From the man who brought you Mo Bamba…
No, this is not about Sheck Wes. This is about Shaka Smart. The “you” in that sentence should have probably actually been a “U” and been followed by a “T” and then maybe also followed by a “-Austin” in case there are any Vols fans in the chat.
Yes, Greg Brown III is a Longhorn.
Who is Greg Brown III?
Good question.
He is the man who will either:
- Bring Texas its second straight national championship (in the NIT sense).
- Help Shaka Smart stay employed by helping the Longhorns contend in the Big 12, even if it dashes their more immediate NIT dreams.
- OR
- Have the littest song of the new decade written about him.
Could possibly do two of the three. The second seems the most likely.
It’s true. This doesn’t help Texas’s chances of an NIT repeat. But as been said here before, college coaches are in the difficult position of having to play the long game thanks to the industry-wide denial of the NIT’s greatness. At this point, with a gap in the NIT Champions list on Wikipedia, a repeat title would not have the same bluster it would have had the ‘Horns won the 2020 NIT. With that the case, maximizing total NIT titles becomes the goal, and it’s a goal Brown can help Shaka Smart achieve, even if it means playing more like Kansas than TCU this year. The process goes like this:
- Brown slots in well with the existing Longhorns core, now back to full (or close to full) health.
- Texas goes 12-6 in the Big 12 and plays to the second weekend of the N*AA T*urnament.
- Shaka Smart gets extended.
- Texas wins NIT’s for decades.
Brown’s a homegrown talent, hailing from the Austin Metro Area. Specifically, he’s a product of Vandegrift High School, which is on Austin soil even if it’s part of Leander ISD. A six-foot eight-inch forward, he comfortably averaged a double-double his senior season en route to being named the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year. His dad, Greg Brown II, played cornerback at Texas. His uncle, Roderick Anderson, played basketball at Texas. His mom, Quacharia Tonyell Wallace, attended Texas. The roots run deep.
On the court, Brown gives Texas additional talent on an already deep front line, where he’ll likely start alongside fellow NBA hopeful Jericho Sims. It won’t be surprising to see rotations next year with three big men standing 6’8” or taller, and given the athleticism of Brown and others, there’s speculation that Havoc will be the most present its been in Smart’s tenure in Austin. Texas graduated nobody, and through the course of this past season started eleven different players due to injuries. It’s an experienced team that’s played great basketball now and then, and it’s adding a top-ten recruit to the frontcourt.
In short, yes, bad news for Texas’s immediate NIT hopes. But in the long term…
