Most of the Virginia fans must have been confused last night. Virginia's starting center wore the name Brown on the back of his jersey, but he neither looked nor played like the Elton Brown of last season. He was a physical presence in the paint on both sides of the floor. He scored a team-high 26 points. He was even 6-7 from the free throw line.
Wait a minute, 6-7 shooting from the charity stripe? There's no way that was Elton Brown out there.
Well, the truth is that it wasn't Elton Brown on the floor at all. It was his alter-ego. He's tough. He's thin. And he's svelte. Svelton Brown.
Svelton is 30 pounds lighter. Svelton doesn't rely only on his fadeaway to score points. Svelton performs in the clutch.
With the score tied at 61 apiece with just over eight minutes left in the game, Svelton called for the ball. And Svelton delivered.
"I wanted the ball real bad," Brown said. "I said 'Give me the ball, they cannot stop me.' And my team gave it to me."
His teammates found the 6-foot-9 center in the paint the very next possession. He was hacked going up for a short jumper. The ball fell through the net, and Brown subsequently drained the free throw.
That three-point play launched Virginia on a run that put the game out of reach for the Golden Gophers. Three minutes later, Svelton caught an outlet pass at midcourt and drove to the basket for a layup to put the Cavaliers up by 10, 72-62.
Hustling down court and penetrating the lane on a breakaway? When has Elton Brown done that? Luckily for Virginia fans, hustle is just another part of Svelton's game.
On the following possession Brown drew another foul and sank both free throws. The next time Virginia came down the floor, the ball was in Svelton's hands again. He missed his initial shot, got his own rebound and then layed it in to give Virginia a 12-point advantage with just over two minutes remaining.
Rebounding his own shot? Who are you and what did you do with Elton Brown? And whatever you did, can you keep it like this for the rest of the season?
The truth is, Virginia's starting center is undoubtedly a changed man on the floor. Even days before the game, Brown was convinced that he was going to deliver big time for Virginia's first nationally televised game. He carried a ball with him everywhere he went, even to classes, to help him get a feel for the rock. When game time came around, he was more than ready.
"I told people I was back. My hands were back," Brown said. "My game is back. I told them, 'When it comes down to Wednesday night, I'm going to bring it.' The team was like 'We're relying on you, we really need you. This team has a big time player in Kris Humphries.'"
Svelton was matched up against the star freshman Humphries for most of the night, but Brown was still able to drain a career high in points. To Svelton, taking one of the country's top players to school wasn't anything special.
"It's nothing to me," Brown said. "I feel I'm a top player, so it's just two top players going at it. Regardless of what people might think, I really feel I'm one of the top big guys in the country."
Well, maybe everything hasn't changed. He's still got that confidence. This season, however, it seems like he comes up with the performance on the floor to back it up.
When the ACC season comes around, who will show up? Will it be the Elton of old or the new and improved Svelton? The answer could very well determine the success of Virginia's season.
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