- May 2, 2024
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With each year Shakawanza Brown spent at New Smyrna Beach High School, the itch for something greater grew inside her. Every time Brown set foot on the court for the Barracudas’ girls basketball team, the thought — the longing for a new, better experience — always weighed her down.
Until she couldn’t stand it any longer.
Brown was the Barracudas’ starting point guard since she joined the team her freshman year. But after three years, she opted for a change.
She chose her dream school: Atlantic.
“There was no sadness when I left,” Brown said. “I was kind of glad to leave. I wanted to leave my freshman year, but I couldn’t. But I said to myself that if I ever got the chance to go to Atlantic, I was going to take it, and I wasn't going to look back. I could finally be happy for once.”
And five games into her senior season, it looks like Brown, who is now the Sharks’ lead floor general, made the right choice.
After losing the season-opener to Potter’s House Christian on Nov. 18, Atlantic has been on a tear. The Sharks have won their last four games, and Brown has been one of the keys to their success.
She scores when needed, sets up her teammates, jumps into the fray for rebounds despite her 5-foot-3 frame and is a pest on defense. On Dec. 8, Brown had her best game yet, scoring a game-high 22 points while tallying nine rebounds, eight assists and a school-record 11 steals.
The game was at and against New Smyrna Beach.
Brown said her evolution has been the result of a team effort, however.
“It feels great to have a connection with them. They can trust me,” Brown said of her teammates. “I feel like as we’ve played more games, we’re finally starting to come together as a team. We’re getting things done. We’re making sure we’re winning games, but we’re taking it one step at a time.”
She finally feels at home now. And the biggest difference?
Her head coach.
When she first met coach George Butts, Brown felt something special — something she never felt at New Smyrna Beach. She knew Butts was going to help her achieve her dream of playing for a college basketball team.
“I didn’t feel helped out at New Smyrna,” she said. “But when I first talked to coach Butts, he told me not to worry about it. He told me that all I have to do is play my game, and college coaches and scouts will come looking for me.”
The season is long, and with every game, Brown has shared every moment with her teammates — her family — at a place where she finally feels valued.
“If I have to carry my players on my back by myself, I will,” she said. “I don’t mind getting knocked on the floor for them and taking the punches for them.
“It’s because I love my team.”
