In a move that surprised no one, center Javonte Ferguson-Brown has announced (on the ‘Gram!) that he will be attending the University of Connecticut and reclassifying into the 2020 class.
Brown-Ferguson’s commitment represents the first win on the recruiting trail for Hurley over a real center. After whiffing on Kofi Cockburn, Qudus Wahab, and others (and not looking particularly good on Cliff Omoruyi), the Huskies were desperate to add a high-major center, and they went to a whole other country to get one. Brown-Ferguson, a 6’11” Canadian from Pickering, Ontario, is considered a top-50 talent by some independent scouting services, but given that he’s not playing in the US, his rankings are inconsistent or nonexistent in other places.
Additionally, Brown-Ferguson will be very young for the 2020 class, having only just turned 17. Nevertheless, he was heavily pursued by a number of major programs, with Kansas remaining involved until the end, and he will be a huge help for a UConn team that, at time of publication, is getting its ass kicked by St. Joseph’s.
Brown-Ferguson’s commitment locks up what is officially UConn’s last available scholarship for 2020, but most around the program expect Alterique Gilbert to leave college at the end of the season. Expect the staff to continue to keep track of available players going into the spring, hopefully targeting someone who can hit a fucking shot, good god, how are they 11 for 42 right now.
If Hurley can continue to improve the talent level, the team should be set up to never be embarrassed like this again.
