Jabari Brown - SG - Oakland HS - Oakland, CA - OREGON

Brown is a kid who I've noticed pick up steam during this spring and summer.  He's been a player who I was hoping Lavin and staff would start contacting. 

I know it's gonna be kinda tough for us to get involved with at this stage, but I'm holding out hope for us to make a serious play for Brown. 

This kid looks absolutely phenomenal in his highlight tapes.

This kid looks absolutely phenomenal in his highlight tapes.

More highlight reel from Brown....  He looks very, very solid in this video, as well.

http://www.prepforce.com/videos/206/jabari-brown-highlights-from-nike-eybl.html

MJ...Did you see him play in person? 

Brown is a kid who I've noticed pick up steam during this spring and summer.  He's been a player who I was hoping Lavin and staff would start contacting. 

I know it's gonna be kinda tough for us to get involved with at this stage, but I'm holding out hope for us to make a serious play for Brown. 

Do we have any indication that staff has contacted him or he is listing us ?

MJ...Did you see him play in person? 

I've never seen him play in person, but I'll hopefully get a chance to see him in person in a couple of weeks at the Peach Jam.

Quote from: mjdinkins on June 21, 2010, 11:08:19 PM

Brown is a kid who I've noticed pick up steam during this spring and summer.  He's been a player who I was hoping Lavin and staff would start contacting. 

I know it's gonna be kinda tough for us to get involved with at this stage, but I'm holding out hope for us to make a serious play for Brown. 

Do we have any indication that staff has contacted him or he is listing us ?

I know the staff has contacted him, but I'm still not sure whether he's actually considering the Johnnies or not.  Hopefully, I'll be able to find out in a couple of weeks.

Quote from: jumpinjohnny on June 28, 2010, 02:59:26 PM

MJ...Did you see him play in person? 

I've never seen him play in person, but I'll hopefully get a chance to see him in person in a couple of weeks at the Peach Jam.

I look forward to your annual update.  Be sure to wear a nice St. John's polo to represent.

Quote from: mjdinkins on June 28, 2010, 03:06:40 PM

Quote from: jumpinjohnny on June 28, 2010, 02:59:26 PM

MJ...Did you see him play in person? 

I've never seen him play in person, but I'll hopefully get a chance to see him in person in a couple of weeks at the Peach Jam.

I look forward to your annual update.  Be sure to wear a nice St. John's polo to represent.

Thanks, jumpinjohnny!  I already have a couple of St. John's t-shirts that I'm gonna wear.  LOL  I'm sure that'll catch the eye of the staff. 

By the way....  It's going to be that much more entertaining watching the games at the Peach Jam, as we actually have a chance of landing some of the blue-chippers involved in the tournament.  I believe this is the most I've been anticipating going in a few years.

I'll definitely have some news for all of my Johnny brethren. 

MJ...Did you see him play in person? 

I watched him play in VA in April and Los Angeles in late May.
He plays in the same backcourt as St. John's recruit Nick Johnson and arguably has had a better AAU season thus far.
At a program like St. John's, he'd be an immediate starter as a freshman. If need be, Coach Lavin could also move him over to the three position (which he plays at times for the Soldiers) against certain opponents, but he has prototypical size for a two.

Quote from: jumpinjohnny on June 28, 2010, 02:59:26 PM

MJ...Did you see him play in person? 

I watched him play in VA in April and Los Angeles in late May.
He plays in the same backcourt as St. John's recruit Nick Johnson and arguably has had a better AAU season thus far.
At a program like St. John's, he'd be an immediate starter as a freshman. If need be, Coach Lavin could also move him over to the three position (which he plays at times for the Soldiers) against certain opponents, but he has prototypical size for a two.

I had a feeling he was having a better AAU season than Johnson (as, I knew both were on the same AAU team).  That isn't saying Johnson (as, I hear he's having a solid AAU season) is not having a good AAU season.  It's just saying, Brown is having a terrific AAU season.

