Travesty!

With the NBA Playoffs going on, you would think that the Rookie of the Year Award would not be the most important thing on everyone's mind. You would be wrong. Hawks Coach Mike Woodson called the decision to give Kevin Durant the award a, "travesty and it's not right."

When asked whether he should be more focused on his playoff series with the Boston Celtics, Woodson deferred the question to special assistant Jim Mora, who said, "Playoffs? Don't talk to me about Playoffs. I'm worried about the Rookie of the Year Award."

Woodson then summed up his argument by pointing out that Horford averaged 10.1 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game while fighting for minutes with perennial all-stars Zaza Pachulia and Sheldon Williams. He also noted that unlike Durant's Sonics, the Hawks were in the playoffs. "Anytime a team can make the playoffs with a losing record, it means one of two things. Either your entire Conference is awful, or you have the rookie of the year on your team. I think it's obvious in this case, that it's the latter of the two."

Woodson says he looks forward to a quick and painless exit from the Playoffs in Game 6 so he can focus his attention on lobbying the NBA Offices and Commissioner David Stern for a recount.

Durant To Win Rookie of the Year

According to several sources, Kevin Durant will be named the 2008 Rookie of the Year tomorrow. A great award for Durant, it comes as a surprise to just about no one. In a ROY battle that was hyped to be a season long duel between Kevin Durant and Greg Oden, it fizzled quite short, pretty much since Oden missed the entire season due to injury.

Without Oden, the 2008 rookie class looks rather pedestrian, as Al Horford, who had an impressive season for the Atlanta Hawks, finished second in the voting. Outside of Durant and Horford, the second and third selections overall, no one in the Top 10 probably even got a vote. Greg Oden (#1/POR), Mike Conley (#4/MEM), Jeff Green (#5/SEA), Yi Jianlian (#6/MIL), Corey Brewer (#7/MIN), Brandan Wright (#8/LAC), Joakim Noah (#9/CHI), and Spencer Hawes (#10/SAC) all either were limited in playing time or positive impacts with their teams.

Rather, the other rookie contenders came from out in left field. Luis Scola (HOU/28 yrs. old/2002 draft/2nd round, #57 by SAS), Thaddeus Young (#12/PHI), Carl Landry (HOU/2nd round, #31 by SEA), and Jamario Moon (TOR/UDFA). And can you even count Scola? Just because he was killing it in another country and not in this country doesn't mean he's a rookie. With the closest competition having no pre-season pub, it pretty much made it a contest between Durant and Horford. While Al Horford is a great player and has had a great season, he's not the type of player that is a certainty to put up the kind of numbers that will bring hardware and fan fare.

Which pretty much leaves Durant. While Durant still would have won the award by simply taking more shots than everyone else in the competition, Durant actually progressed a lot during the season, to the point that he actually deserved the award. He spent the first half of the season taking too many shots and too many bad shots. His defense was atrocious and he didn't do enough other things on the court.

While his defense still needs improvement, and his other areas of his game are still emerging, Durant played much better in the second half of the season. His shot selection and his shooting percentage both sky rocketed in the second half of the year. However, Durant probably locked up the award with the way he played in his last games as a Seattle SuperSonic. In a city that was having its basketball taken away from them, Durant played like a man that wanted to win games for his city. They may have been meaningless to the NBA, but to Durant and the city of Seattle, they were their Championship games. And Durant poured his heart and soul into winning them that Championship. He showed why many think he will one day be a star in this league.

In his final game for Seattle, on the road at Golden State, Durant had 42 points on 18-25 shooting (1-2 3P; 5-6 FT), 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in a 126-121 victory. Two days before that, in his final game in Seattle, Durant scored twice in the final 45 seconds as the Sonics overcame a 6 point deficit in the final 3 minutes to defeat the Mavericks 99-95. Durant showed the kind of ability and passion that it takes to make a champion.

On the season Durant posted 20.3 ppg on 43% shooting. He had a dismal 28% 3P%, but posted a respectable 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, and nearly a steal and block per game. Durant earned the rookie of the year award and showed all the makings of the star that many believed he would be. He also made the best of a situation where he had minimal talent around him, smack dab in the middle of a strange quagmire of a city having its team stolen from them and shipped to Oklahoma City.

