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The next top-tier talent to come out of Austin trimmed his list of collegiate options for the final time via his Twitter page on Tuesday evening, as top-ranked power forward Greg Brown included the Texas Longhorns in his final five, along with North Carolina, Kentucky, Memphis, and Auburn.
Final 5 ! when we walk through the door!!! #HedgeHogFam pic.twitter.com/iZ5twGxVrm
— Greg Brown (@gb3elite) August 7, 2019
Despite the prominence of Kentucky and North Carolina’s basketball programs on the recruiting trail, Texas is considered as the early lean for Brown. All four of Brown’s early Crystal Ball projections favor the Longhorns.
While it may not be surprising to see John Calipari in contention for another five-star prospect, it’s worthy to note that Kentucky failed to make Brown’s top 10 back in February.
A five-star talent currently dubbed as the No. 8 overall recruit in the country, per the 247Sports Composite, Brown is a product of Vandegrift High School. Brown’s mom, dad, and uncle all attended the University of Texas and the family lives just minutes away from the UT campus. His father played on the football team.
247Sports detailed what Brown brings to the table as an elite prospect, drawing a comparison to former Kentucky and current New York Knicks forward Kevin Knox:
“Long and freakily athletic. Runs like the wind. Needs to physically fill out. Terrific finisher in transition. Quick straight-line driver in half court. Jump shot progressing and has potential. Shot blocker with defensive versatility. Shaky ballhandler. Has tremendous upside that could place him in lottery at the draft.”
In 35 games last year, Brown averaged 27.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 53 percent from the field and 36 percent from the perimeter.
In his four years at Texas, Shaka Smart has been a successful 2-for-2 in landing the top-tier prospects from Austin — Jarrett Allen (St. Stephen’s Epicopal) and current Longhorn Will Baker (Austin Westlake). But in order to secure the nation’s top-ranked 2020 power forward, Smart will have to out-recruit Calipari, Penny Hardaway, Roy Williams and Bruce Pearl to do so. Calipari has had Smart’s number on the recruiting trail thus far.