This pair of brothers is no stranger to competing against each other.
Whether in one-on-ones on their Orlando driveway growing up, or now, fighting for minutes on Todd Golden's team, Isaiah and AJ Brown are used to brotherly competition.
"If I'm playing against him, I don't like losing to my brother," Isaiah said.
His older brother, AJ, transferred from Ohio to Florida in late April, joining him in Gainesville.
Now, the first Florida brother tandem since Dwayne and Travis Schintzius (1989-90) is competing for one of the last spots in Golden's rotation while also supporting each other following in their distinct journeys to Gainesville.
"They're gonna be competing for playing time here for the next four weeks, so we'll see how much they love each other," Golden said. "The Browns embody a lot of what our program is about. They have great attitudes; they work really hard. They wanted to be here at Florida.
Coming into the 2025-26 season, the Gators welcomed back four of their frontcourt players and high-profile newcomers Xavian Lee and Boogie Fland, bolstering their backcourt. As a result, minutes off the bench will be hard to come by for some of the Gators’ less proven players.
With Thomas Haugh moving to small forward, Florida has its rotational backcourt set. Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu will start at power forward and center. Then, off the bench, Micah Handlogten will come in for the big men.
In the backcourt, Lee and Fland will start at shooting guard and point guard, with the two rotating the positions. Coming off the bench, junior Urban Klavzar is expected to be Golden's first choice to replace one of the two.
Therefore, for the Brown brothers, the two positions where they may find time are as a backup small forward or the third option at shooting guard. However, freshman CJ Ingram has emerged, receiving plenty of reps with the starters during practice, and so far, looks to be the team's option to replace Haugh.
With one spot left on Golden's typical nine-man rotation, the brothers are fighting against each other for the chance to play regular minutes.
"We have a pretty deep team, so we've been competing a little bit," Isaiah said. "With us being brothers, it's like the most wholesome competition ever. There's no bad blood either way the competition goes."
However, even though they may be competing for minutes, the two have supported each other, especially Isaiah, as AJ gets acclimated to Gainesville after his time in Ohio, which was filled with setbacks.
In his first year with the Bobcats, AJ averaged 10.3 points per game, including a 14-point outing against the Gators in Tampa, en route to 2023 MAC All-Freshman Honors. However, in his sophomore year, he missed time on the court due to injury.
After nine games, Brown was forced to a medical redshirt due to an XYZ injury that kept him out for the remainder of the season. Eager to come back for the 2024-25 season, he scored double digits again in 15 of his first 16 games before getting hurt again.
In a rivalry matchup against Miami (Ohio), AJ went up for a rebound and dislocated his shoulder, tearing his labrum. He was sidelined the remainder of the season.
Overall, AJ missed 35 games due to injury across his three seasons with Ohio. Following his junior season, AJ decided to transfer to Florida, joining his brother in Gainesville.
"I was assessing all my options," AJ said. "It was always in the back of my mind if Florida was ever interested, that, of course, I'll be interested in going. When they sent the offer ... I was like, 'You know, this could be a great fit for me.'"
Welcoming AJ to the team, Isaiah comes into his second year after a first year where he spent the majority of his time learning from the bench.
The four-star recruit appeared in 19 games for the Gators, totaling 36 points. His highlight performances include nine points in eight minutes against Florida A&M and seven points in 10 minutes against North Florida.
After a year on the bench, Isaiah is doing his part to be a more consistent option for Golden with the hopes of making an impact off the bench.
"My word of this season is consistency," Isaiah said. "I'm staying consistent with everything I do, as playing hard, hitting shots and doing the little things that the team needs is something I've been working on."
As the season opener against Arizona on Nov. 3 approaches, the two continue to compete with each other for the last spot on the rotation, while also supporting each other to be the best versions of themselves on and off the court.
"It's been great having somebody who's grown up with me all my life and being able to take it to the next level on the college level is amazing," Isaiah said.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the Fall 2025 enterprise and men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams.
