40 Acres Sports

WTH?! (What the Heck?) Moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas’ Men’s Basketball Season.

Rick Barnes' Texas basketball team collapsed midseason.

Pre-Season WTH Mr. April?! April is the month when most high school basketball players sign their letters of intent. Coach Rick Barnes, Mr. April, has out did himself by coming up with an incredible freshman class that includes McDonald All-American Avery Bradley (6-2, 180), Jordan Hamilton (6-7, 226) and J’Covan Brown (6-1, 185) to go along with highly touted transfer Jai Lucas(5-10, 150). These additions with three seniors Damion James (6-7, 225), Justin Mason (6-2, 195) and Dexter Pittman (6-10, 290) had this team starting the preseason ranked #3. An ESPN article reported that Barnes would rather develop players for the NBA than win an NCAA championship. I believe this is a misinterpretation because Mack Brown finally shed his stigma as Mr. February with his national championship, let’s hope that Coach Barnes does the same soon.

Nov. 25th WTH Practice?! The season was starting fast with a win over highly ranked Pittsburgh 78-62, but during pregame warm-ups Varez Ward right knee gave out ending his season. “We not talkin’ bout a game – we talkin’ bout practice” nod to AI. Who knew his backcourt experience (only as sophomore) would be sorely needed throughout the year?

Dec. 22nd WTH DJ?! Damion James was making claims early in the season for player of the year honors with back to back 20+ points and 13+ rebound in wins over #10 North Carolina (103-90) & #9 Michigan State (79-68). DJ also established himself as UT’s all time leading rebounder by surpassing James Thomas. The problems of poor foul shooting and any lack of a half court game was covered up by the Horns posting 17 straight wins through mid-January.

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It wasn’t pretty (especially late) but with the way the Longhorns have been playing they’ll take a win any way they can. The team blew a 15 point lead and had a chance to tie the game with less than 10 seconds to go, but a clutch rebound and 2 made free throws (!) by gave the Horns a 71 – 67 win in Lubbock. Watch brief video highlights from ESPN below…

Despite strong performances from freshmen Avery Bradley and the newly patient Jordan Hamilton, the Longhorns continued their freefall Wednesday night at Missouri. The team fell to the Tigers 82-77 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. Video “highlights” of the Horns falling to 6-5 in conference play are below…

Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during today’s Texas game versus on the Big 12 Network. We’ll be live right around tip so join us to discuss the game at 3:00pm Saturday.

Feel free to leave comments and questions using the live tool, but not all comments will be published. Read below for more notes on comments and how the live blog will work. Hook ‘em!

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Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during tonight’s conference basketball match-up on ESPNU. We’ll be live right around tipoff for Texas versus so join us to discuss the game at 8:00pm Wednesday night.

Things might be a little less wordy than normal, but please feel free to leave comments and questions using the live tool, but not all comments will be published. Read below for more notes on comments and how the live blog will work. Hook ‘em!

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The academic progress of top 2008 basketball recruit J’Covan Brown was always a concern but it is now official. Brown won’t be enrolling at the University of Texas this fall and still has work to do to hopefully be ready for the spring semester. Brown and Varez Ward were the only two signees in the 2008 class so this leaves a big hole if he can’t get in.

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes said Thursday that recruit J’Covan Brown could possibly join the program for the spring semester after it was announced that Brown failed to qualify academically.

“He could still make it,” Barnes said.

Brown, a star combo guard from Port Arthur Memorial, reiterated his vow to play at Texas.

“I will work as hard as I can to make sure that I am able to earn a spot at the University of Texas as soon as possible,” Brown said in a statement.

The official letter of intent from 2008 shooting guard J’Covan Brown is finally in the hands of the Texas coaching staff. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard’s recruitment was a roller coaster from the very start. Even after securing his commitment in November, there was much doubt about whether he’d ever actually sign with the Horns. J’Covan has wanted to be a Longhorn all along but he has other people involved with his recruitment with their own interests in mind. Fortunately for J’Covan and Texas, what was best for the young man eventually won out.

One of the top #2 guards in country and best players in Texas, Brown is rated as a high 4-star prospect according to both Rivals and Scout. He is an excellent scorer who has the ability to drive to the basket as well as drain it from long range. He handles the ball well and could play spot duty at the point to spell the starter if needed. With his size and skill set, Brown is just the type of guard the Horns needed in this year’s Elite 8 match-up against Memphis. If he can be a factor on the defensive end as well, he has a chance to be huge contributor as a freshman.

Brown is currently the only 2008 prospect signed by Rick Barnes, but depending on if D.J. Augustin and/or Damion James head to the NBA Draft early they may have one more slot to fill. 5-star out of staters Devin Ebanks and Wesley Witherspoon are both seriously considering Texas and would be huge commitments for the program.

Next step for J’Covan is to get down to business in the classroom and make sure he’s eligible to head to Austin this summer and get started. Welcome to the 40 Acres!

Related Links

• ESPN profile
• Rivals profile
• Scout profile

High school guard J’Covan Brown suspended for a month. There’s some real shady stuff going on down there, this might be for the best.

Texas commit J’Covan Brown hopes to join homegrown talent in NBA. If he can ignore people around him kid is going to be special. (via)