Former University of Illinois basketball player Dee Brown spoke to students at Mahomet-Seymour Junior High Tuesday afternoon about the traits a person needs to be successful.
A Chicago native, Brown told students that much of his success was prompted by surrounding himself with people who saw his potential and who had a good work ethic. Although Brown had a successful career as a student and athlete at the University of Illinois, he told students that he also hit rocky times as a teenager. While in middle school, he was forced to stop playing basketball, so he transferred schools. But his mom, who expected him to reach his potential, told school officials that they could spank him if he acted up. Brown said it took one spanking, and he turned his attitude and focus around, becoming involved in academic activities and student council.
His mom, alongside his focus in athletics kept him off the streets of Chicago, where, he said, some of his close friends found trouble. Instead Brown worked hard in the gym, but more importantly in the classroom and in his community, where he wanted to make a difference by volunteering.
Brown told students that he kept a goal journal that, by the end of each year, had all of its pages filled with the things he wanted to be and do.
Although he reached his goal of playing basketball for the University of Illinois, his fire did not stop there. Through hard work, which included summer classes, scouting competition and an internship, Brown was still able to find great success on the court by leading the University of Illinois to one of the most successful seasons in NCAA men’s basketball history during 2005. His hard work paid off as he played one year in the NBA and another nine years professionally overseas.
Brown encouraged students to have vision and make those plans today so that they can what to do in order to reach their goals in the future.
“I plan to work,” he said. “And I work my plan.”
Brown told students that playing sports taught him about more than success. He also learned about sacrifice, how to bounce back from disappointments or failures and being a good teammate, which he says he uses in his work today.
