From the spring to the summer there were plenty of players who showed tremendous growth in their game. One who may have led the way in this category for the 2027 class from the NY2LA Platinum Elite was 6’5” forward Connor Brown of D Rice Elite.
Back in May at the NY2LA Next Level Invitational, Brown was a big piece of helping D Rice Elite to a 3-1 tournament. He was one of the better 2027 forwards of the tournament while averaging 13.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game but showed tremendous growth moving into the July live period tournament. This was especially true at the Summer Jam tournament to end the season where Brown had multiple star performances to be one of the top players of the entire tournament. This was especially the case in the tournament semifinals where he went off for 28 points.
“I had a great season playing my first year on NY2LA with D Rice Elite, I feel like I got much better as a player and prospect playing for D Rice Elite,” Brown said. When further going into the growth of his game, he said “I am becoming a smarter player so making the right plays and getting the ball in other people’s hand to make plays. Also, I am working on my passing and shooting and ball handling.”
While Brown is listed at 6’5”, he plays much bigger with his aggressive style, wide frame, and strength. He consistently showed the ability to score in the post and outrebound larger opponents. Over the course of the summer, he also showed a growing skill set with his ability to shoot threes and attack the basket. Brown also contributes in plenty of ways beyond the stats with his help defense, consistently setting effective screens, and overall high energy plays.
With the great growth of his game, Brown has started to appear on college coaches’ radars. Amongst those showing some interest include Eastern Michigan and Wayne State. Next up for the forward in his junior season at North Farmington High School he is looking to “take on the role of leading the team to not only winning but hopefully to make it back to states like two years ago.”