Florida men’s basketball team held their first official practice of preseason camp on Tuesday at the Hugh Hathcock Basketball Complex. Isaiah Brown, a freshman guard from Orlando, made his presence felt early with a two-handed slam over sophomore forward Alex Condon in a 3-on-2 drill. Later on, Brown fought through two defenders and came away with an offensive rebound high on the glass.
“Stud. Honestly, Isaiah, he’s fantastic,” head coach Todd Golden said on Brown. “He’s a great player. You know, we take him for granted a little bit, because he is a guy that’s a freshman, but you watch him play, he’s like a junior out there. Like he knows all the angles, he’s a great team defender, he knows how to cut, get to the glass offensively, he just, he makes a lot of winning plays.”
In high school, Brown helped Orlando Christian Prep to a 25-4 record as a junior while averaging 18.6 points per game. He later led OCP to a state runner-up finish his senior season. Winning is in his blood.
“I think his best quality is that he has a lot of winning attributes, just little things that don’t necessarily show up in the box score every day. But his teams win a lot. He is what we hoped he would be when we got him, and really happy he’s here with us,” Golden said on Brown.
The 6’4, 200-pound guard doesn’t look or play like a freshman. While Brown didn’t have many scoring opportunities in Florida’s first practice, his confidence on the floor was evident.
“Just plays hard,” senior guard Walter Clayton said on Brown. “I don’t think he’s coming in and expecting anything, he just plays hard, get a lot of offensive rebounds, crash the glass, and being physical. I think he’s adjusting well for a freshman; I think he’s going to be great.”
Brown has seemingly transitioned well to the college game.
“Isaiah is really good,” senior Will Richard said on Brown. “He plays the right way. He doesn’t force things. He makes the right decisions on offense and defense. He’s done a great job of picking us up. He has picked up rebounds, cutting when he needs to, bringing energy. He’s going to be good.”
Brown has all the potential to carve out a significant role off the bench for Florida’s 2024-25 squad as a great on ball defender, an explosive athlete, and an improved shooter.
“He’s a guy that I think’s gonna challenge me a lot early in the season, because I think there’s gonna be a lot of times where he earns the right to get out there a little bit,” Golden said on Brown. “And if he does that, he’ll be playing.”