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?
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