Ranking the Contenders: Kendall Brown
Ranked No. 11 nationally in the class of 2021, Minnesota native Kendall Brown has earned his reputation as one of the nation’s top small forwards thanks to his blend of size, versatility and athleticism.
A high IQ player who defends multiple positions, the 6-foot-7 Brown is coming off of a strong junior campaign at Bel Aire (Kan.) Sunrise Christian where he also improved as a jump shooter and ball handler.
Brown has cut his list to a final 10 of Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Illinois, Kansas, Marquette, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio State and Virginia. Below, we rank the contenders for his commitment.
1. KANSAS
Judging by his actions, the Jayhawks appear to be in as good of shape as anybody. Since making the move to Sunrise Christian, Brown has been a regular unofficial visitor to the Kansas campus for games and last season’s Late Night in the Phog event. Bill Self and his staff have made Brown a priority in 2021 and it likely doesn’t hurt that the Jayhawks hold a commitment from Brown’s high school teammate, four-star four man Zach Clemence.
2. MARQUETTE
Marquette is another who looks to have put their best foot forward early with Brown. They’ve had some solid success recruiting players from Minnesota – they have big plans for 2020 McDonald’s All-American Dawson Garcia – and the freedom enjoyed by their guards and wings has made an impression. He has already been to campus for both official and unofficial visits, so there is very clearly some real interest.
3. MINNESOTA
Gopher fans would much rather see them being listed in first place for Brown and Richard Pitino would, too. However, Minnesota is in a pretty good spot here and it may very well be gaining a lot of traction with Brown. He could step right into a major role as a freshman and the chance to return home and have the ability to regularly play in front of friends and family is becoming more of a draw.
4. OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes have put in some heavy lifting with Brown. Chris Holtmann and his staff employ a pretty no nonsense approach and that appeals to a player like Brown, who isn’t about a bunch of extras and plays a fundamental game. Brown has already been on campus for an official visit, which went well.
5. ARIZONA
Sean Miller and the Wildcats still have some ground to make up, but they have really caught Brown’s attention. The idea of playing for one of the West Coast’s glamour programs has some appeal and players like Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and others provide good examples for Miller and his staff to use in showing how they could make use of Brown on the college level.