J'Covan Brown Has Been Cleared to Play

Well, I’ll be dipped. Fucking awesome.

I dreamed it in my head!

“We’re cutting the nets down or we’re perma-banning HenryJames.”

Can’t we do both?

Hallelujah!

Thank God one of the pay sites decides to pay attention to hoops. This is HUGE news for Barnes’ program! HUGE!!

Awesome. I think it’s time for a beer.

A Barking Carnival tag? Awesome!

The day before school starts. Gotta love the clearing house. Great news for J’Covan. Kid could use a break.

Awesome. I think it’s time for a beer
Do you drink LITE beer, too? This Patron Time and maybe more.

We’re cutting the nets down or we’re perma-banning HenryJames." Yeah ! We can do both and add the D-1 football prospect G0-G0 to the list.

J’Covan may be the last piece we need to take over the Dance and frame that net. Good LUCK J’covan, a much need break. ncaa sucks 1 day before school starts trying to punish the kid IMO!

For what it’s worth, the coaches think that J’Covan’s addition will be more important than either Bradley or Hamilton. He’s being looked at as the intake manifold that will super charge things this year from the point. Hard to adequately quantify what this means to the season.

This is big.

Weird. It’s August 24th, 12 days before the start of what portends to be a magnificent championship run, and yet I find myself just giddy about this.

Time for beer number 2.

damn. i just realized that this is happening as we are gearing up for a football title run. this year has the potential to be talked about into the next century.

PA in da hizzie!

Again, and I don’t care to beat a dead horse, but Brown is the best scorer on a team where it was previously thought Jordan Hamiltion was the best scorer before Brown got to campus. A team that even before summer scrimmages thought Avery Bradley could be the top scorer. With the top returning big man and one of the top 5-10 power forwards in the nation. And oh yes, Hamilton, Bradley, and Brown will guard you. They take pride in it.

Keep in mind I haven’t even mentioned the depth. Ward, Mason, Balbay, Lucas, Wangmane, Chapman, and Johnson could be a tournament team by themselves.

Sick, sick talent. I’d take over KU’s right now.

A month or so ago, it was either Trips or SL Express that predicted the clearing house would wait until a day or two before school starts and then clear J’Covan.

Now, with so much depth, what are the chances of red shirting anyone? Dogus maybe?

Actually, I’ve been saying it since May. It’s what they do. Just off the top of my head, they’ve cleared Craig Loston, Renardo Sydney, J’Covan Brown, and some Nebraska basketball player named Standhinger, all in the last few days. I’m sure there are plenty of others that received notice at the last second.

I’ve seen plenty of whiners regarding how the NCAA has had something against Texas, or they’ve made a special case out of J’Covan. Neither one is true. I don’t think there’s any good defense for the passive aggressiveness the Clearinghouse shows to borderline kids they decide they don’t feel comfortable simply declining to let into school, but they do this every year, and this season was no exception.

I thought with the high profile cases of Derrick Rose and the USC stuff, that might throw a wrench in the works, but it didn’t. This has been par for the course for one of the worst bureaucratic, piece of crap, ineffective organizations in the country.

I’m glad J’Covan has this behind him. Now is when the real challenge starts for him.

As far as Trips’ comment above, Hamilton is still the best scorer. J’Covan is the best playmaker. But both of them are highly adept at both skillsets.

And J’Covan isn’t a good defender, yet. Neither is Hamilton. They may or may not be their freshmen year. They can make plays on the ball - particularly J’Covan, who can be sneaky. But neither one are the kind of intimidating on the ball defenders I think Balbay, Ward, and Bradley are.

Hamilton is a very good defender. Is he going to smother ball handlers, no, but there’s more to playing defense than being able to stay in front of ones. Jordan can stay in front of most all 3’s, has the praying mantis length to get into passing lanes, has size and length to bother jump shooters, and has the most important ingredient to defend which is want to.

As for Brown, he’ll be a plus defender. He can guard shooting guards with his size and athleticism. We’re not asking him to stay in front of Sherrod Collins or 3 quarter front Patrick Patterson.

