GW Hoops / Noel Brown

**Posted by gwstudent2024** 3/24/2023 7:34 pm

Joel Joseph wrote:
I don't think the bleeding has stopped. I think Max will see brighter opportunities at bigger programs and not want to waste his last 3 years on the perpetual "rebuild" of GW basketball now entering it's 8th year.

I don't think he feels this way. If they struggle to fill the necessary gaps in the portal then maybe we have problems. But I agree with much of what GW0509 said

**Posted by GW0509** 4/14/2023 12:16 pm

Taking a visit to St. Bonaventure this weekend

@SBUnfurled
Scheduled visitors at the moment: Saturday: Noel Brown (6-11 C, GW)

**Posted by GW0509** 4/20/2023 9:59 am

Committed to St. Bonaventure per his Instagram

**Posted by Florida Colonial** 4/20/2023 10:00 am

Committed to the Bonnies

**Posted by Free Quebec** 4/20/2023 11:09 am

I really hate the in-conference transfers. Used to be disallowed (or require a second year of sitting out)

Fascinating that Schmidt wants him after seeing him up close. Wonder how he sees Noel fitting his system. For what it’s worth, in 2 games against Bona, Noel played 25 minutes total and had 6 points and 3 boards. (We didn’t play them his sophomore year because game was cancelled due to a Covid outbreak).

Noel was definitely better finishing this year, but otherwise his per possession stats were basically the same.

Will be very interesting to play against him - and to see how he does at Bona.

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 4/20/2023 11:09 am

This is fascinating. I think Mark Schmidt is a great coach, one of the best in the conference. Am very interested in seeing whether Noel improves, and to what extent, under his tutelage.

**Posted by jf** 4/20/2023 11:43 am

Another transfer that seems not to make sense, depending somewhat on what Schmidt wants to use
Noel for.
Noel didn't flourish at this level, for whatever reason--which might not be related to his at least potential talent, so why he would go to a recently top-tier team in the league does seem a bit unusual.
Have long felt that Noel was not developed at GW, especially his first years. He has shown tantalizing flashes of talent, which has been frustrating for fans and presumably him. But to be polite, he also encountered some difficulties, including holding onto the ball, especially through passes in the post.
Do think Hunter's emergence mid-late in the season didn't help and perhaps Noel didn't play enough, especially in some games where he was doing well and his presence could make a difference defensively. Now, with Hunter unaccountably gone and us having no one in the post, would think Noel would have been in a good position at GW.
Don't know who the Bonnies have coming in and everything is fluid these days, but the current roster lists three guys 6'9 and up, if accurate.
Anyway, Noel seemed to be a good presence on the team, so wish him well, except to the detriment of GW.

**Posted by Thomas** 4/20/2023 7:21 pm

I agree with you guys, St. Bonaventure signing Noel Brown is also puzzling to me. Did Schmidt or someone on his staff recruit Noel Brown out of high school? Did Noel Brown have any big games against St. Bonaventure?

**Posted by Cutis** 4/21/2023 8:12 am

I was disappointed that Noel choose to leave. I thought he was a good teammate. He displayed good body vibes on the bench, was one of the first to congradulate a good play or player. Unlike others , I thought he had skills. He hustled, ran the court and gave maximum effort. Think of how many players GW has had that are 6’11 tall and 260 lbs. I can only think of two-Mike Brown and Alexander Koul. With Hunter Dean leaving the center position was his. I can only think that there must have been a coaching issue that lead Noel to leave. Mark Schmidt at St Bonnie is no fool. He saw something in Noel that the GW staff may have missed. I again am perplexed that a student who lives in Oakton would want to be in Olean N.Y. I wish Noel well. I believe he will blossom in a new environment.

**Posted by dmvpiranha** 4/21/2023 8:36 am

Noel seemed like a good guy both on and off the court which will be missed. There is certainly potential to be unlocked, and if there was an A10 team (not named GW) that may be able to do that at this point in his career I think it's Bona so I don't hate the fit + their staff offered him out of HS. Maybe it's a Mezie situation and he needs to go elsewhere to not overthink and go up strong with the ball on offense. I just don't think his role is necessarily going to change that much playing behind Venning. His ceiling may be 15 minutes a game.

I would've loved to have had him come back next year but I think this was the year to earn more minutes and that didn't exactly materialize. The frontcourt may be thin currently but I'm not sure his situation would have changed too much had he stayed. Regardless, I wish him the best.

**Posted by Alum '04** 5/08/2023 12:38 pm

I like Noel, bummer to see him go to another A-10 team.

