LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Mikel Brown, a 6-3 point guard out of DME Academy who is one of the Top 10 ranked players in the class of 2025, announced his signing with the University of Louisville during a first-half timeout of the Cardinals’ game against North Carolina on Wednesday night.
In a first-of-its-kind production for Louisville, Brown was introduced to a crowd at the KFC Yum! Center, complete with a pre-produced video introduction.
The eruption went up as soon as Brown said on the video, “Card Nation, I’m all in.”
He said it was a moment that "was just surreal."
"It's truly impressive and I'm grateful to be in this position," Brown said afterward. "I feel like I've worked my tail off. Me and my family have worked our tails off just for me to get to this point. They've been on my side through the whole process, through the bad games and good games. . . . To be able to walk onto that court and announce it like that on New Year's Day is a blessing."
Brown had signed with the school earlier after completing an unofficial campus visit. He said the main draw for Louisville was the enthusiasm of head coach Pat Kelsey.
"His energy is just contagious," Brown said. "You feel it the moment you talk to him. And everything is positive energy, as well. I talked to the players a lot. . . . The energy that he brings is just totally different from everybody else. As a head coach as well."
Kelsey told current point guard Chucky Hepburn during his recruitment that he wanted to make Louisville "Point Guard U." Brown heard that pitch, too.
"He definitely said that to me," Brown said. "He calls me PG1. He said we're trying to bring back that culture that Louisville had before. And I can't wait to step on campus and strive for that goal of a national championship."
Brown said the size of the KFC Yum! Center and Louisville crowd reaction was something he didn't expect.
"I walked in here and thought, 'This is an NBA arena,'" Brown said. "The energy really stood out to me here, and how serious they take this hoops stuff."
The five-star prospect averaged 13.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game during his last regular season for DME. With the the adidas Team Loaded summer team out of North Carolina, he averaged averaged 23.5 points, 3.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds over 11 games.
He's also been involved in USA Basketball, averaging 10.3 points and 5.2 assists per game this past summer in the FIBA U18 AmeriCup.
Agent Christian Dawkins (center), who represents 5-star Louisville signee Mikel Brown, was all smiles Wednesday in the KFC Yum! Center.
Also in the crowd to see the introduction – Brown’s agent, Christain Dawkins, who became famous (or infamous) in Louisville for his role in the Brian Bowen case and FBI pay-for-play scandal at the school, which among other things, cost Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich their jobs.
U of L eventually was hit with lesser violations for the incident. Pitino returned to coach. Jurich has retired.
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