Hamilton has no understanding of help defense. I’m not as confident as you are that he can stay in front of most all college 3’s, particularly since most college 3’s are really 6’2/6’3 guards. I sure don’t think he’s going to shut down the best 3’s he’ll face on UT’s schedule.

That’s as opposed to Bradley, Ward, and Balbay, all of whom I feel will give fits to the very best guards they play this year.

Of course, I think Hamilton is going to absolutely destroy people on the other end, and I think he’ll improve as a defender as the year goes on, so it’s not like I think it’s an issue. I just don’t think it’s a strength, and I’m not sure how anyone who has watched the kid can think it will be - and this was BEFORE he laid off from participating in any organized games for over a year.

The “want to” was a late developing quality, too, so it’s not like he’s someone who has shown that desire his entire time as a highly ranked player.

He sure does have some great length, though, you are absolutely right on that. Holy crap it feels so nice to have a true, legitimate, honest to goodness college wing player. Durant could have been one if Texas had been in a position to play a couple of frontcourt players at the same time as him, but alas, the best lineup really did consist of Augustin/Abrams/Mason/James/Durant.

I don’t mean to say I’ve got a problem with Brown as a defender. I don’t know if he’ll be a plus defender or not. He’ll be a freshman. I just can’t foresee him being at the level of Balbay/Ward/Bradley. But you’re right, he’s not going to be the speed bump to the basket Jai Lucas will represent, if that’s the comparison we’re working with.

Lateral quickness is the key to defend. Anticipation and BB IQ are just as important.

 Jordan/ J’C are almost average in lateral quickness as compared to Dog ,Bradley,Mason but make up for it with mental toughness,being street smart and not giving in to an offensive player. Jordan has gone up against NBA player and held his own on defense and at times imposed his will on the offense end. I have spent many hours in the airport LA gym watching this kid play he will guard once someone makes him look bad, thats just Jordan. J’C is cut in the same mold but it is 20 some months since I saw him last but he was tough but not as tough has Jordan. Scoring is Hamilton IMO but J’C makes the PG a dangerous spot he will score making all the teams we see play us honest 5 to 5. My Question is who will stop Dex ? Who will stop Jordan? Avery? and now J’C from scoring.

SkyMonkeyHorn,

If J’Covan is able to adjust to the structured environment UT represents - and he’s going to get all the help in the world to do so, in the healthiest environment he’s ever been in - I’ll say it right now.

This will be a better team - for its era - than Phi Slamma Jamma.

Haha SMH you are so damn giddy that you progressively abandoned your usual solid grammar/punctuation out of sheer euphoria in that last post.

The real question is, between Hamilton, JB, and Avery, who is going to get in a fight first?

A question for SL, Trips, or anybody: Would you trade this team with the last Texas final 4 team, knowing already how good the 2003 team would be? Would you trade it with the 2004 team had TJ stayed and not entered the draft?

Go-GO are your hot panties too tight or in a wad.

“The real question is, between Hamilton, JB, and Avery, who is going to get in a fight first”

Lets see this issue was discussed in several threads here and Bobs place. Go-go not a single clear original thought from a football D-1 prospect , maybe your blood flow is restricted due to the elastic in your panties.

SXL now thats a tough call as this team has the potential to be very good and maybe great. They just have not played any games yet. I would agree that Phi Slamma Jamma was a great team but UCLA with ALcindor/Wilkens forget the year were better then Phi Slamma Jamma.
I do think that we are in for a long rollercoaster ride. If we get past the preseason winning all our games in a solid effort then I think this team is bettter then Phi Slamma Jamma and Alcindors; UCLA.

NY Horn,

TJ’s freshman team with Maurice Evans returning.

The next year’s Sweet 16 team adding TJ as a junior.

The Elite Eight team that lost to LSU in overtime with a freshman CJ Miles on the squad.

The 2008 Elite Eight team adding Durant as a sophomore.

It’s just seemed like Texas hasn’t been able to get that one break they needed to put together a complete team.

