VIDALIA — Demarco Brown’s favorite subject in school comes in handy when he is on the basketball court.

The Vidalia junior said he favors algebra and finds himself using math every game.

“I’m always adding my points up,” he said.

Brown, who has a 2.6 GPA, said academics are crucial for him.

“I have to keep my grades up so colleges can look at me,” he said. “When I graduate, I hope to get an academic scholarship and also a basketball scholarship.”

On the basketball end of things, Brown is heading in the right direction. As a sophomore, he had a breakout season for the Vikings, and entering this season, he has become a team leader.

“He is mainly our power forward and can rebound, but he can also play some guard when we need him to,” Vidalia head coach Robert Sanders said. “He can be a force inside when he wants to be, and he is left handed, which makes him even harder to deal with.”

Brown said basketball didn’t come easy early on.

“I’ve been playing since YBA,” he said. “My first year, I wasn’t that good, but I just kept getting better and eventually got good.”

With two basketball seasons left in high school, Brown has high hopes for himself.

“I want to be a leader for my team and take us far this year,” he said.

And Sanders believes he can.

“He can be as good as he wants if he puts in the work,” Sanders said. “He can go as far as he wants to go.”

But ultimately, Brown said he wants to take care of business in school.

“I want to stay on honor roll the whole year,” he said.