Phoenix College superstar sophomore point guard prospect Brandon Brown has made his college decision. With many schools looking to pursue Brown this spring, the ACCAC Conference's best player made a decision to sign this spring with a rising college program in the West Coast Conference (WCC).
On Monday afternoon, Brown gave a verbal commitment to Loyola Marymount University and first-year head coach Mike Dunlap. Dunlap took over the LMU program last year after a stint in the NBA, and is widely recognized as one of the elite coaches in the world of basketball and a tremendous player developer. Dunlap also spent some time at the University of Arizona, and is well known for his pair of national championships at Metro State.
The 5-foot-10 sophomore guard was by far the best player in the conference this season - leading his Phoenix College program to the ACCAC Conference title this season, and a berth into the national junior college tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas. Brown also led Phoenix College to the Division-II title for the 3rd consecutive year and the 7th time in 11 seasons.
Brown was the conference's leading scorer this season - averaging 24.7 points and 6.4 assists per/game, while shooting an impressive 47% from the field. Brown was very much unstoppable the last two seasons for Phoenix College, also leading his program to a huge Division-II national championship in 2014 - the first in school history.
Brown emerged as the top freshman prospect in the conference last season, and also proved the be the top overall point guard in the conference as well. Brown would earn Freshman of the Year honors in the ACCAC as a result of a terrific freshman campaign.
This season as a sophomore, Brown was terrific - leading Phoenix College to a strong 30-6 overall record on the season, and a 3-1 finish in the national junior college tournament - Phoenix College's third straight trip.
Congratulations to Brown on this decision, which I believe was the right choice for him. Mike Dunlap will be a great coach and mentor to Brown in his pursuit of furthering his basketball career after college. Brown has overcome so much adversity in his life and is one of the very best stories I have ever been associated with in Arizona basketball. I am so proud of him personally in what he has achieved in a short period of time, and am a very big fan of this young man. Our staff here at Arizona Preps wishes him all the best in his life and future career.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: Brown is a very skilled and jet-like quick point man with a variety of offensive moves and an ability to make plays for himself and others at any time in the offense. Brown is a very difficult player to defend with the basketball in his hands, and is the best juco guard in the West. He has an exceptional handle of the basketball and can get anywhere he wants to on the floor. He can finish with either hand in traffic and also over bigger defenders. He also is a very good shooter of the basketball that has developed his shot into becoming a dead-eye shooter with range, especially off the dribble while trying to create for himself against defenders - a nice attribute. While his shooting stroke is unorthodox, he is very effective with it. What makes Brown so valuable is that he is also a floor general and makes his team go. He plays with superior confidence, and puts his teammates in excellent offensive position to score the basketball. When Brown has the basketball in his hands, simply get open and he will find you. He makes it even more difficult to defend him, since defenders have to try to defend him first, but then also worry about his teammates moving without the basketball, as a result of the pressure Brown places on the defense when he penetrates. He pushes the basketball up the floor every chance he gets, and forces teams to transition defensively each time the ball goes up. On the defensive end of the floor, Brown is just as valuable to his team. He has excellent lateral quickness and quick hands and feet. Very strong physically, Brown is a lock-down defender that makes it diffuclt for opposing guards to get in to their offense. His ability to defend is almost as valuable as his ability to run his team. Brown is the best juco point guard prospect in the West.