Louisville basketball fans are excited to watch Mikel Brown Jr. break the Cardinals' NBA Draft drought, as Louisville hasn’t had a Cardinal selected in the first round since Donovan Mitchell in the 2017 draft. Brown spent just one season with Louisville as the former 5-star recruit was the second-highest commitment in program history.
New ESPN mock draft sends Louisville sensation Mikel Brown Jr. to dream destination
Brown’s season was, of course, cut short due to back injuries, but before his season ended, Louisville fans saw exactly why he has so much potential. Now, it is NBA Draft month, with the draft just 22 days away and the first round on June 23.
With the draft month here, ESPN released some player comparisons for Brown, and it is hard for Louisville fans not to like the high-end comparison.
Mikel Brown Jr. receives eye-opening NBA comparison
ESPN compared the projected top 12 picks to NBA players, including Brown, and gave Brown ceiling and floor comparisons. For the ceiling, ESPN compared Brown to the former All-Star, LaMelo Ball.
"Brown's playmaking ability and tough shotmaking from long range place him somewhere between Ball and Russell, who are physically lean and smooth with the ball. Brown's creativity, playmaking and positional size give him excellent upside to develop into a starting-level point guard who warrants having the ball.Jeremy Woo
Brown's skill set and potential are readily evident. He has few holes in his offensive profile when he attacks downhill and creates for teammates rather than settling for jumpers. But he will need to improve defensively and rein in his shot selection to drive winning at a high level. He's an offensive talent who will command attention from defenses regardless, but the small sample of games at Louisville makes that piece of his projection a bit trickier."
When looking at Brown and Ball’s playstyle, fans can see the similarity, and Louisville fans can’t hate this comparison. Ball has averaged 20 points or more in five straight seasons, including this past season, where he averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 41 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc.
Brown showed this past season that he can be an elite 3-point shooter and a dominant scorer, as his historic 45-point performance against North Carolina State, with 10 3s, stands out. Also, before his second back injury, the 5-star freshman was beginning to take over, scoring 45, 29, 29, 19, and 24 points in his last five games.
ESPN kept its projection of Brown being selected No. 9 overall by the Dallas Mavericks, which would be a dream destination for the former 5-star. If Brown does go in the top ten, he would be the first Cardinal selected in the top 10 since Samaki Walker in the 1996 draft.
Also read: Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. may have just pointed to his dream draft destination
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.
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