This year, it just feels like everything has fallen into place, at least on paper. Pittman looks like he’s ready to come into his own. Damion James returns. Hamilton and Bradley give a possible future NBA lottery look to the wings. Jai Lucas transfers in. Brown makes it in. Ward has his game against Duke, and chooses to stick around.

Plus, there’s all the other guys on the roster.

I’d take this team easily over any other that Texas has ever fielded, and I’m prepared to say I’ll take it over any other team that Barnes fields for the rest of his career, in terms of sheer talent, depth, and ideal players for their position. None of Brown/Balbay/Lucas are going to be as good as either TJ or DJ as a point guard, but I think they’re going to provide the position with an elite level quality and depth nonetheless.

For the rest of the positions, at this point I’m not sure who I take over Pittman/James/Hamilton/Bradley if you take Durant out of the equation (who could almost play any of those).

Mihm was an All American, but is he a slam dunk (pardon the pun) over Pittman? Not for me, at least not based on what I expect out of Pittman this year.

I loved both Chris Owens and James Thomas at their best, but are they better than Damion James at the 4?

There isn’t another wing who is even remotely close to as good as Hamilton under Barnes, seeing as how Durant didn’t play the position.

Texas has had some excellent guards. Do I take a senior Royal Ivey over Bradley? Or a Mouton? Daniel Gibson his sophomore season? Not based on what I’m expecting out of Bradley this year, and that’s taking nothing away from those other guys.

And this bench is unbelievable. Where are Mason’s minutes going to come from? Shawn Williams would start for most college teams. The bodies available for the frontcourt are multiple. Someone needs to step up there. Matt Hill looks like he’s going to get the first shot as Pittman’s backup, and Gary Johnson has continued to work hard at developing his game, just like he has since he arrived on campus.

The reason I bring up Phi Slamma Jamma is because they have to be considered the best college basketball team the state has produced (with apologies to Texas Western, who have their own historical greatness to be proud of). I think this team could eclipse them.

I’d never bring up other great championship teams, whether it’s other teams this decade, Pitino’s awesome Kentucky crew, Bob Knight’s undefeated squad, or the great UCLA teams.

I’d be thrilled to be able to put this team out there in a discussion as the best college basketball team this state has ever produced. They’re not part of that group, yet. They haven’t done anything. But I expect them to dominate the opposition. I don’t think they lose any more than 3 games all year. I think they earn a #1 seed and play for the opportunity to make it to the Final Four in Houston again, only this time there won’t be another team more talented than them on the floor. And then we’ll see what happens.

There are plenty of other talented teams out there. Kansas is absolutely frightening with what they’ve assembled. Though young, Kentucky has an even more impressive collection of talent, including the electrifying John Wall. Michigan State looks like they could be better after making it to the title game a year ago. Villanova looks stout. There are others, too.

But at the end of the day, I think there are a ton of people nationally who are underrating Pittman. They’re underrating Hamilton. And they’re underrating J’Covan Brown. And yet they still have Texas in the top 5. I just think this team is going to be devastating.

Geebus let them play a few games first.

I don’t know how well the freshmen coming in play defense but, if they are as athletic and driven as advertised, Barnes (a great defensive coach) should have them playing good defense by the time post season rolls around.

Given that so many of these players can fill it up and there is only one basketball, will Barnes balance his rotations with 3 or 4 elite shooters/scorers alongside one or two role players? Or will it be all elite scorers , all the time?

The Sugar Land Express predicted this J’Covan clearing house thing amazingly accurately.

There will be so much competition on this team that all the players are going to be extremely motivated to work hard in practice (so they should get better quickly).

Will anybody transfer at the last moment? Who does not get a scholarship? Who redshirts?

Expect some learning pains with three frosh starting.

Phi Slamma Jamma had two NBA hall of famers on the team (Drexler and Hakeem). Hakeem ended up being one of the greatest players of all time (in the top 5, right?). PSJ made the final four 3 years in a row (including two trips to the finals). Don’t know if the horns have any hall of famers on this team. It is nearly certain that they will not stay together for three years.

