Brown in mental hospital, could miss season
The twisting saga of Kezo Brown’s high school career has taken another dramatic turn. The Simeon senior is in a psychiatric hospital and it is possible he will miss the upcoming season.
“This is heartbreaking,” Kezo’s dad, Marquis Brown Sr., said. “I don’t want my son to have to go through this. I don’t want to lose my son. It’s rough here in Chicago.”
Brown was the freshman phenom from the state’s class of 2018. The only freshman in Simeon history to receive more playing time was Jabari Parker. Brown participated in the USA U16 national team training camp and seemed destined to become the city’s next star basketball attraction.
The first turn arrived sophomore year. Brown stopped playing basketball because of an undisclosed health issue. He returned junior year and was excellent. He scored 26 points for the Wolverines in the city title game.
“The performance he put on in the city championship, we hadn’t seen one of those in a long time,” Simeon coach Robert Smith said.
Brown injured his ankle in May. Instead of playing on the summer circuit, he had to sit and watch his peers pass him by in the national rankings.
“He watched [ Morgan Park’s Ayo Dosunmu] and [ Simeon teammate Talen Horton- Tucker] get all those accolades,” Brown Sr. said. “He knows he should be right there with those guys. An idle mind is the devil’s playground.”
Brown recently started telling people he was finished playing basketball and began posting disturbing gang- related images on his social- media accounts.
“Kezo is not in a gang, but he is going through a situation where he is hollering out for help,” Brown Sr. said. “He’s not in a gang, but in his mind I think he thinks he is. He hardly even goes outside, we don’t let him out.”
Brown Sr. said his son’s challenges first cropped up sophomore year, that’s why he sat out.
“He was diagnosed with a mental health problem,” Brown Sr. said. “We tried to keep it quiet for a while, but so many people are saying so many different things.”
Smith has seen the pressure that is heaped on young stars.
“I remember talking to Derrick [ Rose] and telling him that I didn’t know how he handled it all,” Smith said. “I don’t think I could have. It’s your family and school and neighborhood pushing on you to make it and help them, it becomes a lot. They don’t get to be kids anymore.”
Brown is a charming kid, wellliked all over the city. Orr’s Chase Adams started a twitter hashtag #kezobrownchallenge to try to cheer up his friend.
“Kezo and I have been friends since fourth grade, it’s more than basketball,” Dosunmu said. “That’s my brother, we compete but it’s nothing but love.”
Brown has committed to Chicago State, but his dad doesn’t know where that stands.
“As of right now I’m hoping he signs, but I really don’t know,” Brown Sr. said. “We have to find out if Chicago State still wants him. They seem like they’ve had his back.”
Brown Sr. thinks the gang association comes from some family members.
“He listens to that Lil JoJo [ a Chicago rapper killed in 2012],” Brown Sr. said. “JoJo was close with his mother’s family. By him hanging out with his cousins, who are a part of a gang, he locked onto that in his head. At one point Kezo thought he was on top of the world. He’s not as big as he was, so he was looking for something.”
Kansas and Duke were both recruiting Brown during his freshman year. They moved on after his issues sophomore year, but Brown Sr. doesn’t mind. He’s just hoping his son returns to basketball and takes advantage of his opportunity at Chicago State.
“I talked to [ Duke assistant coach] Jon Scheyer plenty of times,” Brown said. “But I’m thrilled with the situation at Chicago State. It’s a great situation for him.”
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“He was diagnosed with a mental health problem. We tried to keep it quiet for a while, but so many people are saying so many different things.” Marquis Brown Sr., about his son, Simeon senior Kezo Brown