2018 hoopster Rodgerick Brown raves about Arkansas visit

Rodgerick Brown

— Arkansas was already the leader for Cordova, Tenn., junior basketball standout Rodgerick Brown and his unofficial visit to Fayetteville this weekend solidified that.

“It was a great visit and I really enjoyed seeing everything that Arkansas has to offer,” Brown said. “The players and coaches are great and they made me feel really at home.

“They have made me feel like a trop priority and that means a lot to me.”

Brown (6-6, 200), who averaged 16.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals and an assist per game last season, was joined by Midwest City Okla., junior guard Keyshawn Embery (6-4, 187) in checking out the Razorbacks on Saturday.

“Arkansas has great facilities,” Brown said. “The practice facility is one of the best things that I have ever seen. It has everything that a player needs to develop and I think I could really use it to my advantage as I try to make it to the next level.”

He also got to take in Arkansas’ 42-3 football win over Texas State as part of a crowd of 72,114 fans.

“The football game was great and the stadium is huge,” Brown said. “Arkansas’ fans are outrageous. They were intense and into every play and also very intimidating to the other team. They were really getting after it and the team played great.”

Brown is getting a lot of attention from colleges.

“Arkansas is my leader right now,” Brown said. “I am also looking at Memphis, TCU, MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University), Tulsa, Penn State, Xavier and some others.”

The Razorbacks already have four commits in a 2018 class that is ranked as the No. 1 haul nationally by recruiting services.

That quartet is Thomasville, Ga., forward Reggie Perry (6-10, 225), Little Rock Parkview forward Ethan Henderson (6-9, 190), Fort Smith Northside shooting guard Isaiah Joe (6-2, 170) and Jonesboro point guard Desi Sills (6-1, 170).

“I really love what Arkansas is doing,” Brown said. “Those are some great players and Arkansas really has it going on right now.”

Brown is coming off a solid spring and summer AAU circuit performance for Team Thad’s 16-and-under squad as he averaged 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals.

“I am really good at finishing in transition and also getting my shot,” Brown said. “I also think that I am very versatile and can play the two or the three.

“I need to keep working on my ball handling, getting stronger and my range.

Cordova was 30-4 last season and rode an 18-game winning streak into the Class AAA state title game before falling to Memphis East 64-60.

“We set a school record last season with over 30 wins so it was a really good season,” Brown said. “We lost two seniors, but we have a lot of talent coming back and we have really good team chemistry.

“Another thing we really have is fight. We don’t get down if something goes wrong. We just keep fighting.”