Jamaal Brown grew up in the church and was a standout basketball player.

After an injury cut his professional overseas career short, Brown found a new calling and ran to coaching. Since then, he has learned to merge faith and basketball, which brought him right here to Lexington County, as he was recently named the girls basketball head coach at Northside Christian Academy.

“ My dad was a pastor. I grew up in a church all my life, and it's just what I know outside of basketball,” Brown said. “Northside stood out because  of the fact that I would get to incorporate coaching basketball and do ministry at the same time.”

Through the team’s first nine games, Brown has the Crusaders playing good ball as they jumped out to a (6-3) start.

“ We're tough, we're hard nose, we're scrappy, and we just don't quit,” Brown said. “I've seen no quit in this team.”

Northside entered the season with many questions after their previous head coach and a large chunk of talent left the program. The Crusaders are coming off a (23-3) season, but lost all three of their top scorers.

Those departures did not discourage the rest of the group, and when Brown came on, he immediately began establishing his system. He turned to the key returners the team did have to lead the rest of the group and get them ready for the season.

Players like Maddie Coker and Kaleigh Howell, who have played multiple seasons on the varsity squad, have done a good job at dealing with a bigger role this year, Brown said. 

“ Maddie is kind of a two-way player. She plays defense really well, but she also has a very good mid-range jumper, and she can get to the basket with pretty much anybody,” Brown said. “Kaleigh’s a deep threat, and she's rounded into her own. She’s very good at getting to the basket.”

Other key contributors include: Hailey Gause, Jubilee Beckwith, Ella Townsend and Catalina De La Plaza. 

Brown sees a lot of potential in his team. He wants the players to focus on playing scrappy defense, chasing after both offensive and defensive rebounds and being disciplined. 

If it all comes together, he sees a squad that can compete against any team. To get there, he said the team must turn it up a notch on defense and just stay true to its identity. 

“ The sky's the limit right now because I truly believe that as long as we're playing hard and doing what we're supposed to do, we're going to be in any game,” Brown said. “It can take us very far, or it may not take us far.”

Brown is not putting pressure on the Crusaders to win every game right away. He understands team building is a process, and to him, Northside has already succeeded this year. 

“ We're already successful because, I'm going to go out and say, nobody expected much from us,” Brown said. “ But mostly, as long as my girls are having fun, playing hard, that's success to me.”