfterShocks. But Zach Brown, whose superb defense just seconds before sparked the fast break that allowed Frankamp to be so wide open for the dagger, also rightfully deserved a share of the spotlight.
Everyone was chasing after Frankamp following the game-winner, not Brown. Doing his work in relative anonymity to help his team win is something Brown has enjoyed dating back to his days playing for the Shockers.
“He doesn’t need any of the credit, but he deserves all of it,” AfterShocks coach Zach Bush said. “He’s never going to go out and ask for it or go, ‘Look at me’ or ‘I need more shots.’ He’s not that kind of guy. He just digs in and gets the dirty work done.”
The dirty work is exactly what the AfterShocks needed to get done after falling behind 65-63 to Challenge ALS during the Elam Ending with the target score set at 68.
With his team in desperate need for lock-down perimeter defense, Brown once again rose to the occasion. Despite struggling with his shooting (1 for 6 on three-pointers), Brown said he is always confident down the stretch of games that he can depend on his defense — just like he did at WSU.
“It was hard with the circumstances, not practicing with the team during the week and coming in and playing, but I know I’ll always have that one thing (defense) in my back pocket,” Brown said. “Being a part of this program (Wichita State) and what they taught me, it’s just amazing. To be able to bring that back and have that same fire and energy like we used to here, it’s insane. I love it.”
Brown wasn’t able to practice with the AfterShocks last week because he had an NBA workout with the Houston Rockets, his hometown team.
That might be a surprise for some WSU fans who only think of Brown as a defensive stopper. But the Houston native averaged 17 points per game in Hungary’s top-tier league last season and has shown an expanded offensive game as a professional since graduating from WSU in 2018.
And as one of the most popular alumni among players — teammates often describe Brown as genuine as they come — Brown’s value taking on the other team’s best offensive player every single possession doesn’t go unnoticed by his peers.
“Zach thrives in those pressure-type situations on defense,” said Rashard Kelly, who played all four years at WSU with Brown. “It’s a challenge to him in those 1-on-1 matchups and he loves it. He hates getting beat. At the end of the day, you saw what happened. His guy didn’t even want to dribble in front of him. I know he loved that moment.”
In a game filled with defensive highlights, one of Brown’s most impressive sequences came in the fourth quarter just before the Elam Ending.
Brown was guarding Challenge ALS’ top scorer Marvelle Harris when he ran into a screen and was switched off. Even when Harris blew by the new defender, Brown recognized the threat and was already rotating over to cut off Harris’ baseline drive. The ball was kicked out, which sent the AfterShocks’ defense into rotation with Brown sprinting sideline to sideline in time to discourage a corner three-point attempt and force Justin Dentmon into a difficult runner that missed. Brown even finished out the defensive possession with the rebound.
But Brown’s most impactful defense came on Challenge ALS’ final two possessions of the game.
At the end of the shot clock, the ball was funneled to Dentmon, who tried to drive past Brown with no avail, as Brown matched him stride for stride. When Brown didn’t bite on a pump fake, Dentmon lost control of the ball and Brown poked it loose to cause a shot clock violation.
Nearly the same situation played out on the following possession, as Brown mirrored Dentmon move-for-move like they were opposite poles in a magnet. This time when Dentmon side-hopped for a desperation shot, Brown was there to tip the ball and create the now-viral fast break that was finished by Frankamp’s three-pointer.
Defensive moments like those won’t get you a swarm of people chasing after you to celebrate like a game-winning shot, but Brown’s contributions were invaluable to the AfterShocks’ continuing their TBT journey toward the $1 million prize in Dayton.
“I think in this kind of tournament, there’s too many pretty boys,” Bush said. “We’ve got some dogs on this team. We’ve got dudes that fight and battle and don’t just want to score points, want to get stops and want to get rebounds and get on the floor. (Brown) got on the floor at the end of the game and he’s got a professional season coming up. He could have easily thought, ‘I don’t want to tweak anything.’ But the dude wants to win.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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