With NBA draft talk steadily picking up, I'm going to dedicate some posts to future NBA rookies that most of the country hasn't heard about. Readers of Jones on the NBA have heard me spout off about Bobby Brown for a long time. Brown played for Los Angeles high school basketball powerhouse Westchester (same school where players like Gabe Pruitt, Trevor Ariza, Amir Johnson, and Hassan Adams attended), but didn't receive much attention because of the depth of the team and because of his lack of height. Luckily, Brown was able to latch on with Cal-State Fullerton's basketball team and eventually matured into a star. In the past four years, Brown has gone from a 5'9", 150 lb. high school senior to a 6'2" 172 lb. NBA prospect.I started to hear his name a bit when he outplayed both Jordan Farmar and Gabe Pruitt in the 2005 summer Pro-Am league. He's got the ability to hit from long distance like the Stoudamire boys and can finish at the rim like Baron Davis and Monta Ellis. The only thing NBA scouts want answered is: Can he play make? I'm confident that Brown will be able to become a solid NBA playmaker. But even if he doesn't improve his playmaking ability, I don't think he has much to worry about. With more and more teams playing small ball, smallish NBA combo guards with the scoring ability of Brown should be able to find a home somewhere.
Draft Express currently has him going #47 in their mock draft. Don't be surprised if, with workouts, his stock improves a bit. And if it doesn't, I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes a favorite of a certain NBA blog during the NBA summer league. Here's a video of Brown dropping 47 points in a game this past season:
