MORTON – It's been 10 years since Jarrett Brown was the boys' basketball head coach at Centennial.

A long enough absence that Brown can dispassionately view the current Chargers as just one more hurdle for his Morton Potters.

"It would be different if those kids that I coached (at Centennial) were still there," Brown said Monday. "But we're so focused on what we're trying to do here, just to continue to try to improve.

"Aside from that, we don't put much stock in who we're playing. We're really trying to continue to focus on ourselves."

Not that Brown isn't prepping his Potters on Chargers personnel and tendencies, on their strengths and potential vulnerabilities, heading into Wednesday night's matchup between his past and current teams. In other words, all the things coaches do prior to the next game.

In this case, however, the stakes are particularly high. When Centennial (20-9) and Morton (23-7) square off at 7:30 in the semifinals of the Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Sectional, one team's season will end.

In this case, too, these teams are no strangers. In late November, they met in the Lincoln Thanksgiving Tournament, with the Potters prevailing 61-57.

"That's a long time ago," Brown said. "Things change."

Well, maybe not everything. The first-year Morton coach is all too aware that Centennial has earned state trophies each of the last two years, including first-place hardware in 2009. And he's wary of the carryover value from consecutive Charger trips to the Final Four.

"Maybe the biggest thing they have on their side is they expect to win this thing," Brown said. "The group of guys they have on their roster have all been a part of – witnessed, if not participated in – these runs that Centennial has made to the state tournament.

"So they have confidence. ... That's a big thing going for them, and hopefully we can overcome some of that."

Morton was forced to overcome three opponents in five days last week to reach this point. Seeded fourth in the Lincoln Regional, the Potters trailed quarterfinal foe Springfield by 18 points early in the second half before storming back to win in overtime.

"My experience in the postseason, you've got to win some you're not supposed to sometimes," Brown said. "And that (game) would certainly qualify for that."

Morton then overcame one of the toughest homecourt advantages in the state, knocking off No. 9 and top-seeded Lincoln by nine points in the semifinals. Finally, the Potters survived a down-to-the-last-second battle in the regional final to edge second-seeded Springfield Lanphier 52-51.

Little wonder Brown is apprehensive about the toll that gauntlet might have taken on his Potters or how much he welcomes a four-day break between games for his team.

"We just hope that emotionally we can rebound from it," he said, "and hopefully play with energy come Wednesday night."

Brown's connection to Centennial was a brief but, he says, important step in his career. Then 28, Brown coached the 2000-01 Chargers to a 12-13 record, including 7-3 in the Big 12 Conference.

"It was a great opportunity for me," said Brown, who had coached at Unity the previous two seasons. "It allowed me an opportunity to improve as a coach and also be surrounded by people who helped me be a better person as well."

At the time, however, Brown was eager to try his hand eventually at the college level. When that opportunity presented itself a few months after his first season at Centennial, Brown joined the South Dakota State staff as an assistant to former Chargers player Scott Nagy.

"It was a goal of mine at that point to coach in college," Brown said. "My wife and I decided that we'd give it a try at that point."

That try lasted three seasons, including a stint at Millikin University in Decatur, after which Brown decided the demands of college coaching weren't for him or his family.

"It was maybe the 11th straight day I was getting home at 1 (o'clock) in the morning, I just remember it just wasn't going to be that beneficial for my family in terms of me being the best father and best husband I could be," he said.

So Brown returned to Unity, where he coached the Rockets for six seasons before moving on to Morton. And moving the Potters on to their third straight trip to sectionals.

"High school is the right fit for me, I think," he said.