Prior to the NIL era changing the way that college basketball rosters were constructed, transfer portal recruiting for the top schools in the country was all about accumulating the best possible talent and figuring it out from there. Sure, plenty of coaches talked about “fit” and getting players that would compliment each other, but actions speak louder than words–and most recruiting strategy revolved around getting the best possible players on the board.
Now that teams have budgetary constraints to worry about they can’t simply go out and recruit the same way (unless you’re one of the teams operating with seemingly unlimited funds–and you know who those are). Recruiting fit and complementary talent now needs to be a focus as coaches look for proper support around their elite talent, and this is something we saw firsthand for Florida with the acquisition of Ohio’s AJ Brown.
Brown, the brother of Isaiah Brown who is already on the roster, just finished up his third year for the Bobcats of the Mid American Conference, though he has used up just two years of eligibility after losing his second season to injury following a season where he played just 9 games. That means he could be with the Gators for multiple seasons–something the Gators have been looking for with some of their targets, such as Will Richard in Golden’s first year in Gainesville. What makes the Brown addition most interesting is the fact that he isn’t someone who is being brought up from the mid-major level with the idea that he’s going to be a gunner looking to score like so many mid-major to high-major guard additions, but instead is going to be someone looking to support the play of the returning frontcourt players and star portal add Xaivian Lee.
Last season Brown averaged 13.2 points and 3.2 rebounds, but possibly the most important number to look at is his 39% from three on just under 5 attempts per game. As I have been writing about for years at Gator Country, not all three-point attempts are the same–and here is where things get interesting for Brown. Someone who played off the ball at Ohio, most of his threes came off the catch–and on those attempts he hit 41%. Breaking it down further, if teams did leave Brown wide open–he made the defense pay, hitting 48% of his wide open catch and shoot threes (according to Synergy Sports). The flip side of this is that he didn’t shoot as well when guarded (35%) which historically has been somewhat of an indicator of a shooter that doesn’t translate as well moving up a level, but even if his overall percentage takes a decrease from the 39% he shot last year at Ohio, the Gators would still be happy with an off guard hitting 36% or 37%.
Brown wasn’t just a catch and shoot player, and that makes him different from a lot of the floor spacing guards the Gators pursued. Capable of attacking a closeout, Brown shot 58% from two-point range in spot up situations, something that will have to be a big part of his game while at Florida. Overall on spot up attempts, a category that includes catch and shoot opportunities as well as plays where he caught a pass and immediately attacked downhill, Brown was at 1.18 points per possession which puts him in the 90th percentile nationally at this play type. Someone who can excel playing without the ball and be a catch and shoot or downhill threat off a kick out pass is exactly what the Gators need around their offensive core, and a look at the film as well as the numbers paints the picture of Brown being a very nice complimentary piece.
Golden wants to remain an up-tempo program and that’s another area where Brown is solid coming in at 1.16 points per possession. Brown’s success in transition comes as somewhat of a surprise given that he isn’t an elite athlete, but he is still slippery when catching the ball on the wing in the fast break and making a move to get downhill, and he also has a quick enough trigger to get up a shot in a hurry. Something special about the way Brown shoots is that he will often take “no dip” threes where he will catch the ball around his eye level and immediately rise into a shot without dipping the ball around his waist, and that quick trigger is a threat in both the halfcourt and transition.
Where there could be possible issues is on the defensive end where Brown has not been a stellar performer. At 6’4” with good length he can make plays on the ball and has been capable of coming away with steals, but when it comes to keeping his man in front of him there is a lot to be desired. The defensive side of the floor is where you can really see Brown’s lack of athleticism, though he’ll be working hard this summer to improve in that area in order to be ready for SEC basketball. Point guard Xaivian Lee is also not a great defender so the Gators have brought in a couple of guys who at times struggle on their own ends, so this will be something to monitor both with whatever other additions the Gators make as well as going into the season.
Of course, when it comes to looking at less heralded targets from the mid-major level no player is going to be perfect, and the Gators are betting on the positive attributes they like to far outshine the limitations. This is one of the most interesting portal acquisitions the Gators have made in Golden’s time at Florida due to it being a very specific player to meet a particular need, and it will be fascinating to see how it works out.