GW wins battle for Brown

Senior guard Shandon Brown took the next step in his basketball career surrounded by family and friends yesterday at the Vine Street Community Center in Roxbury, where the Brockton native announced his commitment to play for coach Maurice Joseph at George Washington University in the fall of 2018.

The 5-foot-10 Brown was one of the top college recruits from the Boston area. He attends the New Hampton School in New Hampshire and had received offers from Providence, Yale, UMass, Oklahoma State and other colleges.

In the end, Brown narrowed his options to the Colonials or Quinnipiac. He cited the comfort he felt with assistant coach Carmen Maciariello, and later on with Joseph, as a decisive factor in his final choice.

“We really bonded. He was about family and he connected with my family really well,” Brown said. “That’s what stood out to me. I could see that it was real and that he actually wanted the best for me.”

“I’m very, very proud of Shandon and the way he handled himself throughout this whole process,” said his mother Shanda. “Not only basketball-wise, but he was looking at the bigger picture and his education and where he’s going to excel throughout his four years.”

“He’s had to earn everything that he’s gotten to this point,” added his father, Shawn. “It’s all been through hard work and dedication.”

Brown joins a top-notch basketball conference in the Atlantic 10 and he says he’s looking forward to the competition level within the league.

“I’m really excited. I can’t wait to get up there and show the NCAA what I have and what I have to prove,” Brown said. “When I have to better myself to play against tougher competition, I think that’s when I’m really at my best.”