By ZACH SMITH, Hill Country News Sports Editor

From Vandegrift to Texas to the NBA — Greg Brown III is a pro.

Brown was the No. 43 selection in the NBA Draft on Thursday night and will be headed to the Trail Blazers after his draft rights were acquired by Portland from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Brown was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in his one year with the Longhorns and earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and Big 12 All-Freshman team.

He made 24 starts at played in 26 or 27 games at Texas last year and ranked second on the team with 6.2 rebounds per game, second in blocks (26) and fourth in scoring (9.3 ppg) in 20.7 minutes per game.

Brown was the conference Newcomer of the Week twice, and finished 42% from the floor, 33% from 3-point range and 70.8% at the free-throw line. He reached double figures in scoring in 13 games, and double digits in rebounds five times with recorded four double-doubles.

Brown earned a spot in the McDonald’s All-American Game and was the 2019-20 Gatorade Texas Player of the Year after his senior year at Vandegrift when he was also the district MVP and a TABC first-team all-state selection.

Brown averaged 26.1 points, 13.2 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 2.1 assists per game last season, and the Vipers advanced to the regional quarterfinals.

He finished his high school career with 3,007 points, which, according to texasbasketballrecords.com, would put him in sole possession of 18th on the Texas All-Time scoring list.

Brown also had 1,493 rebounds, 476 blocks, 188 assists and 134 steals in his time with the Vipers. He has 99 double-doubles in 121 games. 

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