Royal Getting Respect in Milwaukee

It's always great to see a former Longhorn succeeding in life after the 40 Acres. But it's especially nice to see guys that have worked as hard as Royal Ivey to have that work finally pay off in the NBA. After very sparing playing time with the Atlanta Hawks, Ivey has seen some meaningful minutes with his new team and is contributing on a nightly basis. Congrats to Royal, though I am sure his most proud accomplishment is being the inspiration behind my blog handle (Royal With Cheese).

Royal Ivey

Transition Not Easy for Durant

Here's a nice article on former Longhorn, Kevin Durant, and his NBA rookie year experiences. It's nice to see that KD still has a lot of contact with the program in Austin, and that he loves the University of Texas.

Durant in Transition

New Commercial Confirms Kevin Durant "Man-Crush"

Just in case I was worried that my man-crush on Durant was fading, the NBA has put him in a really cool new commercial. Thank you.

Rockets Up 2-0, Headed to Utah

The Houston Rockets did what they were supposed to do: win at home. Houston kept their home court advantage by taking both games in Houston. The Rockets now enjoy a 2-0 lead and are headed to Utah for the next two games. However, the Rockets have definitely not been playing “great” basketball. I guess this lends itself to a glass half full or empty argument: Should Rockets fans be glad they were able to win without playing their best or should they be worried that their luck will run out and the Jazz will finally start hitting their shots? So lets go ahead and look at the positives and negatives of the first 2 games. We are going to start with the negatives, so we can end on a positive note…

Negatives:

1- Carlos Boozer v. Rockets “Defense”: As was expected the Rocket defense has been utterly unable to guard Carlos Boozer anywhere on the court. He has hit outside shot and taken it to the rack in a dominant manner. Boozer has 52 points so far (41 on Tuesday). But it seems the Jazz have figured out no one on the court can stop him. Van Gundy tried Yao and Boozer blew by him. They tried several others and Boozer shot over them. So if the Jazz keep finding ways to get Boozer the ball on offense and he continues to hit the mid-range jumper, the Rockets should expect about 35 points a night the rest of the way.

2- T-Mac’s Inconstant Shooting: Tracy McGrady started the series with a 1-11 shooting half. Not the best way to get the playoff “monkey” off your back. McGrady did respond with a monster 2^nd half, but that start was concerning. And ever though, he ended up with a nice point total on Tuesday, T-Mac shot 9-29 from the field. Yeah….that’s not a good percentage. Fact is Tracy can shoot well, but has been inconsistent thus far. But what has been nice to see is that he will hit a big shot when it matters. So here’s hoping that there will be less hit and (mostly less) miss out to McGrady’s shooting in Utah.

3- Where did Battier Go?: 6 pts and 2 rbs in game 1, 10pts and 2 rbs in game 2. While his production in game two was more in line with his season stats, it just doesn’t seem like Battier has come up with the huge shots and affected the game as he did in the regular season. I guess everyone is still waiting for that well-timed three-pointer or hustle play that really gets the team going. Good thing Chuck Hayes has taken that role so far (will be discussed later).

Positives

1- A 2-0 Lead in the Series: Hey, when it comes down to it, winning is all that matters. I don’t care how pretty it is, winning both your home games and taking a 2-0 lead is never a bad thing. I am going to go ahead and be positive and be glad the Rockets pulled out wins with less than dominant performances. Pulling out just one win in Utah might seal up the series win for the Rockets and ensure the franchises first series win in 10 years

2- Andrei Kirilenko has been Reduced to Tears: You heard me right. Apparently Tom Hanks needs to make an appearance in the Jazz locker room and let Linky know that the no crying rule in baseball also applies to this particular sport. Upset about his game 1 performance and playing time, Andrei lost it with reporters and had to mop up a few tears. It was an uncomfortable situation for everyone. Well, how did Kirilenko buck up and recover his manhood? By going out in Game 2 and going 0-3 from the floor, with 3 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 5 fouls and ZERO points in only 18 minutes of play. I really started feeling bad for him after a while. He looked like he was tearing up after every miss and foul. I hope Deron Williams was able to dish out a few hankies on the plane ride home.

