Jaylen Brown cut his list to California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and North Carolina this week, but he had some especially kind things to say about two of those schools.
In a story in The Detroit News, the 6-foot-7 Marietta (GA) Wheeler wing praised Michigan for its connections to his family (his uncle went there, his mother is from Michigan) and Kentucky for, well, being Kentucky.
“(In) Michigan I have a lot of family,” Brown told Scout.com. “I’m based in Michigan so I could deflect a lot of stuff because my family is there, so Michigan is definitely going to be in the front runner of things.”
Based on Brown’s opinion of the importance of player development, there’s a good chance Michigan’s position was firmed up upon closer analysis of its recent track record.
“Talking to Coach Beilein, he’s like an offensive genius,” Brown told Scout. “The way he gets these guys that aren’t really ranked high to be lottery picks in the draft is amazing. It’s definitely something that drew my attention.”
Meantime, Kentucky got props, too.
“Kentucky is probably the best basketball program in America,” Brown told Scout late last month. “I took a lot of visits and nobody’s basketball program was as good as Kentucky, just with their facilities and how they operate. It’s just so professional. Kentucky, I just have so much respect for that program.”
The other interesting piece from this story is that Brown suggested he may want to spend two years in college in order to prepare for the NBA. He’s currently projected as the No. 2 pick behind Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere in the 2016 Draft by DraftExpress.com.
“I want to develop. People say I’m ready to go (to the NBA) this year. People say I’ll be ready next year. To do what I want to do, I think it’ll take me at least two years. I don’t want to come into a situation like the NBA and have to develop for two or three years. When I come in I want to be a superstar. Coming in I want to be on superstar status. It’s going to take development and it’s going to take hard work. I know I can make the business move and be a top-five, top-10 or top-15 draft pick if I just had a solid year in college and left. I love the game too much to chase after the money. I know your health is not secure, but I love the game. I just want to develop and be the best player I can be. When I’m ready, I’m ready.”
