Why Kevin Durant came to Austin

Just a UT homer article for those interested but don't get the Austin paper.


Why Kevin Durant came to Austin

By choosing to become a Longhorn, high-rated player made a step in the right direction.

By Mark Rosner
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, November 09, 2006

The next time they redecorate the Erwin Center, University of Texas officials might want to display prominently a portrait of David Stern.

The NBA commissioner ensured that Kevin Durant is a Longhorn this season by stepping in to take a charge, blocking the lane that once allowed basketball players to proceed from high school to the NBA.

Presented with options, Durant probably would have chosen this season for his professional debut as the No. 2 pick in the 2006 draft. But Stern persuaded the players union to prohibit young men from going to the league until one year after they leave high school, beginning this season. They must also turn 19 by the end of the calendar year they wish to be drafted.

"I love the NBA. It would have been a hard decision," said Durant, an 18-year-old freshman forward set to play his first college game tonight. "I still don't know what I would have done."

Insiders around the Texas program figure Durant would never have made it to campus. But now that he is in Austin, the 6-foot-9-inch Durant has elected to take advantage of what college basketball at Texas has to offer.

Durant, a gifted athlete, has fairly polished shooting and ball-handling skills. Working with strength coach Todd Wright, Durant has added 15-20 pounds since arriving in early June at a skinny 205. He has earnestly improved on defense, his primary weakness. He has watched more practice tape than his coach, Rick Barnes, requires.

"This is a blessing in disguise," said Durant, who came to Texas from Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Md. "I've learned so much. Imagine how much more I can learn in four more months."

Four? Durant declines to give a schedule for his exit from college.

"Maybe I'll leave this year; maybe I'll leave next year," he said.

Some in the NBA project Durant as the No. 2 pick in the draft next June, one spot behind Greg Oden, the freshman center at Ohio State. Oden and Durant are ranked No. 1 and 2 by recruiting services among college freshmen.

"Oden and Durant can be the transcendent players of the decade," said Fran Fraschilla, an ESPN basketball analyst and a former college coach. "Kevin understands his place in the game."


Why Texas?


Durant, from Suitland, Md., surprised even his friends when he decided that his place was in Austin. He chose Texas instead of Connecticut or North Carolina, the most recent NCAA champions at the time of his decision.

"At first, people were kind of shocked that I chose Texas over North Carolina," Durant said. "But after a few days, they got over it."

Barnes has attracted top talent before Durant. Eight McDonald's All-Americans have played for him since he became coach at Texas in 1998, including Durant and freshman point guard D.J. Augustin.

A ninth, C.J. Miles, signed with Texas but bypassed college and went to the NBA last season. A freshman this season, Damion James, was ranked higher by recruiting analysts than some of the 24 McDonald's All-Americans in 2006.

Durant said he knew by age 11 that he was capable of becoming an NBA player. Texas was the first major school to send Durant a recruiting letter, according to his father, Wayne Pratt. Longhorn assistant Russell Springmann, who is from Silver Spring, Md., and has connections in the state, attended one of Durant's games when he was a freshman at National Christian High School in Fort Washington, Md., Pratt said.

"He actually came to see someone else," Pratt said.

Durant also claims an independent streak encouraged by his mother, Wanda Pratt, who raised him while she and Wayne lived apart for several years. Durant said he and his mother speak every day.

"My mom always told me don't be a follower, be a leader," Durant said. "I got six other (freshmen) to come with me to Texas. I guess I was being a good leader."

Wayne Pratt said people he trusts recommended Texas. A friend, Earl Moore, had played for Barnes when he was an assistant coach at George Mason in the 1980s.

"He said Barnes was tough but fair," Pratt said. "That's all I wanted for my son."

Lovell Pinkney, a friend from Washington, D.C., who played receiver for the Longhorns in the 1990s, also sold Pratt on Texas.

"Kevin's very happy he didn't have to make a decision to go to the league," Pratt said. "He's really in love with Coach Barnes and his staff. Todd Wright is the best."


