A few days ago, Colorado played host to Class of 2022 point guard Avery Brown, a three-star prospect from Gill (Northfield Mount Hermon) Mass.
Brown, who spent two days on campus observing CU's practices and mingling with coaches and players, became the first post-pandemic official visitor for the Buffs, the first since now-freshman Quincy Allen was on hand in Boulder in late February of 2020.
Rick Ray, Colorado's newest assistant coach, made the opening move, traveling out to Massachusetts recently to watch Brown play.
As Ray and Brown established some familiarity with one another, both parties concluded that an official visit in Boulder needed to be penciled in.
“Coach Ray contacted me probably about three weeks ago and we have been building a strong relationship since then and getting to know each other well," Brown said.
"He came out to see me play last weekend and then after that, we built a relationship and I wanted to take an official visit...They said I’m the type of guy they recruit. They don’t recruit a lot of guys — not too many people hold an offer from Colorado and they said I was special to them. Then they offered me on campus.”
Brown, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound prospect who sits within the Rivals150 as the nation's No. 130 player, recently completed an official visit at Nebraska.
He said that visits at Arizona State and Notre Dame could be on the horizon, as well, but in terms of the immediate future, a busy month of AAU basketball in July is what he'll be focusing on now.
Leading up to his official visit, Brown had a good idea of what Colorado was about, from Tad Boyle and its coaching staff to the level of success the Buffs have had in years past.
"Colorado, they’re a winning program, they get to the (NCAA) Tournament and always play well in the Pac-12," he said. "I always imagined myself being in a program with a winning culture. I watched their games, I saw them play in the Tournament — they showed up well. Coach Boyle lets his point guards be leaders of the team and really do what they want and defend. So, I really always liked the program from afar."
The Buffaloes currently have a lone pledge for the 2022 class in North Dakota big man Joe Hurlburt.
By the 2022-2023 season, the Buffs will be without the services of veteran grad transfer point guard Mason Faulkner, who will use the rest of his collegiate eligibility this upcoming season with CU and after this year, Keeshawn Bathelemy will be entering his junior year.
In Brown, Colorado sees a viable option to beef up the backcourt by that time.
"They said they need a point guard for the 2022 class, they only have like two scholarships available and they want me to be one of them."
Conversing with Boyle during his official visit confirmed to Brown that he is a priority target for Colorado moving forward.
"I spent a lot of time talking with coach Boyle in the two days I was there," Brown said. "We talked a lot and got to know each other really well. He’s a real transparent and honest person and seems like a genuine guy. He’s the type of guy to say ‘If you want to come to Colorado, we can’t force you, but we want guys who want to be here.’ I respected that, because a lot of coaches aren’t really honest nowadays."
"Colorado’s at the point where — their track record and their winning history — they get underrated guys and guys who are the underdogs. Not one-and-done type of dudes. But they produce pros, so (Boyle) is a really great guy and that’s what really intrigues me about (him.)”
As for Brown's abilities and styles at the point guard position, he described himself as a versatile scorer but also someone who can make play-by-play diagnoses and feed the ball to vulnerable areas within an opponent's defense.
Defensively speaking, the need to be stout on both sides of the ball was not lost on Brown.
Given Boyle's reputation for expecting much out his guards in the defensive zone, Brown's mentality when it comes to defense suggests he'd fit right in with Colorado's approach to guarding with a purpose.
“I make winning plays," he said. "I really like to make the best play for the team every possession. I can score on all three levels: I’m great in transition, I love to go downhill, I make reads off of the ball screens and I‘m really dangerous off the ball screen. I love rotating the ball and getting my teammates involved but at the same time, I can score at a real high clip. That’s really my game."
"I love playing defense — I take pride in it. That’s really why coach Boyle and coach Ray attracted themselves to me because I’m a two-way player."
