Analysis: UNLV recruit Reece Brown brings upside to frontcourt

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, April 18, 2020 | 2 a.m.

Back in the glory days, UNLV consistently fielded some of the most athletic lineups in the country, and eventually the Rebels became known for recruiting and building around long, quick, explosive marvels like Stacey Augmon, Larry Johnson, J.R. Rider, Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks and Keon Clark.

Players like Anthony Bennett and Derrick Jones have carried on that tradition in recent years, but since Dave Rice’s tenure ended UNLV has been extraordinarily average when it comes to recruiting top-end physical specimens. That may not necessarily change under T.J. Otzelberger, who seems to covet skilled players who can pass, shoot and think the game at a high level, but incoming prospect Reece Brown is one youngster who qualifies as a plus athlete.

I don’t want to overstate Brown’s athleticism — he’s not Johnson or Marion in that regard — but it’s nice to see UNLV add a 6-foot-8 forward capable of playing above the rim once in a while.

In watching a couple of Brown’s games from Loomis Chaffee, where he prepped for the 2019-20 season, the first thing that stands out about him is his physical profile. He’s long, bouncy and energetic; he would have been the best athlete on UNLV's 2019-20 roster.

On the offensive end, that makes him a good finisher around the basket. He gets off the floor quickly, without needing to load up for every jump, and he’s got the lift to get above the rim and dunk without needing a clear runway.

When he can’t throw it down, Brown has long arms to get above the clutter and his touch is soft enough to drop in layups and floaters:

UNLV struggled to finish around the basket last year, partly due to a lack of athleticism throughout the roster. Brown, once he develops, should help cash in on some of those easy scoring chances.

The other way in which Brown uses his athleticism to impact the game is by protecting the rim on defense. Loomis Chaffee played him at center despite his thin frame, and Brown made it work by challenging just about every shot inside the arc.

Brown’s quick feet allow him to cover ground side-to-side as a help defender, and he really gets off the floor in a flash, extending his arms upward and making it really difficult to shoot over him. There were a lot of plays in which Brown switched a ball screen, stayed with a smaller guard in an iso situation and either challenged or blocked the shot.

His rim protection is impressive:

If Brown can block and challenge shots like that from the power forward position or as a small-ball center, while also possessing the speed and quickness to check backcourt players, his defense will be very valuable.

Offensively, Brown has the makings of an effective small-ball repertoire. He is comfortable shooting from beyond the arc when set (2-of-3 on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in the games I watched), and his stroke seems repeatable. He made 10-of-12 from the free-throw line over two games. He missed both of his off-the-dribble attempts and didn't look very comfortable doing it.

As with all shooters, consistency will be key, but Brown has the ability to hit from the outside:

Another trait that points to Brown’s future as a small-ball big man is his ability to put the ball on the floor. At this point, his dribble-drive game is rudimentary, mostly consisting of attacking closeouts and using his quick, long first step to get past the primary defender.

Brown is athletic and twitchy enough to beat the first defender, and then it’s a toss-up. He likes to take one power dribble and cradle the ball as he dives into traffic, and that move got him to the free-throw line with regularity at Loomis Chaffee. Aside from that move, there were times when he didn’t have a plan and got lost in no-man’s land, forcing him to put up awkward low-percentage shots.

His touch came and went in the games I saw. Overall, his aggressiveness and ability to draw contact is what stood out most:

Brown’s usage rate was pretty low, and he never really attempted to take defenders off the dribble in true 1-on-1 situations. His drives were opportunistic in nature; as a 5-out center, it’s easy to imagine him catching a kick-out pass, beating a recovering defender with one quick dribble and then exploding to the rim. That’s his game.

Otzelberger has praised Brown’s passing ability, but in the contests I saw Loomis Chaffee did not really ask him to move the ball very much, so it’s hard to evaluate.

While Brown’s quickness and leaping ability made him an impact help defender, there were times when his slight frame made him a liability. As mentioned, Loomis Chaffee lined him up at center, and in the postgrad world that means going up against some big-bodied dudes.

There were several instances when opposing bigs rooted him out, walked him under the basket and then scored over him with ease:

It’s pretty clear that Brown is not a true post defender, at least not yet. He might get better at it as he adds muscle, but 1-on-1 defense against true centers and power forwards is not his forte. He’s better as a help defender, when he can cover ground and leave the ground to challenge shots.

One thing that did jump out a couple times were his quick hands. When post players exposed the ball, Brown was quick to swipe and knock it away. He did it twice in one game and once in the other:

That might be a case of small sample size, but it could be a weapon for Brown to use when he is asked to defend in the paint.

Brown is an intriguing prospect, especially when envisioned as part of a modern, small-ball lineup. Defensively he’s at the nexus point of being able to switch and move his feet to defend smaller guards while also providing vertical rim protection; offensively he can finish lobs, convert around the basket and step outside to shoot 3’s.

His game is almost in complete contrast to Jhaylon Martinez, the other UNLV big man recruit I’ve analyzed. Martinez is thick, powerful and skilled but lacking in athleticism, while Brown is thin, quick and constantly playing above the rim. It’s interesting that Otzelberger’s system might be able to utilize big men with such different strengths and weaknesses.

I’m not sure if Brown is meant to play right away. A redshirt year spent adding muscle and honing his outside shot and ball-handling ability could really benefit him in the long run. As a run-jump athlete, he’s better than what UNLV has had lately but he’s not freakish enough to be an impact player unless he continues to improve his skill set.

Three years from now Brown could be a dynamic starting power forward. The foundation is there, but there is development still to be done.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.