Junior J'Covan Brown will forgo his senior season at the University of Texas in order to enter the NBA Draft. Brown confirmed his decision Monday morning with the following statement: "I want to thank the fans and everyone at The University of Texas for their support over the last 3 years. I’m not sure anyone really knows how much I love UT. It was always my dream to be a Longhorn, and I have lived that dream and become a better person. There were a lot of reasons to come back to school next year, most importantly getting my degree and being around my teammates every day. But the time has come for me to pursue a career in professional basketball and take care of my daughter, Jordyn. This has been a difficult decision, but it is the best decision for myself and my family. I’ll continue to go to class and complete the spring semester here at Texas, and I will come back to finish my degree in the future."
J'Covan Brown was the undisputed leader of the 2011-12 Longhorns team, utilizing his first year as a full-time starter to increase his scoring average from 10.4 points per game in 2010-11 to a Big12 Conference-leading 20.1 points per game in 2011-12. Brown is a great pure shooter, who routinely hits over 85% of his free throws. He is also adept at driving to the basket and thus creating scoring opportunities for both himself and his teammates. But most importantly, J'Covan is a player who is fearless when it comes to guiding his team through clutch situations. I would compare Brown's NBA prospects to those of current Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Hardin, who by design comes off of the bench to be the sprarkplug his team needs to close out tightly-contested victories.
As for the Longhorns moving forward, Brown's departure ensures that next year's team will be comprised of sophomores and freshmen only. It was quite a relief to hear that point guard Myck Kabongo will return for his sophomore season. And it was also nice to see that incoming freshman Cameron Ridley put up 12 points and 9 rebounds in the McDonald's All-American game last week. Coach Rick Barnes will once again have his work cut out for him managing such a young team, but with all the talent he'll have on his roster, the sky is the limit.
Anyway, thank you, J'Covan Brown for an exciting 3 years of play at the University of Texas. And good luck with your professional career. The Longhorns nation will forever be pulling for you.
The Texas Longhorns concluded their 2011-12 season on Friday by losing 65-59 to the Cincinnati Bearcats in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. For most of the 1st half, it didn't appear that the Longhorns came to Nashville ready to play at all. Texas opened the game missing 13 straight shots from the floor and finished the 1st half shooting a dismal 16%. It allowed the Bearcats to go up by as many as 20 points before the Longhorns mounted a furious 2nd-half rally which tied the game with a little over 3 minutes left on the clock. But that's exactly where Texas fell apart for good, allowing Cincinnati to score on 5 straight possessions down the convincing home stretch. And just like any Rick Barnes-coached team is prone to do, the Longhorns offense went excrutiatingly anemic during those most crucial closing moments. The guards stopped moving to get open and refused to comply with Clint Chapman visibly begging for the ball in the post, which at the very least could have opened up shots on some inside-outside action.
It's become infinitely frustrating to watch these Rick Barnes-led teams fail in the exact same manner over and over and over again. Texas had Arizona in the bag last year, only to have a last-minute collapse cost them their season. And despite the Longhorns already losing multiple games this season the same way, it happened yet again in Nashville. There is no excuse for an offense to come out of a time-out during crunch-time and it doesn't even look as if any play was called, let alone run. And having a confused freshman point guard frantically screaming at his despondent teammates isn't quite the way to set up an open, game-winning shot. It all runs through Barnes and quite frankly, the guy becomes more and more of a joke every time this same exact scenario plays out again and again and again.
All things considered, it's been a pretty good season for the Texas Longhorns. The most commonly cited detail has been the lack of a "signature win", meaning Texas was swept by each of Kansas, Missouri, and Baylor, all top 10-caliber teams, and couldn't beat North Carolina either. But the Longhorns did wind up beating each of Temple, Kansas State, and Iowa State (twice), all top 25-caliber teams. And coach Rick Barnes did a great job avoiding any horrible losses to inferior teams. An overall record of 20-13 really isn't so bad for a team with 6 freshmen in its 9-man rotation.
Junior J'Covan Brown led the Big12 Conference in scoring. That was expected all along. What wasn't expected was senior Clint Chapman successfully playing a prominet role for the Longhorns. Chap averaged 7.3 points per game to go along with a team-leading 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. His 19 point, 14 rebound performance against Iowa State was nothing short of an eye-opener.
Freshmen-wise, the Longhorns carried a full pack. Point guard Myck Kabongo was immediately thrown to the wolves, including an oft-angry coach Barnes, and fortunately steadied his roller coaster ride upon an upward trajectory. Averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 assists per game, Kabongo closes his season as a perfectly servicable sparkplug to a sometimes listless offense. Wings Julien Lewis and Sheldon McClellan proved themselves worthy of all the playing time a limited roster afforded them. With Lewis filling the role of defensive stopper and McClellan kickstarting the offense with 11.3 points per game, the freshmen duo certainly earned their stripes. Forwards Jonathan Holmes and Jaylen Bond did as well, with Holmes scoring 7.2 points and Bond grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game.
So beyond the tough early-season losses to Oregon State and North Carolina State, and then the struggle to remain at least in the middle of the Big12 Conference pack, Texas finds itself in its 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament. Short of J'Covan Brown averaging 30 points per game and Myck Kabongo jumping right out of the gate with a T.J. Ford-like season, the Longhorns achieved all that could realistically be expected of them. And now they travel to Nashville to face the Cicinnati Bearcats, a Big East team with a monumental chip on its shoulder. Having suffered through suspensions stemming from an early season brawl with Xavier, the Bearcats rebounded to come within 6 points of winning the Big East Conference Tournament.
