After loading up with a top three recruiting class for 2019, Arizona coach Sean Miller is making the most of some prime second-chance opportunities to build his 2020-21 roster.
Forward Jordan Brown announced via Twitter on Friday that he will transfer from Nevada to Arizona, a year after the Wildcats and Cal lost out on the five-star recruit to the Wolf Pack. Brown’s commitment follows that of guard Jemarl Baker, who announced last month that he would transfer to Arizona from Kentucky after initially choosing the Lexington, Kentucky-based Wildcats over UA and others in 2017.
Baker and Brown will have to sit out next season, and Arizona will have to clear another roster spot to make room assuming Brown takes a scholarship. The Wildcats currently have 14 scholarship players lined up for their 2019-20 roster, one over the maximum of 13.
The number assumes Jakes DesJardins, who was on scholarship last year, moves back to walk-on status.
Efforts to reach Brown and his father were unsuccessful. Billy McKnight, Brown’s high school coach at Prolific Prep of Napa, California, said Brown’s well-established relationship with Miller helped the Wildcats this time around.
Brown averaged only 10.1 minutes per game last season while playing for a veteran Nevada team, then opted to transfer after coach Eric Musselman left for Arkansas in April.
Jordan Brown, left, who struggled to find playing time at Nevada last season, will sit out the 2019-20 season at UA.
“He had a lot of schools, a lot of big-time schools coming after him, but that was the No. 1 thing I believe — if not No. 1, definitely among the top reasons — the trust with the coach, and that they’re going to do what they said they were going to do,” McKnight said. “I know he really liked Arizona and I think they’re not worried about taking a year and getting stronger so as far as the transfer goes.”
New Nevada coach Steve Alford tried to retain Brown but his father, Dion, told Nevada Sports Net last month that both he and his son had a rough experience last season.
“His confidence and trust got shattered this season. Not just him. Me, too, as well,” Dion Brown told Nevada Sports Net. “We came out (to Reno) last week and we talked through it and this whole thing is trust. I hate to see that with such a young kid to where you learn what the world is about. It ain’t always good. But he’s going to be better for it. I know that. He hasn’t stopped working.”
McKnight said Brown’s chances of playing heavily as a freshman were hurt early last season, when the Wolf Pack struggled in a scrimmage with Washington and it became clearer that Musselman, already known for preferring veterans, would turn that direction again with his highly ranked club. Brown wound up averaging just 3.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
“I know there were some games where he was really productive in the first half and just didn’t get back in,” McKnight said. “Eric just really shortened the rotation and rolled with the guys who were able to do it the year before, and that makes a lot of sense.
“But I think Jordan handled it as well as anybody could. You watch the games and even if he wasn’t in, he was cheering his teammates. He really is a team guy.”
Brown wound up averaging just 3.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game with Nevada in 2018-19.
Brown will have the potential to replace Arizona’s Chase Jeter at center in 2020-21, though McKnight said he also has ballhandling and midrange shooting skills that allow him to play away from the basket if needed.
Developing those skills was an emphasis after Brown transferred to Prolific Prep following his junior season at Woodcreek High School in Roseville, California. Brown averaged 26.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game that season, but McKinney said he was limited to playing strictly inside.
“He’s incredibly skilled,” McKinney said. “He passes the ball great, which is something most people undervalue. When he got to us, he was used to running to the low post and posting up, and doing that against three football players (from the other team).
“With us, he went into 1-on-1, or 1-on-2 situations, so he was able to pass the ball and understand not just how to pass out of the post but to go away from the basket. It was a big adjustment, understanding how to play out there, how to dribble handoff, throw backdoor cut passes.”
Brown told 247Sports.com that he and Miller have “both faced adversity,” and that he was attracted to how Arizona’s coach uses his big men. Miller will use Brown in a featured role in 2020-21, which could, in turn, help Brown restore his stock as a strong NBA prospect.
“Jordan didn’t play a whole lot last season so who knows what a team (from the NBA) might have seen,” McKnight said. “I think that is the biggest thing right now — getting him to the point where he will go in that draft and be somebody where everybody knows he’ll be taken, and just being as ready as possible.”
