Texas ready to give ball to freshman

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — 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 today 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.