J'Covan Brown to Announce Draft Decision Next Tuesday

by jc25 on Mar 28, 2026 4:00 PM CDT in Texas Longhorns and Other Basketball

Wescott Eberts (formerly GhostofBigRoy) has the goods at Burnt Orange Nation.

Texas Longhorn junior guard J'Covan Brown will announce his intentions regarding the 2012 NBA Draft on Tuesday of next week, according to his Twitter feed, which is set on private.

The latest coming out of Brown's camp appears to be positive news for the Horns. After it was initially believed that Brown was all but gone, there now appears to be a sea change, so much so that the Statesman's Mark Rosner was comfortable enough to Tweet this:

J'Covan Brown's "leaning" toward returning to #Longhorns for senior season, per his father Johnny. I'm starting to think he willreturn #UT
— Mark Rosner (@MarkRosnerAAS) March 26, 2026

While I would welcome back Brown happily (as would charter member of the J'Covan J'Fan Club, Peter Bean), not everyone shares the same sentiment. From a Chad Ford chat today:

John (Portland): Do you think it was smart for Kabongo to go back to school? On one hand, the last Texas point guards to enter (Avery Bradley, Corey Joseph) were not exactly ready. On the other, it is a weak point guard draft.

Chad Ford: Yes. Especially if J'Covan Brown leaves. Both Brown and Kabongo need the ball in their hands to be effective. If Brown stays, it may be another long year for Texas fans and Kabongo.

Well, that's certainly interesting to think about.

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Read More: Avery Bradley (G - Texas), J`Covan Brown (G - Texas), Myck Kabongo (G - Texas), Texas Longhorns, Texas Longhorns

Comments

dimes

J’CB. Dude is a fantastic passer.

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by Sailor Ripley on Mar 28, 2026 4:31 PM CDT reply actions

Texas is better with both back

Irrespective of whether Chad Ford thinks that each is the perfect complement to the other. If Kabongo will grow his game - particularly catching and shooting open 3s - he’ll benefit from JCB’s passing in the half court quite a bit.

by Scipio Tex on Mar 28, 2026 4:33 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

And I think at the same time, not having to rely on J'Covan to handle it too much will help him a lot.

Some of his worst games this year, were high scoring, but low efficiency performances, where he was trying to do everything. Having another distributor in an improved Kabongo would be huge in taking some of the pressure off.

by mr.manager on Mar 28, 2026 4:48 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm a Brown convert...

But I think Ford’s point has some merit. Or at least, I think it might with respect to Kabongo. I don’t think Texas is worse off, but Kabongo probably could improve his draft stock more if he were able to run the show on his own. I’d change my tune on that if they used Brown as a traditional 2 guard, but I think he’s at his best when he’s creating.

by hiphopopotamus on Mar 29, 2026 8:58 AM CDT up reply actions

Kabongo

is still going to have every opportunity to demonstrate the skills the NBA is looking for.

by Nickel Rover on Mar 29, 2026 3:48 PM CDT up reply actions

And having a good scorer to pass the ball to can't possibly hurt how scouts view him

Sure he would share ball handling duties some, but if Kabongo improves a lot as a ball handler, I think Barnes will play Brown off the ball almost exclusively when the two are on the court together. That way they can take advantage of Brown’s ability to work off the ball, reading screens, which is something he is really good at.

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by Reggieball on Mar 29, 2026 6:06 PM CDT up reply actions

Good point.

I think we also take the pressure off just by the fact that we’ll be able to throw it to some other guys on the court who can score and won’t be scared to do so in a tight game. Holmes and McCllelan have real offensive upside.

by Scipio Tex on Mar 28, 2026 4:52 PM CDT reply actions