When college recruiters looked at the body of work Frances Brown had put together during her high school and junior college careers there really wasn't much to see.

Oh, there was her senior year at Valley Stream High School in Long Island, NJ, where she averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game. Then there was the lone year at Nassau Community College that saw the 5-11, pencil thin forward score 20-plus points in four games, average 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and pick up a couple of postseason honors.

Good numbers, but not a resume that would have major college recruiters beating down her door. Fact is, Winthrop head coach Semeka Randall Lay was the only one who walked up, knocked and made an offer.

"We saw a kid playing at the JUCO level who could score the basketball," Randall Lay recalled. "We weren't sure how much she knew about the game, but she just had the knack of putting the ball the basket."

On the way to Winthrop, Brown, like many others who play at the college level, has had to overcome her share of obstacles. And like many, they started early on.

"I was born and raised in Queens, New York and they didn't have any basketball programs for young females" the business administration major said after a recent practice.  "Really, I don't think they had any sports programs in the public and middle schools. So I did dance."
But that all changed when the 14-yeard-old moved from Queens to Long Island where there were more opportunities for young girls.

"I started playing basketball in the eighth grade and it was bad" she said. "I had no idea what was going on and I felt like I was the worst player on the team. So I put my head down and worked hard every single day."
Frances didn't play as a freshman then transferred to highly touted Paul Robeson High School in Brooklyn, only to face another setback. She broke her foot and missed her entire junior season, before transferring back to Long Island and Valley Stream.

With no interest from colleges coming out of high school, she headed off to Nassau Community College in Garden City, NJ. The Lions didn't offer athletic scholarships, so tuition came out of her parent's pocket.

Then another setback.  COVID forced the school to cancel what would have been her freshman campaign.  But Frances kept working at her craft and showed signs of brilliance when the Lions returned to the court by scoring 30 points in her first collegiate game.  Still even though she earned runner-up Region V Junior College Player of the Year honors and a spot on the JUCO All-America third team there were only a few schools at any level that expressed interest.

That's when Winthrop made an offer Frances knew she couldn't refuse.

Frances started two of the 28 games she played in as a junior last season, scoring a season high 10 points against Campbell.  Still last year brought back memories of that first middle school experience.

"I was learning everyday how to work as a team," senior with one more year of eligibility said.  "To be honest I was lost and struggled last year because everything was new to me and everything happened so fast. I had to learn to be a player on a team because in junior college, especially in New York, it's more playground basketball with everybody shooting off the dribble. I was having to learn defensive principles.  I think I'm becoming a better player."

Her coach is quick to agree.

"She's done a tremendous job for a young lady who has about two-and-a-half years of basketball experience," Randall Lay said.  

According to her coach, one of the things that's helped Frances along the way is her years in dance.

"She's so light on her feet," Randall Lay said.  "You can see her ballerina background especially when she attacks the basket. She just glides between people and you wonder how did she do that?"

Frances is one of just four returnees from last year's squad that played the season with just eight healthy players. Everyone knows that with 11 new faces, practices and early season games are going to be a massive learning experience.

"It's hard learning how to play together with so many new faces," she said. "But we're working hard."

Frances said that being able to play at Winthrop is a blessing in itself because, "where I come from people rarely get the opportunity to go to college and play the sport they love."