Huh?

Durant was a great player and all, but does a one-and-done player who didn’t win a thing while with the Longhorns deserve to be in the same class as Vince Young, Ricky Williams, Roger Clemens and T.J. Ford?

In his one and only season at Texas in 2006-07, Durant was an All-American, the Big 12 Player of the Year and National Player of the Year among other numerous awards he received.

He opted out for the NBA Draft and had a very solid season for the Seattle (soon to be Oklahoma City) Supersonics winning NBA Rookie of the Year honors.

But does he really deserve to have his jersey retired at a school known for its outstanding athletes who all stayed for more than one year?

Post from: EveryJoe

Was Durant Among the All-Time Great Athletes at Texas?

Many NBA draft experts peg Augustin as a lottery pick, so his early entry should not have surprised anybody. Augustin was a consensus first team All-American this season and averaged 19.2 points and 5.8 assists per game for the Longhorns.

Chalmers became an instant legend in Kansas folklore when he hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to send the national championship game against Memphis into overtime. Chalmers averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 assists per game for the national champion Jayhawks.

I’m a little surprised that Chalmers declared and would not be at all surprised to see him withdraw from the draft and return to Kansas for his senior season.

Post from: EveryJoe

Let the underclassmen exodus to the NBA begin, Part Four

Johnson, a 6′6″ 210 pound forward from Houston, was diagnosed with a heart ailment this past June and was held out of all team-related conditioning and practice activities. Team trainers gave Johnson the green light to begin practicing with the squad on Friday, but did not clear him to compete in any pre-season or regular season games. Longhorn trainers want to monitor Johnson’s condition further before allowing him to play in any games.

You never like to hear about athletes dealing with heart conditions, especially after the tragic losses of players like Reggie Lewis and Hank Gathers. I hope that the UT coaching and training staff exercises extreme caution with Johnson. With the loss of superstar Kevin Durrant from last year’s team, the Longhorns were counting on Johnson to make an immediate impact on this year’s team.

Hopefully, his heart will allow that to happen…

Post from: EveryJoe

Longhorn star recruit cleared to practice