Mikel Brown Jr.'s back is fully healed, according to 's Bobby Marks, who traveled to Orlando to watch the 6-foot-5 guard work out before next week's NBA Draft Combine. The report gives Brown a cleaner bill of health at a time when his draft stock had been clouded by a lingering back injury.
Brown played in 21 games during his freshman season at Louisville, averaging 18.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 41 percent from the field. That production showed why he stayed in the draft conversation, but the injury limited his season and raised questions after MRIs earlier this year showed his back problems were not structural and instead were a strained lower back and some back spasms.
The timing matters because front offices are making final evaluations before the combine opens next week, and medical checks can shift how teams view players on the board. Brown's name is one to watch if the Dallas Mavericks end up with the No. 8 overall pick in next week's lottery, since they are viewed as needing guard depth around Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving.
For Brown, the newest update is the one he needed most. The back issue that followed him through his freshman year is no longer the question it was, and now the conversation turns back to where he belongs on draft boards.
