For Wright State's Brown, the ‘good times’ roll

Wright State’s Todd Brown makes a jumping pass against Central State during an exhibition game Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Nutter Center.

Staff photos by Teesha McClam Wright State’s Todd Brown makes a jumping pass against Central State during an exhibition game Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Nutter Center.

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By Tom Archdeacon, Staff Writer Updated 1:08 AM Friday, November 6, 2009

FAIRBORN — If every picture truly does tell a story, Todd Brown hopes the big tattoo that covers the top half of his newly sculpted left arm tells the tale of two seasons.

“A lot of time and a lot of pain went into this,” the Wright State senior forward said with a faint smile as he rubbed his right hand over the intricate design following the Raiders’ 83-55 exhibition rout of Central State on Thursday night, Nov. 5, at the Nutter Center.

“I went into Blue Byrd Tattoos before last season began and told them what I wanted. Up top. I wanted it to say Good Times with a smiling mask. Down below I wanted the other face — with tears — saying Bad Times. I figure that’s life right there, up and down.”

No sooner had the ink dried than his life began imitating his art — from the bottom up.

Wright State started last season 0-6 and he was the poster child of the struggling Raiders. In his first nine games he shot just over 17 percent, making only 10 of 58 shots. Against Miami, Toledo and Wake Forest combined, he was 0 for 17 and never scored.

Although his shots would eventually start to fall and he’d end the season averaging 11.7 points and getting second team All-Horizon League honors, the way he floundered early left an indelible mark: “That was the worst time of my basketball career. I never wanted to experience that again.”

Thursday night he didn’t. Against CSU he made 5 of 9 field-goal attempts for a team-high 17 points, had six rebounds, three assists and a steal.

But it wasn’t just what he did, it’s the way he did it. More than once he muscled Marauder players off a rebound, grabbed the ball and went back up and scored. When pressed out front, he simply drove to the basket, overpowering his defender along the way.

“Toward the end of last season, everyone was guarding my jump shots and I figured I had to add something to my game,” he said.

“I stayed here over the summer to work with Jason Bradford, our strength coach. I told him I wanted to go to the hole this year, take the bumps and just be more explosive.”

Brown started to laugh: “He had me picking up big boulders behind the gym like I was in one of those strong man competitions. I had to push this sled loaded down with weights. He had me doing all kinds of stuff and it worked.”

He said he’s put on 10 pounds since the end of last season.

“He’s a big strong kid now,” Brownell said of the 6-foot-5, 210 pounder. “He bench presses more than any kid on the team.

“And he’s playing more aggressively. With Todd, he’s started here since the middle of his freshman year so he’s past the point of getting excited about just having good games. He’s done all that. Now he’s geared more to playing for championships.”

Brown agreed: “We’ve had our 20-win seasons the past couple years, but now we want them to turn into something more. Something special.”

He turned his arm so you could see the top of his tattoo.

The part that said Good Times.

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