Southern Wayne's Brown signs with Louisburg JC

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 10, 2015 1:48 PM

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DUDLEY -- Charles Brown tucked the paperwork back into the envelope.

His wife, Nicole, rubbed the bright red Southern Wayne volleyball jersey laying on the table and said "good-bye No. 12" as she walked out of the conference room.

Their daughter, Amon'e, laughed.

Stage one of her playing career is done.

Now it's on to stage two, which began Tuesday afternoon when Amon'e signed a national letter-of-intent to play at Louisburg Junior College next fall. The 17-year-old, who compiled a 3.4 grade-point average and will graduate with honors on Thursday, decided a small-community school fit her personality better.

She didn't want to get overwhelmed by a large university.

"Baby steps. (Louisburg is) my stepping stone where I can improve my skills and get a general education," said Brown, who plans to transfer to the University of Charlotte and pursue a degree in business.

Brown took huge strides on the court this season.

A setter during her first two varsity campaigns, the 5-foot-5 senior became one of the Saints' primary hitters this past fall. Although she didn't rack up the kills, she showed tremendous improvement as a player and team leader on the court.

"The thing that's always impressed me about Amon'e is her willingness to do whatever she was asked to do in an effort to make the team better," SW assistant coach Kelvin Gurley said. "Her hustle was always there, but her willingness to motivate others is a great asset to a coach when you have a 'coach' on the floor, so to speak.

"She was that for us in a lot of different ways this year."

Brown attributed her success to playing two seasons of travel ball with WAVE -- Wayne Area Volleyball Enthusiasts. Competing against stronger and more skilled players gave her the opportunity to see the little details she needed to develop to help her become a better player.

Louisburg JC head coach Caitlyn Withers recruited Brown as a setter since her best assets are her speed and ability to adjust on the court. But, in the same breath, Brown knows she has to trust the players around her to do their job. One shanked pass can easily force a team out of its system and disrupt its ability to develop any consistency.

"(Visually) watching players better than you is how you learn," said Brown, who worked two jobs -- one with her dad at Huddle House and the other as a cashier at Food Lion.

"(There's) setting from different angles, learning my hitters and what kind of sets they need to put the ball away, setting around the blockers ... tricking them. There are so many different things to learn."

Louisburg finished 12-16 last season.

The Hurricanes lost eight sophomores including former Southern Wayne standout Deborah Bennett, who played in the EEVC program, and Goldsboro alum Brandy Johnson. According to an anonymous source, Johnson has completed her paperwork and plans to transfer to Division III member Greensboro College.

Withers expects to return just five players.

"One thing that Amon'e is going to have help her transition at Louisburg is she's going to be with girls of a higher caliber," Gurley said. "She will have a backline she can trust, so she can focus on her area of responsibility more. I think she's really going to blossom at that position."