3- Chuck Hayes: What can you say about Chuck Hayes' performance in Game 2? Well, he had 12 points on 5-5 shooting with 12 rebounds (7 offensive) and hustled all over the court. Oh yeah… He created life too! Chuck Hayes also became a father before the game and he definitely made his Baby Mama happy with his effort. Hayes really set the tone early in the game with his hard play on both ends of the court. He rebounded offensively and did a serviceable job guarding Mehmet Okur in the post. If Hayes keeps up this somewhat unexpected production, the Rockets will be a much stronger rebounding and a much deeper team this series. And he has his own fan website. ChuckHayesFans.net

Durant Banks It

Well, it's official. Kevin Durant has declared to leave the University of Texas after one season and enter the NBA Draft. It ends much speculation as to what Kevin Durant would decide to do, and whether he was in fact a human. But in the end, Kevin proved that he is in one way just like us, and likes the idea of having lots and lots of money in his bank account.

While there will be much commentary in the coming weeks about the legacy of Kevin Durant, the void he leaves at Texas, and how to replace it, I thought we'd first take a look at where Kevin Durant may make his new home in the NBA.

I imagine that the announcement will cause NBA teams to enhance their efforts to tank their season, not that they needed much help. From the Celtics declaring Paul Pierce will be missing the rest of the season with various ailments a night after he played 40 plus minutes and scored 34 points and the Bucks announcing today that Michael Redd was playing far too well, and he will join Andrew Bogut, Charlie Villanueva, and bubble boy on the disabled list. Even the Grizzlies fearing that they were using too much talent decided to scour the D-League to find the newest Grizzly stars. However, with Kevin Durant now in the picture, every team not in the playoff race will be trying their best to lose games. Except the 76ers, they must not have gotten the memo, as they play solid basketball down the stretch for no apparent reason.

Memphis (19-59) has been tanking this season from 7 minutes into the season opener, because Jerry West knows a good opportunity when he sees it. Kevin Durant would give the Grizz a loaded front line with Rudy Gay and Pau Gasol already similar type players. But really, how many athletic, talented forwards is too many? I'd like to see a front line with Gay, Durant, and Gasol. Granted, sometimes you need a guard to win a basketball game, and Memphis doesn't have any. A year removed from the playoffs one has to wonder whether Memphis has been tanking the season from last year, but Jerry West can't be that good, can he?

Five games behind Memphis in the chase, is the Boston Celtics (23-53). Durant has to be terrified of the possibility of going to the Celtics. While they have a great city, great fans, great history, and the love of Bill Simmons, they obviously sold their soul for all those titles under Red Auerbach. Durant would be cursed if he went to the Celtics, and would have no chance to become a star. Len Bias, Reggie Lewis, and Rick Pitino come to mind immediately. But even players that have had success, seem to have some fatal flaw. Antoine Walker appeared to be cursed by the need to shoot 15 threes a game, and even Paul Pierce had to endure being stabbed before he could truly become a star. Durant would have to be a little uneasy about going to Boston. Perhaps he could use the Chauncey Billups strategy and convince Boston that he was a bust before succeeding elsewhere.

People say Durant's game is like Oscar Robinson's, so why not head to Milwaukee (26-51). With Bogut in the front court and Redd in the back court, the Bucks would become an absolute force. Actually, now that I think about it, with Mo Williams, and Charlie Villanueva, this team would go from a lottery pick to an immediate contender in the East. Durant would have to be excited to go to the Bucks, as they would have to be one of the best teams he could go to out of the lottery front runners.

The Atlanta Hawks (28-49) would be a terrible pick for the Hawks, and with their luck they would probably land in the two spot to take Durant. With Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, and Josh Childress, they really don't need another swing man. Though if Atlanta were smart they would get Durant, and trade Marvin Williams and Josh Childress for a point guard and a center and win lots of games with Joe Johnson, Durant, Josh Smith, and their newly serviceable center and point guard. But this is Atlanta, if they got Durant, they would attempt to be the first team in NBA History to play 5 forwards in the same role at the same time.

