BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — One of the best to play the game this season, senior Kobe Brown of the Missouri men's basketball team was honored for his work on and off the court on Monday. The Huntsville native was named to the All-SEC First Team and earned the conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, as voted on by the league's 14 head coaches.
Brown, a graduate of Lee High School, is the fifth Tiger to earn first-team All-SEC accolades in program history and the first to collect the honor since Dru Smith in 2021. He is also the first Mizzou student-athlete to be named the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
On the court, Brown leads the Tigers with 15.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game during his standout 2022-23 season. The senior's 15.9 points per game are the most by a Tiger in five seasons, while leading the team in scoring on 16 occasions with nine 20-point games and 22 contests of double-digit points. One of the most versatile players in the country, Brown has also led MU in rebounds 17 times and in assists on five occasions.
Named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List for National Player of the Year, Brown is the only player in the country shooting 55.0 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range – aiming to become the first SEC player to do so since 1992-93. In fact, Brown is currently making 55.2 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from beyond the arc and is on pace to become the first Power 6 player to shoot 55 and 45 percent, respectively, since 2010-11.
Brown has also been at his best against the nation's elite. In Mizzou's five wins over nationally-ranked teams – the program's most in 11 years – Brown is averaging 23.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game. He became just the third player in the last 25 seasons with back-to-back games of 30-plus points in wins over ranked opponents when he led the Tigers to victories over No. 16 Illinois and No. 19 Kentucky.
Off the court, Brown owns a 3.594 grade point average as a general studies major as he pursues a career in the field of psychology. He earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester, collecting Dean's List honors for the fifth time during his career.
Brown has led the No. 25 Tigers throughout a successful 2022-23 campaign. Mizzou finished the regular season in the national poll with a 23-8 overall record and 11-7 mark in SEC play. The team's 23 wins are already its most since 2013-14 with the 11 conference victories tied for the most since joining the league in 2012-13.
The Tigers earned the No. 4 seed for the SEC Tournament – their highest in school history – and open the postseason on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
