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College basketball transfer portal: Texas A&M center Javonte Brown commits to Western Michigan – 247Sports
Texas A&M big man Javonte Brown – a former four-star recruit – heads to Western Michigan via the college basketball transfer portal. Jon Rothstein reported Sunday that the 7-foot center committed to the Broncos nearly two months after he entered the portal. Brown, a three-year veteran who began his career at UConn, heads to Western Michigan with two years of eligibility remaining.
Brown appeared in seven games for the Aggies throughout the 2022-23 season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. He played a total of 22 minutes, with his season-high seven coming in November against ULM. The center logged four points and six rebounds in that contest.
Brown had a larger role on the 2021-22 squad as he appeared in 31 games and made 11 starts. He averaged 1.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per contest and posted career highs in a win over Florida with six points and seven rebounds. In his freshman campaign, Brown saw action in two games at UConn before transferring to Texas A&M in January 2021 and sitting out the remainder of the season.
As a recruit, Brown was one of the top players in Canada and came to the United States with high upside. He ranked as 22nd-best center and 127th-best player overall in the 2020 class. The Thornhill (Ont.) Thornlea Secondary School product held offers from Indiana, Arizona and UConn and took visits to Texas A&M and Kansas.
Brown is a three-star transfer and becomes the first player to join Western Michigan from the transfer portal in the 2023 cycle. The Broncos had one departure – forward Markeese Hastings – in the spring window.
Texas A&M, meanwhile, saw four players depart from the program via the portal this spring. Brown joins guards Erik Pratt and Khalen Robinson and center Ashton Smith in leaving College Station at the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign.
Brown and the Aggies put together a breakthrough season, going 25-10 overall and 15-3 in SEC play. After reaching the championship game of their conference tournament, they entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed and fell in the first round to Penn State. Brown joins a Western Michigan team that went 8-23 in 2022-23 and finished last in the Mid-American Conference with a 4-14 league record.
In the first year of the portal windows, the college basketball transfer portal began March 13 and runs until May 11.
Numerous graduate transfers already entered the transfer portal prior to the March 13 opening, but that date kicked off the 60-day window for the rest of the prospective transfers to hop in the portal to examine their options. The one-time transfer rule is still intact, per usual. If a player has not transferred yet, they are immediately eligible.
Get the latest football and basketball transfer portal news from 247Sports.
Name, image and likeness is going to be a factor in the transfer portal. It’s no coincidence that some of the teams who continue to dominate the transfer portal also have structured NIL opportunities set up.
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