5-star Greg Brown III commits to Texas... a look at how it happened

During an interview minutes ago with ESPN and The Undefeated’s esteemed NBA writer Marc Spears, Vandegrift product and five-star prospect Greg Brown III announced his commitment to Texas.

In unusual times when the sports world is basically, like the rest of the globe, shut down, Brown, almost as good at social media marketing as dunking, made sure hoops fans had options. In addition to the interview and stream with Spears, in conjunction with ESPN’s The Undefeated, Brown streamed his decision on his YouTube channel and Instagram feed. Fortunately for Texas, the long wait, buildup, and anticipation didn’t end with a frustrating second-place finish to the NBA’s G League.

For well over a year, the Longhorns competed against college programs, mainly Memphis and Auburn and to a lesser extent Kentucky and Michigan. Initially, Brown narrowed his list to Texas, Auburn, Memphis, Kentucky and North Carolina. Late in the process, Brown cut North Carolina and replaced it with Michigan. He took all five official visits to those programs with Michigan receiving the last visit.

Texas, despite receiving far more unofficial visits than any other program, hosted Brown and his family for an official visit the weekend of UT’s home football game against LSU. The Longhorns made a very strong impression, but there wasn’t much that was new. After all, Brown’s father played defensive back under Mack Brown, and the family’s ties to Texas don’t end there. And Brown, rated the No. 8 overall prospect in the 2020 class, has been going to the UT campus for years.

Throughout the process, Brown’s father made it clear the decision would wait until well after the college season so as much information as possible could be gathered. Obviously, the college hoops season was abruptly ended when COVID-19 became a global pandemic and the NBA suspended its season as Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.

Among the things Brown and his inner circle wanted to see was how teams finished the season. Mainly, how did they compete for their head coach and coaching staffs?

After an embarrassing 29-point loss at Iowa State, Texas held a 14-11 record with a hideous 4-8 mark in the Big 12. It looked like Shaka Smart’s time at Texas was nearing an end, and chatter behind the scenes through Longhorn channels about the UT head coach’s shaky future grew louder. It was also around the same time Memphis was rumored to be in the driver’s seat for Brown, although reporting in our War Room around the same time still labeled Brown as UT’s to lose if UT could win enough games, as described by a source. But Brown and his father both made it clear on the record Texas wouldn’t be considered if Smart wasn’t the head coach.

Just as it looked like Texas was left for dead and Smart’s tenure was in serious jeopardy, Texas defied the odds and won five-straight Big 12 games despite what had to be one of if not the nation’s longest injury list. A total flop in the regular-season finale against Oklahoma State raised questions, but the Longhorns remained in the NCAA Tournament picture with an opportunity to punch its ticket against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament after winning in Lubbock 68-58 a couple weeks earlier.

Once Smart’s place at Texas was safe, officially confirmed by Chris Del Conte in an Austin American-Statesman report March 27th, Texas’s placement at the top of Brown’s recruitment grew stronger. About a week-and-a-half ago, rumors swirled the pick of Texas was made and all that was left was the official announcement.

Then, the G League arrived with bags of money.

Okay, the G League didn’t literally do that, but it arrived with a more lucrative, enticing offer than before with a new developmental model. Yes, last week wasn’t the first time the G League approached Brown, and other elite five-star prospects, with an offer. Sources indicated the original offer a long time ago was for $125,000. Then, the G League increased its seriousness and money on the heels of Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd signing with the league.

“It’s thrown a big wrench into it just because of the amount of money they’re offering as well as just the whole deal where no one knows if there will even be school this year,” said Brown’s father last night prior to the decision. “No one knows if there will be school, if they’ll start on time. Most cities are talking about not allowing events… so with that being said, the whole appeal of the G League is very good. But like I told you before, I just throw the facts out there for Greg and allow him based off the facts of the matter to make a decision.”

In the end, it wasn’t enough to get Brown to bypass college and a chance to be a Longhorn. After strong consideration in the immediate days following the G League’s new offer, Brown stuck with his original decision.

Why? Throughout conversations with Brown’s father for over a year, the importance of relationship-building and familiarity with future teammates, location, placement, and staff was among the most important considerations. While the G League offered a nice financial reward and an opportunity to work under professional personnel, the developmental model still had too many unknowns.

“All of that is still up in the air,” said Greg’s father, Greg Brown, Jr., last night about the G League model and its specific details about location, coaching, schedule, etc. “They’re leaning in directions, but nothing is for sure. They don’t have a clue, man. They’re trying to get the players first and then formulate some sort of plan and then fit all entities, at least that’s what I think they’re trying to do. As for factual information right now, all you know is the dollar amount, and that’s not even factual because you have to have a contract to even know what’s offered. From what was said out of mouth, you know what was offered. Everything else is pretty much up in the air. Nothing concrete.”

Obviously, life in general is a bit of an unknown right now as we’ve yet to return to our normal activities, and the impending return of sports remains a mystery. That said, the path at Texas offered more knowns than unknowns, although the G League representatives tried to hammer home the idea of no college basketball being played during the 2020-21 season. Brown knows his future teammates and coaches extremely well; he knows the campus; he knows how close his family is; he knows if college basketball can return to normal what the competition and schedule would be like; he knows so many familiar faces from his hometown - a town he had the chance to leave to join a prep hoops powerhouse but declined, a rare thing in this era of five-star recruits - will offer local support.

The years and countless hours Texas coaches, mainly Jai Lucas and then Shaka Smart, and players spent connecting with and building a relationship with Brown and his family created a bond the 2020 class’ best athlete wanted to continue. Now, the Longhorns are rewarded for their time with arguably the most talented player Smart signed at Texas and arguably the best prospect ever to come out of Central Texas. And Brown, as he and his circle preferred all along, will join an experienced roster led by an experienced guard group.

A good case can be made this is Smart’s biggest recruiting get to date, and an even better case can be made this is his best roster on paper. Hopefully, we get to see the Longhorns back in action in November because UT just added the most exciting player in the 2020 high school class.