Mikel Brown Jr. had tons of hype surrounding his name when the college basketball season started. Louisville basketball's true freshman was one of the highest-ranked commitments in program history and a consensus 5-star recruit, ranked as high as No. 6 overall and No. 1 point guard after dominating high school competition and averaging 29 points for DME Academy.
The 19-year-old started his college career just as most expected, highlighted by a 29-point performance against Kentucky, but after that game, many critics began to question Brown and his production. While Brown has always been projected as a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, after his back injury, which sidelined him for eight games, and his seven-point performance against Duke, many began to over-criticize the former 5-star.
However, since those critics started speaking up more and more, all of a sudden, college basketball is on high alert for Brown, as the future first-round pick is on an absolute tear in the last two games.
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Mikel Brown Jr. is proving every critic wrong
Not many critics are ones to take accountability, but it is safe to say those critics are awfully silent right now about Brown. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound guard has been unstoppable over the last two games, and those early critics have all of a sudden stopped chirping.
Brown was being called “overrated,” or many were saying they aren’t “buying into the hype”, but well, it is safe to say they are now. Brown has scored 74 points on 60 percent shooting from the field in the last two games while also shooting 14-of-21 from beyond the arc and 16-of-16 from the charity stripe.
On top of his dominance in scoring, he is still that elite playmaker, dishing out 8 assists and securing 12 rebounds in those two games, while making his presence known on defense with 8 steals. Brown, of course, went viral when he tied the program record for most points in a single game while also breaking the program and the ACC freshman record with 45 points.
In that dominant 45-point performance, he tied the program's record for most 3-pointers with an impressive 10 made 3s on 62.5 percent shooting from downtown. He then followed that historic game with a 29-point performance, leading Louisville to another win while shooting 57 percent from the field and 80 percent from beyond the arc.
Yes, Brown had a poor performance against Duke, but the reality is he was still recovering from a six-week injury. The 19-year-old had played in just one game before that matchup after missing eight games across 42 days. The former 5-star is showing up at the perfect time with Selection Sunday just one month away, and this Cardinals team is on an absolute tear.
They have won five straight, and a large reason is how dominant Brown has been. He had a lot of early critics after he returned from injury, but it's safe to say those critics are waving the white flag right about now and are accepting that he is one of the best scorers in college basketball.
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