The Charlotte Bobcats (31-47) would love to get Durant, and he would be an upgrade over whoever they currently run out at the power forward or small forward. Because that Adam Morrison thing worked out great. I think Durant would like to go to Charlotte, but it just seems that they're so young and while extremely talented don't seem to be improving every year. I just don't think Okafor or Gerald Wallce will ever stay healthy, May seems to be a tweener, Morrison might have a Brent Barry ceiling, and Felton can't decide whether he's an elite point guard or a journeyman. Their roster just doesn't seem as loaded at second glance.

Seattle (31-47) has a roster that Durant would fit nicely into. With Rashard Lewis, Ray Allen, Earl Watson, Luke Ridenour (if he figures out how to play basketball again), Nick Collison, Robert Swift, and Wilcox, Durant would make this team an instant contender for the 7 seed in the West. But then again, by the NBA draft half those players could be gone and the team could be in New Orleans. Someone should let Seattle know that they have a basketball team, even if the rest of the country doesn't know that they do.

Portland (31-46) would be extremely young and talented with Durant. He could fit in nicely with Aldridge, Zach Randolph, Brandon Roy, and Jarrett Jack. He also would fit into that whole don't domestically abuse your family, don't buy, sell, or use drugs, and don't have illegal dog fights thing that Portland seems to be striving for. So that's a plus!

Philadelphia (31-45) knows how to treat a star. With Charles Barkely and Allen Iverson before him, Kevin Durant would be celebrated by the City of Brotherly Love and appreciated every step of the way. He would also be given no discernible talent around him to the point that he would eventually be forced to demand a trade and move on to try and win a title.

I don't think Durant would want to end up in Sacramento (31-45). They seem to be getting older and assembling less talent every year. Really, I think the Maloofs are attempting to move the team to Las Vegas through losing in the basketball version of Major League. Though, I don't think enough National Guard could prepare us for Ron Artest in Las Vegas.

How would Kevin Durant fit into the New York Knicks (32-45) roster? How does anyone fit into the New York Knicks roster? But Isiah Thomas would be delighted to add another superstar in NYC. But would Durant get any touches with those pass first point guards of Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, and Nate Robinson?

I think Durant in Minnesota (32-45) could be the worst of all destinations for him. With Garnett already there, they would be playing very close to the same player. It would just seem to be like Durant going to an apprenticeship until he fills Garnett's role as a frustrated but extremely loyal player with no chance of winning.

Every team will be fitting these last two weeks to lose as many games as they can to get in the best position of landing Kevin Durant. Wherever he lands, he will make an immediate impact, and I for one will enjoy watching him take over the NBA. Though, I would've liked to see him take over the Sweet 16 first.

Catching Up With: Rookie 'Horns

What if? That's all we can ask at this point. Texas bowed out of the NCAA Tourney with an early, embarrassing loss to the USC Trojans. But what if? What if Texas had not been depleted by defections to the NBA last year? What would the fate of this year's team been? How would any team been able to stop a line up with P.J. Tucker, LaMarcus Aldridge, Daniel Gibson, A.J. Abrams and Kevin Durant? Well, we will never know. But lets take a look to see how the Texas early NBA entries faired for themselves as rookies...

Daniel Gibson- G -Cleveland Cavaliers: You know, even if Gibson doesn't make it as an NBA star, he can always tell his grandkids he played with Bron Bron, right? DGib hasn't been a total disappointment, but he hasn't been much of a contributor. His season averages total 4.9ppg, 1.6rpg and 1.4apg. Hardly world beating. But given the chance to start during the injury of Larry Hughes, Gibson showed signs of possibly being a contributor on the pro level. During his 5 game stint in the starting line up, Daniel put up 10 points a game and a 3-2 record. After that short foray into significant playing time, Gibson saw more of the court in February, upping his scoring average to 7.4ppg. DGib has returned to playing time after spraining a toe in early March. Overall, you would have to say this year has been a success for Daniel. He has improved this year and showed that he can contribute at the pro level. And he's getting paid. Overall grade for the decision to go pro: B-

