CARTERSVILLE, GA - James Brown has had a lot of changes in his life since we last spoke with him. That would have been this past winter when he was heading down the season's home stretch with St. Rita. Since then he has changed high schools and EYBL programs. He recently announced that he is transferring to Link Academy which is the same powerhouse that just won the GEICO Nationals behind future North Carolina point guard, Elliot Cadeau.
He also switched from the Meanstreets program to MOKAN Elite. This past weekend was our first time to see him since the announcements. MOKAN went 3-1 while Brown offered quality post depth to a strong inside lineup that already consisted of John Bol and Julius Thedford.
Brown averaged 12.5 minutes per game as well as 7.3 points and 3.5 rebounds. He made 12 of his 18 shot attempts for a 66.7% rate as well as 2 for 3 from deep for the same percentage. He also went 60% from the foul line.
Brown is an awkward but athletic big man who looks like a young colt trying to grow into his body. He has sprinters speed in his long gangly strides. He is energetic, and is always giving maximum effort. He runs, takes charges, tries to make the extra play, constantly communicates, and always seems to either be in a pile or on the floor. He will be the beneficiary of good coaching in both programs which should help greatly in his development.
Brown is raw offensively, and plays too fast many times when he has the ball. Instead of checking how the defense is playing him and reacting, he is a whirling dervish who turns easier looks into harder attempts that they should be. He did show some flashes in his last two games. He had a couple of nice finishes around the rim, and proved that he could catch and finish in the pick and roll game, as well as getting some putbacks off the offensive glass. He will see noted improvements once he slows the game down with the ball in his hands on the low block.
Tar Heel Illustrated spoke with the North Carolina commit after his final game Sunday morning. He went in-depth about the changes, and how he expects them to make him more effective once he arrives on campus.
