ORLANDO, Fla. — There was a stream of NBA scouts and executives going to Oklahoma State games for the past two years to take a look at point guard Marcus Smart. Meanwhile, the man playing next to him in the Cowboys’ backcourt wasn’t too bad himself.
Though Markel Brown put up some impressive numbers at Oklahoma State — including 17.2 points per game while shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range as a senior — he flew under the radar, and both Brown and his more high-profile former teammate think the Nets caught a break because of it.
“I definitely do,” said Smart, who the Celtics took with the sixth overall pick in the draft. “He’s a great player. He definitely got overlooked.
“He was great. He’s a great player, great kid. … Even though there was a lot of attention on me, he didn’t let that faze him, and he’s a fun dude and was a great teammate to play with.”
The Nets were thrilled to find Brown in the middle of the second round, and used $1.1 million to buy the rights to the 44th overall pick from the Timberwolves to acquire him. They viewed him as a possible late first-round talent. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound combo guard was measured with a 6-foot-9 wingspan at the NBA draft combine and also had a 43 ¹/₂-inch vertical jump, tying him for the best of those participating.
That, combined with his production during his college career, had Brown thinking he should have heard his name called in the first round on draft night.
“I feel like I was overlooked,” he said. “I feel like I should have been in the first round, but stuff happens, and I couldn’t be any more happy than where I landed.
“I feel like I’m in a perfect situation. I feel like I’m in a position where I can actually get on the court, so I’m going to make the best of it.”
With Shaun Livingston signing with the Warriors, the Nets have an opening for a perimeter defender, something Brown should be able to provide thanks to his length and athleticism. If he can be a consistent 3-point shooter along with it, he could give new coach Lionel Hollins an option off the bench. He has done nothing to dampen the team’s enthusiasm for him through the first three summer league games this week.
“For me, I’m going to just go out there and play hard-nosed defense, establish myself on the defensive end,” he said. “This is a pretty veteran team so those guys are going to be creating a lot of open shots so I’ve got to be ready to step in and take those shots.”
Not only are the former Oklahoma State teammates here participating in their first summer league together, they also will see plenty of each other playing on rival Atlantic Division teams, something Smart said they both will enjoy.
“Definitely,” he said with a smile. “It’ll be a fun game. There will be some trash talking going on, but it will be a fun game.”