Until Monday, Avery Brown had never been on an official recruiting visit before, and he certainly had never been to Nebraska.
That all changed this week for the 2022 three-star point guard out of Gill (Mass.) Northfield Mount Hermon, as made his way to Lincoln for his first official visit. The trip also changed his perception a bit of what the Huskers had to offer.
“My time in Lincoln was great,” Brown said. “Seeing the whole campus and all the facilities and being around the team and the staff, it was a great experience. It was most definitely welcoming, and I feel like the atmosphere is great out here. I liked it a lot.”
Brown, who moved up to No. 130 nationally in the latest 2022 Rivals150 rankings, said the highlight of his visit was finally spending face-to-face time getting to know NU head coach Fred Hoiberg and lead recruiter Matt Abdelmassih.
The 6-foot-4 prospect earned a Nebraska offer back in October, and he learned how he could be an ideal fit for the Huskers during his talks with Hoiberg this week.
“Coach Hoiberg and Coach Matt met with my parents and me a lot,” Brown said. “Right before we left, we had a great meeting. We went through a (projected) depth chart of who would be with me if I chose to commit to Nebraska and who I’d be playing with, and where they see me fitting in with that.
“Honestly, that’s the most important thing for me, being able to have the ball in my hands and play the way I play. Coach Hoiberg would allow me to do that with his system and style of play. So that’s most definitely appealing, and that’s a big reason why I’m considering them highly on my board.”
Brown is playing with the New York City-based PSA Cardinals AAU program this summer after his junior season at Northfield Mount Hermon was canceled due to COVID-19.
He averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 assists over 37 games as a sophomore while playing in the lauded New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC). He shot 39 percent from 3-point range and broke NMH’s single-game record with 17 assists.
Hoiberg’s five-out system and NBA style of play have been an immediate draw to Nebraska since Brown first received his Husker offer.
“They play a real fast-paced NBA-style, and Coach Hoiberg really believes I could be a next-level player in their system,” Brown said. “Being coached under him and learning that style of play would be really important and teach me a lot of things for the next level.
“He loves my character as a person, my leadership qualities. They emphasized that a lot. They really need a point guard that can come in as a freshman and play right away and be a leader of the team.”
Brown currently holds more than 20 Division I offers. He said Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Georgia, Colorado, and Arizona State had contacted him the most.
Brown has a second official visit scheduled to Colorado on Monday, and he’s also planning to take an official to Arizona State this summer.
He said he would likely start to narrow down his list of schools after the final July evaluation period, but he had no timeline set for his eventual college decision.
For now, Nebraska can bank on knowing it got the first chance to make an in-person pitch to Brown and, just as importantly, his family.
“The Nebraska visit definitely left a great impression on me and my parents,” the Beacon Falls, Conn., native said. “They liked it a lot, and they like Coach Hoiberg and how genuine of a person he is. The main thing with them is they want to make sure I’m comfortable. They don’t really care where I’m at.
“I’ve been away from home for a little while being away at a boarding school, so I’m used to being away from home for months and not seeing my family for months. That won’t be a factor. They’ll always be just a flight away.”
