PITTSBURGH - Rutgers coach Gary Waters and Notre Dame coach Mike Brey may not believe it, but this really is Jaron Brown's final season at Pittsburgh.

At age 24, Brown is nearly a senior citizen in a sport where star players sometimes complete the high school-to-college-to-NBA circuit before they're out of their teens.

The 6-foot-4 small forward's averages - 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.6 assists - don't illustrate his value to No. 6 Pittsburgh. Nor do his 1,188 career points going into Saturday's home game against Villanova, when Pitt (26-3, 12-3) can wrap up the No. 1 seed in next week's Big East Conference tournament.

Take a vote of the Panthers' players, though, and Brown might be their most valuable player. Not only is he their most consistent player, he does more things well than any other player on what may be the highest-rated team in school history when the season ends.

"I just don't like to lose," said Brown, whose quiet, ego-less personality doesn't seem to mesh with his tough guy persona on the court.

Just call him Invaluable Brown.

"I've always said Jaron Brown was the key to their team," said Waters, who joked earlier this season that Pitt's average age must be 35.

As reliable as he is offensively, Brown more often stands out on defense. Brown and senior guard Julius Page form one of the best 1-2 shutdown units in college basketball, as evidenced by Pitt's 56.9 points per game defensive average. The Panthers began this week No. 4 nationally in defense.

After Brown keyed a game-ending 16-2 run against Rutgers last month, Waters said the 230-pound Brown belongs in Pittsburgh because he wouldn't look out of place in a Steelers uniform.

Brey felt much the same way after Brown scored 19 points against his team, saying, "He's been around too long. It seems like he's been there eight years."

He's nearly right. Six years, three schools and five coaches ago, Brown planned to play for Rick Pitino at Kentucky. When he told a big crowd at the Bryan Station (Ky.) High School gym that he was staying in-state, Brown received thunderous applause.

Before Brown could finish his high school career, Pitino left for the NBA and Tubby Smith took over at Kentucky. The Wildcats didn't pull Brown's scholarship offer, but Brown sensed Smith didn't really want him.

Confused and disappointed, Brown spent a year at prep school Maine Central Institute to boost his grades, then was recruited by Pitt coach Ralph Willard.

Repeating the scenario that happened in Kentucky, Willard left Pitt a few months later and was replaced by another coach Brown didn't know, Northern Arizona's Ben Howland.

Brown, discouraged by a second coaching change before his college career had even begun, didn't arrive at Pitt in the best of shape mentally or physically. He weighed about 30 more pounds than he currently does, and had to spend considerable time just getting into shape.

What he didn't lose were the instructiveness and physical style that caused both Kentucky and Pitt to recruit him.

Brown started six games as a redshirt freshman in 2000-01 and has been in the lineup ever since. He will likely end his career starting more games than any player in Pitt history.

"I don't think he gets enough credit for what he does on the floor," point guard Carl Krauser said of Brown, who didn't even make honorable mention all-Big East last season. "He's diving on the floor, hitting 3s, rebounding, keeping missed foul shots alive. He plays like a senior is supposed to. He keeps the team together."

Brown also can take other teams apart. After then-No. 4 Pitt beat then-No. 5 Connecticut last month, UConn coach Jim Calhoun repeatedly kept referring to the important plays made by Brown.

When UConn pulled physical freshman Josh Boone and inserted the better-shooting but slower Charlie Villanueva, Calhoun said, "Right away, he saw Charlie in the game and identified him as a freshman. Two easy baskets."

Brown also led an 11-0 run and made four important free throws down the stretch. During one telling sequence, he hit a 3-pointer, then ran down a loose ball at the other end of the court.

"I've always thought Jaron Brown was one of the great IQ guys in college basketball," Calhoun said.

That's not because Brown already has his degree, either. With an NBA career unlikely for a player who's only a 19 percent shooter from 3-point range, Brown - a power forward stuck inside an off-guard's body - may become a probation officer.

Despite being held below 10 points in last four games, Brown is Pitt's second leading scorer and was in double figures 12 times in 13 games before his current slump.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said the word "underrated" stopped applying to Brown years ago.

"Underrated? He's not underrated to us," Dixon said. "I've stopped being amazed by him. He just never lets you down."