Hamilton has no understanding of help defense. I’m not as confident as you are that he can stay in front of most all college 3’s, particularly since most college 3’s are really 6′2/6′3 guards. I sure don’t think he’s going to shut down the best 3’s he’ll face on UT’s schedule.

One pass away, Jordan Hamilton will be the best 3 defender Barnes has had at Texas. His ability to deny a wing with his length and athleticism one pass away, especially considering the one or two guard making the pass will have very little room to deliver the ball when guarded by Balbay or Bradley, is going to lead to a ton of steals and easy buckets. It’ll also make it difficult for teams to find a continuity in their offense if they rely on iso-ing their 3 to score.

As far as staying in front of 3’s, legit 3’s, then I’m not worried. I’m not counting on his ability to stay in front of 6-2 3rd guards because quite frankly it won’t matter, considering everything teams give up when they go 3 guard against legitimate 3’s. Important shit like rebounding and defending. And there may be one or two third guards in the country that have the holy grail of being a perimeter shooting threat, with the ability to blow by plus athletes, and the strength to either finish at the rim or find players who can.

I was merely pointing out Hamilton can stay in front of legit 3’s because with this Texas team I’m only projecting them against the very best four or five teams in the country. I’m not worried about a top 20 mid-major that may roll out 3 guards hoping they can shoot 18-30 from deep to beat an elite team. Perhaps I should worry about Hamilton moving his feet but if I did it would be near Pittman staying in front of 6-7 guys on my list of things to worry about.

That’s as opposed to Bradley, Ward, and Balbay, all of whom I feel will give fits to the very best guards they play this year.

I suppose I can see Ward being lumped in with a loose comparison, but Bradley and Balbay are going to be asked to do different things on defense than our true 3. It’s akin to me saying, “yeah, but, aren’t you worried about Balbay being posted up by 6-6 point guards”.

Of course, I think Hamilton is going to absolutely destroy people on the other end, and I think he’ll improve as a defender as the year goes on, so it’s not like I think it’s an issue. I just don’t think it’s a strength, and I’m not sure how anyone who has watched the kid can think it will be — and this was BEFORE he laid off from participating in any organized games for over a year.

Wing denial, deflections, bothering jumpshots, and general athleticisim are huge. It’s what Memphis did to Texas with its size and quickness. Chris Douglass Roberts wasn’t an on-ball smothering wizard, but he didn’t need to be. He was crazy long and deceptively quick. And if you tried to find or exploit mismatches with shorter quicker guards against him, CDR would obsolutely murder you on the other end with buckets. And I’m not worried one iota about Rick’s ability to teach team defense. Especially to a smart kid like Hamilton.

The "want to" was a late developing quality, too, so it’s not like he’s someone who has shown that desire his entire time as a highly ranked player.

Yeah, honestly I don’t care how long he’s had it. There are AAU guys that are pleased by how pissed off the kid gets when elite players score on him. That’s what I was referring to.

He sure does have some great length, though, you are absolutely right on that. Holy crap it feels so nice to have a true, legitimate, honest to goodness college wing player. Durant could have been one if Texas had been in a position to play a couple of frontcourt players at the same time as him, but alas, the best lineup really did consist of Augustin/Abrams/Mason/James/Durant.

Isn’t that the truth? We should leave the 3 guard look to the mid-majors. It’s funny, because my brother and I were talking about Durant and if only he could have played a true 3 here at Texas. He was constantly banged inside guarding posts and I think that wore him down. He was still pretty good at getting into passing lanes as a 4, but he would have been even better as a 3 for several reasons.

I don’t mean to say I’ve got a problem with Brown as a defender. I don’t know if he’ll be a plus defender or not. He’ll be a freshman. I just can’t foresee him being at the level of Balbay/Ward/Bradley. But you’re right, he’s not going to be the speed bump to the basket Jai Lucas will represent, if that’s the comparison we’re working with.

