Staying Perfect: Avoyelles Charter’s Jalen Brown is a key playmaker to the Vikings 21-0 record

MANSURA, La. (KALB) - Jalen Brown transferred to Avoyelles Public Charter High School last season but was not able to play due to eligibility guidelines. However, he did not skip a beat, as he is averaging 16 points per game, with a career-high of 28.

“When I wasn’t playing, I worked a lot on my game, and mainly just worked on the skillset to prepare me for the next season coming, and it is working,” said Brown.

“Seeing him wait and go through the process, actually throughout last year he kind of sat by me through games and heard things I was talking about in the huddle with the guys,” said Vikings Head Coach O’kie Benjamin. “He kind of became a sponge to that information.”

Brown quickly earned Coach Benjamin’s trust as he says Brown has found his role and has become a floor general for the Vikings.

“He has a lot of trust in me because the point guard, he does everything on the court,” said Brown. “Everything is his fault, so he has to make sure the team is right, and he has to make sure all the plays are run right.”

“Me and him have a conversation once or twice a week through a text,” said Benjamin. “I always tell him that I trust anything he does on the court because I see the work he does on the court after practice, before practice and he is a constant workhorse at his craft.”

The Vikings have played a challenging non-district schedule as they have faced Pineville, Alexandria Senior High and Natchitoches Central but that did not stop Brown from doing what he does best.

“He is really fast, a great ball handler, so it kind of gives us that side to where if we want to go high tempo, he is the guy who can push the ball and make the right reads,” said Vikings senior guard Ben Ragusa. “Without him, we get out of control, and he calms us down. He can make big plays and big shots when we need him to.”

As a sophomore, Brown has become a dominant playmaker, which has started to catch the eye of college coaches such as LSU of Alexandria.

The Vikings have had their best start in school history, and the team said Brown is the missing piece they have been searching for.

“He is probably the most important part of the team right now,” said Vikings freshman guard Armonii Benjamin.

“He is a huge part of that success,” said Benjamin. “We are not standing here talking that we are 21-0 without Jalen Brown.”

For his determination to jump into the driver’s seat of the Vikings’ offense and contribute to the success of his team, Jalen Brown is this week’s ACA Athlete of the Week.

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