Indiana welcomes class of 2025 5-star point guard Mikel Brown to Bloomington this weekend for an official visit.
To help get you ready, below is a comprehensive look with everything you need to know about Brown as he arrives on campus Friday for his weekend stay.
This is Brown’s first visit to the Bloomington campus.
ESSENTIALS
Status — OFFERED (July, 2022)
-Class – 2025
-Hometown – Orlando, Fla.
-School – DME Academy
-Position – Point Guard
-Height – 6-foot-3
-Weight – 170
-AAU – Team Loaded NC (Adidas 3SSB)
-On3 Industry Average Ranking – 5-star (No. 10 in nation, No. 2 point guard)
-Primary Competition – Louisville, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Maryland, UCF, Arizona, Providence, Ole Miss
Other visits — Brown also has upcoming visits set with Kentucky (9/27) Maryland (10/25), UCF (11/4), and Arizona (11/21). He has previously been to Alabama, Ole Miss and Providence.
Timeline — Brown is a candidate to take his recruitment into the winter and possibly even the spring. In Indiana’s case this is probably a good thing, as he’ll have a keen interest in seeing how the Hoosiers play with dynamic guards Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle.
Indiana Connections — Indiana was one of the first high majors to offer Brown two years ago. And when the Hoosiers offer and want a prospect, they are heavily engaged. Strong bonds have been formed with several members of the staff.
“Coach (Adam) Howard, Coach (Brian) Walsh, Coach (Mike) Woodson. The whole coaching staff texts me consistently, stays in contact and checks in with me,” Brown told The Daily Hoosier in July.
Wildcard Factor — Brown currently has an Adidas sponsorship. He played on the Adidas Circuit, and he just transferred to a school (DME) that has an Adidas deal. There is some thought Adidas schools like Indiana and Louisville have an edge.
Numbers — This summer, Brown led Team Loaded NC on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, guiding them to a 15-5 overall record and a 5th place finish in 3SSB finals. He averaged 21.4 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game and earned a 1st team spot on the All-Adidas Circuit squad.
As the starting point guard for the U18 National Team, he averaged 10.3 points and 5.2 assists per game. He had the second-highest assist average in the tournament.
Before joining DME Academy, Mikel spent a year at the Overtime Elite program in Atlanta. Playing for the Cold Hearts, he averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 assists per game.
RECRUITING SERVICE ASSESSMENTS
Even though Mikel Brown Jr. is one of the top basketball players in the country, he believes he still has room to grow and improve. “I don’t really look into one side of my game,” Brown told On3. “I look at all of it and try to create a balance. I’m constantly working on all types of moves to get to the basket, finishing at the rim, shooting, guarding the ball better, and rebounding. I’m looking to improve in all aspects of the game.” But there are parts of Brown’s game that he’s really proud of. “I’m constantly communicating with my team and putting them in the right position to be successful,” Brown said. “Also, I can score it at a high clip and I’m an overall point guard. I can play make for my teammates and pass the ball really well. That’s the best part of my game.”
There isn’t much he can’t do with the ball in his hands. He has total control of his handle, as both a creator and distributor, and a terrific left hand. He’s a talented passer with excellent floor vision and capable of hitting all corners of the court. He can throw pinpoint crosscourt skip passes with both hands, zip in pocket passes off the dribble, and make all the other associated pick-and-roll reads with good timing. He can rise-up for pull-ups off the dribble and posted 45/40/91 shooting splits in 3SSB action. There are still moments when he can be streaky as a shooter, as he continues to adjust to his evolving body mechanics, but he has a very clean release and projects as a real shot-maker long-term.
Brown also has very good natural pace and appears to possess a real intellect for the game as well, picking up and implementing concepts quickly. We’ve also seen more consistent two-way engagement as of late, with a matured motor and overall approach.
The biggest limitation in his game right now is just a lack of strength. While he’s grown several inches in recent years, and has a 6-foot-6 wingspan, he has a more naturally narrow frame. He can get pushed off his spots at times, on both ends of the floor. Long-term, the question is how much muscle mass his frame will be able to support and how does that impact his ability to put pressure on the rim.
Overall though, the totality of Brown’s skill, his ability to read the floor, and his newfound positional size makes him as good of a true point guard prospect as there is in this class.
QUOTABLE
“It was phenomenal how they just let him rock, and that’s pretty big for me.”
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Brown to On3’s Joe Tipton on overall impressions of IU:
“They’ve been recruiting me since I was a freshman. They’ve been there from day one. Coach Howard, Walsh, Woodson all reach out a lot. Just checking in on me. We’ve been looking to set up a visit, probably in the fall. They have a lot of tradition and history there. Coach Woodson has 30 years of NBA experience is big. It’s a basketball school. The fanbase is crazy. Packed out gyms. They say they want me to make an impact right away as well. They’ve been preaching that to me a lot and that’s what sparks interest in Indiana.”
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
2023-24 season:
2024 AAU:
Training:
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
