Jabari Brown is an Oregon Duck.
The 6-foot-5 Brown, the No. 5 shooting guard in the Class of 2011 according to Rivals, chose the Ducks over Arizona State, Georgia Tech, UConn and Washington.
“Next year I will be playing at Oregon University for Coach [Dana] Altman and his staff,” Brown, an Oakland, Calif. native, told ESPNU as he slipped on a green Ducks hat.
“Oregon landed me because they were the best fit for me. Coach Altman and his staff did a great job of recruiting me, making me feel at home, feeling comfortable. My visit was great. And they told me everything that I think I needed to hear out of a school.”
Brown joins an Oregon class that includes point guard Bruce Barron, power forward Austin Kuemper and shooting guard Brett Kingma.
Brown, who played on a loaded Drew Gooden Soldiers AAU team, will play for a first-year coach and in a new arena at Oregon.
“I think there’s a great opportunity,” he said. “Phil Knight does a great job of building new facilities, like the Matthew Knight Arena and the practice facility for the players to come in and play. And I’m blessed to have the opportunity to come and be a part of this.”
Asked if Knight and his Nike money were a factor, he said: “It was definitely a factor. I love Nike. I’ve always worn Nike, but ultimately it was the coaching staff because I would never just choose a school because of a shoe. I have to feel comfortable there and that’s how Coach Altman made me feel.”
Brown is the fourth Drew Gooden Soldier to pick a school this year, following Nick Johnson and Josiah Turner, who both chose Arizona, and Kyle Wiltjer, who picked Kentucky.
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