In My Opinion

Player Preview – Elijah Brown

by Tyler Hicks

Welcome to the fifth 2013-2014 player preview. Each preview will be broken down into three sections: Player Comparison, Player Breakdown, and This Season’s Outlook. In the Player Comparison section, I’ll be comparing each current Bulldog player to a past or present NBA or college player. More than anything, I will be comparing styles of play. In the Player Breakdown section, I’ll break down the Bulldog player’s game focusing on strengths and weaknesses. Lastly, in the This Season Outlook section, I will go through what to expect this coming season from the player including predictions for roles and statistics.

 

ELIJAH BROWN
G/6’4/185 lbs
Freshman

PLAYER COMPARISON- Manu Ginobli (San Antonio Spurs)

Both of these left-handed guards can flat-out score the ball. Whether a contested jump shot or a strong finish at the rim, spectators are drawn to their basketball savvy on the offensive end of the floor. Brown is a better athlete than Ginobli, but the latter has a better jump shot. It is obvious that both’s strong suit is scoring rather than defense. Here are some stats from Ginobli’s first year as a Spur, which I expect to look similar to Brown’s in his freshman campaign.

20 mpg, 8 ppg, 2 asp, 2 rpg, 35 % 3PT

 

PLAYER BREAKDOWN

Strengths:

  • Scoring
  • Athletism
  • Pull-up jump shot
  • Basketball IQ
  • Explosiveness
  • Potential

Weaknesses:

  • “Shot-happy”
  • Lack of college game experience
  • Defense
  • Streaky

 

THIS SEASON’S OUTLOOK

Stats Prediction: 20 mpg, 9 ppg, 3 apg, 2 rpg, 0.5 spg

Brown is going to have every chance to shine in his first year as a Bulldog. With Roosevelt Jones out, Brown will have to produce good minutes while staying within the flow of the offense and make smart decisions on the court.  He’ll probably play the majority of his minutes at wing, while stepping in as point guard when needed. Nothing new to a NBA coaches son, Brown will have the pressure of high expectations on him. Will he live up to the expectations and have a successful freshman campaign with the Bulldogs? We will just have to wait and see.