UNC Recruiting: Discussing James Brown’s commitment and the current state of the 2024 class

Just a week after landing five-star point guard Elliot Cadeau, Hubert Davis has gotten a commitment from four-star 2024 center James Brown. Brown gives Hubert Davis his third commit in the 2024 class, and his third top 50 player based off of the 247Sports Composite.

Brown is a 6’9 center out of Chicago, IL, and currently plays for St. Rita High School. He is currently ranked as the 27th-best player in the country, and is the fifth-best center according to the 247Sports Composite. Brown chose to attend UNC over Arizona State, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio State, to name a few.

Brown published a piece on Inside Carolina’s website discussing why he committed to the Tar Heels. Here is what he had to say:

My affection for the program kind of started the first time I had a conversation with Coach Davis back at USA Training Camp in June. From the moment we got on the phone, he just gave the vibes of being a real genuine person. But you know in recruiting everybody kind of puts their best foot forward. Sometimes it can be hard to know with coaches if this was the ‘you’ they wanted me to see or the real ‘you.’

In another conversation we had a few weeks later following NBPA Top 100 Camp, Coach Davis offered me a scholarship. He didn’t just stop there though, during our call he was giving me little things and tips to help me with my game. It was like he was coaching me already. That made an impression — he showed that he really cared and he didn’t even know me that well, and had no idea if I’d eventually end up playing for him. He was just trying to help a young player improve.

When discussing why he decided to commit now, he said that he watched the teams he held offers from live, and he loved watching Hubert Davis on the sidelines. He feels like Davis will be able to help him maximize his potential, and says Davis’ relationships with his players are “bigger than basketball.” It genuinely sounds like Brown fell in love with the program, and perhaps even more importantly when it comes to recruiting, it sounds like Davis is doing all of the right things to land some of the best players in the country.

As far as what we can expect from James Brown, here is what 247Sports’ Eric Bossi had to say about Hubert Davis’ latest commit:

To go along with his size, Brown has good length and a solid base. That solid base allows him to hold and control space on both ends of the floor and on the offensive end his skill level takes over from there. Comfortable operating on either side of the lane, Brown is armed with an assortment of jump hooks, up and under moves and soft touch to 12 feet. In transition he’s a surprisingly good ball handler and decision maker for a big man. He sees the floor really well and delivers smart, on target passes to teammates for easy buckets. For a guy his size to make those types of reads on the move is both impressive and advanced. Those passing skills and feel also serve him well out of the high post where he finds cutters and the low post where he can find shooters out of double teams.

Going back to the 2024 class, Brown’s commitment helps solidify UNC’s top recruiting class in the country. What’s even more impressive is that there are a number of players left on Davis’ recruiting board — Boogie Fland, Jarin Stevenson, and Ian Jackson are all players worth keeping an eye on as this class continues to take shape. It is worth noting that Brown can play either the 4 or 5, so there is definitely a spot for Stevenson in this class, but it could also depend on who else is on the roster going into the 2024-25 season. Regardless, barring any surprises, 2024 is shaping up to be Davis’ best recruiting class of his head coaching career so far, and there’s still a lot of time for it to get even better.

What do you think of UNC’s newest commit? Let us know in the comments below.