The Pitt basketball program has lacked a true developmental big man for quite some time. All of that changed this weekend when the Panthers head basketball coach Kevin Stallings received a verbal commitment from 6-foot-10 inch Tilton (NH) Tilton School center Terrell Brown. Brown is the second player to commit to the class of 2017 joining Fairfax (VA) Paul VI HS point guard Aaron Thompson.
Corey Evans, managing editor of Hoop Seen commented on Brown’s commitment. He stated:
“Running on the Nike circuit this past summer, Brown displayed a vast skillset and efficiency in scoring around the basket within traffic, yet also stepping out and extending the defense with the perimeter jumper. Converting on over 53-percent of his field goal tries while making over half of his 25 3-pointers attempted, expect for Brown to be used similar to how Vanderbilt big man Luke Kornet was used by former Commodore coach and now Panther head man Kevin Stallings.”
“Capable of making the outside jumper but also protecting his basket where the Rhode Island native averaged two swats per game on the EYBL circuit, there is upside and also a few unique from Brown. Beating out Purdue for the services of the versatile and skilled senior frontcourt piece, it looks as if the BABC product should fit in seamlessly within the confines of Kevin Stallings’ system in Oakland.”
Most basketball fans are familiar with the University of Michigan’s vaunted 1991 recruiting class known as the ‘Fab Five’ (Chris Webber, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard). Coach Stallings will be in a unique position next season. He, like the Wolverines head basketball coach Steve Fisher, will have a sizable class of five players joining the Panther’s basketball team. Stallings’ ‘Fab Five’ may not arrive with as much hype, but it will lay the foundation for the future of the program. There will be three more members joining the 2017 class. Saxtons River, VT forward Christian David, Palmyra, VA forward Aamir Simms, Barrington, RI forward Aaron Wheeler, Montverde, FL guard Marcus Carr, center Victor Uyaelunmo, New Hampton, NH forward Kimani Lawrence and Blairstown, NJ guard Matt Turner are heavily in the mix.
Brown chose the Panthers over scholarship offers from Purdue, DePaul and San Jose State.
Harry G. Psaros can be found on Twitter @PittGuru
// Featured image: Pitt Panther by Flickr User Gumilang Aryo Sahadewo | CC BY 2.0 |
