Another Class of 2017 target for the Kansas men’s basketball program chose to play his college basketball elsewhere on Monday, when five-star small forward Troy Brown announced that he was headed to Oregon.
Brown, a 6-foot-6, 195-pound wing from Las Vegas who is ranked No. 12 in the 2017 class by Rivals.com, told Rivals’ analyst Eric Bossi that his comfort with the Ducks’ coaching staff played a big part in his decision.
“At the end of the day the thing that made them stand out over the other schools was the coaching staff,” Brown told Rivals.com. “I had a lot of options but at the end of the day I was comfortable with the coaching staff and I was confident in them and how they would let me play and I really felt a lot of trust in Coach (Dana) Altman.”
Brown, the younger brother of KU women’s player Jada Brown, was in Lawrence several times to see his sister and made his official visit to KU the weekend of Late Night in the Phog.
Several other prospects, from multiple classes, were in that same weekend and the heavy guest list may have cost Kansas and kept Brown from feeling a strong connection to Lawrence and the KU program like he did in Eugene, Oregon.
“The environment was great,” Brown said of Oregon. “The key thing was that I was really comfortable and I could see myself there. The way they take care of their players felt like it would be good for me. Then the players, just talking to them, I felt like they were really honest and hearing their experiences really helped a lot.”
With Brown now out of the mix, KU will turn its attention to the looming decision by five-star point guard Collin Sexton, who is expected to announce his choice (many analysts think it’s between KU and Alabama) on Thursday.
Thus far, the Jayhawks still have just one commitment in the 2017 class — Dallas combo guard Marcus Garrett — and the early signing period opens Wednesday.
