For many teams in the country right now, it’s all about the transfer portal. It used to be that high school recruiting was something that fans and media followed closely, with every offer, visit, and commitment being closely scrutinized. After the extra year of eligibility in 2020 and the one-time transfer waiver the sport changed drastically and now the transfer portal has become the main source of talent acquisition for a majority of programs with high school recruiting taking a back seat. However, there is still value to be had in the high school recruiting ranks as evidenced from the Gators getting valuable contributions from Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh, players who were able to come into college and contribute immediately.
Now, the Gators will hope to get some similar contributions from Isaiah Brown. Brown was Florida’s lone high school commit for much of the last calendar year before they took Slovenian point guard Urban Klavzar, who is almost more of a transfer than a recruiting commitment due to his wealth of professional experience in Europe. The Gators also took Olivier Rioux as a walk-on and Viktor Mikic late in the cycle, but those were largely added due to roster spots they have left over from their main recruiting. Functionally, Brown was Florida’s only high school commit and it shows just how high they are on the 6’5” wing from Orlando, a player that they thought was worth prioritizing as opposed to filling his spot with another transfer addition.
Ranked as the 117th player in the 2024 class, Florida’s staff is confident he’s someone that’s going to drastically outperform that ranking. At the time of Florida’s heavy recruitment of Brown he was getting largely mid-major offers, and while some high-major staffs would look at that as a negative–Florida’s staff saw an opportunity to land a commitment from a player they loved before other big-name programs jumped in. With Brown being an in-state talent it was a natural fit, and the Gators got a player that they thought could provide production at the wing for multiple seasons.
Last season the Gators had freshman production from Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh, so can they expect the same from Brown?
Listed at 6’5” and 185 before coming to Florida Brown already had decent size that wouldn’t be out of place in the SEC, and since coming to campus has gained bulk and definition. When you look at Florida’s current roster it’s talented at a number of positions, but there isn’t much length at the wing spot which could open up Brown to competing for a role. Will Richard is the starter at small forward according to Florida’s staff, but behind him there aren’t any true wings. Denzel Aberdeen stands at 6’5” but is more of a guard, and Brown could find himself competing for some of those minutes with the junior Aberdeen.
One of the reasons Florida was so high on the play of Brown was his ability to score. Brown isn’t the most explosive or quickest player off the bounce, but he’s extremely smooth and uses his dribble combinations with purpose to create space and get downhill. Earlier in his career he was known as more of a jump shooter, though in his final year of high school he made it a focus to become more of a downhill threat that could get to the rim and finish. Right now when you look at Florida’s roster there are a lot of defense-first players, and there is a good chance at some point the Gators will need some kind of scoring punch off the bench. Slovenian Urban Klavzar is an excellent scorer but he is undersized and has struggled defensively, and Florida’s staff might be looking for bigger players on the wing that can defend their position while providing some scoring punch.
Additionally, shooting has not been a big strength in the last two seasons under Todd Golden. Last year Florida didn’t have many shooters on the floor ranking 258th in the country in three-point attempts and that’s an area the staff has wanted to improve in, and looking at this roster there was one proven shooter brought in with Alijah Martin but still the team could be looking for more of a catch and shoot threat. Brown, who is left-handed, has a pretty stroke and a good track record of shooting in high school and if he can be a league average or better three-point shooter he could command minutes.
Ultimately, there are 80 minutes available at the shooting guard and small forward position–the spots that Brown would play. It’s likely that Alijah Martin and Will Richard will eat up 60 or so of these minutes, so the question is this–can Brown get involved with some of these available minutes? It’s likely that Denzel Aberdeen is the leader in the clubhouse to get most of these 20 remaining minutes, and it will be interesting to see if Brown can bring something to the table that gives him an edge. Aberdeen took a huge step offensively last season to augment his excellent work on the defensive end, something that could make it difficult for Brown to beat him out for a role.
While it’s unknown exactly how much Brown will contribute this season, the Gators are confident in him as a player and think he’ll play a big role down the line whether that is in 2024-25 or beyond.