LaMarcus Aldridge- C - Portland Trailblazers: By far the best year of the Texas rookie class. His stats so far this year are 9.1ppg, 5rpg and 1.16bpg. Though his playing time has been inconstant (and sometimes quite spotty), LA has put together a very impressive last month of the season. In March, LA has been seeing about 35 mins/game and averaged 16.4ppg and 8.5rpg. In three of his last five games, he has put up over 20 pts and on the 23rd, LA poured in a 27pt 14 rebound game (his best as a pro). Aldridge is becoming stronger in the post and has adapted to the pro level. LA has even cracked the starting lineup towards the end of the year. Overall, this year has been a success for Aldridge. Look for a solid year, next year while LA progresses as a solid NBA star. Overall grade for the decision to go pro: A-

P.J. Tucker- PF- (Formerly) Toronto Raptor/Colorado 14ers: What can you say? Everyone at Texas loved PJ, his work ethic and everything he did for the 'Horns. But I think we all knew that he was going to struggle as a pro. He is your classic 'tweener' with no real strength or position suited for the next level. And so it seems P.J. might be destined to go the way of James Thomas. A hard working, undersized, big man who really needed to have more of an offensive threat to make it in The League. PJ was with the Raptors for a total of 17 games and averaged less than 2 points. He as sent down to the NBDL's Colorado 14ers where he played in 19 games where he averaged 10.7ppg and 3.37rpg. Tucker was released March 24th to make room for Luke Jackson on the roster. PJ will probably give the NBA more shots, but will probably join the many US players in the European Leagues.

But lets take a closer look at PJ to see if he really made the right decision. What if he had come back for his senior year? Would his NBA status be any different? I actually think PJ did the right thing for himself. He got drafted 35th in the NBA draft and signed a $412,718 contract. The thing is, that is as good as Tucker could have ever done. There is no way he would have been drafted this year with as deep and talented a draft as the 2007 draft will be (not to mention the drop in stats after KD's arrival). He would have been left to fend for a free agent contract, which would not have been likely. PJ will, ultimately, end up on the court in Europe. And, is that really that bad? Salaries in the Euro Leagues run in the 6 figures and PJ will most likely be one of the better players there. So even though PJ isn't going to make it in the NBA, he made the right decision to leave Texas in 2006 by heeding the call of The Steve Miller Band by deciding to 'take the money and run.' Congrats to you PJ. You came out at the exact right time and got the best deal possible. So, kudos to you and surprisingly you will be get the highest grade of the UT rookies. Overall grade for the decision to go pro: A+

The NBA (Really) Wants Kevin Durant...(Sigh)

Well, this looks like the first in what may be a long line of Kevin Durant and the NBA stories to come. It seems Mr. Danny Ainge (Boston Celtics GM) could not wait even until the NCAA tournament started to start wooing Durant away from Texas. In a stroke of “fortuitous” seat placement, Ainge found himself next to Wanda Pratt, mother of the Longhorn super star.

The NBA has very specific rules regarding the contact of NBA teams and “amateur” college players. Fines are laid out to any organization that makes substantial contact with a college player, or even discusses that player and their NBA prospects. Seems pretty tough, but straightforward. Well, it seems Ol’ Danny figured that an impromptu sales pitch in front of 18,000 people at the Big 12 tournament and the million or so watching on TV was a pretty covert scheme.

Needless to say, David Stern was not impressed. The Celtics were dropped a $30,000 fine for Ainge’s visit with Mrs. Pratt. But this was actually the third time a team has been fined by the NBA for comments about Durant. It seems Kevin has already begun taking the money of NBA execs to the tune of $60,000. The Golden State Warriors have already paid $15,000 for the privilege of saying Kevin Durant’s name, and none other than Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats were levied a similar $15,000 fine. (To be fair MJ just pulled that from his pocket after taking $30K from Charles Barkley on a par 3, closest to the pin competition).

I guess this is what Longhorn fans are left to. I was trying to think of an analogy of what watching Kevin Durant being courted by the NBA is like, but I am coming up short. But it sucks. Yeah, everyone knew he would only be here for a season and we are all glad he was here. But after the abrupt end to the year, the time seems all to short. But, I guess we had KD for a season longer than anyone else in the nation. Right?

