What Jordan Brown brings to Memphis basketball as 'unstoppable force'
Jordan Brown — all 6-foot-9, 180 pounds of him, then 15 years old — watched Rashid Cann attentively.
He kept his eyes trained on his new skill development coach and his ears open. Cann, who goes by “Shine,” laid it all out for Brown that day. How, if he wanted a better shot at a long basketball career, he needed to be more than just another back-to-the-basket big. So step by step, Cann took the promising young post player through the basics of a hesitation move he normally reserves for experienced point guards, wanting to see how much Brown could grasp.
Plenty, Cann soon learned during the ensuing mock 1-on-1.
“I was playing hard defense — ripping him, ripping him. Then he hit me with the move I just taught him, and I fell for it,” Cann said. “That showed me, OK, he’s super talented.”
Brown — now 6-11, 225 pounds and 23 years old — is bringing that special blend of size, athleticism, IQ, versatility and experience to the Memphis Tigers basketball team. He is part of coach Penny Hardaway’s treasure trove of transfers, painstakingly assembled over the course of several months to make the Tigers top dog in the AAC and a viable Final Four contender.
The winner of last season’s Lou Henson Award (given annually to the top mid-major player in the country), Brown led Louisiana to just its second NCAA tournament appearance since 2000. He and the Ragin’ Cajuns were within an eyelash of upsetting Tennessee in the first round. That individual and team success is part of what motivated Brown, who loves a challenge, to play his final season elsewhere.
What prompted him to pick Memphis is promise. Even when Brown was just looking around the night golf driving range as his new Tigers teammates enjoyed some down time in the Dominican Republic this summer, he was sure he had made the right choice for the right reasons.
“Just the potential of what we can do, you know?” he said that night in August. “I think we really have an opportunity to do something great. And not like, not just average-great. Like, something — things we can talk about to our kids.
“Something that’s gonna last, you know?”
Jordan Brown's growth and adversity
That kind of perspective doesn’t come easily. The unassuming Brown has earned it, whether he set out to or not.
A five-star recruit in high school, Brown — whose father, Dion, starred at Louisiana and was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in 1984 — spent his first three seasons at Woodcreek, in Roseville, California, where he was born and raised. He made the move to Prolific Prep for his senior season, where he became a McDonald’s All American, playing against Zion Williamson and alongside the likes of Cam Reddish. He won two gold medals (U16 FIBA Americas, U17 World Championship) with USA Basketball, where he was teammates with Jaren Jackson Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and Collin Sexton.
University of San Diego director of basketball operations Billy McKnight, Brown’s coach at Prolific Prep, laughs when he recounts the time an opposing coach called after a game with a request.
“He actually wanted me to send him tape so that he could show his big guys Jordan’s footwork,” McKnight said. “I’ve never had anybody do that before.”
In 2018, Brown signed with Nevada, where he spent one season under Eric Musselman before transferring to Arizona. He played just one season there and became the first Wildcats player to be named Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year. Brown was an all-Sun Belt player each of the past two seasons at Louisiana, where he won conference tournament MVP honors in March.
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But as much success as he has enjoyed, Brown considers it to be a double-edged sword.
“Just kinda like coming out of high school with high expectations and feeling like I have to remain a top player in the college game,” he said, “it’s not really pressure. Moreso adversity.”
The notion of whether that’s the sort of thing that defines him is floated to Brown. He pauses to think it through. More than a handful of beats go by.
“Yeah, in a way,” he begins. “Because without that adversity, I wouldn’t have grown. At the end of the day, it’s the growth that sticks with me.”
‘Designed to be an unstoppable force’
Brown spent most of the offseason exploring his options. He could have stayed at Louisiana. He could have turned pro — a route he explored extensively.
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Instead, he set his sights on Memphis. He was a late arrival, joining the team in person just three days before it left for the Dominican Republic on a three-game exhibition trip. He practiced with the Tigers once ahead of their tour, something his father said showed.
“Expectations for him are pretty high, at least with me. And he knows it,” said Dion, who is originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and has some family in Memphis. “When you’re a certain way, you can play at a Level 3 and do what you do. But (Memphis) wants to get him to that Level 5. I know there’s a Level 5. I’ve seen it.
“He’s designed to be an unstoppable force.”
In three exhibition games, Brown averaged 15.7 points and seven rebounds a game, shooting 61.2% from the field. As much as his son brings to the table, Dion believes he has never played on a team as talented as the Tigers are expected to be this season. Brown will be surrounded by dynamic playmakers in Alabama transfer Jahvon Quinerly, Florida State transfer Caleb Mills, St. John’s transfer David Jones and UCF transfer Jaykwon Walton.
“That means you have a lot of freedom around the basket to make plays, make passes,” Dion said. “But they’re gonna let him step out some, too. (Penny and I) agree, we want him to eat around the basket. But he can also step out and enjoy some dessert every now and then.”
Brown is ready to deliver.
“I feel like there’s more to my game,” he said. “I feel there’s a lot more to be done, to achieve.”
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What Jordan Brown brings to Memphis basketball as 'unstoppable force'
