Teammates first will be ACC rivals later
The First Academy’s Chaundee Brown and Malik William have been a formidable 1-2 punch on the basketball floor this season.
But, it won’t be long until they will be going head-tohead on the hardwood.
Brown, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound shooting guard, and William, a 6-8, 200-pound forward, will be taking their talents to the Atlantic Coast Conference next fall — and will become opponents in a league that takes its rivalries very seriously. Brown has signed with Wake Forest, William with Clemson.
“I feel great and blessed to compete in a great conference and playing against Malik will be intense and fun,” Brown said.
That will be the next big step for a duo who met on the basketball court as youth-travel-team players.
“Me and Chaundee met when we were in sixth grade playing against each other,” William said. “He was playing with the Orlando Venom and I was playing with the Florida Wildcats.”
Having two Division I players has been fun on and off the court for TFA coach Chris Mayberry.
“Excited to see them play [in college],” Mayberry said. “They joke around all the time about it. I love getting involved with the joking and I am proud of them and think they will have some great memories competing against each other after being teammates for so long.”
Brown and William have made the Royals doubly dangerous this season, leading them to a 15-1 record, including an 8-0 mark in Class 4A, District 3 going into today’s Kalyn High Master’s Classic. The Royals will face host Master’s in a game set for 7 p.m.
TFA has won 10 consecutive games since falling to Edgewater in the Rotary Classic championship game in early December.
“The team goals this year are to really finish the season out strong and not to lose any more games,” Brown said. “We lost one game to Edgewater by one point at the buzzer, but Central that’s about it. We are just trying to win states and stay focused.”
If TFA does go on to win the Class 4A state title, it will mark the first time for a program that made four previous Final Four appearances, including the past two years in 3A.
Brown is a muscular athlete who often uses his brute strength to overpower opponents, He is averaging 23.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 steals per gamewhile playing shooting guard and forward.
“Chaundee is a great allaround player and scores in every different way,” Mayberry said. “He has physical strength and is a great freethrow shooter. Very competitive and coachable.”
William’s play sort of belies his stature — a big man who is very fluid and is a deft passer. Through 15 games, he is averaging 11.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 4.2 blocks per game.
“Malik is our best passer,” Mayberry said. “He basically plays point/forward for us. A big guy, but shoots and plays more like a guard.”
Once known mostly as a shot-blocker, William has refined his game and carved his own niche on the court.
“I do things that other people cannot do,” William said. “I can play the entire game with very few points and my other categories will be in double digits.”
Brown and William both left Dr. Phillips to enroll at TFA in the fall of 2015, as did Elijah Jordan, a 6-foot senior point guard signed by New Hampshire.
“Obviously, they had a huge impact,” Mayberry said. “TFA has had a great program and they have continued the success.”
Statistics aside, William and Brown share one primary goal: a state title.
“Me and Malik’s job is to be leaders and help our team out any way possible,” Brown said.
That show of unity is TFA needs and what Mayberry says he sees.
“They are very complementary,” he said. “We are playing our best when all of our guys are playing hard on defense and creating plays for their teammates.” IF YOU GO