duncan228
10-21-2009, 12:08 AM
Spurs spoil Durant's homecoming (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_spoil_Durants_homecoming.html)
Jeff McDonald
AUSTIN — He dressed in the same familiar locker, jogged down the same familiar hallway, took the same familiar floor with the same familiar state outline at halfcourt.
As Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant ran through the smoke and into the Erwin Center before Tuesday night's exhibition against the Spurs, he half expected a non-existent band to hit the opening notes of “Texas Fight!”
And when the student section struck up a chorus of “One more year!” during one of Durant's first-half free throws?
“It almost felt like I'd never left,” Durant said.
This night was about Durant, who flashed like a comet through Austin during the 2006-07 college basketball season, his lone collegiate season, leaving with every major national award and his No. 35 lifted to his home arena's rafters.
He was the reason the Thunder had scheduled this home preseason game 380 miles from home. It didn't seem to matter that the Spurs completely party-pooped Kevin Durant Day in Austin, so proclaimed by the city's mayor, in a 119-102 victory.
For Durant, for one day, winning and losing was secondary.
“It brings back a lot of memories, man,” Durant said. “I'm glad I went through the whole process, playing for coach (Rick) Barnes, coming to the great state of Texas. It got me to where I am today.”
Durant had 23 points in the loss, shooting 11 of 22 from the field, but only four after halftime as the Spurs' defense began to find a foothold. He made one 17-foot fadeaway in the first half that Richard Jefferson couldn't have blocked with a rake.
“He's almost impossible to guard one-on-one,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He's going to get done whatever he needs to get done.”
A crowd of 10,290 cheered every basket by Durant, and every basket by the Spurs. There were many of both variety.
The Spurs shot 14 of 19 from the 3-point line, with Michael Finley, Matt Bonner and Jefferson combining to go 11 for 11. Finley, who hit five 3-pointers, led the Spurs with 20 points.
Rookie forward DeJuan Blair, reprising his ever-ready role off the bench, ended with 17 points and 10 rebounds despite not entering the game until the middle of the third quarter.
Given it was the first game Popovich went with some semblance of a plausible rotation, he was pleased with what he saw in his veterans.
“It was good for them,” Popovich said. “They needed to see what it was like to play with each other, and adjust to each other. It takes a while to put that together.”
No matter the outcome, the night was quite literally Durant's.
For Durant, the NBA's sixth-leading scorer last season, it was the first game in the Erwin Center since scoring 30 in an overtime victory over Texas A&M on Feb. 28, 2007. And, yes, he remembered.
Durant's trip down memory lane began well before game time. In the morning, he dropped in on a study hall filled with former teammates. By mid-afternoon, he was leading fellow Thunder players James Harden and Russell Westbrook on a guided tour of the campus. Just before the game, he was auditing a workout of this year's UT team.
It wasn't the first time he'd dropped in on a UT practice since becoming the NBA's No. 2 overall pick in 2007. Durant, who is still working toward his education degree, made several cameos in between summer school classes.
“Only being here one year, you wouldn't think I'd be so attached,” Durant said. “But I love this place. The whole program was so good to me. I'm just trying to do my part by coming back.”
As he walked off the floor for the final time, hordes of kids wearing his jersey and screaming his name, he flashed a quick “Hook 'em.”
It was, again, almost as if he had never left.
Jeff McDonald
AUSTIN — He dressed in the same familiar locker, jogged down the same familiar hallway, took the same familiar floor with the same familiar state outline at halfcourt.
As Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant ran through the smoke and into the Erwin Center before Tuesday night's exhibition against the Spurs, he half expected a non-existent band to hit the opening notes of “Texas Fight!”
And when the student section struck up a chorus of “One more year!” during one of Durant's first-half free throws?
“It almost felt like I'd never left,” Durant said.
This night was about Durant, who flashed like a comet through Austin during the 2006-07 college basketball season, his lone collegiate season, leaving with every major national award and his No. 35 lifted to his home arena's rafters.
He was the reason the Thunder had scheduled this home preseason game 380 miles from home. It didn't seem to matter that the Spurs completely party-pooped Kevin Durant Day in Austin, so proclaimed by the city's mayor, in a 119-102 victory.
For Durant, for one day, winning and losing was secondary.
“It brings back a lot of memories, man,” Durant said. “I'm glad I went through the whole process, playing for coach (Rick) Barnes, coming to the great state of Texas. It got me to where I am today.”
Durant had 23 points in the loss, shooting 11 of 22 from the field, but only four after halftime as the Spurs' defense began to find a foothold. He made one 17-foot fadeaway in the first half that Richard Jefferson couldn't have blocked with a rake.
“He's almost impossible to guard one-on-one,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He's going to get done whatever he needs to get done.”
A crowd of 10,290 cheered every basket by Durant, and every basket by the Spurs. There were many of both variety.
The Spurs shot 14 of 19 from the 3-point line, with Michael Finley, Matt Bonner and Jefferson combining to go 11 for 11. Finley, who hit five 3-pointers, led the Spurs with 20 points.
Rookie forward DeJuan Blair, reprising his ever-ready role off the bench, ended with 17 points and 10 rebounds despite not entering the game until the middle of the third quarter.
Given it was the first game Popovich went with some semblance of a plausible rotation, he was pleased with what he saw in his veterans.
“It was good for them,” Popovich said. “They needed to see what it was like to play with each other, and adjust to each other. It takes a while to put that together.”
No matter the outcome, the night was quite literally Durant's.
For Durant, the NBA's sixth-leading scorer last season, it was the first game in the Erwin Center since scoring 30 in an overtime victory over Texas A&M on Feb. 28, 2007. And, yes, he remembered.
Durant's trip down memory lane began well before game time. In the morning, he dropped in on a study hall filled with former teammates. By mid-afternoon, he was leading fellow Thunder players James Harden and Russell Westbrook on a guided tour of the campus. Just before the game, he was auditing a workout of this year's UT team.
It wasn't the first time he'd dropped in on a UT practice since becoming the NBA's No. 2 overall pick in 2007. Durant, who is still working toward his education degree, made several cameos in between summer school classes.
“Only being here one year, you wouldn't think I'd be so attached,” Durant said. “But I love this place. The whole program was so good to me. I'm just trying to do my part by coming back.”
As he walked off the floor for the final time, hordes of kids wearing his jersey and screaming his name, he flashed a quick “Hook 'em.”
It was, again, almost as if he had never left.