You have to look good for your big day.
After waiting this long, Lawrence Brown was going to make sure he had everything right.
Still, as of Monday the New Hope High School senior didn’t know what colors he was going to wear to celebrate the next step in his football career.
When he found the yellow shirt and was given a gold bow tie, he knew he was ready.
All Brown needed Tuesday was a big smile to complete the picture when it came time to sign his paperwork to play football at Belhaven University.
“I had a lot of different schools that were coming at me,” Brown said. “Then a lot of coaching changes happened and other teams left and others didn’t. I did a lot of praying about it, and when it was all said and done, God led me to go to Belhaven. I had a lot of big-time schools (that were interested in him), but I knew Belhaven is where I was supposed to be.”
Brown thanked his pastor, James Verdell Jr., of All Nations Ministries in Columbus, for helping him pick out his wardrobe for the signing. He has attended All Nations Ministries since he was 7 years old, and said Verdell Jr. has been “another father figure” in his life who has been a source of guidance in many areas.
“From clothes, to how to carry yourself, to money, he has always been there and been somebody you can talk to,” Brown said.
It helps Verdell Jr. wears bow ties, too. Brown said he is “big on fashion” and as soon as he saw bow ties were back in style, he knew he had to get one for Tuesday. He said it wouldn’t have mattered what colors — even green, which is one of Belhaven’s colors — he selected to wear Tuesday as long as they looked good. It was fitting, though, that the colors of the dress shirt and the bow tie gave Brown one final chance to wear the New Hope High school colors with pride.
Brown was a standout at tight end on the football team and at center/forward for the boys basketball team. He played on the varsity team for three years in both sports. Brown said the desire to play both sports in college wasn’t something that swayed his decision to attend the NAIA school in Jackson over other schools, like junior colleges or Mississippi State, that offered him other opportunities and possibilities.
Instead, Brown said he liked the complete package Belhaven offered, especially a major — sports administration — he feels will suit him. He said he hasn’t examined his chances to play football and basketball at Belhaven, but he admitted it is something he will consider.
Brown said he didn’t know much about Belhaven when the recruiting process started. He said he heard Belhaven was a “smart school” and that it had a reputation for great academics. He said he liked the school the more he researched it, and now that he will be going to school there, he knows he made the right decision.
“It is not easy to turn down a big-time, high-level SEC school and go to a school like Belhaven, but when it is all said and done, when God leads you somewhere that is where you have to go,” Brown said.
Brown said Mississippi State University and Belhaven were his last two choices.
Michael Bradley and Drew McBrayer, who coached Brown on the football and boys basketball teams, respectively, at New Hope High praised Brown for his accomplishments and wished him well in the next step.
“Lawrence is a great kid who comes from a great family,” Bradley said. “He does a great job in school and is a good role model. He has a lot of talent and a lot of undeveloped and untapped potential. Hopefully he will get down to Belhaven and he will tap into some of that potential and he will become the kind of athlete he is capable of becoming.”
Said McBrayer, “He always has had the size and the ability, especially last year and this year he really worked at it. He did a great job for us every night.”
McBrayer said Brown “kept the team going” many nights because he was one of the Trojans’ only options down low. He said Brown averaged a little more than 16 points and a little more than 11 rebounds a game for the season.
From now on, though, Brown said football will take up an even bigger part of his life. He said the key will be balancing his time between academics and athletics.
“If you don’t do good academically, you can kiss football goodbye,” Brown said. “A far as working football wise, I don’t see anything that is too much of a challenge. I enjoy a challenge.”
If Tuesday is any indication, you can rest assured Brown will look good when he tackles his next challenge.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.