Texas Basketball: J'Covan Brown's Choice Between Superstardom and Team Success

The Texas Longhorns have one of the youngest starting lineups in the nation. Three true freshman head up two of the guard positions as well as one of the forward spots, leaving only two starters who have had any experience playing under the lights of the Erwin Center. 

Now, within my experience as a college basketball fan, most of the successful squads every year that go on to finish in the Final Four are not led by a true superstar, but run by a strong, veteran leader. Having one big-shot, future NBA All-Star head up your team usually won't allow the squad to make it past the Sweet Sixteen.

The Longhorns have, over the years, fell into the true superstar category. With big-time players such as Jordan Hamilton, DJ Augustin, Tristan Thompson and Kevin Durant, UT has effectively eliminated themselves from the elite level of basketball that Barnes has preached to them for ages. 

Let us think back to 2003 when the Horns made it all the way to the Final Four. On that squad, there is one recognizable NBA player in TJ Ford, but after analyzing the statistics, it's clear that Ford gave up some opportunities to shine as a superstar in order to help his teammates become dangerous sidekicks in their journey to success.

Ford was the high scorer on the team with ease, but the distribution of points wasn't as one-sided as it could have been. The Longhorns had a pretty young team then as well, starting three juniors, a sophomore and a freshman most of that season.

This season, the squad is very similar. The young players are very talented and have a lot of potential to be extremely dangerous with practice and leadership. That leader could be J'Covan Brown.

This year, Brown has an important choice. He can be his team's TJ Ford and lead them on to success in the tournament, or he can develop into the superstar he has more than enough ability to be. The draw of standing in the spotlight is tough to contain, but for his team to go deep into the Big Dance, Brown must show he is the leader of this Longhorn squad and not the superstar.

The choice is his.