Recruiting Report: Javonte Brown (2020)

There have been many conversations surrounding Javonte Brown since he stepped foot on campus of Mount St. Joseph's High School in Baltimore last fall. The obvious thing that stood out was his long, 6-foot-11 frame. While his skill set seemed to be behind at the beginning of the 2018-19 season, his size brought plenty of reason to think of his high potential. Another conversation was what class he was a part of. While playing in his home country of Canada, Brown was a 2021 prospect, but when he transferred to the Baltimore powerhouse, he was considered a 2020 prospect with how his credits applied. 

As the season progressed, Brown experienced a share of ups and downs. The downs included being removed from the starting lineup for a portion of the schedule. Fortunately by the playoffs, you began to see him adjusting to the physicality and pace of the American game. The physicality of playing in Baltimore alone is a lot to handle for any prospect who isn't used to it, but once Brown adjusted, he saw success.

Brown transitioned his late season success into the spring and summer, which resulted in a major uptick in his recruitment. Throughout his time with Canada Elite on the UAA Circuit, Brown caught the eyes of many high major programs, including a blue blood with whom he continues to maintain a strong relationship with.

His ability to catch and finish in the paint, run the floor effectively and have a major impact in the shot-blocking and rebounding departments make him a hot commodity for such programs. Add in the fact that Brown is just 16 years old, and programs bank on the growth they've seen over the past few month sustaining throughout his collegiate career.

I caught up with Brown to discuss which schools are standing out to him. While he has the freedom to do a post-grad prep year, the programs recruiting him aggressively want him for 2020.

Kansas: "With Kansas, it's everything. The program, the coaches and they play in one of the best conferences. They're always one of the best teams in the NCAA every year. They've done a great job developing big men, and that's what I'd need to come in and make an impact. Head coach Bill Self and Norm Roberts are really great coaches. They have an amazing fan base and great tradition. I'm planning on taking a visit there in October."

Stanford: "Stanford is a PAC-12 school with great academics and a place where I could likely make an immediate impact. One of the reasons I came to Mount St. Joe is because my family prides themselves on academics. So they have everything with academics, a good coaching staff and good basketball."

Texas A&M: "Texas A&M is recruiting me really hard. When we were in Atlanta, Coach Buzz Williams and the assistant coaches came to watch me and they offered. All of the coaches began to be at all of my games from there on out. When I went to Houston for the NCAA Academy, the entire coaching staff would watch my games. Coach Williams is the main one who wants me to go 2020 along with Kansas and Stanford. I just really like what Coach Williams does as a coach. All of his teams involve playing hard and passing the ball around. I really loved what he did with Kerry Blackshear at Virginia Tech. If I could become more versatile like Blackshear by putting the ball on the floor and making jump shots, that would be perfect."

UConn: "They offered after the academy. They always had a coach watching my practices or games in Houston. They really want me to go in the 2020 class as well. I haven't established a relationship with head coach Dan Hurley yet, but I have with the assistants. Of course, they play in the Big East which is good. It's one of the only schools that's recruiting me who is close to back home in Canada and it's close to Maryland.They have good basketball history at UConn and have produced good NBA players like Andre Drummond and Charlie Villanueva."

Indiana: "They started recruiting me after Atlanta. At first, they saw me playing 16U, but then my coaches brought me up to 17U and they liked me even more when I was playing up. They offered me after my performance at the academy. I talked with head coach Archie Miller and am in constant contact with Bill Comar. They want me to come in 2020 because the coaches think that I can have an immediate impact. They play in the Big 10, a really good conference for big men. They have a lot of basketball history at that school and that to me is very intriguing." 

Marquette: "They offered me after the academy. At first they offered me for 2021, but when my AAU coach told them I was considering classing in 2020, they really started to pick up their recruitment with me. I'm in constant contact with assistant coach Jake Presutti and have talked with Coach Wojciechowski about coming in 2020 and I think it would be a good situation in the Big East just like UConn with all of the history behind that school like Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler. They have a good class for 2020 and I'd be playing next to another Baltimore player in Justin Lewis."

What's next for Brown?

My prediction is that Brown will decide to commit for the 2020 class. He doesn't have a set date to commit, but I assume that he will take his time to visit each program that has stood out before verbally committing. There are prep schools around the country talking with Brown about spending the 2019-20 sporting their uniform, but Brown told me Mount St. Joe is still his number one option. Head coach Pat Clatchey has a long list of bigs that he has developed successfully for the next level with the most recent being Jalen Smith at Maryland.

6’11 Sophomore Javonte Brown highlights from UA Chicago! @lanxxjay @Canada_Elite pic.x.com/fGbd6HAlUT

— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) April 15, 2019