A 6'9" swingman with a 7'4" wingspan,[12] Durant was one of four freshman starters for the University of Texas basketball team. Durant started in all 35 games of the season, which culminated with a loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament to the University of Southern California. Texas finished third in the conference with a 12–4 record and was the runner-up in the 2007 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament.[13]
Although he had a slender frame, Durant frequently used it to his advantage by posting up bigger players, while shooting over smaller guards.[14] ESPN analyst Dick Vitale praised Durant as the "most prolific offensive skilled big perimeter" ever and proceeded to compare Durant's game to those of current NBA stars like Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki.[15] After a 37-point, 23-rebound winning performance against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, head coach Bob Knight described Durant as quick, fast and mobile, and being "really good".[16] Texas coach Rick Barnes admitted to rarely calling set plays for Durant, instead relying on Durant himself and on his teammates to find him within the flow of the offense.[17]
Coming into the season, Durant was widely hailed by the media as the Big 12's top freshman and a top candidate to be named Freshman of the Year.[18] He averaged 25.8 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game during his freshman season with the Texas Longhorns. In Big 12 games he averaged 28.9 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. His college career high for scoring was 37 points, which he achieved on four occasions. Durant had thirty 20-point games his freshman year, including 37 in a losing effort against Kansas for the regular-season Big 12 title.
In March 2007, Durant was named the NABC Division I Player of the Year,[19] and received the Oscar Robertson Trophy[1] and the Adolph F. Rupp Trophy,[2] becoming the first freshman to win each of these awards. On March 30, 2007, he was selected as the Associated Press college player of the year, becoming the first freshman and the first Texas athlete to receive this award since its inception in 1961.[19][20] On April 1, 2007, he became the first freshman to receive the Naismith Award[21] and on April 7, 2007, won the John R. Wooden Award.[4]
In late February 2007, Durant received an invitation to the Team USA Basketball training camp, becoming the second freshman after Greg Oden to achieve this.[22]
Less than a week after being drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics, the University of Texas announced the retirement of Durant's #35 jersey. The number will now hang in the rafters at the Frank Erwin Center along with the #11 of former Longhorn great T. J. Ford.[23] Durant's jersey is now one of nine retired by the University of Texas
A 6'9" swingman with a 7'4" wingspan,[12] Durant was one of four freshman starters for the University of Texas basketball team. Durant started in all 35 games of the season, which culminated with a loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament to the University of Southern California. Texas finished third in the conference with a 12–4 record and was the runner-up in the 2007 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament.[13]
Although he had a slender frame, Durant frequently used it to his advantage by posting up bigger players, while shooting over smaller guards.[14] ESPN analyst Dick Vitale praised Durant as the "most prolific offensive skilled big perimeter" ever and proceeded to compare Durant's game to those of current NBA stars like Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki.[15] After a 37-point, 23-rebound winning performance against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, head coach Bob Knight described Durant as quick, fast and mobile, and being "really good".[16] Texas coach Rick Barnes admitted to rarely calling set plays for Durant, instead relying on Durant himself and on his teammates to find him within the flow of the offense.[17]
Coming into the season, Durant was widely hailed by the media as the Big 12's top freshman and a top candidate to be named Freshman of the Year.[18] He averaged 25.8 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game during his freshman season with the Texas Longhorns. In Big 12 games he averaged 28.9 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. His college career high for scoring was 37 points, which he achieved on four occasions. Durant had thirty 20-point games his freshman year, including 37 in a losing effort against Kansas for the regular-season Big 12 title.
Durant declared himself eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft on April 11, 2007 and signed his first professional contract on May 25 with the Upper Deck Company, who later heralded Durant to be the focus of their 2007–08 NBA trading card line. On June 28, 2007, Durant was taken second overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. It was expected that either he or Greg Oden, the starting center for Ohio State at the time, were to go Number 1 in the draft, but Oden was taken ahead of Durant when it actually happened.[5] In the proceeding month, Durant went on to sign a seven-year, $60 million endorsement deal with Nike—a rookie deal only surpassed by LeBron James' contract with Nike.[25] In doing so, Durant reportedly turned down a potential $70 million contract with Adidas, opting for Nike since he had worn them all his life.
After playing only a handful of games in the NBA Summer League, Durant was chosen to trial for Team USA and participate in the State Farm USA basketball challenge, alongside NBA all-stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard.[26] Although Durant held his own in scoring 22 points for the Blue team in one game, he was ultimately dropped when the roster was trimmed to the twelve-player limit.[27] Coach Mike Krzyzewski cited the experience of the remaining players as the deciding factor in making the cut.[27]
On October 31, 2007, Durant made his NBA debut with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals[28] in a loss to the Denver Nuggets.[29] On November 16, 2007 Durant made the first game-winning shot of his NBA career with a key 3-pointer to beat the Atlanta Hawks in double overtime.[30] Durant finished with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks.[31] On November 30, 2007, Durant scored 35 points to beat the Indiana Pacers.[32] In a game against the Denver Nuggets, he flirted with a triple double as he came up with 37 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. In the last game of his rookie season, Durant finally recorded his first double-double of his career with a career-high 42 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and also added 5 assists. In addition to leading all rookies in scoring for the season, he was named the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November[33][34], December[35] (2007), January[36], March[37] and April[38] (2008).[39] Durant's 20.3 point per game season average broke the SuperSonics' 40-year-old rookie record set by Bob Rule during the 1967–68 season. On April 30, 2008, Associated Press reported that Durant was awarded the NBA Rookie of the Year Award for the 2007–08 season.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant
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