K-State Basketball: Barry Brown has to prove himself to make NBA roster
Barry Brown didn’t hear his name called in the 2019 NBA Draft, but the K-State basketball star still has a chance to prove himself to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who signed him after the draft concluded.
It’s not always the worst thing to go undrafted in the NBA Draft, as then players can decide where they want to go. Kansas State star Barry Brown learned that lesson on Thursday when he didn’t hear his name called on draft night, but inked a free agent deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Brown finished his four-year career in Manhattan averaging 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Among Brown’s achievements at Kansas State:
- 2x All-Big 12
- 2x Big 12-All Defense
- Big 12-All Freshman
- 2018-2019 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
The Minnesota Timberwolves have added Barry Brown (Kansas State) to their Summer League roster, @TheAthleticNBA has learned.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 21, 2019
Brown also helped get the Wildcats to the Elite Eight as a junior in the 2017-2018 season and helped them get a piece of the Big 12 Conference title in 2018-2019 as a senior. While K-State had an early exit in the tournament this year, Brown’s career was one of the best in Wildcat history.
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Brown was brilliant during his collegiate years and the hope is that he can make a big enough impression to get on the Timberwolves’ roster.
That is no easy task, but not making Minnesota’s roster doesn’t necessarily put an end to Brown’s playing dreams. He could opt to play in the G-League if nothing else pans out for him. From there, perhaps he finds his way onto an NBA roster at some point over the next few years.
Minnesota had a nice draft, adding Jarrett Culver out of Texas Tech and Jaylen Nowell of Washington to their roster. Culver was selected by the Suns, but there’s an agreement for them to send the Red Raider to Minnesota. The Timberwolves drafted Cameron Johnson of North Carolina at pick number 11, but they’re swapping him for Culver.
Barry Brown not getting drafted wasn’t a huge shock despite his dominant play at the collegiate level. Teammates Dean Wade and Kamau Stokes also went undrafted with Wade eventually landing a two-way deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Timberwolves haven’t gotten to the pinnacle that most expected of them when they landed Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. They’ve only made the playoff once in the last ten years with that appearance coming in 2018 (they lost in the first round).
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Brown has the offensive production to make a splash in the G-League, but defense might be trickier for him in the NBA. It’ll be interesting to see if he can make the Timberwolves roster and if he does, what type of an impact he makes.