I have not kept up on our BB recruiting, and I just heard that 2 UT recruits performed well in the East-West game today and Durant is considered the #2 recruit in the nation. One website has Durant going 3rd in the 2007 mock draft. If Aldridge and Gibson stay....will we be Final-Four bound? http://texas.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?sport=2&year=2006&school=81
Texas has a pretty salty class coming in to be sure, but they're behind several other teams. Ohio State has (4) 5-star players coming in, including Greg Oden. They are head and shoulders above anybody else. North Carolina has 3 5-star guys. Georgia Tech has two, as does Stanford, Louisville, and Georgetown. UT-Austin only has one 5-star guy. All this is according to rivals.
the other UT recruit in the game was DJ Augustin. He's a true PG, so Gibson will stay at the 2 and Abrahms and Augustin will will run the point next year. Ogden had 4 blocks in about 8 minutes when i was watching, this kid is a beast, and would have been the #1 pick if he could come out this year.
I agree Ohio St got the best class money could buy. 5* Darrell Arthur out of Dallas has narrowed it down to UT-Austin and Kansas. Word is his mama wants UT.
if Texas signs Arthur, they'd have (2) 5 stars, and (3) 4 stars. I just hope Aldridge and PJ come back.
Durant had a hell of a game tonight. His game is real nice, he just needs to add some more weight to his frame. They say he's 6'10, 205.
Ohio State's class is nothing short of ridiculous. Probably won't produce great results because several of those guys will leave after one season, but great class nonetheless. Kevin Durant is absolutely amazing from what little I've seen. He reminds me of T-Mac.
So the Durant kid was the co-mvp of the game but none of the highlights on ESPN included him. Apparently he's a 6'10" 3-pt shooting swingman, from what I hear. Didn't see the game.
He's something of a cross between Rashard Lewis and Kevin Garnett, from what I've seen in this game, the Montrose Christian-Oak Hill game on INHD a couple weeks ago, and highlight clips. Body wise, he's probably the closest thing we've seen to a Garnett clone. He's got a really nice set of handles for anyone, especially a guy 6-10, and is just a flat out sweet shooter. I'm surprised ESPN didn't show his two handed transition throw-down. If Aldridge stays...a front line of Aldridge-Tucker-Durant would be flat out dominant. I don't expect LaMarcus to stay, unfortunately.
Darrell Arthur seems redundant with Durant, could they both be on the floor at the same time? could they share the limelight? With Aldridge if he stays? And they will both probably both go to the NBA after 1 or 2 years. Also I think UT would have to cut someone, I think they have all their scholarships committed (goodbye whiteboy!) But I did watch Arthur for the the two games for the state championship and he was close to the best I ever saw there, maybe behind Chris Bosch. Aslo one of the best player there was Angleton's Tristan Thompson. Where's he headed?
I recorded the game and didn't get to see the 2nd half. But Durant looked pretty good out there. He's got a silky-smooth jumper and unbelievable handles for a 6-10 player. Definitely needs to add some muscle (his arms are tiny) but like some of ya'll said, he's 17!! DJ looked pretty good out there as well. Can handle the ball real well and really controlled the offense (which is really hard in a All-Star game). Oden looks like a BEAST!! I had my doubts about the guy but he showed me a lot of great stuff lastnight. People were saying he would have been the #1 pick as a Junior, now I know what all the hype was about. Seems to have his head on straight as well.
Arthur is milking the recruiting game for everything it's worth. He showed up at his Baylor visit wearing Indiana gear. He initially narrowed it down to Kansas and Texas, but now he says that UConn is in the picture as well. He's a great talent, but I wouldn't count on him coming to Texas. It looks like he's KU"s to lose.JD Lewis or Craig Winder might have their scholarships cut, however, if DA decided to come to Austin.
Durant has an advanced offensive game. he scored in a variety of ways .. shooting 3's, ft's, drives, pull up jumpers and putbacks. the dude's wingspan is crazy, the problem is that he's rail thin. he really does remind me of tmac the way he can get a clean look at any time. but jesus that kid needs to get in the weight room.
Oden also had a sprained wrist, which limited him...scary thought... Durant looks freakishly good; I didn't get to see the 2nd half, though, did Augustin play? Either way, UT bball probably won't skip a beat even if LaMarcus decides to go pro...
Yep DJ is going be a special player in Austin. UT Fans will never have to worry about Gibson playing the point or doing a lot of ball handling. I rate DJ higher that Duke Paulus - though DJ is small he reminds me of a slightly lesser version of Johnson (former Phoenix Suns' PG). He will make every member of his team better. UT will at make the final four is Aldridge comes back but that is likely not happening with a guaranteed top 3 pick. Durant is something else - he will give UT something they lacked - good shooting from their bigs. He runs the floor like KG and fills it up like Danny Manning. P.S. Special mention for Duke bound Henderson, Jnr. That kid is going to likely replace Reddick as the likely most hated Blue Devil because Dicky V will hype him to high heavens. He is very good though and should be an NBA All Star when he gets to the next level.
