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Why was UCLA considered Brown's favorite?

Rhavicc

Rhavicc

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Riddle me this, because it strikes me as curious. Kentucky has remained as the second favorite for Brown apparently, and regardless of the "favorite" getting knocked already.
So It was apparently down to UCLA, Kentucky, and a few others behind them, and according to all the analysts, Brown is going to UCLA without a doubt, no chance he doesn't.
So to everybody's surprise, Brown cuts UCLA. All the sudden "No, wait, UCLA wasn't the favorite, it was Michigan. Kentucky's still in second!"
If Michigan is the real favorite, why was UCLA favored by quite a bit? Why the hell does UCLA, and Georgia still have votes in ye olde magic crystal ball despite being cut by Brown himself?
Does anybody have any clue whatsoever? I'm honestly wondering.
 
Daniels said this morning that the only thing that puts Michigan in the lead, as some are saying, is his mother's family.
 
But that apparently didn't put them in the lead earlier in the process, despite being Adidas, and despite having family in Michigan. That's more towards my point, and why I feel like nobody has any real idea.
Michigan seems like it's easily a better guess than UCLA, but people are grasping for straws it seems.
 
Color me ignorant but Im starting to think we have a shot. A few days ago I had no hope for Brown, and stillbdont have much. But the more this plays out, the more it seems no one has a clue. In these cases, I wouldn't discount Cal and UK. Shoes, family and all else take a back seat if Brown wants to compete for a title and be one of the main options for the best college program in history!!
 
For Brown to not pick UK at this point, it's almost laughable. He could play 37 mins a game if he wanted to. We have NOBODY to play his position. Just smh.
 
SilentsAreGolden said:
For Brown to not pick UK at this point, it's almost laughable. He could play 37 mins a game if he wanted to. We have NOBODY to play his position. Just smh.
Click to expand...

Very talented team around him, publicity, you proabably get to start at that position (the position that you'll play in the NBA), more scouts will watch you, many, many more fans, the chance to win a national title before you depart, and a significantly better insight into the NBA by coming to UK. He passes it up. it's on him I guess.
 
Really would love to have Brown. He is a transcendent talent and would appear to be the missing ingredient for a serious run. Other than shoe affiliations, everything one would think the young man would want can be attained at UK. Trying to be as objective as I can be, but it sure seems like UK would grade out better than his other 4 choices in just about every category that would seem important to a player of his caliber. Just seems like a no brainer, IMO.
 
downw/ball-lineD said:
Really would love to have Brown. He is a transcendent talent and would appear to be the missing ingredient for a serious run. Other than shoe affiliations, everything one would think the young man would want can be attained at UK. Trying to be as objective as I can be, but it sure seems like UK would grade out better than his other 4 choices in just about every category that would seem important to a player of his caliber. Just seems like a no brainer, IMO.
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All he needs to remember is: John Wall;

Does Brown have a dance or a gimic? :)
 
While I think we have a better chance to land him than we did, due to striking out with others, UCLA was a target due to the obvious Adidas connection and some "friends" possibly attending school there. When that fell apart, Michigan became the "leader" due to family ties and of course...Adidas.

I think UK is being throw around based on the misses we've had and because we are still UK. But as much as I like him and would want him here, the sponsorship's just have a lot of weight.

This of course, is just based on what I've read on twitter...which is largely meaningless. The Adidas thing is the only reason it carries some weight.
 
293h.chicks.man.052308.jpg
 
I do remember something about him saying he would decide within about 2 weeks of the JBC, which means it would/should come this week. /shrug
 
For what it's worth... Twitter has been slightly buzzing this morning stating Brian Snow from Scout (whoever that is) is saying it is down to UK and Michigan.
 
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Brown's recruitment was always mysterious. He didn't even officially narrow his list to 8 until what, a few weeks ago? So people were taking educated guesses. Brown himself has made Adidas an issue, and UCLA is with Adidas- something that paid off big with Shabazz Muhammad, and probably had something to do with Kevon Looney going from Milwaukee to LA. UCLA also seemed to have some kind of Atlanta connection going on, with Jordan Adams and Tony Parker having migrated from that area in recent years. It just seemed to make sense.

