The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorns spotlight: Kevin Durant
02.12.2007 | Men's Basketball
The numbers and honors speak volumes. But they do not begin to tell the story of freshman swingman Kevin Durant.
He is the only player in the country to rank in the Top 10 nationally in both scoring and rebounding entering tonight's ESPN "Big Monday" contest against No. 17 Oklahoma State.
He breaks school and Big 12 season and single-game records seemingly every time he takes the court.
He may become the first freshman to win Big 12 Conference Player of the Year honors. Many in the national media have proclaimed him to be in the running for National Player of the Year accolades.
Quite simply, what Kevin Durant is doing on the basketball court as a freshman is fascinating to those who follow the world of college hoops.
There is no question that Durant may be the most skilled player to ever set foot on the campus at the Forty Acres. And what may be most fascinating to those close to the Texas program is the understanding that Durant is just scratching the surface of his potential, both as a basketball player and as a young man.
He turned 18 years old on September 29, almost four months to the date when he enrolled as a freshman at The University of Texas. Ask him the biggest lesson he's learned since setting foot in Austin, and the subject of basketball never comes up.
"I've learned so much about myself as a person and grown up so much since I've been here," Durant said. "My parents have told me I left home as a boy, but now I'm becoming a man."
"I believe coming to college is one of the best things that has happened in my life," Durant continued. "I'm meeting people from all different backgrounds here at school and getting more comfortable in different situations. I'm just loving life right now."
With all the accolades and praise heaped upon Durant from various media outlets, television analysts and opposing coaches and players, it would make sense that he would have an ego. Funny thing is, Durant is exactly the opposite.
"The one thing that I love most about Kevin is that he is the ultimate team player," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "Just watch him during a game or a practice. He is always encouraging all of his teammates."
"Kevin really doesn't care about his individual statistics," Barnes continued. "All he cares about is winning and getting better every day. And truth be told, he is definitely getter better every day."
To say that Durant is beginning to understand the big picture might be a gross understatement. He never turns down an autograph request from a kid because, "I used to be one of those kids." Most games on the road, he'll leave his hotel room 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time just to make time for those requests.
Asked recently to do a cover photo for a national basketball magazine, Durant asked the magazine's editor if the publication would instead shoot the entire starting five for the Longhorns. When told the publication would gladly honor that request, Durant sported a huge smile and high-fived teammate Justin Mason.
What makes him so successful on the basketball court also serves him well off the court. Durant is never satisfied with his performance, be it in the classroom, on a television interview or with his game.
When the local media asked him to comment on his 3.0 GPA in the fall semester, he smiled and said he took pride in his academic work. Then he quickly added, "but I'm still upset I got a 'C' instead of an 'A' in a minority leadership class. I need to do better this spring."
When he walked off the court following his spectacular 37-point, 23-rebound effort in the victory at Texas Tech, he stopped Barnes in the hallway outside the team locker room. "Coach, did we get better defensively in the second half?" was the first comment Durant had.
After Saturday's win against Iowa State, freshman point guard D.J. Augustin was asked if he ever gets tired of the constant praise and attention from outside entities directed at Durant. Augustin summed up the feelings of everyone associated with the Texas Basketball program with his response.
"If you knew Kevin like we do, you'd understand," Augustin said. "As good as he is out there on the court, he's just so humble. He's just one of the guys to us."