Moses Brown, the 7-foot-2 senior big man from Archbishop Molloy High School and the New Heights AAU program, has cut Louisville from his list in the wake of the FBI investigation into bribery in college basketball and is now focusing on Maryland and UCLA.
Brown visited Maryland last weekend and will trip to UCLA the weekend of Oct. 28 as will Zion Williamson and Darius Garland.
“They’re out,” Brown told ESPN’s Jeff Borzello in reference to Louisville at the USA Basketball minicamp in Colorado Springs, Colo. “I didn’t want to be associated with anything negative. I really don’t need that.”
Brown had visited Louisville last month, but Louisville head coach Rick Pitino and assistants Kenny Johnson and Jordan Fair were all placed on administrative leave after the FBI complaint revealed Adidas and Louisville allegedly were set to pay the family of Brian Bowen $100,000 in return for Bowen’s commitment to Louisville and his subsequent signing with Adidas when he turned pro. (For more, read our New York Times story here.)
Brown’s father told ZAGSBLOG last week that Maryland remained the No. 1 option for his son.
“Right now, yes,” Malcolm Brown said at the NYC Hoops for Hurricane Relief Game at the Gauchos Gym .
Moses BrownNYC Hoops For Hurricane ReliefWatch video on Overtime
Meantime, Brown enjoyed his Maryland visit.
“It was nice, man, it was the best,” Malcolm said. “They would basically let him use his tools as far as putting it on the floor and if he keeps working on it they feel that they can get a lot out of him, more than just the average big man posting up.
“They was mostly impressed with the simple fact that he stayed with his AAU team when he had a chance to play with numerous teams that was a lot better. But he stayed with New Heights even though everybody left and there was issues and he had to play with the guys that was playing up. And the fact that he stayed with them, it showed a lot of character and they were impressed with that.”
As of now, Brown is in a holding pattern with Maryland leading.
“Yes, feeling Maryland,” Malcolm said. “We gonna see what else happens.”
The early signing period comes in November, but it remains unclear if Brown will sign then or during the spring.
“I’m gonna hold out because there’s so much going on right now,” Malcolm said. “I just gotta let everything air out.”
Omg Moses Brown you’re a giant ?? @Moses_Graham1 @NewHeightsNYC #StartYourStory pic.twitter.com/QgZ96TGC5C
— Overtime (@overtime) April 27, 2017
