Texas Basketball: 3 players that must bounce back very soon

3) Texas basketball players who must bounce back soon

Greg Brown, Power Forward

Just on the horizon for the former elite five-star recruit and uber-talented freshman power forward Greg Brown could be a lottery pick in the looming 2021 NBA Draft. Brown was recruited to Texas with Smart knowing that he was very likely to be a one-and-done player. And despite the inconsistent nature of Brown’s play so far this season, he’s contributed a lot in winning efforts for the Longhorns.

Brown and the Longhorns were doing really well in unison out of the gates this season. But this recent stretch of losses for Texas has seen the inconsistencies in Brown’s game come back around at times. He was better in Texas’ win over the Wildcats on Feb. 9, but that was maybe the easiest opposition for the rest of the regular season.

Texas is still getting a good amount of production and efficiency out of Brown so far this season. He’s played in 16 games for the Longhorns so far this season (starting in all of them), averaging around 22 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 11.4 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks. Brown shot 43.0 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 65.5 percent from the free-throw line.

That all has amounted to a solid 3.5 box plus/minus rating, .144 win shares per 40 minutes, 1.3 total win shares, 53.7 true shooting percentage, 98 offensive rating/90 defensive rating, and a 19.3 player efficiency rating. If Brown is hitting the glass hard for the Longhorns and he’s minimizing mistakes on the offensive end of the floor, he’ll be a positive presence for the starting frontcourt.