Reagan County Junior Kason Brown achieved a significant milestone in his basketball career by surpassing 2,000 points during the Owls’ 71-51 victory over Sterling City on Monday.
“Reaching 2,000 points means a lot to me,” Brown said. “What means even more is doing it surrounded by my family, teammates, and community.”
Kason has had his sights set on this goal since childhood.
“I knew at a young age that I loved the game of basketball,” he said. “Reaching 2,000 points is significant because of all the work I’ve put in that nobody sees.”
This dedication has positioned Kason as one of the state’s elite players.
“He comes up to the gym pretty much every night,” said Coach Kyle Brown, who is also Kason’s dad. “We’ll go home at the end of the day and eat, and then he’s right back up here working on his shot.”
Brown aims to shoot 500 shots each day, striving to make 70 percent of them.
“I can’t tell you how many nights his mom has to tell him to come home,” Kyle said “He puts in hours and hours of work, and I am just so proud of the player and person he has become.”
Kason’s dedication to perfecting his shot started at an early age.
“I can remember him being young shooting in front of our house,” Kyle said. “Ron Galloway would watch him from his window and comment to us just how special Kason was going to be.”
It wasn’t just Galloway who noticed.
“I would go out to watch the boys play and vehicles would pull up to the curb to watch them,” Kyle said. “Lanny Pullig was one of those people. He would pull up and park. It was neat for the boys to have an audience like that at an early age.”
All of the work Kason has put into his game has opposing coaches scratching their heads each and every game.
“I have coaches coming up to me during games telling me how he is next-level ready,” Kyle said. “He makes two or three shots per game that make you just stop in awe.”
Kason said his parents have had the biggest impact toward his success on the court.
“I think the only guy I can credit is my dad,” Kason said. “When I come to shoot, he is here more times than not rebounding for me. For as long as I can remember, he has pushed me to reach my potential. I am forever grateful for that.”
Kason said his mom, Lezlie, is a constant motivation for him.
“She can be hard on me at times,” Kason said. “But that is what keeps me going. She wants me to be great, and I try to make her proud in everything I do.”
The impact his parents have had on him is no accident.
“High school athletics is something that was important in both mine and Lezlie’s lives,” Kyle said. “We want all of our kids to look back on their high school careers and know we did everything possible to help them be successful. From taking them to play soccer when they were little in Angelo to now. Now we can just sit back and be proud.”
It can be tough being dad and coach.
“People see us interact during games and probably think I am hard on him, on Jarrett too,” Kyle said. “But what they don’t see is us going home and watching film together. Enjoying watching how people in the stands react to the plays they make. It really is a special time for us.”
Kason has reached the 2,000 point mark in his career with his brother Jarrett by his side.
“I think he is one of the best players in the State at any level,” Kason said. “He opens everything up for me, so teams can’t put all of their attention on me. He also sees the floor really well, and facilitates so much of my scoring.”
Along with his full schedule of school, practice and games, Kason takes time to help coach his sister Landry’s YMCA team.
“I know for him it is no big deal,” Kyle said. “But it is for those kids.”
Kyle said it is not only Kason, but all of the Reagan County Owls who are making an impact on the younger generation.
“They are setting the tone for what school pride means and what it takes to be successful,” Kyle said. “It isn’t just Kason, but Raymond Saldibar, AJ Avalos and the entire team. They are paving the way for those who follow them.”
Kason said it is nice reaching the 2,000 point mark, but he is hungry for more.
“I enjoy reaching these personal milestones,” Kason said. “But my main goal is for this team to win a State Championship.”
Kason said this year’s Reagan County Owls team is set up to achieve just that.
“We have so much talent and experience on this team,” Kason said. “I think this is going to be our year.”
