Atlantic 10 Basketball: Impact of Rhode Island newcomer Tyson Brown

The first domino fell for Coach Archie Miller this spring recruiting season as JUCO forward Tyson Brown announced his commitment to Rhode Island. of Atlantic 10 Basketball.

With the transfer portal and NIL, every Division I head coach is actively building their perfect roster quickly in preparation for the 2023-24 season.

It didn’t take long for Coach Archie Miller and his staff to receive their first commitment of the spring recruitment season in 6-foot-9 forward Tyson Brown.

He hails from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and was initially committed to play for Robert Morris University in 2020-21 but transferred to Western Texas College after just three games. The JUCO product would play the remainder of the season with the Westerners and return to the program the following year.

Last season Brown played for Florida Southwestern State, where he averaged 11.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, and shot 57.5 percent. He quickly emerged as one of the nation’s best junior college prospects, piquing the interest of many, including St Bonaventure, Wichita State, Old Dominion, and many others.

This would not be the first JUCO commit for the Rhode Island Rams under the Archie Miller era, as redshirt sophomore forward Jospahat Bilau previously attended New Mexico junior college. Tyson joins an already deep frontcourt which consists of Josaphat Bilau, Alex Tchikou, Jeremy Foumena, and Rory Stewart.

With four Rams in the transfer portal, this addition makes sense for Rhode Island because it helps with the departure of big man Abdou Samb, who appears to be transferring.

Rhode Island has retained every player that has been recruited since Coach Archie Miller’s arrival in Kingston; however, they have a lot of work left to do with four scholarship spots currently open. The Rams have already recruited 2023 guards Connor Dubsky and Cam Estevez.

We can expect URI to continue to attack the transfer portal, international pool, high school, and AAU ranks throughout the offseason. It should be interesting to see the pieces they add to the backcourt to fill the roles of Ishmael Leggett, Sebastian Thomas, and Brayon Freeman.

I believe the Rams could look at several different options and address the guard position in the transfer portal. Rhode Island has already been in contact with Temple transfer Khalif Battle, High Point transfer Jaden House, Towson transfer Nick Timberlake, and Robert Morris transfer Enoch Cheeks, a Pawtucket, Rhode Island native.