- East Bay Prep Corner
Salesian’s Jabari Brown to transfer to Findlay Prep
By Jimmy Durkin
Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 12:51 pm in Uncategorized.
The defending state champion Salesian High boys basketball team won’t have its leading scorer when it looks to defend its title next season.
The Pride’s 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Jabari Brown is leaving Salesian and will transfer to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., a highly-competive program that won the inaugural National High School Invitational this season.
“It’s hard to leave, but sometimes you’ve got to make tough decisions like that,” Brown said. “It’s tougher competition that will make me work harder in practice every day.”
Brown averaged 19.6 points per game this season as one of three sophomores in an all-underclass starting lineup that included junior Desmond Simmons, the East Bay Player of the Year. Salesian finished 31-4 and beat Bishop Montgomery-Torrence 65-64 in the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV state championship game.
He said he’s been considering the move for the past year, but put aside the decision during the season.
Findlay Prep went 33-0 last season while playing games in eight different states. The Pilots beat perennial power Oak Hill Academy-Mouth of Wilson, Va. to win the national tournament, which exclusively features similar prep schools and isn’t sanctioned by the National Federation of State High Schools Association.
“I always wanted to play in the different tournaments you see on ESPN,” Brown said. “All the stuff at Salesian was great, it was definitely a great experience. (Findlay Prep) is just a lot different. It’s bigger still.”
The team features top recruits from all over the globe. The players attend classes at the Henderson International School and live in a house together, sharing two to a room and performing household chores. Brown, an Oakland resident, says it will be like going to college two years early and that his parents are supportive of his decision.
“They’re behind me,” Brown said. “They just told me to do it for me, don’t do it for anybody else. They’re supporting me 100 percent.”
Brown knows that it will be a challenge, but one that will help him in the long run.
“This will definitely get me ready to make a big impact my first year of college,” Brown said. “It will be hard, but something I’m willing to do to make that sacrifice. I want to be successful.”
Contact Jimmy Durkin at jdurkin@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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June 12th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Go Panthers!
June 13th, 2009 at 10:53 am
good luck jabari in nevada. he is a great player and will contribute anywhere
June 17th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
saw this dude last 2 years.. never liked him but will say this.. go do yur thang on the court
June 20th, 2009 at 12:44 am
can believe it man i was supposed to graduate with an NBA potential play goddammit
June 21st, 2009 at 5:42 pm
4 years stong so u know we gon ride.
saint marys panthers bout to smash on da pride
June 25th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
panthers aint smashin on nobody
June 25th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
jan hizon!! ur an idiot for not bein coo with jabari brown. he is hella raw at basketball. so dont hate. pride on mamas.
June 27th, 2009 at 11:39 am
st mary’s got smashed on by erybudy
June 28th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I got dunked on by Jabari Brown in P.E. this year tho. He hella raw and cool on the court. Jan I don’t know how you do not like him. Savage is right tho we finna smash the panthers all day everyday even without Bari.
August 5th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Congratulations-Jabari !!! I’m down in New Mexico working on the house. Grandmommee told me of your acceptance into Findlay !! I’m proud of you & this seems like a wise decision !! GO FOR IT !!
Love-
Auntie Susan
October 1st, 2009 at 7:06 am
What a sad commentary on our societies priorities.
December 16th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
[...] Prep-Henderson (Nev.), where Oakland native and former Salesian star Jabari Brown transfered to after last season, will be on ESPN on Friday in a showdown game against Northland-Columbus (Ohio) at 6 p.m. Brown is [...]
January 7th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
[...] match-up between Findlay Prep (Henderson, NV) and Mountain State Academy at 8:00 PM. Findlay Prep lost the services of touted junior guard Jabari Brown this week, but is still [...]
January 19th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
[...] so I figured I’d update as best I currently know. For those who don’t know, Brown is a former Salesian star who transferred in the summer to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., and then recently returned home to Oakland and enrolled at Oakland High, playing in two games [...]