And, ironically, Brown, who hosted Coval on Coval’s official visit to Penn, had a familiar host when he took his recruiting trip to Davidson after deciding to transfer. It was Coval.
“We came full circle,” Brown said. “We ended up playing together anyway – just at a different spot.”
Brown, who this season has started all but the two games he missed with a calf injury, is fourth on the team in scoring at 8.9 points per game. He is playing 23.5 minutes per game.
“At this point of the season I had a little time off, and I feel great,” Brown said. “For me to feel this good late in the season is a pretty good testament to the head athletic trainer and strength coach. The coaches are very intelligent and manage practice and practice load. Everything is very calculated.”
Brown said that he is getting used to the style of play in the A-10.
“I have so much respect for the Ivy League – it’s such a grind,” he said. “I would say there’s definitely a jump in athleticism in the A-10. The window of opportunity when you’re playing is smaller. When you see an opportunity, you have to take it. You can’t really wait.”
One thing Coval had to do after arriving on campus was wait, as he redshirted his first year at Davidson.
“When they recruited me, it was thrown out there as an idea,” he said. “Right before we started playing, we decided to take the redshirt.”
He practiced with the team and traveled with the team – he did everything except play in actual games.
“I think it was the best decision I ever made other than coming to Davidson,” said Coval, who selected Davidson over Penn, Saint Joseph’s and Delaware. “I added an extra 10 pounds to my frame. I got to see what the A-10 is really about – the level of physicality and the speed. It gave me a feel of what Division I basketball is like.”
This season, Coval, who is now a sturdy 180 pounds, said his added strength allows him to absorb contact better as a point guard.
“The guards we play against are super physical,” he said.
Coval is fifth on the team in scoring at 7.2 points per game in 20.5 minutes per game. He is shooting 50.5% from the floor, 40.0% from beyond the arc and 88.4% from the foul line as one of the team’s top reserves.
“I think I’ve been shooting really well,” Coval said. “It’s a testament to the work I’ve put in over the last year. I think I’ve fit the system really well, and my game translates to the system. I have enjoyed the camaraderie of the team. We have a lot of new guys on the team, but that hasn’t changed how the team has operated or our culture. We’ve had a lot of fun moments. I’m so happy to be a part of this team.”