Last week, Phoenix (Ariz.) Prep 2025 power forward Devin Brown came off the board, committing to Coastal Carolina. The Milwaukee native, who is a highly athletic forward with a budding perimeter skillset, heads to a Chanticleers program that wants to build their offense around Brown.
“The main thing was the road they provided for me,” Brown told NY2LA Sports. “Their offense, everything revolves around the ‘4’. They want me to get it off the rebound, push on the break, play as a big one through four.”
Brown also had scholarship offers from Arizona State, Mississippi State, Nevada, Illinois-Chicago, Ohio, Bradley, Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State, Toledo, Milwaukee, Detroit, Bryant, and Valparaiso.
The 6-foot-7 forward took his official visit to Coastal last month.
“When I took the visit, it felt like home,” he said. “They showed me so much love, the whole staff. When I got there, I saw myself playing there. I said, ‘This is something I could get used to. It is far from Milwaukee, but I’m in Arizona now and I feel like I’m handling it pretty well now.
“I’ll miss my family, but if I’m working and staying focused, it won’t be too big of a challenge.”
Brown was recruited by assistant coach Jayson Gee. The Chanticleers made Brown a huge priority every since extending a scholarship offer in mid-July
“When they offered, the whole coaching staff texted and called me,” said Brown. “It was just a lot of love. It was how hard they were after me and how many coaches got me on the phone. I talked to coach Gee probably every day.
“40 days before my visit, he texted me every day until my visit. That just shows how much they value me and how big of a priority I was.”
Brown did take two more official visits to Nevada and Samford following his trip to Coastal. During an in-person meeting with assistant coach Ryne Lightfoot, Brown then made his decision.
“We had a 1-on-1 talk and that really did it,” said Brown. “I was injured. I couldn’t even play and he still came down.
“I called my mom. A few hours later, I called and told them. Everybody called and were all excited. They said they couldn’t wait to get me on campus and were showing me a lot of love.”
As a junior, Brown averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game for Milwaukee Academy of Science, who also features Iowa State commit Jamarion Batemon.
Coming off a big spring/summer, Brown often went head-to-head against high major talent while playing with Power 5 on the travel circuit. Despite passing most of those tests, a lot of power-four programs opted to stay away.
That will unquestionably add fuel to Brown’s fire during his collegiate career.
“When you get that right school, you have nothing to worry about,” he said. “You can just focus on your craft. Now, I can focus on winning an OTE championship.”
“As a player, everybody wants to go high major and get big offers. Sometimes, it doesn’t go like that. I’m happy where I’m at with Coastal. Any school that passed up on me, that’s gonna be their loss.”