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Kevin Durant, 610, Freshman, SF/PF, Texas
3 Game Big 12 Tournament Average: 30.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2.6 steals, 39.7% FG, 88.5% FT, 35% 3PT, 3.3 turnovers
Rodger Bohn
Texas freshman Kevin Durant further solidified his case for top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft over the last three days, averaging 30.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while leading his team to the final of the Big 12 tourney, where they suffered a narrow overtime loss to #2 Kansas. He showed scouts the good, the bad, and the freakish potential that he has as a player down the road, all while carrying a team that starts four freshman and has zero depth to a 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Durant came into the conference tournament on fire after posting three straight 30 plus performances against Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Kansas respectively. UT made it quite clear from day one that they were going to get him as many touches as possible, and did an outstanding job of that in all three games of the tournament. Although their star freshman did not shoot the highest percentage from the field (39.7%), he did give scouts a bit of a sneak peak of his improving off the dribble skills and improving ball handling ability in the open floor. While this has been a minor area for concern in the past with Durant, he displayed the ability to handle the ball well in the open floor throughout the three day tournament and showed glimpses of devastating off the dribble skills. This is just one area of his game that we chose to focus on, as he was clearly the most dominant player that any of the conferences tournaments had to offer over the weekend. His natural scoring ability is unparalleled at the collegiate level, and Durants rebounding instincts were able to lead him to set UTs all time single season rebounding record in their loss to Kansas. It was truly a remarkable conclusion to the regular season of what has easily been the most dominant performance by a freshman in recent memory.
When examining a player as skilled as Durant, it can be difficult at times to pick out flaws in his game. One aspect of his game that was put on center stage throughout the tournament was his tendency to disappear throughout stretches of the game. For 10 minutes, you will be watching the best player the college game has had to offer in the last 10 years. Then for 5 minutes, you will forget that he is even on the floor offensively. While we need to take into consideration the fatigue involved in playing three straight games (something that even NBA teams dont do) as the sole focal point for a skinny 18 year old, it would be nice if his scoring presence was felt more consistently throughout the entire game, rather then just in the amazing hot stretches that he goes through in each game.
Whens on his game, though, there might not be a more exciting player to watch anywhere in the world. Case in point, with Texas down by 20 points to Baylor in the second half of the quarterfinals, Durant scores 22 points in the next 9 minutes to lead his team to a comeback victory. In the next game against Oklahoma State, Durant scored his teams first 13 points in the opening 8 minutes of the game, and 19 in the half, before falling asleep until the end of the game but still nailing the 3-pointer that clinched the victory for his team. In the finals, Durant again came out on fire, scoring 22 points in 15 minutes, and then only another 15 points in the next 30 minutes.
The potential that Durant has as a player down the road is absolutely off the charts, and commentators have brought up a point multiple times throughout the season (and yet again Sunday) about him that makes you realize this: How can a player possibly have 37 points and have played a bad game? Well due to the outstanding season and lofty expectations that people have for Durant, this is possible in his case. What would be a career game for most college players is viewed as merely an average game for KD. To put this in perspective, he averaged 30.3 points per game this tournament while shooting a poor percentage from the field. Had he shot his average field goal percentage on the year (47.8%), he would have averaged nearly 38 points per game. It has truly been a remarkable season that Durant has had this year, and the Big 12 tournament showed even fans who had never seen the DC native play before that they were watching something freakishly abnormal, an 18 year old future NBA All-Star playing against college kids.
Durant came into the conference tournament on fire after posting three straight 30 plus performances against Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Kansas respectively. UT made it quite clear from day one that they were going to get him as many touches as possible, and did an outstanding job of that in all three games of the tournament. Although their star freshman did not shoot the highest percentage from the field (39.7%), he did give scouts a bit of a sneak peak of his improving off the dribble skills and improving ball handling ability in the open floor. While this has been a minor area for concern in the past with Durant, he displayed the ability to handle the ball well in the open floor throughout the three day tournament and showed glimpses of devastating off the dribble skills. This is just one area of his game that we chose to focus on, as he was clearly the most dominant player that any of the conferences tournaments had to offer over the weekend. His natural scoring ability is unparalleled at the collegiate level, and Durants rebounding instincts were able to lead him to set UTs all time single season rebounding record in their loss to Kansas. It was truly a remarkable conclusion to the regular season of what has easily been the most dominant performance by a freshman in recent memory.
When examining a player as skilled as Durant, it can be difficult at times to pick out flaws in his game. One aspect of his game that was put on center stage throughout the tournament was his tendency to disappear throughout stretches of the game. For 10 minutes, you will be watching the best player the college game has had to offer in the last 10 years. Then for 5 minutes, you will forget that he is even on the floor offensively. While we need to take into consideration the fatigue involved in playing three straight games (something that even NBA teams dont do) as the sole focal point for a skinny 18 year old, it would be nice if his scoring presence was felt more consistently throughout the entire game, rather then just in the amazing hot stretches that he goes through in each game.
Whens on his game, though, there might not be a more exciting player to watch anywhere in the world. Case in point, with Texas down by 20 points to Baylor in the second half of the quarterfinals, Durant scores 22 points in the next 9 minutes to lead his team to a comeback victory. In the next game against Oklahoma State, Durant scored his teams first 13 points in the opening 8 minutes of the game, and 19 in the half, before falling asleep until the end of the game but still nailing the 3-pointer that clinched the victory for his team. In the finals, Durant again came out on fire, scoring 22 points in 15 minutes, and then only another 15 points in the next 30 minutes.
The potential that Durant has as a player down the road is absolutely off the charts, and commentators have brought up a point multiple times throughout the season (and yet again Sunday) about him that makes you realize this: How can a player possibly have 37 points and have played a bad game? Well due to the outstanding season and lofty expectations that people have for Durant, this is possible in his case. What would be a career game for most college players is viewed as merely an average game for KD. To put this in perspective, he averaged 30.3 points per game this tournament while shooting a poor percentage from the field. Had he shot his average field goal percentage on the year (47.8%), he would have averaged nearly 38 points per game. It has truly been a remarkable season that Durant has had this year, and the Big 12 tournament showed even fans who had never seen the DC native play before that they were watching something freakishly abnormal, an 18 year old future NBA All-Star playing against college kids.