Indiana has been after 2025 point guard Mikel Brown for more than two years.
And their initial scout and projection on a then young and unranked 5-foot-10 prospect has proven to be prescient.
Now 6-foot-3, Brown is a 5-star in the rising senior class according to the On3 Industry Average. He’s the No. 12 overall player, and the No. 2 point guard nationally according to that outlet.
And of course, all of that means his recruitment is very competitive.
A Florida product, Brown was in Indiana with Overtime Elite during the NBA All-Star weekend, and he had planned to make a quick unofficial visit in Bloomington. That unofficial visit didn’t happen due to scheduling conflicts, but Brown says the plan is to come to Indiana for a longer stay.
“We’re looking to get an official visit scheduled,” he told The Daily Hoosier. “After the AAU season is over I’ll start to do all of that.”
Brown says he is hearing from several members of the IU staff, and they were watching him play in Rock Hill, S.C. last week when The Daily Hoosier caught up with him.
“Coach (Adam) Howard, Coach (Brian) Walsh, Coach (Mike) Woodson. The whole coaching staff texts me consistently, stays in contact and checks in with me,” Brown said.
In addition to IU, Brown says Alabama, Arizona State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Ole Miss, Texas and UCF are some of the other schools he’s hearing from regularly. And the Hoosiers will likely have to leapfrog some perceived leaders to land him.
Brown played at Overtime Elite in Atlanta for the 2023-24 season. He credits that organization with helping him stay focused on improving his game.
“The development side is great there. They keep us accountable, staying in the gym,” Brown said. “We’re working every day. We’ve got school from like 11:45, finish at 3:00, and then we’re back on the court at 4:00, and we get it in in the morning too, so it’s constant work over there.”
The development showed last week, as Brown averaged 24.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 1.0 SPG at the Adidas 3SSB Championships.
And speaking of development, Brown took note a year ago when Jalen Hood-Schifino came through the Indiana program and played his one into the first round of the NBA Draft after one season.
“It was phenomenal how they just let him rock, and that’s pretty big for me,” Brown said to TDH about Hood-Schifino a year ago when we caught up with him on the Adidas Circuit.
Guard play was a challenge for Indiana this past season, but the Hoosiers have a couple of talented guards coming in from the South in Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle who Brown is interested to see play this year.
Woodson did place a heavy amount of trust in Hood-Schifino as a freshman, and Brown says he will be watching to see how Rice and Carlyle fit into the system.
“Really just having the freedom to play through mistakes, that’s one of the biggest things for me,” Brown said. “And having a coach who has 100 percent trust in you to make the right play so you play free and play your game. I think that’s big. That’s going to be big for me in watching Indiana play this season to watch how he plays with those guards.”
Obviously Brown’s recruitment has to extend into the 2024-25 season for him to get a chance to watch Indiana play again. To this point he says he doesn’t have a timeline in mind.
What factors is the Adidas brand ambassador most focused on right now when it comes to finding a good fit at the next level?
“It’s really just staying consistent with the communication,” Brown said. “Obviously the fit has to be right on the court, but I also want an off-the-court environment to where it’s family based. I want to be in a family environment, where they’re going to take care of me when I’m away from my family, and my family can visit anytime they want. That whole thing with the family atmosphere is really big for me.”
IU basketball recruiting — class of 2025 spring highlight reel: 5-star PG Mikel Brown
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