Brown opponent spotlight: Leave of absence pays dividends

On national television, Brown junior guard Damon Huffman contributed little in his 12 minutes against Michigan State. He made one field goal and tallied three steals.

Huffman then missed the next seven games due to a knee injury. The Bears (10-17, 5-7 Ivy) went 3-4 during that period without Huffman. Despite missing critical developmental time under a new coach and in a new system, he managed to become a better player.

Once healed, he came off the bench against in-state rival Rhode Island to contribute 30 points on 9 of 12 shooting.

"Actually, I think it's what has enabled him to play better going forward," Brown coach Craig Robinson said of the knee injury. "Being able to sit out and see exactly what we do has helped him become a better player."

Huffman's return coincided with the departure of guard Keenan Jeppesen. The senior played his last game eight days earlier against Wagner. Huffman has more than stepped up to replace Jeppesen's production, including his 10.4 points a game.

"Last year he was the best guy on the team," Robinson said of Jeppesen. "You lose your best returning guy, that changes what you do for your team."

Huffman is scoring 14.3 points and pulling down 2.6 rebounds a game. His ability to shoot the ball in tandem with the explosive nature of fellow guard Mark McAndrew has made Huffman part of one of the most dangerous backcourts in the Ivy League.

Of the 63.6 points a game that Brown is scoring in conference play, McAndrew and Huffman account for 34.5 of them. In fact, there is no more prolific guard tandem in the conference. The two players have thrived in Robinson's modified Princeton-style system.

"Those two guys, that offense provides them or creates for them a lot of face-up opportunities," said Penn coach Glen Miller, who coached both players at Brown. "When they get those kind of shots they shoot at a high percentage."

Huffman has been making shots from all over the floor, hitting field goals at a 48.1 percent clip. Since conference play began, the 2005 Rookie of the Year is ninth in field goal percentage, ninth in three-point percentage and sixth in free-throw percentage. In addition, he is second in the league in steals, trailing only Penn's Ibrahim Jaaber.

The shooting touch is nothing new for the 6-foot-1 guard. He started 16 games as a freshman and had a better shooting percentage than teammate and former Ivy League Player of the Year Jason Forte. However, his three-point shooting has improved dramatically, raising his shooting percentage from .293 last year to .448 this year.

"He's always been a good shooter," Miller said. "He has good basketball IQ, [he] is a competitor."

"He works at it. I don't think there's any magic to that formula," Robinson said of Huffman's shooting. "He just works at it."

When Penn visited Providence in February, Huffman was held to just eight points on three-of-nine shooting. The Quakers cannot and should not expect him to find a similar slump on Saturday. Good shooters do not stay cold for long.

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