You know on Brown it all goes back to his head. If he can get the support he needs and not take everything so personally he has all the tools. Defensively speaking, Royale Ivey wasn’t that laterally explosive, but he had good technique and size for a 2. Brown has the size and is a better athlete than Royale, it’s just a matter of technique at this point. I think he’ll be fine.

Nice dig on Jai, by the way. I suppose this is the spot I counter by making fun of Balbay, but I won’t, because I think we’ll need him. Just like we’ll need Jai when teams zone us. Plus it’s a bit petty in the grand scheme of things. Lucas is being a tremendous team player by paying his own way so I’m not sure the animosity toward him is cool but I get why it’s something you value enough to post about. You can’t tweak me for typing that Damion James is coming back, so Jai’s got to be it. In any event, thanks for some kick ass basketball discussion.

so what you’re saying is only coaching can fuck this up? great.

Not coaching, psychology. Barnes can X and O defense in his sleep and he’s got the perfect mixture of talented offensive players to win on offense with vanilla sets, Phoenix Sun random screening, and his Linus security blanket screen and roll.

My question is what’s he going to do the first time Avery Bradley throws down with J’Covan Brown? Or if Varez Ward gets rough with one of the freshman in a bid for playing time? How can he keep guys like Mason and Balbay interested when they’re not getting time they think they deserve? Is Gary Johnson going to be cool getting 10 minutes a game some nights and 5 minutes some others?

The answer is I don’t know, but Barnes has enough depth to use a carrot and a stick approach.

My hope is he’s going big picture early on and talking about how special this team and year can be if everyone buys in and thinks team first regardless of minutes.

Another question is who will be the leader on the floor that grabs this message and makes sure everyone on the roster gets it and understands what and why Barnes does what he does? Guys like TJ, Mouton, Boddicker, Owens, Augustin, and Durant have been that guy in the past. Who’s that guy this year to play good cop to Barnes’ bad?

I wouldn’t say coaching is the only thing that can fuck this up. All the talent in the world won’t matter even with great coaching, if the players don’t gel properly. Look at the Olympic squads for a long stretch; amazing talent and top tier coaching. The players did not want to play team offense or defense, so they lost. Look at the Lakers squad from a few years back with Shaq, Kobe, Malone and Payton. Same thing.

Encouraging limited players to step up and fill roles is relatively easy for coaches. Asking skilled players to focus diverse talent into smaller subsets to play within the team is very difficult. That’s not to say that Barnes will be to blame if the team doesn’t reach its potential. Getting egos in check at this level is not something you should expect to go smoothly. I expect at least one or two of these highly touted new players to get almost no playing time, and instead guys that were around last year will get some minutes.

Barnes will have to keep guys off the floor who aren’t buying into the system. This will lower our talent level on the court, but will give us the best chance for winning.

“My hope is he’s going big picture early on and talking about how special this team and year can be if everyone buys in and thinks team first regardless of minutes.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When I think about it, I like Barnes’ chances of succeeding in getting everyone to buy in. If we had a Soph or Jr. that was really selfish and thought he might leave early for the draft, then you’ve got a wild card. The blend of seniors, freshmen and developing sophomores and juniors might be perfect. The one player who could rightfully be pissed about this is Mason. However, he seems like a team player and hopefully he’ll except his reduced roll.

I echo other sentiments that support Barnes’ ability to ride hard on elite (potentially spoiled) players.

He seems to be consistent in telling kids what to expect coming in, and following up with that. Being able to point to a growing list of NBA success stories makes it much easier too.

“Durant did it my way — are you better than Durant?”

J’Covan is far from spoiled.
 
He’s a guy that you should be pulling for who is trying his best to cope with a really tough environment in which almost every authority figure he has known has tried to use him, auction him, and manipulate him.
 
The kid had a burning desire to be a Longhorn and live his own life despite incredible pressure from every quarter. That same stubbornness and drive, coupled with an understandable disregard for authority figures, is also why he can be a handful to coach.
 
