USA Basketball: Five-star Jordan Brown on the rise

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Class of 2018 five-star power forward Jordan Brown stood out during the first session for USA Basketball U17 training camp on Friday night where some of the top players in 2017 and 2018 are competing for a spot on the national team. Brown held his own in the post with the older guys and had a couple steals in the lane off guards driving to the hoop.

“The competition has been really good,” Brown said. “I really like matching up with Carte’Are Gordon. He played me the hardest tonight.”

On the recruiting front Jordan’s most recent offer is from St. John’s. He also lists UCLA, Stanford and Cal as a few schools he has good relationships with.

Class 2018 four-star point guard Darius Garland had a strong showing in the scrimmage play. He made the right passes in transition and hit a few mid-range jumpers.

“I like that all the guards are out there competing,” Garland said. “We’re all out here to make ourselves better and the team the best it can be.”

Darius has a nice list of early offers but Louisville, Indiana and Vanderbilt seem to be leaders right now. Texas, Connecticut, Purdue, North Carolina and Kentucky are close to offering.

Another point guard in the 2018 class that played well tonight was four-star Immanuel Quickley. He and Javonte Smart were exchanging possessions a few times up and down the court. Quickley holds offers from Cincinnati, Washington, Virginia Tech, USC and Miami. Quickly was on Maryland’s campus this past week playing a pick up game with Melo Trimble.

“Maryland is really close to offering,” he said. “I just have to get my family down there for them to see it but it’s close to home so that’s always a plus.”

The six-foot-four point guard also has interests from Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Villanova, and Ohio State. “I just want to go to a school where I can get better as a point guard and some place that has a strong family atmosphere.”

Marquette commit Markus Howard and 2017 five-star shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. were visible leaders on the court from leading drills and playing well on the same team during scrimmages.

Noticeably absent from the training camp is 2017 five-star power forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who is out with a small fracture in his foot, and 2018 four-star point guard Tre Jones, who is still recovering from a broken thumb.

Action continues Saturday morning from the Olympic Training Center.