NCAA Basketball Recruiting: 2020 prospect Greg Brown set to visit Memphis, Kentucky
Top class of 2020 NCAA Basketball prospect Greg Brown is slated to make two more official visits after the New Year.
Greg Brown III is one of the top prospects in the NCAA Basketball class of 2020 still available. Brown is currently making his college rounds as he is coming off a visit to Auburn this weekend, where he watched Auburn defeat Alabama 48-45 in the Iron Bowl.
The 6-9 forward is still considering all five schools that made his finalist list. He has also taken visits to two of the other finalists as he took an official trip to Texas (Sept. 5) and unofficial to North Carolina (Sept. 27). The Austin (TX) native is now slated to take official visits to Memphis on Jan. 4 and then make the trek to Kentucky on Jan. 10.
Brown is a consensus top 10 prospect in the class. The five-star recruit is ranked No. 7 by Rivals and No. 10 by 247Sports. Meanwhile, ESPN and 247Sports Composite both have him as the eighth-best prospect.
The 18-year-old hybrid four-man is an elite athlete who is exceptionally long and thrives in the open court. He can play with his back to the basket or facing it. Brown is also very good at getting to the basket off the bounce and has an excellent mid-range game. Additionally, the Vandegrift high school product is an excellent offensive rebounder, as well as a versatile defender that likes to swat away shots.
Brown has Vandegrift off to a 5-2 start to the season. He tallied 55 points in two games over the weekend at the Dallas Frisco Star Tournament.
A look at each of his five finalists
Auburn: Bruce Pearl has turned the Tigers into a legitimate basketball force. The Tigers have finished with a winning record in each of the last three years — totaling 74 wins — and are coming off a historic season that saw them reach the Final Four for the first time. They are currently 7-0 in 2019-20.
Pearl definitely needs to replenish his frontcourt. Auburn will lose its top three interior players following the conclusion of this season. That leaves freshmen Babatunde Akingbola and Jaylin Williams, both of whom have seen limited action this season thus far, as the only frontcourt players currently projected to be on the roster. The Tigers have two scholarships remaining for 2020 after signing guards Sharife Cooper, Justin Carter, and wing Chris Moore.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels made Brown a priority a while ago. Brown called his official visit last spring to Chapel Hill “unbelievable” and returned to the school, as he previously said in September. However, Carolina has already signed five players from the class, leaving them two scholarship players over the limit for next year.
Kentucky: Brown picked up an offer from the Wildcats in August. Kentucky and coach John Calipari gets high marks here as a result of their past track record of developing NBA players. The Wildcats signed five players from 2020 during the early signing period and have received a verbal commitment from BJ Boston.
Memphis: Brown is going to take in the Memphis-Georgia basketball game during his official visit. Brown has developed a good relationship with assistant Mike Miller and received an in-home visit with the entire Tigers coaching staff in September. Coach Penny Hardaway has Memphis currently at 6-1 on the season and ranked 16th in the AP poll. Hardaway, who did a fantastic job at recruiting in year one, has yet to receive a commitment from the class of 2020.
But there could be a good reason as the Tigers only have one scholarship available and has offers to four players each of whom is among the top available at their positions. However, they will likely ultimately have a few more awards become available as James Wiseman is all-but gone after one year, and Precious Achiuwa, DJ Jeffries, and Lester Quinones could follow suit.
Texas: The Longhorns have long been considered the favorite for Brown’s services as Brown has connections with the university through his parents. Plus, Brown lives only 12 miles from campus. He also has an excellent relationship with head coach Shaka Smart. And Smart has been good at securing top homegrown talent that he wants since coming to UT.
Texas has reached the postseason in three of Smart’s first four years, but the Longhorns are just 77-67 overall and 31-41 in Big 12 play under the 42-year-old. The Longhorns are currently 6-1 on the season which includes a big win over Purdue.
UT has just one scholarship currently available for the 2020 class as the Longhorns are very young. While they have plenty of forwards on their roster, Jericho Sims and Gerald Liddell are the only ones that are seeing over 10 minutes of action a game.
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Prediction: I am sticking with Texas to obtain Brown’s service as the Longhorns could use his talent. I believe that Brown would fit in perfectly with the current construction of the Longhorns roster and how Smart likes to play. I think that Memphis will finish second with Auburn closely following. I also believe that Kentucky is on the outside in this competition, with a slight chance of getting back into the race. Meanwhile, I don’t think UNC has any chance.