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Cal Basketball

Brown and Coach Talk About Commitment to Cal

October 2, 2018
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6-2/180 2019 4 star Brewster Academy point guard Joel Brown pulled the trigger for Cal today, two weeks before his upcoming official visit.

"For me, the perfect fit for me with Cal was that they made me a big priority," said Brown. "Coach (Wyking) Jones and Coach (David) Grace -I was able to have a personal relationship with them, on and off the court. They communicated with me and my family very well. And to be honest, the Pac-12 has been a conference I dreamed of playing in and with my skill set, should be able to excel.

"The opportunity they gave me at Cal was to be a huge part of the team and help them continue to improve. I have the opportunity to play behind and learn from Paris (Austin) next year and continue to grow in my game and ability to help the program."

As for his strengths?

"It's a different ballgame from high school to college but I'm looking forward to developing with the Cal staff, with them helping me to meet my goals of playing in the NBA," noted Brown. "I'm also looking forward to the great competition, playing against teams like Arizona, Washington, Oregon and playing against great guys on a nightly basis.

"I feel like mentally, I bring a lot of leadership qualities to the floor. As a point guard, I take pride in being a leader and a positive energy guy. And I take a lot of pride playing great defense. Being able to get into the lane and my passing ability and getting others involved and in the right spot are strengths of mine, too."

Brewster Academy coach Jason Smith echoes Brown's assessment and more.

"Joel's off the charts," said Smith. "He's the highest level of character and leadership. He'll be a great addition to the Berkeley campus.

"He has elite-level speed and quickness and a non-stop motor. He plays with great energy and passion, really defends for 94 feet and just plays super hard.

"At a program like Brewster, he's playing with 10 other scholarship level players, so we don't ask him to take on a big scoring load. He's doing just what we need for us for our program to succeed.  Donovan Mitchell played for us and averaged 13 points a game but averaged over 20 as a rookie in the NBA.

"The fact that Joel was All-New England Prep as a junior was a tremendous honor, as well."

The intangibles that Brown brings to the team harken to a Cal fan favorite in years past according to Smith.

"You can compare him to a guy like Jorge Gutierrez who played at Findlay Prep before Cal," said Smith. "He was tremendous. We played him in '08. He didn't put up big numbers at Findlay, but like Jorge, the intangibles that Joel will bring to any program are far outweigh his numbers."

Brown had some familiarity with the Cal roster, having met freshman Jacobi Gordon last year.

"I know Jacobi," said Brown. "He came to Aspire Academy the year after I left but he had an injury and his trainer was from Canada and I know him personally. So there was a time when Jacobi was in Canada working out and we met there."

The 4 star Brown played for St. Edmund Campion in Brampton, Ontario in Canada before transferring Aspire Academy as a sophomore and to Brewster as a junior and where he'll finish out as a senior.

Brown also played for Canada's U18 National Team and enjoyed the experience tremendously.

"It was a great experience," said Brown. "It was great to play at home in front of a home crowd. A lot of people don't get the chance to play for their country. So for me, it was an opportunity I couldn't take for granted.

"It's our goal to get to the World's next year, so I'm looking forward to that.

"Ultimately, it was a great experience to play against a lot of very good players internationally and build new relationships."

Brown, who sports a 3.6 gpa, is hoping to study business or economics at Cal.

The Bears beat out Arizona State, Minnesota, Clemson, Seton Hall, Boise State, Rutgers and several Ivy League schools for Brown's services.

Discussion from...

Brown and Coach Talk About Commitment to Cal

12,823 Views | 16 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by calumnus
south bender
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If this young man can realistically be likened to Jorge and Donovan Mitchell, we are in for something special.

I hope, I hope, I hope!
MoragaBear
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Staff
As I'm sure you're aware, the Mitchell anecdote was related to players on loaded rosters not piling up big stats.
Yogi58
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south bender said:

If this young man can realistically be likened to Jorge and Donovan Mitchell, we are in for something special.

I hope, I hope, I hope!
If he was anything like Donovan Mitchell, he would have had a lot more offers. We were one of the few P5 schools that actually offered him.
Civil Bear
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Yogi Bear said:

south bender said:

If this young man can realistically be likened to Jorge and Donovan Mitchell, we are in for something special.

