"Trust your instincts": Louisville signee Mikel Brown Jr. shares his tips on defending and what skill he is practicing most before college

Mikel Brown Jr., the No. 8 recruit in the Class of 2025 (as per the On3 Industry Rankings), capped off an impressive high school basketball career after participating in the McDonald's All-American Game on April 2 and the Nike Hoop Summit on April 12.

In an Instagram carousel uploaded by League Him, Brown talked about his defending style and trusting his instincts when playing defense.

"5-star PG Mikel Brown is prioritizing defense before his freshman year at Louisville gets underway," League Him captioned on Tuesday.

"The key to being a really great defender is just you gotta be active and you gotta be instinctive," Brown said. "You gotta trust your instincts and it depends on personnel, it depends on who you are guarding so you gotta adjust to who you are guarding, knowing their strengths and weaknesses. So, I think just trying to study everybody that I'm playing against, it helps a lot for me. So when I'm in the game, I am prepared."

The DME Academy (Florida) point guard also talked about how he has evolved as a leader and a defender.

"Showcasing the act of being a leader on the court, leading my team, and putting guys where they need to be in the right spots and just being a dog on the defensive end, I think that's what it is," Brown said. "What I'm really trying to focus on is keeping my men in front of me, talking off the ball."

Brown added that he needed to be better during off-the-ball situations.

''I think I could work on my off-the-ball stuff a lot because on-ball, I think I'm pretty good," Brown said. "Off-the-ball I think I get carried away sometimes, getting caught looking at the ball too much, so just trying to stay consistent off-ball and on-ball and being the loud voice on the defensive end."

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Mikel Brown Jr. helps his teams win at McDAAG and the Nike Hoop Summit

Mikel Brown Jr. played alongside other top prospects, including BYU Cougars signee AJ Dybantsa, Kansas Jayhawks signee Darryn Peterson and Arizona Wildcats signee Brayden Burries, among others, with Team West at the McDonald's All-American game.

He scored five points on 2-for-4 shooting, along with two rebounds, five assists and one steal in 19 minutes.

At the Nike Hoop Summit, Brown was part of Team USA, which secured a 124-114 win against Team World. He recorded two points, one rebound, three assists and three steals in 24 minutes.