I think Brown would be an immediate starter wherever he decides to attend college.  If, not a starter then definitely the 6th man. 

I agree with you that Brown probably would be able to play the two and three in college.  As, you mentioned....  He's a prototypical two.  He also seems to have a solid build; looks fairly athletic; and is an adept ballhandler.  It seems his specialty is ringing the bell from downtown.

I'm looking forward to watching Johnson and Brown play in a couple of weeks. 

Quote from: Not The Sleaveless Guy on June 29, 2010, 06:53:52 AM

Quote from: jumpinjohnny on June 28, 2010, 02:59:26 PM

MJ...Did you see him play in person? 

I watched him play in VA in April and Los Angeles in late May.
He plays in the same backcourt as St. John's recruit Nick Johnson and arguably has had a better AAU season thus far.
At a program like St. John's, he'd be an immediate starter as a freshman. If need be, Coach Lavin could also move him over to the three position (which he plays at times for the Soldiers) against certain opponents, but he has prototypical size for a two.

I had a feeling he was having a better AAU season than Johnson (as, I knew both were on the same AAU team).  That isn't saying Johnson (as, I hear he's having a solid AAU season) is not having a good AAU season.  It's just saying, Brown is having a terrific AAU season.

I think Brown would be an immediate starter wherever he decides to attend college.  If, not a starter then definitely the 6th man. 

I agree with you that Brown probably would be able to play the two and three in college.  As, you mentioned....  He's a prototypical two.  He also seems to have a solid build; looks fairly athletic; and is an adept ballhandler.  It seems his specialty is ringing the bell from downtown.

I'm looking forward to watching Johnson and Brown play in a couple of weeks. 

That team has a player I'd love Lavin to land in Brandon Ashley, an athletic big from the Bay.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=5363582

Brown is one of the best shooters in the Class of 2011, and during drills, he did a great job of reading dribble penetration and moving to the open area to deliver his smooth jumper. Brown also looked good shooting off screens and pulling up for midrange jumpers at high speeds. The opposing defense needs to know where Brown is at all times because he can hit multiple jumpers, make a strong move off the dribble or finish above the rim with a clear path.

http://www.zagsblog.com/2010/07/12/coaches-swarm-to-watch-oakland-soldiers/

The 6-4 Brown was 7 of 13 from the field, hitting 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.

He listed UConn, Oregon State, Washington State, Washington, Kansas, Cal, Maryland, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Arizona State, Stanford and Georgia Tech.

“I’m still pretty open, trying to win this tournament and then after that sit down and think about it,” Brown said.

Per Alex Kline....  The Johnnies have recently offered.

http://twitter.com/TheRecruitScoop

http://www.zagsblog.com/2010/07/18/west-virginia-jam-fest-recruiting-rundown/

Jabari Brown ’11 - Oakland Soliders – Brown played great at the Nike Peach Jam despite his team not being able to win it all. Three major schools noticed his excellent performance and decided to offer. Georgetown offered a day after Jabari’s Soldiers were knocked out of play. Kansas waited until a few days after to pull out an offer for Brown. And St. John’s offered Sunday night. They join the ranks of most Pac-10 schools, as well as Maryland, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Jabari Brown, SG, Oakland Soldiers- After coming up short at the Peach Jam earlier this month, the Soliders wanted the title at the Fab 48 badly and Brown helped deliver. Saving his best play for the last day of the event, Brown had it rolling from deep and made some plays in transition.

More recruiting info to note from the article....

New St. John's coach Steve Lavin has been very visible, particularly at New Jersey Playaz and New York Panthers games. He looks to be zeroing in on Kyle Anderson and Maurice Harkless.

Narrows his list to seven and the Johnnies are on it....

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=2&c=992916&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fscouthoops.scout.com%2f2%2f992916.html

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=3798485

Kind of suprised we made his list.  Out of the Soldiers I thought we had worst chance with him.  I guess with these west coast kids a lot of it will come down to how willing are they to leave for the big city.