DeWayne Brown II measures in at 6-foot-8, 251 pounds. Jaylen Carey stands at 6-foot-8, 267 pounds.
If the frontcourt pairing were handed some football pads and tossed some cleats to lace up, one might not know their occupation. That’s how Auburn head coach Steven Pearl felt when the two cashed in 60 minutes on Saturday as Tennessee basketball claimed a 77-69 win.
“They look like two SEC defensive ends out there that were just ducking in, and you just weren’t able to get around,” Pearl said.
They’d immediately stick out like a sore thumb if Josh Heupel did give them a football spot, given their statures. Instead, Rick Barnes gets to have fun with physically imposing bigs who can tax opponents in shifts.
Brown and Carey combined to give the Vols 23 points and 15 rebounds in the win.
“Our front line, that was something we haven’t had for a couple years,” Barnes said.
They stepped up in the absence of Felix Okpara, who’s dealing with calf soreness, withholding him from his first game in two years at Tennessee. That forced a heavy reliance on J.P. Estrella, Brown and Carey to harbor the missing load of the 6-foot-11, 242-pound Nigerian.
And that they did. Pearl opened by saying that Tennessee “out-physicaled” his squad. He credited the Vols with controlling the first 15 minutes of the game, jumping out to a 37-21 lead. He gave all the credit to the post workers.
“When those three guys get to play more minutes, physically, they’re a load,” Pearl said. “And our guys just got punked tonight.”
Auburn could not contain the proclaimed defensive ends it faced. The Tigers committed 23 fouls on the night, Carey and Brown being responsible for drawing seven of them.
Brown ignoring freshman wall
All signs pointed to a plateau already reached for the freshman from Hoover, Alabama.
Brown had only played 20-plus minutes in a game once during SEC play. He earned a measly five minutes in a double-overtime win over Texas A&M, despite starting the matchup. Two games later, another five minutes were logged against Alabama, during which he committed three fouls in his limited action.
The offseason winner seemed to have already peaked, hitting the infamous freshman wall in the heart of SEC play.
But injury creates opportunity. And just as Brown did in the offseason when other bigs missed action, he stepped up. Brown went for 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block against Auburn on Saturday. He logged a career-high 33 minutes — taking another step forward.
“Somebody had to step up,” Brown said. “So, I just embraced that role. And I just came in with a mindset I was going to do my job, rebound the ball and play defense.”
Brown gave his eighth-career start against the Tigers. He adds a starting-level big option that keeps the productivity from dipping. But he isn’t one to credit just his abilities. He sees what the other players value around him.
He helped Tennessee play an old-school brand of basketball. The Vols did not make a 3-point shot over the final 35:06 of the matchup, relying on interior shooting. Their imposing presence on the inside, with assistance from Brown, allowed Tennessee to go 14-for-20 on shots at the rim.
“One thing that we can bring to the table is physicality,” Brown said.
Brown earned a 14 plus/minus for the night, good for a team-best. His stat-sheet stuffing performance trickled down to a lone turnover in comparison to his career-high four assists.
All four dishes turned in high-percentage layups at the basket.
“Can’t jump over two stacks of paper, but he can really pass the ball,” Ament said. “He knows the game, and I just feel more comfortable with him out there.”
As for him being compared to an SEC defensive end? Nate Ament agrees.
“It’s really true, though,” Ament said, laughing uncontrollably.
