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Baylor Basketball

Story: Consensus 5-star forward Kendall Brown commits to Baylor

July 20, 2020
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Just months after doing it on the court, the Baylor basketball team is now making history off of it.

The Bears on Monday received an oral commitment from Kendall Brown‍, a 6-foot-8 small forward who is ranked No. 12 on Rivals.com’s national Top 100 list.

A Minnesota native who plays for Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Brown picked Baylor over Kansas, Ohio State, Marquette, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota and a long list of others.

“I have a great relationship with Coach (Scott) Drew and the coaching staff,” Brown said. “He does a really great job with his wings, players like Taurean Prince and Royce O’Neale. He gives them the freedom to show their athletic ability and what they can do on the court.”

Brown is now the third national top-50 player to pledge to the Bears in the past week. Langston Love, ranked No. 22 by ESPN, committed on Wednesday while Jeremy Sochan (No. 47 by 247sports) announced his decision Thursday.

Baylor’s 2021 class is ranked the No. 1 class in the country by Rivals and 247Sports.

“The three of us are going to make an impact right away,” Brown said.

There is no question, though, that Brown is the gem of the class.

The 205-pound Brown – who revealed his decision on an Instagram Live video with ESPN’s Paul Biancardi – has a style similar to former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen. His size and length enables him to guard all five positions, and his ability to handle the ball like a point guard and soft shooting touch makes him a threat to score from anywhere.

Brown said his fondness for Drew was another big reason he chose Baylor.

“He’s a great person,” Brown said of Drew. “He reminds me a lot of my coach at Sunrise Christian, coach Luke (Barnwell). He’s got a lot of energy and he’s a big Christian guy, and that’s big for me.”

Brown played for East Ridge High School in Woodbury, Minnesota before transferring to Sunrise – the alma mater of Buddy Hield – last July. He is close with Love, his future Baylor teammate, as the two have competed together for USA Basketball.

“We had a really strong relationship ever since the first couple of Team USA camps we went to,” Brown told Biancardi. “We’ve kept in touch ever since. I really wanted to play with him. When it committed I felt like it was go-time for me.”

Brown is ranked No. 14 by 247sports and No. 16 by ESPN.com. Asked by Biancardi to describe his game, Brown said: “A really athletic wing that can really get to the basket; a really high IQ who can get players open and pass the ball really well.”

Corey Evans, a national recruiting expert at Rivals.com, ranked Brown higher than any other analyst at No. 12.

“He is a do-it-all wing forward that can play arguably four positions on the floor at both ends,” Rivals.com Corey Evans said. “He can defend, rebound. He can create for others and he can create for himself. His shot has improved, so there are really no deficiencies in his game.”

Baylor’s banner week in recruiting comes on the heels of a 26-4 season that saw the Bears win a school-record 23 straight games while being ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for five straight weeks.

With three top-50 commitments, Baylor is likely to have its highest-ranked class in school history. The Bears’ 2012 haul featuring Isaiah Austin, Rico Gathers, LJ Rose, Chad Rykhoek and Taurean Prince was ranked No. 10 by ESPN.com.

Discussion from...

Story: Consensus 5-star forward Kendall Brown commits to Baylor

13,817 Views | 10 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Alf
rudylaw
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Man oh man oh man!
IowaBear
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WOW!! Drew is set up for several runs at a Natty!
KOKQB70
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Are you kidding me, CSD killin it, congrats to this young man and look forward to his skills helping BU knock off Kansas sooner rather than later!
gobears20
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BUbackerinET
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Really nice get. Impressed with his comments. Drew getting quality players and quality individuals
gobears20
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Staff
Draft notes

https://nbadraftroom.com/kendall-brown/

Brown is an extremely athletic wing prospect with springs in his legs who has all the makings of a future NBA player. He's a standout defender, a great transition player and an emerging offensive talent.
His physical profile is elite. He's an above the rim player with great vertical explosion, quick twitch athleticism and great change of direction.

Brown has a nice feel for spacing on the offensive end and he's great at making cuts to the basket and going backdoor for lobs and layups. He's mostly a straight-line driver who is developing his creativity with the ball.
Once he gets the ball on the wing or in the lane he's one of the best finishers at the rim in his class.
Brown brings it on the defensive end and is a really standout on this end of the court. He's got the size and athleticism to guard 1-4 and he very much fits into the modern switch-everything defense.



gobears20
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Staff












Jorkel
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We are going to have some big long players again.
vanillabryce
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CSD killing it. Way to cash in!!!
Alf
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If being #1 for several weeks gets us these type of quality recruits why did Drew wait so long
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