Annotations - Mikel Brown Jr. v. NC State
Louisville (24) v. NC State
Monday February 9th
(W)118 - 77
45 points | 9 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 turnovers
57.1% 2pt (4-7) | 62.5% 3pt (10-16) | 100 FT% (7-7)
86% TS | .304 FTr | 0.696 3PAr
3 steals | 0 block
A capricious stint of play upon returning from a lingering lower-back injury that left him sidelined much of December and January, Mikel Brown Jr. delivered the long-awaited breakout game Monday with a superstar stat-line against ACC opponent NC State. A wholly disappointing performance on the road against Duke just two weeks beforehand, a mere seven points shooting zero of six from two, one of seven from deep, sowed strong doubts into Brown’s health and ability, as Duke comfortably ran the floor with Brown on both ends of the floor. Two subsequent games, against Notre Dame and Wake Forest, significantly weaker opponents than the Blue Devils, exacerbated these doubts, as Brown shooting struggles prolonged, struggling to find his rhythm, scoring six and twelve points respectively on poor shooting splits.
Mikel Brown Jr's NC State game, was, for all intents and purposes, a breakout game. A breakout of a significant shooting slump, breaking out of poor defensive episodes, and a return to the alluring, confident style of play that placed him squarely in the top ten of a decorated class early in the cycle.
There are a handful of qualities highlighted in this game that make up Mikel Brown Jr in the grand scheme, framing the point guard in distinct light from his prominent contemporaries, Darius Acuff, Kingston Flemings, even Labaron Philon. Amongst this cohort, a forty-point plus explosion is within the expected, though the details of how Brown achieved this feat is what will define him as the stronger prospect by end of cycle. Beginning with perimeter shooting.
Brown attempted sixteen threes total against NC State, cashing ten, his three-point attempt rate (the ratio of three-point attempts to field-goal-attempts) significantly higher than that of his counterparts. Looking ahead at the modern NBA guard, the fashion in which they generate points (Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic, Jamal Murray), the strongest commonality between the varied-sized guards, notwithstanding varied athletic prowess, is their three-point volume. The ability to shoot heaps of three-pointers, off-the-dribble and catch-and-shoots, in isolation or through the pick-and-roll, potentially off-screen or at the corner, an integral facet of winning (impactful) NBA guards. Brown versus NC State demonstrated this ability in full: Off-ball relocation threes from the corner, mixed with deep pull-up threes at the top of the key; transition catch-and-shoot threes at the wing, topped with a Harden-esque stepback three. A fearlessness, rather eagerness by Brown to get up a three, it preferred to a midrange or a layup, profiles a scorer that lies in a different category than that of Flemings or Acuff, the latter two far more comfortable stepping a few feet inside the arc to shoot a middy or long-two.
The fashion in which Brown generated rim pressure versus NC State: Strong off-hand drives initiated by an in-and-out dribble, followed by a clever hang dribble, manipulating space by the threat of his jumper, consequently creating a viable driving lane to the rim if not successfully drawing a foul. The creativity in handle in tandem with a brashness in physicality generated Brown two of his three trips to the line; his halfcourt rim efficacy demonstrated in every form: pick-and-roll, isolation, and off-the-catch.
Brown's acute live-dribble sequencing extends to playmaking; his second of two assists derived from a semi-transition pick-and-roll, timely hitting the slipped roller in space with an overhead entry pass, executed with haste. To specify, Brown seeing his roller slip open, and Brown triggering the pass, was nearly synchronous. This synchronous process is further exemplified in his first assist of the game, another overhead pass, this possession an emphatic skip pass to the corner shooter out of a handoff from the left wing, Brown identifying instantaneously the weakside defender rotating off the corner shooter to cover the slipping hand-off big.
A strong breakout game from Mikel Brown Jr.