The Husky Legends watch and notice Terrell Brown Jr., the latest contender to be a member of their sacred brotherhood of the hoops.

The 23-year-old Seattle native and fifth-year senior who played at Garfield High is an amalgamation of many Washington men’s basketball greats who came before him.

Brown, who is generously listed at 6ft 3in, uses cunning, ingenuity, and an assortment of jerky moves, turns and quick bursts that keep opponents off balance, reminiscent of former Husky star Isaiah Thomas. .

The new Washington sensation is adept at scoring indoors and shoots an array of efficient midrange jumpers and high-camber floats like Brandon Roy, whose retired No.2 jersey hangs in Alaska Airlines Arena.

And coach Mike Hopkins unofficially hooked up Brown the Husky who takes over in the dying minutes, much like 2019 Pac-12 Player of the Year Jaylen Nowell.

“With Terrell, it’s all about the state of mind and hard work,” Hopkins said. “He’s so determined to be the best he can be and he’s ready to work. This is why he rose from where he started to be one of the elite guards of not only our league but the country. “

Still, it’s far too early to do anything but superficial comparisons between Brown and Roy, Thomas or Nowell, who have all led their respective teams to regular season or conference tournament titles.

Heck, Brown has yet to encroach on territory occupied by former UW stars Dejounte Murray, Terrence Ross or Tony Wroten Jr.

However, after just 10 games, Brown, who leads the Pac-12 in scoring and ranks seventh nationally with 21.4 points per game, is emerging as the next great UW goalie in a Hall of Fame. which includes Andrew Andrews, CJ Wilcox and Markelle Fultz.

“I can’t even think of things like that now or even try to compare myself to these guys,” Brown said at the start of the season. “Of course growing up in Seattle I know what IT, B-Roy and a lot of those guys did to U-Dub.

“I mean, you let yourself be dreamed of when you were a kid and maybe this dream could help you get to where you want to be. … But once you’re there, it’s about going out every day. and let your work speak for you.

Across the world, Andrews noticed Brown and remembers their meeting in 2016 after Garfield lost to rival Rainier Beach in the Class 3A semifinals.

“I spoke to him a bit after the game because he was beaten about it (and) told him he was going to be awesome,” Andrews said in a phone interview from Bursa, Turkey, where he plays with Turkish basketball. Frutti Extra Bursaspor team. “Long story short, he’s at UW now and going crazy. I think he’s really good. It is very round. He has a good balance between goals and assists. And it has the UW grain.

“He kind of reminded me of myself in this sense. We’ve kind of had similar trips. Obviously he ended up at UW and we kind of have similar senior years. I really see the comparison.

Andrews ranks third in all-time scorers in Washington with 1,812 points, the triumphant culmination of a lasting college career that began in 2011 when he was returned to freshman due to hip surgery.

After playing behind Wilcox and Nigel Williams-Goss, Andrews took over and scored 712 points, which is the third-most in UW history, for a Husky team that finished 19-15 and 9-9 in the Pac-12.

“It was a perfect storm for me,” said Andrews, who averaged 20.9 points as a senior. “I always thought I was able to play that way, but just with the level of skill and stuff, I was always kind of an extra room. Once I could get the keys back, that It was a bit of my turn to show what I was capable of.

“A lot of people think about the score, but we had an amazing team that was young. Marquese (Chriss), Baby Boy (Murray), Matisse (Thybulle), David (Crisp) and everyone in the squad, they all have Helped a lot. The addition of Will Conroy (to the coaching staff) was huge for us. It was really fun that year to be honest. I didn’t feel any pressure. I was just going to play basketball .

Andrews led Washington in scoring 21 times, including a career-high 47 points on March 2, 2016, against Washington State which is second in Husky history behind Bob Houbregs’ 49.

“Me and (former UW coach Lorenzo) Romar had no idea,” Andrews said when asked about Husky’s scoring record. “I ended up coming out of the game for the encore because we were 20 or something ahead with 7 minutes to go. … I ended up going back, but if I had stayed, I could have had 50 or 60. But I had 47. That’s fine with me. Bob can hold the record. He has most of the records anyway.

Even though Washington’s team (5-5) this year have a limited number of reliable offensive options – Emmitt Matthews Jr. is second in scorer with 10.9 points – Andrews advised Brown, who leads the team in assists decisive (3.7) and interceptions (2.1), to trust teammates and avoid the temptation to try to score at all costs.

“I know exactly how he feels,” Andrews said. “The score is there for him, but his goals are much more important than that. He wants to be a pro. I’m not sure if he’s focusing on scoring or something, but I would tell him to try and impact the win as much as possible. … This is the most important thing, especially in this leadership position.

Perhaps rightly so, Brown and Washington start the Pac-12 game against his former team, Arizona.

Monday’s 5 p.m. game at the McKale Center was originally scheduled for December 2 and moved to January 25 due to COVID protocols with the Huskies.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 9 (11-1, 1-0 Pac-12), who are No. 1 in the NET standings, are undefeated at home (7-0).

Coincidentally, the Huskies are the last team to beat Arizona on their court, a UW 75-74 victory in the 2020-21 regular season finale. Brown finished with just two points on a 1-on-11 shot in 24 minutes against his home team.

Brown, who played for two years (2018-20) at Seattle University where he averaged 17.2 points, recorded career low points (7.3), assists (3.5 ), steals (0.9), minutes (25.7) and field goal percentage (39%) while starting 10 of the Wildcats’ 26 games last season.

To announce his commitment to Washington, Brown tweeted a photo of himself above the Seattle skyline with a caption that read, “I’m back.” He also wrote, “The heart just turned purple” with a purple heart emoji.

“You definitely see he has that UW pride,” Andrews said. “It plays with a different level of grain and that’s what I love just because it has that traditional old-fashioned UW grain a bit like the Romar-era style of play.

“I would tell him never to lose that.” Other than that, keep having fun. There are going to be ups and downs. The Pac-12 game is definitely going to be a different beast, but it has all the teams and it’s equipped to handle it. Like IT says, keep running the marathon.