Rutgers Women's Basketball Player Spotlight: Kassondra Brown
After spending two seasons at Rhode Island and one at St. Peter’s, Kassondra Brown chose Rutgers to be her third, and eventually final, stop. She played in 31 games and made 26 starts at center in her first season on the Banks, and she figures to once again have a key role down low.
The Abington, Pennsylvania native averaged 8.1 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game, making most of her starts at the five spot. The only game she missed was the season opener against Hofstra, being a part of an impressive run of health for the Scarlet Knights where they dealt with very few, if any, serious injuries over the season. Brown played her best basketball early in the season, including a season-high 18 points in a win over NJIT, as well as a season-high 12 rebounds against Princeton.
Not only did she operate as a low-post player, but Brown also flashed a shooting touch and the ability to play on the perimeter. She was the second-best free throw shooter on the team, converting at an 81% clip. She also shot 31% from the three-point line on a fairly low volume, converting ten of her 32 attempts. As the season went on it appeared that Brown began to feel more comfortable moving around the perimeter as both a passer and in the pick-and-roll offensive sets.
Looking ahead to this upcoming season, it will be interesting to see if Brown can expand on that role as an initiator or scorer from the perimeter. It would also free up room on the low block for Chyna Cornwell, who excels at getting rebounds and getting under the rim to create her offense. A more perimeter-centric offense game for Brown could also free up size mismatches both down low and on the outside, as opposing centers will have to venture out towards the three-point line, making their lives more uncomfortable while also giving Cornwell more room to match up against smaller defenders.
Even if she ultimately is not a ballhandler or passer from the outside, she can still provide a spot-up shooting role with a good-looking form and proven production from the foul line. Unlike last season, there should be more weapons to initiate offense such as Destiny Adams to provide scoring touch and Mya Petticord to be in the offense’s driver’s seat as the point guard. Factor in a return to freshman form for Kaylene Smikle, and Brown can be impactful even in a smaller role than last year.
Brown also held her own on the defensive side as well. At 6-foot-2, she was able to wall up in the post while also having the versatility to move around the inside. On the boards, the combination of Cornwell and Brown helped the team become one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the conference. This was made all the more impressive when looking at the fact that Brown and Cornwell were the two main bigs on the roster and often head coach Coquese Washington would stagger their minutes so one was always on the court in an attempt to avoid a size mismatch, especially against some of the stronger Big Ten teams down low.
In her final season, Brown will likely either start or be a key depth piece down low, and her combination of size and skillset inside and outside means she will be an important part of a Rutgers offense that should be much improved from a year ago.
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