The NBA season is about to be in full swing as the college basketball season has gotten underway. This means that it won’t be long until the NBA mock drafts start being published. Our colleagues at For The Win have already started with their 2021 NBA mock draft.
Texas Longhorns head basketball coach Shaka Smart landed one of the top recruits in Greg Brown. The son of former Texas Longhorns football player Greg Brown II. Brown’s father played safety for Mack Brown and eventually played in the NFL Europe league. His uncle Roderick Anderson played point guard for Hall of Fame coach Tommy Penders. Playing for Texas was in his blood.
However, everyone knew that the McDonald’s All-American was a one and done deal for Texas. Brown was among those mentioned in the mock from Bryan Kalbrosky. He has Brown heading to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round with the No. 34 pick overall. The last time this franchise drafted a player from Texas after being a one and done, it worked out pretty good.
Greg Brown is a perennial double-double threat, constantly putting up above-average marks as a scorer and as a rebounder. He is a highlight-reel dunker, too, which can help his fame among more casual fans when he throws down on bigger stages. Overall, his athleticism ranks near the top of this class. Scouts will love the energy that he plays with and the aggressiveness that he is able to slash towards the rim. He also has the occasional willingness to shoot the ball, which will help spread the floor as he continues to improve.
The jumper isn’t there yet, as he was just 1-for-15 (0.7%) from beyond the arc during his first four games. Even more concerning is that he leads the nation in fouls committed per 40 minutes (8.0) thus far. But there are some good things as well as he leads all freshmen in defensive rebound percentage (28.4%) thus far. He will have plenty of opportunities to stand out. Early in the 2020-21 season, Brown has recorded one of the highest usage rates (30.2%) among all freshmen in college basketball.
Other Big 12 players mentioned in the mock draft:
- Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State- No. 1 overall
- Jared Butler, Baylor- No. 15 overall
- Miles McBride, West Virginia- No. 30 overall
- Davion Mitchell, Baylor- No. 43 overall
- Terrence Shannon, Texas Tech- No. 54 overall