NBL1 South: Mount Gambier Pioneers sign Vanderbilt forward Clevon Brown for season 2022

A “diamond in the rough” will bolster an undermanned NBL1 basketball club with the star American jetting in for a spectacular signing six games into the season.

A star American basketballer has moved to South Australia and joined an NBL1 South club in a shock signing six weeks into the 2022 season.

Forward Clevon Brown spent four years playing college basketball for Vanderbilt University before completing the move to the Mount Gambier Pioneers this week.

Standing at six feet, eight inches tall and weighing over 100 kilograms, Brown is set to slot into Mount Gambier’s side seamlessly, with the club lacking size in the frontcourt during the start of its campaign.

The club, which was founded in 1988, has won four championships - in 2003, 2014, 2015 and 2017 - but is currently aiming to bolster its charges after four years without a title.

The Pioneers were finally granted introduction into the NBL1 competition at the end of 2019, but the 2020 season was canned, and the following 2021 season was cut short - both due to Covid-19.

Coach Richard Hill said he was thrilled with the arrival of 23-year-old Brown, who shot 50 per cent from the floor in his most recent Vanderbilt season and pulled down five rebounds a game.

American import Clevon Brown has signed with the Mount Gambier Pioneers for season 2022. Picture: Mount Gambier Pioneers

“We’ve been playing some great basketball but we’ve been pretty small so to be able to land Clevon is great – we’re really excited about it,” Hill said.

“We’ve lacked someone at that five spot and he’s ideal for us.”

It is a significant bit of recruitment by the Pioneers, who had been attempting to fill the gap at the centre position since the end of last year, but had failed to land anyone before the start of this season.

Hill was glad the club managed to finalise the signing of Brown, who would be a perfect fit for his team.

“We started the search back in November and deals just kept falling over at the final hurdle,” he said.

“You’re always trying to find that diamond in the rough and I feel lucky because I’m not sure if any other player would suit our game better than Clevon.

Former Vanderbilt star Clevon Brown is set to provide a significant boost to the Pioneers' frontcourt. Picture: Mount Gambier Pioneers

“He’s ideal for us, a perfect fit. He seems like a really good kid, he plays at a really good speed, has a good skill on both sides of the ball and he’s going to really help take the load off of others with the attention he draws.”

Mount Gambier is currently undefeated in the NBL1 South competition, winning six games out of six, but they’ve been undermanned in most outings so far.

They’ve been without star floor general Tom Daly and have had to rotate through squad numbers regularly, relying on new arrival Michael Harris, as well as Nick Marshall to carry the load offensively.

“We’ve been pretty light on (player numbers) which has been a challenge but it’s been a good situation for some other guys who have played a lot and played well,” Hill said.

“The test now will be to integrate Clevon into the team but we’re definitely going to benefit from the addition soon and also in the long run.”

The Pioneers will host the Geelong Supercats on Friday night.