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Mikel Brown shares how Team USA success helps set up time at Louisville

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh07/21/25griffin_mcveigh
Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. lines up his jumper during summer workouts before his freshman season.
Photo by: Tom Pupavac | Louisville Athletics

Before officially turning his attention to the Louisville Cardinals, a trip abroad was on the agenda for Mikel Brown. He wound up coming home with a gold medal with the Team USA U-19 team in Switzerland. A great honor for the soon-to-be Louisville freshman.

Once back stateside, Brown was asked about the experience. To no surprise, the reviews were glowing as Brown did nothing but enjoy representing his country.

“It was great,” Brown said. “I think it was needed. Going in there and winning another gold medal for Team USA, it’s like no other. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to play back-to-back for Team USA. So, going into that whole month of us being in Switzerland together, it obviously wasn’t really much to do because we were in another country. But we were just locked in in every game and we came out and got the gold.”

Brown wound up leading Team USA in points, averaging 14.9 per game. His assist numbers were not only the best among the Americans but also near the top of the entire tournament. Just four players were better than Brown’s average of 6.1 assists.

Seven total games were played, all of them wins. Most of them in dominant fashion as well. Canada was the only team to give the United States any kind of test in the quarterfinals. One where Team USA won by six, the other games were decided by an average of 44.5 points.

Now, the goal for Brown is to bring similar success with him to Louisville. Maybe not in the same dominant fashion but stacking up wins in a tournament will be welcomed in March. And while you think there might be some pressure to do so, the youngster is not feeling any. Brown just wants to have fun with his college experience.

“There’s really no pressure,” Brown said. “I think me, I trust my work, and I trust what I’ve been through and everything I’ve done to get to this point. I’m going to keep doing it. I don’t really think there’s really any expectation. I’m just going out there and hooping and having fun.”

Brown played high school basketball at Orlando (FL) DME Academy, where he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He was the No. 7 overall recruit in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.