Recruiting Report: Courtney Brown (2019)
For the Brown brothers, the family connection is back.
Courtney is leading the scoring efforts for the 12-4 East Ridge Raptors with 22 PPG, and his little brother Kendall (a freshman) is third on the team with 11 PPG. This is the first time in a few years that the pair has played alongside each other.
“It’s always a lot of fun playing with Kendall,” Courtney, a 6-foot-6 junior, said. “For traveling ball, we used to play together. Once I started playing varsity, he was still a bit younger. So it’s always good to have the brother-brother connection going again.”
The boys’ dad, Courtney Sr., was a good player in his own right, playing at Southwest State. He provides them with plenty of feedback.
My dad gives us advice all the time, there’s always something we could improve on,” Courtney said. “He’s the number one person I go to for anything.”
As Ben Carlson noted in his recent story, the Raptors are building momentum with a five-game winning streak. Both players agreed that things are running pretty smoothly.
“We can for sure feel our chemistry coming together,” Courtney said. “We get along pretty well, and we are starting to get more comfortable with each other’s game and understand how the coaches want us to play.”
Courtney is coming up on a big AAU season as he preps for the EYBL 17U circuit. Whereas last year he played up a year, he’ll be with his age group now. And the Howard Pulley crew is counting on him for production.
“I think the high school season is preparing me for a bigger role at the AAU level, so I’m just preparing for that,” Brown said. “They (Pulley) say my role will be much more important since they’re losing a lot of guys. David (Roddy) and I will have to step up. Over the past few years, Roddy and I have gotten close.”
Which schools have their eyes on Courtney at this point? Nebraska-Omaha had an assistant watching Friday’s game at Mounds View. Drake offered Courtney after an unofficial visit this fall. He also added in Dayton, DePaul, UW-Milwaukee, UND and Miami of Ohio as some more programs that have reached out.
“Some important things for me when looking at a college are the school size and if they have my major, which is something with mechanics or engineering. Also what the coaches are like and how I fit with the team… like my comfort level,” Courtney said.
“Courtney has been consistent all year long scoring the basketball. He has spent a great deal of time improving his game this off-season and it’s paying off right now. What makes Courtney special is his ability to score at the rim, mid-range, and from the perimeter. I believe Courtney’s best basketball is still ahead of him, as I know he wants to continue to learn and improve.” — East Ridge head coach Bryce Tesdahl