Switching lineup works; will it last?
Substituting Kai Jones for Brown helps lead to Big 12 championship, but Smart hasn’t said who will be the starter in first-round game
AUSTIN — All season, Texas coach Shaka Smart had rolled with the same starting group whenever all five were healthy and available.
But in Game 26, with the program’s first Big 12 tournament championship at stake, Smart tinkered. And he wasn’t just acting on random gut instinct. Freshman starting forward
Greg Brown had been foundering for weeks, averaging 7.2 points on 35.9 percent shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists over his previous six outings. Then Brown briefly left the court in the second half of Texas’ 67-66 quarterfinal win over Texas Tech — he went scoreless in six minutes that night — and Smart decided to make a change ahead of last Saturday’s championship game against Oklahoma State.
So sophomore Kai Jones got the start alongside senior guard
Matt Coleman, redshirt junior guard Andrew Jones, junior guard Courtney Ramey and senior big Jericho Sims. The move paid dividends as Jones scored 11 points in the opening 10 minutes of a 91-86 win over the Cowboys at the Sprint Center.
Though limited by foul trouble after that tenacious start, Jones finished with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting and five rebounds in just 18 minutes. His transition play-making and seamless switchability on defense were vital for a Texas team that barely survived an onslaught by Oklahoma State freshman wunderkind Cade Cunningham (29 points, three assists).
“I think he has really, really grown and improved as a basketball player over the last three, four years, obviously a couple of those years being here,” Smart said of Kai Jones. “He is such a unique player, because he’s 6-11 but, like a lot of guys, kind of fancies himself as a perimeter player.
“The thing that he’s done really well is he stayed ready. We believed coming into the season that we had six starters, just the way that those guys practiced in the preseason. And we’ve believed that all year long.”
Brown was the only Longhorn occupying lottery slots in 2021 NBA mock drafts before this season began. But over the past four month, Jones has leapfrogged the newcomer as the more intriguing lottery prospect.
Jones averaged just 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.0 block and 1.0 steal in conference play. And there were times he tried a little too hard to emulate Kevin Durant’s perimeter wizardry or
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Euro-stepping mastery.
But the game has started slowing for Jones, who is the perfect lob-catching, glass-cleaning, respectable floor-spacing complement in an offense dominated by its three starting guards.
“He’s a big kid,” Coleman said. “He’s someone that really enjoys the game of basketball. Like working on his game, you know, watching highlights. He truly enjoys the game of basketball.
“Little things get him going on the court. That’s in the floor, getting a block, hitting a step-back 3 that he loves so much. But you’re just seeing him mature. Still a big kid at heart, but he’s gotten a lot better, like he’s ready to play this year.”
Smart has not confirmed whether he plans to stick with Jones in the starting lineup.
For all of Brown’s struggles, the 6-9 freshman is still a dynamite athlete and competitor who can help No. 3 seed Texas (19-7) win its first NCAA Tournament game since 2014. He could absolutely overpower No. 14 seed Abilene Christian (23-4) in the Longhorns’ first-round game this Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
But whether Brown or Jones comes off the bench doesn’t matter much moving forward. More important for Smart is figuring out how to get them both rolling at the same time. Because if Brown and Jones are both right, no one is going to want to see this Texas team in Indy.
“Greg’s a good player,” Smart said Sunday. “We’re gonna spend some time together today. He seems to have really good clarity.
“And the thing that I’m excited about is after that game was over last night, he celebrated with his teammates like we won a conference championship. And I don’t take that for granted. It would be easy for another person in the very same situation to not act that way. I think that bodes well for his future.”
Andrew Jones gets NCAA shot
It took five years, but redshirt junior guard Andrew Jones will finally play in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas did not qualify for the 2017 Tournament during his freshman season. Jones then began chemotherapy treatment in January 2018 and did not play in the team’s first-round overtime loss to Nevada that year. The Longhorns missed the cut in 2019 and instead settled for an NIT title. And the 2020 Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
So it’s been a long wait for Jones, the team’s leading scorer (14.6 points) and 3-point shooter (51 3s). And the 2021 All-Big 12 second-team selection and leukemia survivor will remain one of the best stories in Indiana over the duration of Texas’ stay.