Top 10 Jordan Brown still taking his time

The top remaining big man in the class of 2018, five-star power forward Jordan Brown understands that he can take his time and be choosy in the recruiting process.

Down to a final group of California, Gonzaga, Louisiana-Lafayette, Nevada, Oregon, St. John's and UCLA, the 6-foot-10 four man who ranks No. 9 overall nationally transferred to Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep for his senior year and thinks it has gone well.

"This season is going pretty well, we are just working through the kinks," Brown told Rivals.com."I think it's going well overall and I'm liking it so far.

"I think I'm playing pretty well. Coming to Prolific Prep, I'm getting to play against guys in practice and it is really getting me prepared."

Thus far, Brown has taken official visits to UCLA and St. John's. He broke down those visits and talked briefly about Cal -- where he has visited a handful of times over the years -- under new coach Wyking Jones.

UCLA- "UCLA was a cool visit. It was my first time really being in the main part of Los Angeles so it was nice seeing all of that. It was really my first time on campus too. I had heard a lot of talk about it being a nice campus and stuff like that and when I went it was really nice. The coaches and staff were really cool. Most of the players are from California so we all kind of act the same, it was a good time hanging out and we bonded well."

St. John's- "St. John's was cool too because it was my first time in New York. Being able to check out the city and see how it's a whole different atmosphere. We were able to go to their tip off event and seeing the crowd and energy they have was different, you could feel that East Coast atmosphere. Coach (Chris) Mullin and his staff tell me about their time in the NBA some but not really. They focus on how they can get me better and aren't like "Oh, I'm an NBA Legend. I'm so connected and have pull."

California: "I've watched a few clips on them since (Wyking) Jones became head coach but I haven't really had a lot of time to check it out. I'm going to hopefully be able to check out some games soon."

Obviously, Brown is one of the top options out there for the late signing period. He says that he wants to use his three remaining official visits. However, it may not be until the latter part of the winter or early spring before he is able to take any other visits and he's not locked in on which schools he is certain to visit.

"It's really to be determined right now," said Brown about his visits. "I really need to see how things play out.

"I need to find time to get it all figured out. We are so busy with practice and games I may need to wait until all of that is done."

As things stand, it's hard not to like the position that St. John's and UCLA have put themselves in. They are the only two programs to receive official visits to this point and it really does appear that they've started to separate themselves from the pack. For the last couple of years it looked like Cal would be tough to beat, but the Golden Bears look to be fading some and Oregon and Gonzaga look like they could be the most likely to get visits.

Given the lack of quality big men left in 2018, there's always the chance that other big name programs could try to jump in with Brown. However, he says that he is still good with his final seven and for now he's not looking to add anybody to the mix.