The best I can do is say this must be what its like to have your kid leave for college. You know, even when they are born, that you have a limited time until they leave you for greener pastures. But by the time they are 18 and walking out the door you think, “Wait. That was it? Where’d the time go?” And worse yet, you know they should leave. Even though, for your selfish reasons, you want them to stay, their opportunities lay elsewhere. So you just enjoy the time you had and watch from a distance while everyone else gets to see what you had to yourself; even for just a short time.

Still doesn’t make me feel much better…

DJ Augustin: One and Done, Too?

The speculation about Kevin Durant leaving early for the NBA is obvious. If you are guaranteed to be no worse than the number 2 pick in the draft, there isn’t much upside in staying in school for another year (see, twisted ankle against Kansas). What has become more intriguing are the questions about freshman standout, DJ Augustin, leaving the 40 Acres after just one year.

There are two current sources providing the answer to these rumors, but you would be surprised as to which way each source is making me lean in questioning the time DJ will spend in Austin.

The first evidence presented is DJ’s own statement that he will be back next year. You might think this would lead to a conclusion that DJ will, in fact, be back next year. However, this statement has been proven to hold little meaning after the season is over. In fact, if you take a look at recent Longhorn stars that have proclaimed their mid-season desire to return for another college season (TJ Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge, PJ Tucker and Daniel Gibson), DJ’s statement seems more and more ominous. And if you remember correctly, TJ was 99.9% sure he was coming back before bolting to the league. (On a related note, there must be something lost in translation with UT athletes and the use of statistical probability. Wasn’t Texas legend Roger Clemens 99.9% sure he was retiring with the Yankees and now we are in our 3rd off season of “Waiting for Roger?” We should look and make sure UT athletes aren’t taking Stats class from a paint-by-numbers coloring book…)

(Another side note: Is it just me, or has the “I’ll be back next year” almost replaced the GM’s dreaded “vote of confidence” as far as a coach’s concern level goes? A statement like that from the GM, will immediately precipitate a call to the coach’s family realtor. But now, a coach hearing a star player profess his interest in a degree will immediately start the recruiting process for a blue-chip replacement. Something to think about, anyway.)

Ironically, the one thing making me feel like DJ may return is a recent ranking by ESPN’s Chad Ford that has Augustin ranked as the number 16 NBA prospect in the nation. (It’s a pay link so if you cant see all of it; you just have to trust me). Now, why, you ask, does this make me feel ok? Its because of the seemingly lack of any common sense or sports knowledge displayed by Ford in his “rankings.”

Any list that has DJ Augustin ranked higher as a pro prospect than Acie Law (#19) is immediately null and void in my book. Are you kidding me, Chad Ford?! Have you even SEEN Acie Law play basketball at any point in time this season? If you had, there is no way you can keep that guy out of the top 10, much less almost put him out of the top 20. Absolutely ridiculous.

The second, third and fourth glaring areas are the fact that Mr. Ford has ranked Chase Budinger as his #12 prospect, Josh McRoberts as his #13 and, then fourth, proceeds to put Tyler Hansbrough as his 32nd best prospect. So many things make no sense about any of this. Budinger is a decently talented forward, averaging less than 16 points on an unranked Arizona Wildcat team. I am not saying he isn’t an eventual pro prospect, but there is no way you can call that guy one of the top 15 amateur basketball players in the world.

And don’t even get me started on Josh McRoberts. All you have to do is look at Duke’s tract record of putting white guys in the NBA (Thank you very much Cherokee Parks) and see what kind of pro potential this guy has. And how in the world can you have watched the UNC/Duke game on Sunday and thought that McRoberts is anywhere near Hansbrough in talent?

I could go on, but I will just point to these few examples and say that Mr. Ford’s “expertise” has convinced me that DJ is not ready to be a lottery draft pick at this point. But with one more year experience, it is not out of reach to say that Augustin could be the best PG prospect in the draft. That is reason enough for DJ to spend one more year as a Horn.