Jordan Brown came to Arizona with plenty of expectations after being a five-star prospect and McDonald's All-American out of high school. While the start of his career at Nevada didn't go as planned, he became an important piece of the Wildcats this season as he made his return to the floor.

Tuesday he was rewarded for his work off the bench for Arizona this season by earning the Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year award from the league as the conference honors were announced.

Brown began the season as part of Arizona's starting lineup, but when head coach Sean Miller decided to make some moves when the Wildcats made the trip to Corvallis to play Oregon State it was the redshirt sophomore who was among the players moved to the bench.

The move benefitted Brown and he scored a season-high 25 points in that win. He had three double doubles throughout the season including an impressive 19-point, 13-rebound performance on the road against USC to help seal UA's biggest win of the season.

The 6-foot-11 power forward provided the Wildcats with some flexibility in the front court with his ability to guard both positions, and his veteran presence was important for the team throughout the year with so many new faces as part of the program this season.

Brown finished his first season on the floor with the Wildcats averaging 9.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks.

While it is certainly positive for Brown to be recognized for his work this season, Miller believes Brown still qualifies as a young player since this was his first college season as a heavy contributor. He expects the UA big man to only continue improving during his time in Tucson.

"He just has to get older," Miller said after Brown's performance against the Trojans. "He has to get more experience. Jordan, by the standards of the game, isn't a very experienced player. His freshman year at Nevada, although he had a role, he was on a very veteran team and his role wasn't great. A year ago, although he practiced with us, he never played in a game last year.

"Then COVID affected him as much as anybody. Not only does he not play for an entire year, but we didn't see him until August. The last time I saw him was in early March then the next time I saw him was in August. We didn't have that opportunity to keep working, so this is his first real year of playing in college and he's had some great moments. He'll keep getting smarter on the court, he'll keep getting better. He can really score with his back to the basket and now rebounding, being a better defender just learning. Being a better passer. JB is a really unselfish guy, but sometimes he's into his move and he doesn't recognize the pass out. He's starting to do that a little bit. So, I just think experience, a great offseason, more games and I think you'll continue to see a more polished, more improved and just a better overall player in Jordan."

Brown is the first Arizona player to win the sixth man of the year award from the conference.

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