Texas freshman Brown says he’s ready to revive sagging Texas

Texas ready to give ball to freshman Brown

AUSTIN, Texas — Sagging Texas needs a spark.

The No. 14 Longhorns could get one if freshman J’Covan Brown can seize his second chance at leading the offense. With Texas losing five of its last seven games, coach Rick Barnes is turning to the erratic but sometimes fantastic guard to help get the team out of the slump.

Brown is expected to be back in the starting lineup Saturday when Texas (19-5, 5-4 Big 12) hosts Nebraska (13-11, 1-8). It will be Brown’s fifth start of the season, but his first since a Nov. 29 win over Rice.

Brown scored 28 points off the bench in Monday’s 80-68 loss to the top-ranked Jayhawks. Kansas led by as much as 19 in the second half before the late burst by Brown briefly cut the lead under 10.

“I told him before the Kansas game, ‘It’s time that he decides to be everything that he wanted to be,’” Barnes said.

Brown’s ability to drive and shoot made him a starter early in the season. Wild passes, turnovers and sometimes lazy ball handling sent him to the bench. His 54 turnovers are a team high.

“He was trying to make the great play as opposed to just the simple play … He was throwing the ball away,” Barnes said.

In his 12 seasons at Texas, Barnes has enjoyed having some top point guards — such All-Americans T.J. Ford and D.J. Augustin — to run an offense that relies on the position to drive and create shots for others. They were terrific passers who could also finish drives with layups. Augustin also was a good shooter.

This season, Texas has been starting Dogus Balbay at point guard, but while he leads the team with 101 assists, he averages only 4.1 points and defenses usually ignore him as a shooting threat.

Brown said he’s ready to take over a leadership role similar to what Ford and Augustin had in the offense.

“I’m ready to take the next step to lead this team to a national championship,” Brown said.

He’ll have to dial down on his instincts to throw the no-look, behind-the-back pass that draw gasps from the crowd if they work and frustration from Barnes when they don’t.

“I was always trying to make the spectacular play, even if it’s not there” Brown said. “I’ve got to get away from that right now.”

Texas needs to get away from its losing streak in the home stretch of the Big 12 season. The Longhorns looked like national title contenders through the first two months of the season before the losing started.

Forward Dexter Pittman’s production has fallen off dramatically and James has often been left to carry the scoring load. James averages 18 points and 11 rebounds per game. After his big game against Kansas, Brown now averages 10.2 points.

Barnes has long suggested that Brown could become one of the Longhorns’ top players once he shook off the rust of being academically ineligible to play last season.

More minutes on the court and ball-handling by Brown should give Texas a boost in another critical area: free throw shooting. Brown is a 91 percent shooter on a team that averages 61 percent and ranks No. 323 in the country.

After Kansas beat Texas, Jayhawks coach Bill Self said the Longhorns are talented enough to pull out of their slump.

“Texas is good. They’re not playing like they’re capable of, but that can turn overnight,” Self said.

If Brown can deliver on the promise Barnes sees in him, it could start Saturday.