duncan228
04-06-2009, 11:26 PM
Durant enjoying breakout season (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Durant_enjoying_breakout_season.html)
Mike Monroe
OKLAHOMA CITY — Like nearly every other basketball fan, Kevin Durant took in Monday's NCAA championship game between North Carolina and Michigan State.
As he watched on TV, Durant couldn't help but wonder: What if the NBA still made players use up their college eligibility before entering the draft?
Would a Texas lineup that would have included Durant, Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge, Cleveland's Daniel Gibson, Bobcats rookie D. J. Augustin and onetime Big 12 Player of the Year P.J. Tucker frighten teams like the ones playing Monday?
“I think about it all the time,” said Durant, who played one season in Austin and earned College Player of the Year honors before the then-SuperSonics picked him at No. 2 in the 2007 draft. “You never know now. We all made our mark there and moved on, so you never know what might have happened.”
Indeed, hypotheticals are just that. And if the old draft eligibility rules still applied, wouldn't that UT unit have to face an Ohio State team that had Greg Oden and Mike Conley?
About one thing, however, the smooth Thunder forward is dead certain: “All those guys will continue to bleed Texas orange for a long time. I'm glad I was part of that program.”
The Thunder are just as happy Durant is part of their program. Durant enters tonight's game against the Spurs as the NBA's No. 5 scorer, averaging 25.6 points.
Tonight's game is the third between the teams in 23 days, an odd bit of scheduling that has underscored Durant's development at the expense of the Spurs' playoff positioning. He scored 25 in the Thunder's 78-76 win on March 16 here, and 31 in a 96-95 road win.
That victory was the Thunder's best road win of the season. It also assured the franchise would win more games than it did in its final season in Seattle.
For Durant, the season has showed the potential of a team with a core of three young stars: Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook. The Thunder have won only 19 of 62 games since Scott Brooks took over as coach for P.J. Carlesimo, but have been competitive enough to give fans reason to believe a winning season won't be long in coming.
Durant's improvement, Brooks said, transcends a switch in positions, from shooting guard to small forward, that optimized his skill set.
“As a two-year pro, he's improved a lot from his first year to his second year,” Brooks said, “and he likes challenges. I challenged him after I took over. I told him he needs to be a better rebounder, and he responded. He's done that.
“You look forward to a guy getting better each year. Well, Kevin's going to get better because he works hard. He never takes any time off. In the summertime, he's always in the gym.”
Malik Rose, the former Spur who exited basketball limbo when the Knicks traded him to the Thunder in February, has seen enough in less than two months to predict great things for Durant.
“He has some of those things you can't teach,” Rose said. “He's 6-10 and can handle the ball and shoot it from (3-point range). He presents so many matchup problems for a defense.
“If he works hard on his game and shows a little killer instinct, I think he can be really, really special.”
Mike Monroe
OKLAHOMA CITY — Like nearly every other basketball fan, Kevin Durant took in Monday's NCAA championship game between North Carolina and Michigan State.
As he watched on TV, Durant couldn't help but wonder: What if the NBA still made players use up their college eligibility before entering the draft?
Would a Texas lineup that would have included Durant, Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge, Cleveland's Daniel Gibson, Bobcats rookie D. J. Augustin and onetime Big 12 Player of the Year P.J. Tucker frighten teams like the ones playing Monday?
“I think about it all the time,” said Durant, who played one season in Austin and earned College Player of the Year honors before the then-SuperSonics picked him at No. 2 in the 2007 draft. “You never know now. We all made our mark there and moved on, so you never know what might have happened.”
Indeed, hypotheticals are just that. And if the old draft eligibility rules still applied, wouldn't that UT unit have to face an Ohio State team that had Greg Oden and Mike Conley?
About one thing, however, the smooth Thunder forward is dead certain: “All those guys will continue to bleed Texas orange for a long time. I'm glad I was part of that program.”
The Thunder are just as happy Durant is part of their program. Durant enters tonight's game against the Spurs as the NBA's No. 5 scorer, averaging 25.6 points.
Tonight's game is the third between the teams in 23 days, an odd bit of scheduling that has underscored Durant's development at the expense of the Spurs' playoff positioning. He scored 25 in the Thunder's 78-76 win on March 16 here, and 31 in a 96-95 road win.
That victory was the Thunder's best road win of the season. It also assured the franchise would win more games than it did in its final season in Seattle.
For Durant, the season has showed the potential of a team with a core of three young stars: Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook. The Thunder have won only 19 of 62 games since Scott Brooks took over as coach for P.J. Carlesimo, but have been competitive enough to give fans reason to believe a winning season won't be long in coming.
Durant's improvement, Brooks said, transcends a switch in positions, from shooting guard to small forward, that optimized his skill set.
“As a two-year pro, he's improved a lot from his first year to his second year,” Brooks said, “and he likes challenges. I challenged him after I took over. I told him he needs to be a better rebounder, and he responded. He's done that.
“You look forward to a guy getting better each year. Well, Kevin's going to get better because he works hard. He never takes any time off. In the summertime, he's always in the gym.”
Malik Rose, the former Spur who exited basketball limbo when the Knicks traded him to the Thunder in February, has seen enough in less than two months to predict great things for Durant.
“He has some of those things you can't teach,” Rose said. “He's 6-10 and can handle the ball and shoot it from (3-point range). He presents so many matchup problems for a defense.
“If he works hard on his game and shows a little killer instinct, I think he can be really, really special.”