Last week’s Big South announcement is not the only thing Lancers’ fans have to be excited about in terms of the future of LU. Many have worried about the 2012-13 version of the men’s basketball team because of the departure of four key seniors and Durann Neil, who left the team earlier in the year. But not to worry, Mike Gillian has his most talented recruiting class ever on tap right for next year. LU has already signed four players and we will be taking a look at each future Lancer, individually, here on LancersBlog.
We start with the jewel of the 2012 class for Longwood, point guard Nik Brown. The 6’2 combo guard is from Ashburn, VA where he played for Middleburg Academy. Most recruiting agencies have Brown ranked as one of Virginia’s top 25 players for the class of 2012. Here is what former Lancer Kevin Schneider (played for the Lancers in ’04-05 and transferred to Hawaii-Pacific) of Big Shots Today said about Brown:
2012 6’3 G Nik Brown commits to Longwood. Nik is an athletic combo guard that can score or run a team. He has a poise, balanced game that excels in a dribble drive system and can play & defend multiple positions. Reclassifying has helped Brown in several facets of his game avg. 18 ppg, 7 apg. 4 rpg. as a jr. earned all tournament at Big Shots VA, DC, & Myrtle Beach in leading Jermaine Woods’ Boo Williams team to big wins all year in Big Shots events.
The biggest mutual benefit for both Brown and the Lancers is that Nik is already enrolled at LU and is practicing with the team. I’ve talked to many people surrounding the program and who have seen Nik practice, from all accounts Brown is going to be a HUGE difference maker for LU. More than one person has hinted at Brown being the best guard in practice right now, high praise for a team that features two solid, senior guards in Jeremiah Bowman and Martiz Washington.
