Recruiting Report: Tyson Brown (2020)
While some players are stars from the moment they step on a high school basketball court, many more are guys that take time to develop and when watching them you can see the potential in them. For Massanutten big man Tyson Brown, who was a standout at Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach the past four years, that has been exactly the case.
Brown came into Kempsville as a long and raw 6’5” post who has sprouted every year to where he stands now at about 6’9”. He’s filled out nicely from his thin frame at first, and he consistently added more and more to his game every year.
With no division one offers to commit to out of high school, he decided to take a prep year at Massanutten and had his first showing against the prep powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in a scrimmage at Floyd County High School where he had a solid showing with 9 points and 9 rebounds. When I spoke to him after the game, he was very optimistic about the team’s future despite their loss.
“I think the second half we definitely competed a lot harder and we came out with a different mindset,” Brown said. “I think we can take this and learn from this, Oak Hill is definitely a great team for the past 30 years with their head coach, and this is Coach Perry’s first year I think he did a great job. I feel like we just need to do a couple of things to come together but I think we have everything here to have a great year.”
Brown is the type of kid who when you watched his development, it was pretty evident that he was a perfect candidate for a prep season. He was a late bloomer who continued to grow and improve, but he simply didn’t have the time for college coaches to see him. With that being said, it didn’t take long for him to see the improvements that prep school offers for kids like him.
“It’s definitely helped me just building my game and building my confidence and getting myself better as a player,” he said. “Obviously my recruitment is starting to blow up as I picked up three offers in the past week. It’s been a major bonus for me and has helped me a lot so far.”
When it comes to recruitment, Brown has been the guy for the Colonels who has really stood out to coaches. He has picked up offers from Fairfield, Robert Morris and Towson, and has received a lot of interest from a number of schools including ODU, NC State, Jacksonville State, Murray State, Coppin State, Northern Kentucky, JMU and Radford. He took a visit to Towson this past weekend and says he’ll plan more moving forward in the season.
As far as what Brown says he’ll be looking for in a school when it’s time, he’s looking for a spot that he fits in well and can make an impact when he steps on campus.
“I’m looking for somewhere I can come in and contribute and play early, and just somewhere that I know I can improve and excel and become a great athlete and show what I can do.”
As to why he believes college coaches should take a chance on him, he believes his versatility as a big man is the main reason.
“I can rebound out of my area, I can guard multiple positions, I can play the post and the perimeter, I can put the ball on the deck and make plays and I think I can do a lot of things for a team.”
The best part about Brown is that his continued development looks good for him moving forward. He’ll be one of the top big men in post grad basketball this year, but his best basketball is likely still ahead of him. Expect to see more and more colleges get involved with him, and he should have a litter of offers to pick from when it’s all said and done.