The plan was altered.
That’s what can sometimes happen in recruiting when everything comes together and it just feels right. Why wait?
The high-profile recruitment of St. Rita’s James Brown came to an abrupt end with a commitment to North Carolina and head coach Hubert Davis Monday night.
“I’m not a big fan of delaying the inevitable,” Brown said. “I felt like North Carolina was the school for me and my parents were on board. So we decided there was no point in making people wait.”
Brown, a junior with an endless list of high-major programs in pursuit, had trimmed his list to 10 schools in September. He took five official visits in the fall, hitting the campuses of Missouri, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Illinois and North Carolina. He had planned to pick the recruiting all back up again this spring.
But that official visit to Chapel Hill in October left a big impression. The wheels started turning for Brown in terms of possibly speeding up the process as he developed a tight bond with both Davis and assistant coach Scott May. Those relationships stood out.
“I felt like we got extremely close in the time they recruited me,” Brown said. “We developed a little more than the typical player-coach relationship. I asked them a lot of questions with what they saw in my game, developmental stuff specifically, and they were always able to give me really, really useful answers. They helped me get better even in those conversations, and I was grateful for that.”
Brown also said he took what he called some sound advice his dad gave him during the recruiting process to help him in his decision-making. The advice he took and followed up with helped North Carolina stand out even more.
James Brown’s dad, Courtney, told his son to take time to watch each coach during games, to focus on how each coach actually coached and handled themselves during games.
“My dad wanted me to see how did they coach during adversity, and how did they coach in different situations throughout games?” Brown said. “Coach Davis never frowned when things weren’t going their way. He never seemed to get down on his guys. I loved watching him coach, to be honest. How he coached resonated with me. He also has that passion and energy and positivity I like.”
Davis and assistant coach Scott May made the trip to the Proviso West Holiday Tournament to watch Brown and St. Rita in its semifinal matchup with Young last week. Brown said he “had an idea he wanted to go to North Carolina” leading up to the Proviso West Holiday Tournament.
“Me and my family just came to that point where we were locked in on going to North Carolina,” Brown said. “Then the conversations I had with coach Davis and coach May after they came to see me play at Proviso West kind of sealed the deal that North Carolina was the school I wanted to go to.”
St. Rita coach Roshawn Russell has been no stranger to high-major recruitments in his short time as head coach of the Mustangs. Brown is just the latest.
“We are excited for James,” Russell said. “He has worked so hard to get to this point and to have these opportunities.”
Russell reiterated he believes it came together due to the relationship that was established between Brown and the North Carolina staff, particularly that of Hubert Davis.
“I really think it was a personality fit for James and the staff,” Russell said. “Their personalities, particularly Hubert Davis, matched well with James and what he was looking for.”
Brown is now locked in with a true college basketball Blue Blood, one that includes legendary coaches (Dean Smith and Roy Williams) and players (Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Vince Carter). The Tar Heels, who have won six national championships, reached last year’s national championship game in Davis’ first season as head coach.
“I’m stoked and extremely excited,” Brown said. “It’s a great school with a great basketball history. It will help me accomplish my dreams on and off the court.”
While Brown is committed to one of the biggest brands in college basketball, Russell looks at Brown as a player who can fit in just about anywhere due to the mindset his star player brings to a team.
“He’s a team-first guy who sacrifices for the greater good of the team,” Russell said. “On the floor, off the floor, James is always pulling for his teammates.”
Now Brown and his two highly-regarded teammates, juniors Morez Johnson and Nojus Indrusaitis, have all committed early. Johnson is headed to Illinois while Indrusaitis just recently committed to Iowa State.