If J’Covan and Barnes can focus that competitiveness constructively, you’ve got an on court assassin who will die to win. There’s also a 50% chance that he slugs an opposing player or fan.

“I expect at least one or two of these highly touted new players to get almost no playing time, and instead guys that were around last year will get some minutes.”

Barnes may not be the most gifted offensive coach on the porch but How do you keep Avery, and Hamilton on the bench, no way, those two gets 20-25 minutes per game. Mason and Williams get 5-6 minutes and Williams gets more then Mason. Balbay get 10-15 minutes and Ward a similar amount with J’Coven coming in now that may change and they both give up minutes to JB if he is playing as well as reported. Lets see Dex 20 minutes, James 20-25 minutes just for his rebounding unless he get confused like last year. If James is playing well I hope that he takes the leadership role on the court.

I would drug Trips and give him to Henry if I could watch the team go at it in practice.

 Barnes rewards his players with PT when they work in practice except if your name is HILL.

Thank about Ward going against Brown, Avery going against Brown, Mason vs. Avery, Ward checking Hamilton,Brown vs Dog . I hope Barnes has a trainer and nurse on hand during practice. Practice will be competitive to say the least. I know that Hamilton and Brown do not back down they get more aggressive on the court. Avery just plays harder but practice would sale out if they charged to take a peek at this team. This team is going to be the best team that the state of texas has seen, not bagging W.Texas or the Phi Slamma Jamma team just like SXL stated above. How is Barnes going to handle this team with 5 new faces and a hell of alot of talent. This could be a better team then any team that we have had. I already had my schedule change to go to Indy in March so it got to be, right.

Don’t expect any psychological wizardry from Barnes. He is a hard ass and will continue to be a hard ass. Anybody who has a bad attitude rides the pine. It will be a very competitive environment with players fighting for PT. It is unlikely that effort will be an issue.

If two players get into a fight, it won’t be that big a deal (as long as it is not a regularly recurring thing between those two). I doubt that any of these players can be easily physically intimidated.

I hope Barnes plays up tempo next season: full court pressure and fast breaking offense. Play 20 minutes but it feels like you played 40 minutes.

The leadership should come from the seniors.

Barnes needs to sell ticket to practices (divide practices into a public section and a closed section).

SkyMonkey, you think Hamilton, Bradley, and James will all get 20-25 minutes a game? I know we’re deep, but shit.

“Barnes needs to sell ticket to practices (divide practices into a public section and a closed section).”

that would be awesome. It will be interesting to see if we get an uptick in regular season ticket sales prior to start of season.

In multi year terms, there is no way this team will be as good as Phi Slamma Jamma. You will not see the horns go to the final four three years in a row (with two of those years in the finals). That is not going to happen.

In terms of the this year’s performance, these horns are better than Phi Slamma Jamma (adjusting for era) only if they win the NCAA championship. That could happen but the probability is well less than 50% right now.

Having said all that, this team has a good chance to be the best UT team ever and could go all the way (if it plays to its potential and gets some breaks).

We have played some epic games against KU in the past few years but this years has the opportunity to outshine them all. If we can beat them in Austin (again), then there should be no doubt that this team is a #1 seed going into the big tourney.

It’s amazing to think that our basketball team has almost reached the point of our football team in terms of expectations and results. It all comes down to 1 or 2 big games during the season and then of course going far in the post season.

SMH, I don’t know what the fuck your problem is, you aren’t even making sense when you talk about me. Division 1 football prospect? Great insult! Panties in a wad? Is we back in preschoolz?

Go go
control your emotions GO GO, you already told Bob that you would, right?? I saw your post sweetie. Is it Miller time ?
Count to 10 and slowly move away from the table just like Beaselys’ picture if you get my drift. Hope to see you in Indy come March.

I like to check this thread every 17 minutes or so to make sure that it is still true.

You still don’t make any sense and you sound like a moron…

Beautiful GOGO
What a great release of Emotions… but I have a serious question for you.
Was it as good for you as it was for me ? Please Please start taking your Meds again, do us all a favor.
Have a great day amigo, Adios