Clearly, that was all wrong. Which is a good thing. The shoe company issue now appears to be secondary to other considerations, since Michigan (even though they are an Adidas school) appears to be based more on family connections than anything else.
 
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-Adidas
-Be "The Man"
-AAU connection from GA pipeline (can't remember guys name but got Tony Parker, Jordan Adams and a couple others to UCLA)
-LA a great city to market yourself? IDK
 
Some of the so called "experts" have said he will only attend an Adidas school. I'm hoping Cal can convince those around him that 1 year at UK will only enhance the marketability of this kid. Then when he turns pro, Adidas will have an even higher profile player to endorse their products.

Like others have stated, Brown could step right into a major role at the 3 here next season. There is no other school in the country that could market him or get him more publicity than UK.

If the kid wants to be "The Man" UK is most definitely his best option.
 
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O C-A-T-S 06 said:
-Adidas
-Be "The Man"
-AAU connection from GA pipeline (can't remember guys name but got Tony Parker, Jordan Adams and a couple others to UCLA)
-LA a great city to market yourself? IDK
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- Nike is more popular
- UCLA gets enough good recruits for him to not be the man, but they're still mediocre, and have no fans.
- I doubt brown has any connection to any of them
- National television is a better way to market yourself, and UK gets national television more than all else.
 
Daniels said no one is talking that in Brown's inner circle and neither are the coaches at his five finalist, so anyone who says school A or school B leads is simply speculating, it seems.
 
Rhavicc said:
Very talented team around him, publicity, you proabably get to start at that position (the position that you'll play in the NBA), more scouts will watch you, many, many more fans, the chance to win a national title before you depart, and a significantly better insight into the NBA by coming to UK. He passes it up. it's on him I guess.
Click to expand...

Michigan's sent a ton of kids to the league recently ... Stauskas, Burke, Hardaway, McGarry, Robinson ... just in the last two drafts. Playing in Ann Arbor isn't exactly hiding under a rock when it comes to the League.

It's not Kentucky or Duke, but nobody is.
 
I could be mistaken about this, and I'm too lazy to try to go back and find the post to which I'm referring, but ... I seem to recall someone posting on RR that Brown had actually expressed his own preference for U.K., at one time or another, but was essentially vetoed by his mother -- one assumes, because of the family connection in Michigan. But, if that is so, then ... as others have asked in this thread ... how do we explain the perceived enthusiasm for UCLA over Michigan -- since both are Adidas schools? Go figure.

Bottom line, though, is ... we may have a shot at Brown after all ! How glorious would THAT be ? ! ?

Go 'Cats ! ! !
 
From the Detroit News piece:

Some encouraging Brown quotes:

"I don't really need to talk to you about how I'm doing," Brown told Scout.com. "I already know what your school offers. I've been on a visit. I know you want to build a relationship, but I'm not sure if I'm going to your school, so I don't want to build that relationship yet. If we are building a relationship and I go somewhere else, it's a waste of time and a waste of everyone's energy. So I'd rather pick your school and then build a relationship."

^ Sounds like Calipari's "I'm 55 years old- you're a teenager- what do we need to talk about every night?" take.

"Kentucky is probably the best basketball program in America," Brown told Scout late last month. "I took a lot of visits and nobody's basketball program was as good as Kentucky, just with their facilities and how they operate. It's just so professional. Kentucky, I just have so much respect for that program."

And this from Snow:

"I'm officially more confident than ever that the two teams at the top right now are Michigan and Kentucky," Snow said. "I'm not dumb enough to count out Kansas. We'll see. I don't see Cal happening. I tend to think that Michigan and Kentucky are the two schools that have the best chance at this moment in time. The good thing with Jaylen is he's going to keep everybody guessing. It'll be interesting to see how it works out."
 
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Well, at least he's cold hearted enough to not let Belein call him every morning and try to sweet talk him. I like that.
 