**Posted by Ralphie** 2/16/2024 10:34 pm

Anybody else notice that Noel Brown had 18 points and hit 80% of his shots in a Bonnie win over Fordham earlier this week ? He's only averaging 6 ppg in about 14 minutes per game, but there's certainly no doubt we could have used him this year. In fact, before he entered the portal, I was pretty excited at the prospect that he'd be a starter and finally get some minutes this year. Always felt CC had less patience with Noel than any other rotation player. Obviously losing our two big men to the portal is a big reason we are where we are today. Any insights out there as to why Noel went to the portal ? I suspect he felt/knew that CC had more or less written him off and that he wouldn't be given a chance to compete for minutes at center.

**Posted by Cutis** 2/17/2024 7:29 am

Agree with Ralphie. Noel is 6’ 11 inches and 260#. How often does GW get a player at this size in addition to be a local? Noel hustled , enthusiastically was supportive of players on the floor and I am told was a positive locker room presence. CC made a mistake. Noel should have played more and would have helped the team this year.. Once Michigan had a football coach who did not play Tom Brady until his senior year.. Coaches make many decisions that are head scratchers. We can only hope for better .

**Posted by Ralphie** 2/17/2024 6:04 pm

Today was another prime example of the results of our lack-of-an-effective-big-man situation. Didn't matter whether on offense or defense, Stretch just wasn't up to it, not even close. Could we have won a game like today's with Noel at center ?

**Posted by GW0509** 2/17/2024 6:20 pm

CC seemed to acknowledge in today's post game press conference that he messed up with the roster construction and that he wants to surround Darren with some more skilled big men down low next season.

At the beginning of the year, CC talked alot about how "versatile" his roster was with a bunch of 6'6"-6'7" wings like Max, Garrett, DBJ and Benny. I think he's now realized that playing small can work in other conferences, including maybe the ACC, but in the A-10 you still need an offensively capable 4/5 to be one of the top 4 teams.

**Posted by Alum1** 2/18/2024 5:03 pm

As the roster was being built - ie guard after guard after guard - it was fairly obvious that he was just getting what he could get. I hope his recruiting improves. Not being able to land a big man who could actually catch the ball, or grab a rebound and actually hold onto it was the elephant in the room all year long. That and his inability to change up the offensive scheme. Oh, and that and the inability to stop a team from regularly scoring 80 on you.

I’m still all in on Caputo, but if this inability to make changes that show improvement over time continues into next year,….ask me again.

**Posted by GW0509** 2/19/2024 8:25 am

Just remembered that there was talk at the beginning of the year about Stretch possibly applying for another year of eligibility. Not sure if they’ve actually gone through with it.

Curious if others think we should want him back vs having the scholarship open for the portal?

**Posted by GW73** 2/19/2024 8:28 am

It would be interesting to know why Dean and Brown didn't return for this season. Did CC believe he was going to recruit a better big man than Stretch? So were Dean and Brown essentially told their playing time would be reduced. It's not like they left to be starters. And it's hard to argue that Stretch is an improvement over having Dean and Brown together this season, or even having one of them. And then there's the fact that Brown has another year of eligibility for next season.
Brown is averaging 13.4 minutes with 6 points, 2.2 trb, 0.5 assists, 0.5 blocks, 70 percent FG
Dean is averaging 12.5 minutes with 3.5 points, 2.0 tab, 0.3 assists, 0.3 blocks, 73 percent FG
Stretch averaging 25 minutes with 3.7 points, 5.7 tab, 0.3 assists, 2.7 blocks, 55 percent FG

**Posted by GW0509** 2/19/2024 9:09 am

GW73 wrote:
It would be interesting to know why Dean and Brown didn't return for this season. Did CC believe he was going to recruit a better big man than Stretch? So were Dean and Brown essentially told their playing time would be reduced. It's not like they left to be starters.

Dean left because he wanted to play closer to home for his last year of eligibility. I don’t think his leaving had anything to do with CC.

You’re probably correct about Brown. But let’s be real. Absent two big scoring games against lower tier A10 teams he’s basically the same guy he was here. I think we can assume CC thought he could upgrade from that in the portal and struck out.

**Posted by GWRising** 2/19/2024 11:10 am

Stop it. Just stop it with Brown. He had three years to show what he could do. There was nothing and I mean nothing to suggest he would be a A-10 post that could carry the load. Dean is a different story. CC wanted him to stay but he wanted to go closer to home as GW0509 indicates.

The funny thing is none of the posters now criticizing CC for his decision on Brown had anything to say about it at the time. Nor did they have anything to say about it when we were 14-3. So just stop!