Former Liberty County High School basketball guard Rion Brown had a breakout season with the University of Miami this year.
According to UM’s athletic website, Brown — a 6-foot-6-inch, 194-pound guard for the Hurricanes — ended the season on a strong 3-pointer streak, hitting a trey in seven straight games, which ties for the fourth-longest current streak in the Athletic Coast Conference.  He was second on the team in 3-point percentage, hitting 41-of-104 (39.4 percent) from long distance.
Brown played in 31 games during the 2011-12 season and started in the final three games. He averaged 19.9 minutes per game, 7.2 point and 2.8 rebounds and hit 42.7 percent from the field and 76.6 percent at the free-throw line.
In ACC play, Brown averaged 6.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 3-pointers made per game. He scored in double digits 10 times, including the final four games, and knocked down multiple treys 10 times, twice hitting four. Brown knocked down 11 3-pointers in four postseason games, leading the team with 14.3 points in the ACC Tournament and National Invitational Tournament combined.
In the ACC Tournament, he was second on the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game, hitting five 3s in two games, and averaged 5.0 rebounds.
Brown led the team in the NIT with 17.0 points and 35.5 minutes per night, and was second with 6.0 rebounds in the two games, shooting 47.8 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from long range and 85.7 percent at the line in the NIT.
Brown scored 223 points this season, bringing his college career total to 380 points. Brown said UM coach Jim Larranaga taught him to be patient, which is improving his game.
“I was always in a hurry, everything I did,” Brown said. “Basically, if I have the ball in a pass or a shot situation, I see it, I look at everybody around me and think ‘OK, is this the right thing to do right now,’ instead of just rushing into it. It’s like ‘Is this the best shot or is this the best pass, is there somebody else open?’ So just slowing everything down in my head and just knowing that I don’t have to do everything right away. I can take my time and make the right play.”