As both a Division I football and basketball prospect, Stephen Brown is not a groundbreaking athlete. There have been others before him who have shined in both sports.
But the number of high school athletes in that position, specifically at that high of a level, remains a very small percentage.
Brown emerged as a targeted prospect in both sports very early in his time at Marist.
While the now rising senior was instantly a big name as a basketball prospect, his path as the hot-shot prospect in the Class of 2026 veered off path a bit. Despite still being the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s No. 2 ranked prospect in the class, he’s now almost an underrated — maybe even overlooked — basketball prospect by the general masses.
The physically enticing 6-7, 200-pound Brown fell out of favor for some for various reasons — some out of his control, including an injury and external hype, and others as a result of splitting time between two sports.
Brown admits the expectations surrounding him as a freshman did get to him. He believes it took away from his game.
“I definitely felt like I had to live up to the big hype,” Brown said. “I felt like it was important for people to know my name and to respect me. I felt a lot of pressure in general. I think I thought about it too much back then. I let it get in my head too much.”
For Brown, who is also very young for his age — he won’t turn 17 until July — playing and being recruited for both sports presents obstacles, including more distractions and less time working specifically on your craft.
Brown says, “It’s been super hard splitting time between the two.”
And there was also an injury last fall in football that kept him out of action for a lengthy period of time. He finally made his basketball season debut in December.
“I felt bad, physically bad, when I came back, like my body was just out of shape,” Brown said of his return to the court after not shooting a basketball for months due to a broken collarbone. “I didn’t even feel like I could play basketball at a high level when I came back.”
Brown provides those moments that remind you of how high his ceiling is as a player. There are aspects of his potential that are impossible to ignore.
With impressive size, glowing physical attributes and dazzling athleticism, Brown checks off so many boxes. As far as his individual game, he’s still morphing into what he will become as a player and has shown tremendous improvement.
The progress Brown is showing is exciting, and it appears he’s at his prospect takeoff point.
“There is a hunger, through maturity and age, that is clear to see right now,” Marist coach Brian Hynes said. “His desire to impact the game and be a great teammate, outside of when the ball is in his hands, has taken a big jump.
“He’s always the best athlete on the floor, so he now flourishes with hustle plays, putbacks, just going and getting the ball. And he’s becoming a heck of a defender.”
Brown felt like he started to “get in a good groove” during the final month of the high school season. He’s taken it to another level this spring with Young and Reckless on the club circuit.
“I do definitely feel like I’m playing the best basketball of my career,” Brown said. “I feel like everything is starting to come together for me and my confidence is there.”
