Nevada basketball lands top recruit, McDonald's All-American Jordan Brown

On April 13, 2015, the Nevada basketball team offered a full-ride scholarship to a raw but high-ceiling prospect named Jordan Brown, becoming the first school to extend an offer to the Roseville, Calif., native.

By the end of that year, Brown's sophomore season, Pac-12 teams started to swarm, with offers coming from UCLA, Arizona and Cal, among others. Before long, power programs like Gonzaga and Oregon and long shots like St. John’s and Louisiana Lafayette made a run at Brown, who was blossoming into an elite recruit.

After Brown was minted a five-star recruit and selected for the McDonald’s All-American game last January, the big boys came calling, with North Carolina, Louisville and Kansas all reaching out to the potential program-changing prospect. But, the eventual winner in the recruitment of one of the top players in the 2018 high school class was the team that believed in him before anybody else more than three years ago.

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Brown, a 6-foot-10, 205-pound highly acclaimed power forward, pledged Friday morning to don the Wolf Pack's silver and blue, committing to join Nevada next season.

As the 14th-rated player in 247Sports’ composite rankings, Brown becomes the highest-rated player in any sport to commit to Nevada, besting Galena High’s Luke Babbitt, the No. 18-ranked player in the 2008 class and only previous McDonald’s All-American to play for the Wolf Pack.

“It honestly felt like it would be a good fit for me," Brown told 247Sports. "They were the first school to offer me so I’m just really comfortable with the coaching staff and the whole program. It’s a good veteran team and they have a good chance at making to the NCAA Tournament again. I want to be a part of that."

Brown’s recruitment has been a roller-coaster of emotions for Nevada, which was an early favorite before becoming a strong underdog as bigger and more established programs entered the fray. But the Wolf Pack’s perseverance over multiple years and its ability to build a program under Eric Musselman befitting a national recruit eventually won the day. Brown selected Nevada over finalists Cal and Arizona.

The 18-year-old, who has won a pair of gold medals for Team USA, should be the final roster piece for Nevada’s 2018-19 season, which could be one of the most special in school history. Before Brown’s commitment, the Wolf Pack already was being projected as a top 10 team in the nation in early preseason polls, contingent on the Martin twins and Jordan Caroline, who are testing the NBA draft waters, returning to school. Brown’s addition is an extra safeguard in case any of those three do turn pro.

Despite Nevada not being from a so-called Power 5 conference, Brown felt at home in Reno.

“We just looked into more information on it and asked questions about the program and how they can help me and what kind of impact I can make on their team," Brown told 247Sports. "They really just really opened my eyes to it and it seemed right. The biggest thing to me, and I think it surprised me, I went to the campus and saw the campus and it’s not what I had pictured. The way it surprised me and the way they went to the tournament, if I go there we can surprise everybody."

Playing for Napa’s Prolific Prep, a national basketball program, last season, Brown averaged 21.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. It was his first season at the school after transferring from Roseville's Woodcreek High. At the McDonald’s All-American game in Atlanta – in the same arena where Nevada played its Sweet 16 game – Brown scored 26 points, making 13-of-19 shots, and grabbing eight rebounds in a victory. Those 26 points were the third most ever by a California player in that game.

A long and skilled talent, Brown is ranked as the 11th-best recruit in the 2018 class by Rivals; 17th by 247Sports; and 31st by ESPN. He was the highest-rated recruit, and lone McDonald’s All-American, remaining unsigned prior to his commitment to Nevada, giving the Wolf Pack a late recruiting boost. 

Brown said his bond with Musselman, developed over three years, was key.

“He was the first coach to offer me and he’s been there since the beginning of it all,” Brown told 247Sports. “It’s nice having that good relationship like that from the very beginning. He would always text me every day and every morning, just random stuff, just a picture of the program. He was really consistent with everything he did.”

Brown’s pledge signals the Wolf Pack moving onto the national stage. Musselman inherited a 9-22 team but has improved it in each of his three seasons.

The Wolf Pack recorded 24 wins and a CBI title in his first season; 28 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth in his second season; and a school-record-tying 29 wins and the second Sweet 16 berth in program history in his third season. Now armed with a team as deep as it is talented, expectations will be gigantic – think Final Four berth – for his fourth season.

Brown will likely slide into the starting power forward position between Caroline at small forward – if he returns – and Trey Porter, a 6-foot-10, 235-pound transfer from Old Dominion, at center. The Martin twins could fill out the starting five – again if they return – in one of the best lineups in the nation. Brown said he felt like he could plug a missing piece on the roster.

“I think I can help them by helping them spread the floor,” Brown told 247Sports. “Last year they spread the games, they just didn’t have a lot of height or a big post presence outside of Jordan Caroline. But I think he wants to play some on the perimeter and inside. They don’t have an official post presence, so I think I can help them there.”

Returners Lindsey Drew and Josh Hall and transfers Jazz Johnson (Portland), Nisre Zouzoua (Bryant), Corey Henson (Wagner), Ehab Amin (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) and Tre’Shawn Thurman (Omaha) add depth next year's team, which it has lacked in recent seasons. Nine of those aforementioned 12 players have averaged at least 12 points per game over a college season, giving Nevada envious talent.

The Brown addition could put Nevada in a tight scholarship situation as it pushed the Wolf Pack to 15 scholarship players if the trio testing the draft waters return. The NCAA limit is 13, but Nevada will surely find a way to get back to that level if the Martins and Caroline opt to return for their senior seasons.

Musselman has largely learned on transfer talent during his three-plus years at Nevada. Prior to the Brown addition, he had signed 17 transfers compared to just seven high school players, but among those preps adds have been impact pieces Cameron Oliver, Drew and Hall. Brown will hope to follow in their footsteps and leave an imprint at Nevada.

In Brown's Instagram post in which he committed to Nevada, he left a four-word caption: "Let's shock the world!"