Top-ranked 2020 PF Greg Brown names Texas in top 10

The city of Austin has produced its fair share of top-tier basketball talent in the recent years, and that’s evident yet again throughout the 2020 cycle in the form of Austin Vandegrift power forward Greg Brown.

On Tuesday, the nation’s top-ranked power forward prospect trimmed his list of options to just 10 schools, and as expected, Shaka Smart’s Texas Longhorns are still firmly in the mix, alongside Auburn, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Memphis, LSU, North Carolina, Kansas, and Baylor.

A five-star talent currently dubbed as the No. 6 overall recruit in the country, per the 247Sports Composite, Brown could be considered an early Texas lean, and unsurprisingly so. Aside from simply living just minutes from campus, Brown’s mom, dad, and uncle each attended the University of Texas. Furthermore, it can only help the Horns’ odds that Brown has had a Texas offer in hand since the eighth grade.

If those Texas ties, the proximity to home, and long-standing relationship ultimately point the Vandegrift product towards the Forty Acres, it would mark the third time Smart and the Longhorns have landed an elite local talent. In 2016, Texas signed St. Stephen’s Epicopal center Jarrett Allen, and most recently, Austin Westlake center Will Baker signed to headline the Horns’ 2019 class.

At this current juncture as a top 10 talent, Brown is more highly-touted than each of the previous two Texas-bound big men.

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 this season, Brown is averaging 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.

Two of Brown’s early Crystal Ball projections favor Texas, while another picked Kansas.