Rhavicc said:
Riddle me this, because it strikes me as curious. Kentucky has remained as the second favorite for Brown apparently, and regardless of the "favorite" getting knocked already.
So It was apparently down to UCLA, Kentucky, and a few others behind them, and according to all the analysts, Brown is going to UCLA without a doubt, no chance he doesn't.
So to everybody's surprise, Brown cuts UCLA. All the sudden "No, wait, UCLA wasn't the favorite, it was Michigan. Kentucky's still in second!"
If Michigan is the real favorite, why was UCLA favored by quite a bit? Why the hell does UCLA, and Georgia still have votes in ye olde magic crystal ball despite being cut by Brown himself?
Does anybody have any clue whatsoever? I'm honestly wondering.
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I don't remember UCLA ever being the favorite and if you go look at the prediction graphs on 247 it never shows them as the favorite.
 
I was always under the impression UCLA was the favorite until a couple weeks ago.
 
Not sure why he feels he can only be the man at Michigan. He can be the man here at UK without firing up 25 shots a game. He can be the man at UK because he'll get 30+ minutes and probably be our go to guy to score. He can be the man right here at UK.
 
Rhavicc said:
- Nike is more popular
- UCLA gets enough good recruits for him to not be the man, but they're still mediocre, and have no fans.
- I doubt brown has any connection to any of them
- National television is a better way to market yourself, and UK gets national television more than all else.
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UCLA doesn't have anyone that challenges him being the man this year, Looney is gone. Adidas may not be as popular, but from the way it sounds is he is cool with some adidas guys and if he ends up at an adidas school for one year in college he'll get rewarded as an adidas athlete in the pros probably with a handsome contract.
 
Rhavicc said:
That's not what all the recruiting analysts were saying.
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I follow a lot of the analysts on twitter and don't recall many and definitely not all of them saying UCLA was the favorite. Most of them admitted they couldn't get any real info on him and where he was leaning.

I'm curious which analysts listed UCLA as the favorite "without a doubt?"
 
BlueBlood66 said:
I follow a lot of the analysts on twitter and don't recall many and definitely not all of them saying UCLA was the favorite. Most of them admitted they couldn't get any real info on him and where he was leaning.

I'm curious which analysts listed UCLA as the favorite "without a doubt?"
Click to expand...

This. I saw UCLA as one of the schools on his list, but never heard anyone claim they were a clear favorite. Curious what the OP is basing that on.

As for why he might favor Michigan, I've heard part of it is that's where his family's originally from, and where much of his extended family still is. That, combined with it being an Adidas school (which he reportedly prefers), and Beilein being a helluva coach, makes it a pretty good fit for the kid.
 
The article linked above makes the Michigan relationship sound pretty tenuous. It may not mean anything, but I've always assumed there was a deeper connection than this.

When it comes to the criteria that Brown does find important, the Wolverines appear to acquit themselves quite well. Many often assume one of those to be his background running with an Adidas AAU team, since Michigan shares that affiliation. Eastmond insists, however, that there were other considerations that were of equal or greater importance when he recommended John Beilein's program last year.

"We were going over style of play, coaches, development, and maximizing his talent," Eastmond said. "I said, 'Have you taken a look at Michigan? Their system is unbelievable with the way (Beilein) spaces the floor and his pick and roll. Look at Hardaway, LeVert, Stauskas and Glenn Robinson. None of those kids were top 100. Two lottery picks and one (second)-rounder. Fast forward and you've got to put yourself in their shoes with your game. There ain't no telling what (Beilein) could do with you.'"
 
Here's the thing though, despite the reports being wrong that he would likely pick UCLA (and yes, there were a few), they would have been an easy guess based on the things that Brown says he values. Terrific education, better than any other school on his list. The basketball program does produce a good share of NBA picks, behind Kentucky. Not many fans, but ah. It also has that Adidas connection that everybody raves about, and is in Cali.
That at least tells me that he puts more weight towards basketball than he does education, which favors UK all the way. Calipari has always done well with athletes of Brown's caliber, I'm sure Brown realizes that, along with realizing that we easily have:

- the best fans
- the best facilities
- the best preparation he can find for the league
- Naismith Hall of Fame coach

Plus, honestly, it's kinda hard to see him going from hot hot Georgia to freezing ass tundra Michigan.
 
Women. Seriously have you seen the campus and the area and the women? Not to mention Adidas and school and history and playing time. Hell of a place.
 
I want to believe he picks UK, but JB's quote saying "I'm definitely going to an Adidas school" makes me hesitant. Even after StraightHoops said yesterday UK sounds like the favorite.
 
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