Meet the Newbies: Jerry Brown

January 16, 2013; Fresno, CA, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs forward Jerry Brown (0) dribbles downcourt after stealing the ball against the Wyoming Cowboys in the second half at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs defeated the Cowboys 49-36. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The transfer market is a great place to turn to if a team needs to reload. In Santa Clara’s case, the Broncos are in need of some players to reload the program’s talent. The Broncos graduated four seniors this past offseason, three of whom were Santa Clara’s top scorers (Kevin Foster, Marc Trasolini, and Raymond Cowels III). Kerry Keating will rely on his upperclassmen to carry the Broncos this season, and to show the freshmen the ropes. One of those upperclassmen is Fresno State transfer Jerry Brown, who will be a senior this season. Here is a look at Santa Clara newcomer Jerry Brown.

High School Career:

During Brown’s senior season, he averaged 16 points and 8 rebounds, and led his team, Sacred Heart Cathedral, to a Division III state championship. He was named to Cal-Hi Sports’ all-state team three times, West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) all-conference team three times, and WCAL Co-MVP as a senior.

Freshman Year at Fresno State:

Brown was a light contributor to the stat sheet for the Bulldogs during his freshman year. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds, and appeared in 31 of Fresno’s 33 games. In the latter half of the season, Brown saw his role increase significantly. The Sacred Heart Cathedral product averaged 16 minutes in the last 12 games of the season.

Redshirt Season:

Brown redshirted the 2010-2011 season due to an injury.

Sophomore Season at Fresno State:

Brown finished the 2009-2010 very strong, and was expected to assume an increased role for the Bulldogs. That is exactly what he did. Brown started 29 of Fresno State’s 33 games, and averaged 30.5 minutes, 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Junior season at Fresno State:

Brown was named to the preseason all Mountain West fourth team, and he was expected to have another productive season. Unfortunately for Brown, he saw a decrease in both minutes and production during the 2012-2013 season. Brown started 20 of the Bulldogs’ 31 games, and averaged 25.5 minutes. He averaged only 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in this season, which was a downgrade from his 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds of the previous season. Brown graduated from Fresno State after the season, and decided to transfer to Santa Clara University to play his senior year and attend graduate school. Because Brown graduated, he does not have to sit out a season as a transfer.

Impact at Santa Clara

After losing Marc Trasolini and Raymond Cowels III, the Broncos are desperately looking for players to step up in the front court. Jerry Brown could certainly be one of those guys. It is not farfetched to think that Jerry Brown could be a double-digit scorer this season, considering he is taking a step down in competition (Mountain West to WCC). He could form a nice frontline with John McArthur, Robert Garrett, or Yannick Atanga. It will be interesting to see how Brown is used this upcoming season, and how the Bronco’s post rotation shakes out.