James Brown has had lots of eyes from Tar Heel Nation on him. From the time we began writing this story, it had been 53 weeks to the day that the center committed to North Carolina. At time he was starring at St. Rita High School in Chicago. Several months after making his pledge, Brown packed his bags for Link Academy in Branson, Missouri.

The attraction of Link was obvious. The program won the 2023 GEICO National Championship in only its second year of existence, and the expectations weren't any less for this season. Brown is joined by five-stars like Tre Johnson and Jasper Johnson. Their record is currently 15-4 despite playing a monstrous early national schedule.

The man in charge of overseeing Brown's development is Bill Armstrong. His 21-year career on the collegiate level includes a stint as associate head coach at LSU. He is 44-5 at Link, and has a national title in his only complete season to show for it.

There is nobody more qualified to speak about James Brown as a student-athlete than Coach Armstrong. He did just that when he sat down with Tar Heel Illustrated Tuesday.