Gators Isaiah Brown Ready to Earn Minutes on Court as Freshman

The Florida Gators guard is ready to do what it takes to earn minutes during his freshman campaign

Florida Gators guard Isaiah Brown knows he's got to make his case to make it on the court as a freshman / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Unless freshmen are at a program like Duke or Kentucky – where the five-star prospects roll in and out every other day – It’s never easy for them to instantly crack the rotation.

This is because freshmen must earn the trust of their coaches, the respect of their teammates and show that they are willing to do the little things perfectly before anything else. Yet, most of the time, freshmen think they will earn minutes solely on offense because they are scoring the points for the team.  

Not for Florida Gators freshman Isaiah Brown though. He knows that his pathway into the Gators 2024-25 rotation is on the other end of the court. 

“Defense has been the focal point since I've been here,” Brown said. “I picked up that mentality knowing defense is our main focal point for the Gators this year, so if we pick it up on defense, I feel like I have a better chance to get on the court.”

It doesn’t seem like Brown is worried about the freshman label next to his name either. 

“I see no problem with that, because I know that my game will showcase,” Brown said when asked about pushing to contribute as a freshman. “I'm pushing to get a chance to be on the floor with everyone else.”

However, it won’t be easy finding minutes for Brown this season. The freshman will have Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard all above him in the rotation for the upcoming season. 

He’ll have to become comfortable with less playing time than he’s used to. He’ll also have to make sure that in the minutes he does get on the court that he is making impact plays for the team, but it sounds like he already knows this. 

“The role I feel I'm earning is I guess an impact player coming off the bench,” Brown said. “As if you need to stop in there, if you need an open shot in there, right players, right cuts and all that stuff.”

There are positives that come with being in this position though. He will get a full year of learning from some of the best the SEC has to offer.  

“I learned a lot, just the little things, like being more aggressive, being more of a leader on the court,” Brown said on what he has already learned from the veterans in the Gators backcourt. “…just seeing how hard they work and their consistency with their schedule, I'm trying to model everything I do after that.”

But not everything is going to be based on what happens while wearing the jersey. What happens off the court will be just as important. That’s where building team chemistry and relationships with his teammates come into play. So, it’s a good thing he’s coming to Gainesville with former Orlando resident Denzel Aberdeen currently on the roster. 

This connection between the two stems all the way back to when Aberdeen was in the fourth grade playing on the same AAU team as Brown’s brother. 

“We built that kind of friendship and rivalry throughout the years,” Brown said. “He was excited. So was I, kind of reuniting with an old friend.”

Having a childhood friend on the team will only make the transition into college that much easier, but it being easier doesn’t guarantee anything. 

“If the freshman narrative is not cool with that… I know next year I have that opportunity to do great things,” Brown said.