Feature | Trent Brown Reflects on Career with Saluki Basketball

Before Bryan Mullins became the head coach at Southern Illinois in 2019, he was the director of operations at Loyola and looked to recruit Trent Brown to become a Rambler. Brown had won back-to-back state championships and set the program record for career 3-pointers made at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona.

Mullins wanted to establish a winning culture and viewed Brown's characteristics, intangibles, and experience playing winning basketball as contributing to that.

"High character young man, winner…someone that comes from a great family, great parents… just someone that you would want to build your program around and it represents everything that you kind of stand for," Mullins said. "He's been a big piece of what we've accomplished over the last five years."

Brown became Mullins' first recruit at Southern Illinois and their relationship has grown ever since.

"It feels like I've been through about everything you can go through with somebody…But when you build that trust and that bond with him, it gives you that freedom on the court to play how you want to play and he always wants it to be a player-led team," Brown said. "So, he trusts in me to preach the right things to the rest of the guys. So just having that relationship with him has been huge, but I'm happy I'm playing for him."

He has noticed changes in himself not only on the court but off of it as well during his five-year tenure as a Saluki. He has accepted the challenge of being a Southern Illinois basketball player and has improved due to the experiences he's had at SIU.

"I feel like I'm completely different than when I came in… I think it's weighed on my personality, just like with different teammates from all over the country and all over the world. You kind of just form different bonds that you never would have," Brown explained. "And then just the work ethic and the demands of the program change you and how you attack every day. And I think I'm better for it."

Mullins has seen the growth and toughness firsthand in Brown from his freshman season until this point with the different roles he has played. He credited Brown for stepping up in his first year, playing well with the turmoil during COVID, and being resilient surrounding his injury in his junior season.

He has started all 28 games so far this season and is on pace to break the school record in career games played with 140 on Senior Day when the Dawgs conclude the regular season against UNI.

Brown has been keen on looking after his body and credits the team's recovery staff along with being fortunate to play enough and limit injuries. He values playing in so many games as a Saluki and talked about how special his SIU career has been.

"Just being in the same sentence as some of those guys up there on that list is very special. Being a part of this program for as long as I have and playing with SIU on my chest for as many games as I have has been an honor. I wear that with a lot of pride," he said.

He also currently sits ninth on the list of SIU's career 3-pointers made (170). This season, he has shot an impressive 38.6% from beyond the arc with the highest volume of shots he's taken from distance in his career. Brown went into detail on his mentality on shooting the ball and how he can't do it on his own.

"Shoot it and try to make it. I mean it's one of those things that I've had times in my career where I'm overthinking every time my hand touches the ball and hasn't gone as well but just a lot of great teammates and great coaches in my ear with a lot of trust in me and the work I've put in and they see me in practice and outside of," Brown said. "It's a collective effort, you can't pass the ball to yourself."

He has played with a lot of different teammates and has tried to take things from everyone he's been around. Brown has also made lifelong friendships during his playing career at SIU due to the culture that has been established and the people that he's played with.

"You just try to piece off everything they're doing because when you see someone so successful, I mean they're doing something right," Brown said. "This program attracts a lot of really good people and a lot of really great teammates. I've just been honored to be able to play alongside them."

Mullins pointed out the great teammate, student, and person that Brown has been and how his leadership is key to the success of Saluki basketball.

"Yeah, I mean, we talk a lot about how you do anything is how you do everything. Trent does that in all aspects of his life, how he treats people, how he goes about academics, how he treats his teammates, how he works," Mullins said. "He's been one of the hardest workers in the program over the last five years. I think he represents it by his actions and also the way he communicates with his teammates."

Along with performing on the court, Brown has balanced athletics with excelling in the classroom as well. During his sophomore season, he was named First Team MVC Scholar-Athlete and received the Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award. During his senior campaign, Brown was named to Second Team MVC Scholar-Athlete. He talked about how he handles academics with basketball and the expectations that SIU basketball sets for its players.

"Sometimes it gets tough and there's a lot of late nights when you're studying for a test or trying to get a project done or this and that, but you find time. Coach is huge on academics and obviously, he was pretty prestigious in that as well," Brown said. "He's always asking everybody about how they're doing, and we have coaches that are checking the study hall and making sure everybody gets their stuff down on time. So we figure it out around here."

Mullins played for SIU for four seasons prior to his coaching career and recognizes Brown's commitment to the program and community.

"He's a Saluki, now and forever," he said.

Brown gave his gratitude to the Southern Illinois community and how the want to win is a byproduct of putting on the Saluki jersey.

"I know this team and this program is a focal point of this university and this town. And they look to us to succeed, and anything less is a letdown because of the past success that it has and what it truly can be. And so that's the way I look at it too," he said. "I want to win every single game and that's what this town deserves. And I love playing in front of these people and how much they care, and I appreciate them and every time they come out, it makes us feel that much better."

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Feature | Trent Brown Reflects on Career with Saluki Basketball

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