Bulking up


Durant surprised himself by gaining 10 pounds in his first two weeks in Austin, increasing his food intake and lifting weights at least four days a week.

"When I went from 205 to 215, I looked around to see if anybody was stepping on the scales," Durant said. "But it was all me."

Wright said Durant just needed to learn proper eating habits.

"He had a good strength coach at Montrose," Wright said. "He's strong for a wiry guy. So I figured nutrition was a big component. I don't think he ever really ate breakfast. He had to understand that his body is a machine. We use the analogy of the body as a race car. You don't want to pull up to the tank and put in 87. You want them to eat 94."

Durant said the additional weight enables him to score inside despite contact from defenders. He practices against the muscular, 227-pound James.

"When I was in high school, if I got bumped while I was in the air, I would either fall or I wouldn't make the shot," Durant said. "Now I'm finishing plays."

Though he arrived with a pedigree and a multimillion-dollar contract awaits him, Durant has bonded with his teammates.

"He's one of the guys," freshman center Matt Hill said. "He's soft-hearted. You can tell he was brought up well."

Barnes said Durant has shown dedication to basketball from the beginning, accepting coaching from the entire staff. After making five steals during an exhibition game against Xavier of Louisiana on Monday, Durant e-mailed Springmann for feedback on his defense.

Durant said adequate defense was never before demanded from him. He has always been the primary scorer on his teams, one reason he has taken a few ill-advised perimeter shots in exhibition games, Longhorn coaches say.

Barnes figures Durant will adapt quickly enough. The coach claims he witnessed something this fall he had never seen, players lingering to watch tape of practice after he had dismissed them. Durant said it was him, Justin Mason, James and Augustin.

"We were so bad at practice one day that I wanted to see it all, so I could (improve) the next time," Durant said.


'Kevin posterized him'


Devotion is one thing. With Durant, it supplements uncommon talent and a wingspan of more than 7-5, longer than former Texas center LaMarcus Aldridge. Durant wears size 18 shoes.

"When he drives into the paint, if you try to get in front of him, he just turns with those long arms and reaches around you," Longhorn guard J.D. Lewis said.

Teammates still laugh about the time 6-2 Craig Winder, the team's only senior, tried to defend a dunk attempt by Durant. Winder jumps well, but still . . .

"I don't know why he bothered," Augustin said. "It was like, man, get out of the way. Kevin posterized him."

Durant appears reluctant to discuss dunking on one of his teammates.

Told that others were talking about it, Durant said, "Craig was on the other side of the court. I took off, and as I was looking down, I saw Craig jumping. So I cocked (his arm) back some more, and I guess he just got posterized. I had dunked before in practice, but not like that."

Winder says "he got me pretty good on that one," but adds that he's blocked a few dunk attempts by Durant, an assertion supported by sophomore guard A.J. Abrams.

Even so, Durant said, "If I miss, it's because Craig fouled me."


Watchful eyes


Durant came to Texas after playing for two prominent high schools, Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., as a junior, and Montrose for his final season. He averaged 23.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2.6 blocks as a senior.

Last season, Montrose finished 20-2, handing 40-1 Oak Hill its only defeat of the season, by two points, in the final game for both teams. In his bio in the Longhorn media guide, Durant, who scored 31 points, describes that victory as his best memory in basketball.

The move to Montrose got Durant closer to home. Oak Hill is six hours by car from his family's home. Montrose is 45 minutes away, and Durant lived with his parents last season. Wayne Pratt said he and Wanda wanted Kevin home so they could make sure he attained sufficient grades.

"He was a 15-year-old kid when he went away to school," said Pratt, a police officer at the Library of Congress. "Sometimes a kid isn't ready for that. We wanted to bring him home so we could stay on top of his school work and monitor him."

Durant has Barnes and his staff watching over him now.

"They are sure different from when they were recruiting me," Durant said. "They told me what I wanted to hear when they wanted me to come here. Now when I'm on the court they tell me all of my weaknesses. In high school, I didn't play as hard as I should have. Here, coach pushes me to my limit."

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http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/11/09/9texmen.html