J'Covan Brown

T

TexasTower

500+ Posts
Any new news on this guy? Is he gonna make it here next year?

IF Augustin actually does come back, the addition of another strong 2 guard would make us one of the favorites to snap it all off next year.
 
He's coming in for his official visit this weekend, and will be going to the OSU game on Sunday. I know his Dad is coming with him. I hope his Mom is able to make it as well.

All systems look "Go!" with J'Covan. Y'all will never have any idea what kind of pressures he had to stand up to to get to this point, with almost no support, just because he wanted to go to UT so badly.

He has issues to work through, but he knows it. If the folks at Texas --- including Barnes, the assistants, Todd Wright, and someone who deserves as much credit for the program as any of the above, Randa Ryan --- can help him get turned around, he's going to be a lot more special than people realize.

Remember, I told everyone about DJ Augustin, his demeanor, the quality of his family, and his ability to play point guard. I told everyone about Gary Johnson's toughness, how hard he plays, and how easy he is to root for. Just remember what I'm saying about J'Covan. The kid has the heart of a lion, he's fearless, and he absolutely loathes losing. He also has the fuse the thickness of a piece of paper. That's going to get challenged a bunch even before he makes it on the court, which frankly, will be good for him. It's going to be interesting to follow his career at Texas.
 
He's a special talent no doubt. But his attitude has gotten him in trouble his entire 4 yr. HS career. And it only got worse as he got older, to the point where he was basically kicked off the team during his senior yr. To say he has some growing up to do is a major understatement. I know Barnes won't bend over backwards to please him, so it's going to be interesting to see how things turn out.
 
As soon as he can in the spring signing period.

I don't think his attitude has gotten worse at all. I think his situation got worse. He went from being a kid playing basketball with a huge competitive streak to representing a payday for people around him if he signed and played for a particular school, and he said no. He's no angel, but he was never in an environment that would support him in a way where he could work on his flaws, either.

It doesn't mean it will work out at Texas, but at least his situation will be such he'll have people looking out for his long term best interests, instead of figuring out how they can latch on to some kind of perceived gravy train.
 
Score.

He's a scoring machine. He can hit the outside shot, and he can take his defender off the dribble.

He's not real tall (probably a little over 6'2) and he doesn't have elite athleticism (he's not going to be posterizing people left and right). While he's not super bulked up, he is really strong. He understands angles and leverage really well, kind of like DJ. He also has good court vision, and is a good passer. He's usually not asked to demonstrate that part of his game, since he's invariably by far the best player on any of the teams he's on, but he still shows glimpses. He's really good in the fast break.

He's also a good defender, with a chance to be a great one. He has excellent lateral quickness, length, and really good anticipation. Mostly, he's just a really good all around ballplayer, and he loves the game.

Still, I'd say his best asset is his passion. He's a really passionate guy, and he absolutely hates to lose, Unfortunately, it's also his biggest weakness. He absolutely has to figure out a way to get it under control. I think Texas represents his best chance to do that, particularly since it's been his childhood dream to play for UT.
 
Yeah, I hadn't thought about it before, but that's at least a decent comparison.

I loved Darren Kelly, and feel like he's an underappreciated player as the years have gone by. I will say that J'Covan Brown has Darren Kelly's game if it was on steroids.
 
I'm curious as to what exactly this story is with him and his coaches? Is it a matter of his high school coach trying to pull him one way b/c he will get hired by that team and his AAU coach pulling him another way b/c of the same reason? Something doesn't seem right about that entire situation.
 
No.

His AAU coach, Chris Walker, was already hired by Steve Alford last summer at New Mexico, and has proceeded to bring a bunch of players he "coached" when he ran Tmac.

His Dad also runs a small AAU team based out of Port Arthur which J'Covan played for as well.

His high school coach, Turrel Henderson, was/is tight with Chris Walker. He's not a good person, and has no business being involved with kids in any way.

All of the people in J'Covan's basketball life were looking to cash in to one degree or another.

So no. It wasn't a matter of competing forces pulling him in different directions. It was a matter of J'Covan wanting to play for Texas and only Texas, and everyone around him wanting him to play for a team where they'd get taken care of.
 
How much traveling to High School games do you do, SLX?

You are obviously very committed to this, and you seem to cover a ton of ground.

This and other sites are the better for it.

How are you able to keep up?

Not a smart *** question at all.
 
I had a post lost to the ether, and I don't feel like typing it out again. Maybe later.

I go to a bunch. I appreciate the question, and will try to give a more forthcoming answer later.
 
"I will say that J'Covan Brown has Darren Kelly's game if it was on steroids."
I would compare J'Coven's game to Vinny Johnson of the "BadBoys of Motown" when Detroit won three Championships . Instant offense , tough defender and a passion to win, same build Vinny a little thicker, JC is faster and has a better handle . Hope he plays for us.
 
The NCAA needs to take a larger interest in the interactions of AAU coaches and NCAA basketball programs. This recruiting coaches for your staff so you can land a player has to stop.
 
PacSer, it doesn't do any good to mention specific schools. First of all, it's going to get deleted anyway. Secondly, it takes away from what J'Covan did, and puts the focus on which program did what.

Recruiting coaches for staff positions has been going on for years. It's nothing new. I don't even think it's more rampant than it used to be. It was a central tenet of Tom Penders when he came to Austin, so it's not something UT has shied away from, either.
 
Sorry about that slx. I realize it not a new practice but it deserves attention; it always has IMO. It is ridiculous to suspend Dogus and to be so hard on the players while letting programs and coaches skate for the most part.
 
No apology necessary.

I'm not sure exactly what the NCAA could do about it. When they got involved in setting salaries for graduate assistants, the NCAA ended up losing a multimillion dollar lawsuit. I don't think you'll see the NCAA putting general restrictions on employment opportunities for its members.

I realize it can be frustrating as fans, but as much as anything else, I blame market forces, and the explosion in terms of money invested in amateur sports, from AAU teams, to endorsements from coaches, to commercial sponsorships of specific games. When there's this much money floating around, and the labor force is locked out of being compensated at a market rate, dislocations are bound to occur.
 
Without naming schools, do any of J'Covan's hangers-on still stand a chance at landing assistant coaching position(s) should he commit to a school other than Texas?
 
I don't know how Turrell Henderson has his job as the head coach for Port Arthur Memorial, so as far as I'm concerned, anything could happen with that guy. He was about to be put in charge of Tmac when Chris Walker left for New Mexico, but adidas decided to go in a different direction. For all I know, Henderson will be at Port Arthur for the next 20 years, but I wouldn't count on it. We'll see where he goes from here.
 
I happened to be at a relatively small gathering where Coach Barnes addressed this issue specifically. It came up in a question regarding the recruiting of Jordan to aggy.

I don't think I'm speaking out of school here when I say that Barnes mentioned that Billy Donovan told him that he had done it in the past at Florida but would never do it again. Long term it hurts the program. Barnes added that he would never be allowed to do that at UT even if he wantedv to --- which he doesn't.
 
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