Maybe it’s pure coincidence that Nick Brown excels at the long and triple jump competitions.

There’s no question the University of Illinois track star has, by leaps and bounds, distanced himself from a series of tragedies.

In high school, Brown lost three close friends in less than three years as a result of a gang war going on in his hometown of Maywood, Ill. According to Brown, police believe all three incidences were cases of mistaken identity. During his sophomore year of high school, Joshua Pugh, Brown’s close friend who had just received a football scholarship to Western Illinois University, was shot in front of his church. A year later, another close friend, Kenny Garde, was walking away from a fight when he was shot in the back. During Brown’s senior year, Calvin Ector, a teammate of Brown’s in track and a close friend since eighth grade, was gunned down by someone wielding an AK-47.

Brown almost lost a fourth friend during the summer of his junior year when he and Ralin Betts attended a pool party. Brown’s friend of several years failed to mention that he could not swim. After slipping off the edge, Betts sunk to the bottom of the deep end. Brown pulled the unconscious Betts up from the bottom and laid him on the deck. Paramedics rushed Betts to the hospital and were able to save him, mostly thanks to Brown’s quick work.

“Nick saved (Betts’) life,” said Wayne Simon, Brown’s childhood track coach. “He doesn’t like to brag about the things he’s done in life because he’s not that kind of kid. He’s completely modest.”

Although Brown experienced tragedy within his group of friends, the biggest loss was the death of his father. At the beginning of Brown’s junior year, Mario Brown was diagnosed with lung cancer. Mario had been a heavy smoker, according to his son Sergio Brown, and within a month of the diagnosis, Mario Brown was gone.

“He meant everything to me,” Brown said of his father. “He was the reason I did what I did. He taught me to work hard and pushed us when we needed to be pushed. He shaped the person I am today. When (he died) I was forced to grow up. Because of the way he raised me, it was tough but not nearly as tough as it could have been.”

Although Mario Brown never saw his son graduate from high school, win the Illinois high school state championship in long and triple jump or go on to achieve the list of accomplishments at the University of Illinois, he still affects his son’s life. The 6-foot-6, 190-pound Brown sports a neatly trimmed goatee, curly black hair and a big smile. He radiates a quiet confidence – inherited from his father.

“(My dad) taught me to respect others because you never know what will happen,” Brown said. “One day you might be at the top of your game, and then another day you might not be, so what is the point of being cocky?”

Mario also taught his son the importance of working hard. The only quote on Brown’s Facebook profile comes from his father: “What do you want to be a star or average person?”

After winning the Illinois high school state championship, Nick took his track endeavors to the national spotlight. His senior year of high school, Brown won the national championship at the USA Junior Nationals at Texas A&M;, where his father was the first black basketball player. Weeks after the meet, Brown was named a high school All-American in the long and triple jump by Track & Field News.

By that time, Brown was being pursued by collegiate recruiters from throughout the nation – all the Big Ten schools, some schools from the SEC, a couple from the Pac-10 and a few more from the Big 12. But according to Brown, his decision ultimately came down to academics and family, and the University of Illinois satisfied both categories.

“(My mom and I) sat down and looked at good architecture programs,” Brown said. “Illinois’ is one of the best in the country. It helped too that Illinois was close to home. It’s far from home, but at the same time it’s close. It’s not too hard to go home and visit often.”

As a graduating high school senior, Brown was ranked best long jumper and the third-best triple jumper by Track and Field News. Brown said the high rankings only pushed him to work harder.

“With those types of rankings attached to your name, you don’t want to fall on your face once you get to college,” Brown said. “I didn’t want to be known as one of those people, so I stepped it up.”

During the indoor season of his freshman year, Brown immediately met the high expectations set for him.

Going into the Alex Wilson Last Chance Invite at the University of Notre Dame on March 5, 2005, Brown was ranked 16th in the nation.

In order to qualify for the NCAA championships, Brown had to set a personal best mark and move up at least two spots in the national rankings. Although a long shot, he accomplished the goal, jumping 24 feet 11.75 inches – a personal best by over four inches. With that jump he became one of six Illini athletes and the only freshman to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championship.

He placed ninth, one spot shy of All-American status. The next year, though, Brown was named an All-American in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, the only athlete from the Illinois men’s team so honored. His eighth-place finish in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the long jump resulted in Illinois’ only points.

Brown’s attitude and the accomplishments that grew out of his perseverance are just one way to measure his character, Simon said.

“He stands out more in my mind as a good person than as an athlete,” Simon said. “The deaths he has had to experience are part of life, but he never gave up. He never used those things as an excuse – that’s a strong character attribute he possesses. In spite of the ups and downs he has experienced, he still stays focused on friends, family and his goals.”