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Troup High junior basketball player Jalen Brown has 1,000 points, counting in blue and gold. Last week, the Tigers took a few minutes after school to celebrate Brown reaching 1,000 points which he topped on the road to Upson-Lee on Jan. 28.

“It means a lot to have these guys here to celebrate this with me,” Brown said, gesturing to his teammates. “A lot of these guys I have been playing with for five years or more.”

It might be hard for some players to choose their favorite points from over 1,000, but not for Brown. 

“That game-winner I hit against Riverdale last season was social,” Brown said, flashing a big smile. “They put a guy that was almost 6’10 on me and I was able to grab the ball and fade away to get the shot over him.”

The evolution of Brown’s game has led him to eclipse 1,000 points with a season still to go. Brown’s confidence has skyrocketed in the last couple of seasons and the expansion of his offensive arsenal makes him nearly impossible to slow down.

“I didn’t take any midrange shots at all my freshman year,” Brown said. “I’ve gotten a lot more aggressive.” 

Brown is the definition of calm and collected on the court. The junior plays the game so smoothly that it’s easy to forget that he still has a year left with the Tigers.

“It kind of hurts that I only have one year left,” he said. “It feels like I was just starting as a freshman, but now that is over two years ago and I graduate in a little over a year.”

Hitting 1,000 points is a nice accolade for Brown, but the junior takes great pride in putting the team first. Brown has helped revive the Troup boys basketball team that had not made the playoffs for three straight seasons until Brown helped guide the team to a region runner-up finish and a home playoff game in 2024.

“My mindset coming into high school was to help change the program,” Brown said. “We’ve done that and now we want to take it even further.”

There is little doubt that Brown will be suiting up in a college basketball jersey in the not-so-distant future, but he is locked in on improving his game and making his senior season memorable.

“I have a little time in August and September, but other than that I’m always playing basketball with Troup or my AAU team,” he said.