Cincinnati will try to bait Texas into a low-scoring, grind-it-out contest, which Texas must avoid by pushing the tempo at every turn. With Kabongo zipping up the court with the ball off of long rebounds and turnovers, it will be up to those filling lanes to position themselves for quality shots on the run. If any of J'Covan Brown, Julien Lewis, or Sheldon McClellan shoot poorly from the field, it could be a dreary afternoon for the Longhorns. With senior Alexis Wangmene out due to wrist injury, Texas can't afford to have any of its few remaining big men foul out early trying to contain Yancy Gates.
What's actually great about this match-up is that Texas comparably has nothing to lose. There is a chance that it could be the last college game for Brown and possibly Kabongo, but what better an incentive than potential NBA millions for both of them to shine as brightly as possible? Look for the Longhorns to let it all hang out. Barnes knows full well that if his team comes out tight and tentative that they will get crushed. In other words, let those young Runnin' Horns run!
In the semi-final round of the Big12 Conference Tournament, the Missouri Tigers quite easily put away the Texas Longhorns 81-67. The 5th-ranked Tigers shot 52.6% from the field and were simply too much for the Longhorns to handle. J'Covan Brown scored 21 points for Texas, but didn't really get the team support needed to overcome such a top flight opponent. Missouri went on to beat Baylor the next day to wrap up the Big12 Tournament championship. Fortunately for the Longhorns, their season continues as an 11th seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. Texas, with an overall record of 20-13, will face a 24-10 Cincinnati Bearcats squad on Friday in Nashville, Tennessee.
Thursday night in Kansas City, the Texas Longhorns defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 71-65 to advance to the semi-final round of the Big12 Tournament. J'Covan Brown overcame a subpar shooting night (7-19 overall, 0-5 from the 3-point line) to hit a series of clutch shots down the stretch, including a 3-point play with only 36 seconds to play that iced the game. Down by as many as 11 in the 2nd half, the Longhorns tightened up their defense and went on a 22-4 run that completely changed the complexion of the contest. With senior forward Alexis Wangmene out with a wrist injury, Texas bigs Clint Chapman, Jonathan Holmes, and Jaylen Bond might of been spread thin, but ultimately got the job done, collecting an advantageous 11 offensive rebounds between them. As J'Covan led the backcourt charge with 23 points to his credit, the freshman guard trio of Myck Kabongo, Julien Lewis, and Sheldon McClellan amply complemented his heroics with 29 points netted between them. Coach Rick Barnes had to be pleased with the both the team cohesion and effort exemplified in what was a must-win for the Longhorns. With an overall record of 20-12, Texas is now all but assured an invitation to play in the NCAA Tournament. Tonight will further test their mettle though, as the Longhorns now face the #5-ranked Missouri Tigers who swept Texas in 2 regular season games.
Texas Longhorns guard J'Covan Brown led the Big12 Conference in scoring with 20.0 points per game. The 6'1" junior from Port Arthur had high games of 35 against Rhode Island, 34 against Missouri, 33 against Kansas, and 32 against Baylor. On the season, Brown shot 42.0% from the floor, 37.5% from the 3-point line, and 86.0% from the free throw line.
The undisputed captain of a young Longhorns team, J'Covan Brown was frequently relied upon by Texas coach Rick Barnes to have the offense run through him. Ever willing to take and often make tough shots in clutch siuations, Brown dazzled with both his accurate marksmanship and his uncanny ability to drive and create. Many of the Longhorns' 19 wins were sealed by the capability of Brown to seemingly score at will.
The early-season ankle injury Brown suffered playing Iowa State in Ames had somewhat of a crippling effect on any momentum the Longhorns had built up moving into their early Big12 Conference schedule. Having shot 7-10 from the floor, Brown brought Texas back from a 14 point deficit against Iowa State only to twist his ankle and then watch his team from the bench falter to the Cyclones 77-71.
During the high-water mark of the Longhorns's season, a 4-game Big12 Conference winning streak in February, Brown played a series of spectacular games. J'Covan scored 17 against Texas Tech, 20 against Texas A&M, 23 against Kansas State, and 19 against Oklahoma with a high concentration of those points coming in the 2nd half of tight contests. For the seaason, Brown scored 27.3% of the Longhorns' 73.3 points per game which is a heck of a load for one single player to carry.
With the regular season now completed, the immediate 2 questions on Brown become: 1. How far can J'Covan carry the Longhorns through the Big12 Conference Tournament bracket with even higher hopes on a chance to make an appearance and possibly even a run in the NCAA Tournament? and 2. Will the 2011-12 Big12 scoring champion return to Texas for his senior season or make like so many former Longhorn stars and opt out early for the NBA Draft?
Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, the Texas Longhorns gave it all they had but fell short 73-63 to the #4-ranked Kansas Jayhawks. National Player of the Year candidate Thomas Robinson ran roughshod over the Longhorns defense, scoring 25 points and grabbing 5 offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, Jayhawks point guard Tyshawn Taylor poured in 22 points on 7-11 shooting from the field. Fortunately for Texas, J'Covan Brown yet again proved himself as a lethal marksman, scoring 33 points and making 14 of 15 free throws along the way. But with fellow starters Myck Kabongo and Sheldon McClellan combining to shoot only 2-17 and Alexis Wangmene going down for the remainder of the season with a wrist injury, it was an uphill battle for the Longhorns to say the least. Now, unsure whether their 19-12 regular season record will get them into the NCAA Tournament, the Longhorns will face a tough Iowa State squad in the 1st round of the Big12 Tournament.