I hope, I hope, I hope!
If he was anything like Donovan Mitchell, he would have had a lot more offers. We were one of the few P5 schools that actually offered him.
According to 24/7, he had 6 offers from P5 schools.
MoragaBear
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Staff
Also according to him in the commitment story.
puget sound cal fan
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That recruiting profile for Joel Brown is similar to Jorge's, and it he possesses some of Jorge's stellar attributes, the Bears may have landed a gem.
helltopay1
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By the time Jorge was a senior he was a pretty good perimeter shooter and he became 'nails" from the charity stripe. Very few players improve their shooting dramatically. jorge became one of the very few who accomplished this task. i'm sure he became a gym rat to help him is this task. Let's hope Brown has the same dedication. Because, if you can't shoot, you won't be able to drive because your defender will slack off and dare you to shoot. Monty and Jorge knew this and, hence, the dedication. Also, if you can't shoot free throws, you will not be playing at the end of a tight game because the defense will foul you with glee.
Yogi58
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Civil Bear said:

Yogi Bear said:

south bender said:

If this young man can realistically be likened to Jorge and Donovan Mitchell, we are in for something special.

I hope, I hope, I hope!
If he was anything like Donovan Mitchell, he would have had a lot more offers. We were one of the few P5 schools that actually offered him.
According to 24/7, he had 6 offers from P5 schools.
What the recruit says about who offered and what the school says often don't match up.
HoopDreams
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helltopay1 said:

By the time Jorge was a senior he was a pretty good perimeter shooter and he became 'nails" from the charity stripe. Very few players improve their shooting dramatically. jorge became one of the very few who accomplished this task. i'm sure he became a gym rat to help him is this task. Let's hope Brown has the same dedication. Because, if you can't shoot, you won't be able to drive because your defender will slack off and dare you to shoot. Monty and Jorge knew this and, hence, the dedication. Also, if you can't shoot free throws, you will not be playing at the end of a tight game because the defense will foul you with glee.
agree with you
his shooting mechanics need to improve, and he needs to get a 1000 reps up every day. Also needs to quicken his release
Civil Bear
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Yogi Bear said:

Civil Bear said:

Yogi Bear said:

south bender said:

If this young man can realistically be likened to Jorge and Donovan Mitchell, we are in for something special.

I hope, I hope, I hope!
If he was anything like Donovan Mitchell, he would have had a lot more offers. We were one of the few P5 schools that actually offered him.
According to 24/7, he had 6 offers from P5 schools.
What the recruit says about who offered and what the school says often don't match up.

As mentioned, I got the information from the 24/7 website. What are you basing your info on?
concordtom
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Apparently, we should be able to focus our recruiting efforts to only those with the initials JB, and specifically those with the last name Brown.

Jabari Bird
Jaylen Brown
Jordan Brown
Joel Brown

3 out of 4 ain't bad.

Though I'm now reminded of Jabari Brown, too.
Coincidence?

Oh, let's not omit Jaelyn Brown on the women's team....
helltopay1
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Eugene Brown from SF was better than any other Brown I ever saw play.
concordtom
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I dunno.
Jackson Browne was pretty good!

Here's a feel good song, starring the Big Man and Daryl Hannah.



Welcome, Joel!
Hopefully your days at Cal are as happy as these.
Yogi58
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Civil Bear said:

Yogi Bear said:

Civil Bear said:

Yogi Bear said:

south bender said:

If this young man can realistically be likened to Jorge and Donovan Mitchell, we are in for something special.

I hope, I hope, I hope!
If he was anything like Donovan Mitchell, he would have had a lot more offers. We were one of the few P5 schools that actually offered him.
According to 24/7, he had 6 offers from P5 schools.
What the recruit says about who offered and what the school says often don't match up.

As mentioned, I got the information from the 24/7 website. What are you basing your info on?
Rivals
mikecohen
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concordtom said:

I dunno.
Jackson Browne was pretty good!

Here's a feel good song, starring the Big Man and Daryl Hannah.



Welcome, Joel!
Hopefully your days at Cal are as happy as these.
I'm looking for a recording of his song: Meet me in Oaxaca, or it's El Paso, Mi Amor
calumnus
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concordtom said:

Apparently, we should be able to focus our recruiting efforts to only those with the initials JB, and specifically those with the last name Brown.

Jabari Bird
Jaylen Brown
Jordan Brown
Joel Brown

3 out of 4 ain't bad.

Though I'm now reminded of Jabari Brown, too.
Coincidence?

Oh, let's not omit Jaelyn Brown on the women's team....


You forgot Jamal Boykin

Jahvid Best on the football team.
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