Durant steals the show

Monday, March 5, 2007

Photo Gallery

Kansas Basketball vs. Texas

Danny Manning was right.

He and Texas star Kevin Durant are not even comparable. Durant’s display from Saturday left Kansas coach Bill Self thinking of some of the NBA’s all-time greats.

As Durant dropped three-pointers, stole the ball from guards and pulled up for mid-range jumpers, he looked like a former Celtic great.

“He’s a different type of athlete than Larry,” Self said, “but Bird may be the guy.”

A different type of athlete in that he can run the floor in a way Bird could never dream of. Durant’s athletic ability is far greater than Bird’s. What Durant did in the first half on Saturday — 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting, including 5-for-5 from three-point range — was reminiscent of someone even more special.

“Michael doesn’t get on rolls like he got on there,” Self said.

Durant was Michael Jordan good. The Texas freshman scored 32 points in his team’s 90-86 loss on Saturday.

His 25 first half points were the most he’s made in a single half this season. The big half sparked his team to a 54-42 advantage.

Kansas forward Julian Wright and guard Brandon Rush were the poor souls charged with defending Durant. No matter what the sophomores did, Durant found a way to score. He started the game by making a three-pointer, and followed it with a jumper to give his team an early 8-4 lead. Then, he stole the ball and dunked it. On the next possession, he shot a turnaround over Wright. By the 14:14 mark, Durant had 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting.

“I didn’t think he was going to miss at all,” Rush said.

Durant did finally miss, but he also made shots that he had no business making. Rush and Wright guarded him tightly and put their hands in his face on nearly every one of his shots.

“When you’re on fire, all you can do is contest,” Wright said. “That’s all you can do. He was on fire the first half.”

The second half quickly turned sour for Durant. The Jayhawks scored 22 points in the first five minutes to take a 64-61 lead. In that time, Durant only attempted one shot and missed it. Self emphasized at halftime that they needed to limit his touches.

It only got worse when Durant awkwardly stepped on freshman forward Darrell Arthur’s foot with about 11 minutes left and fell to the ground grabbing his left ankle. Durant went to the locker room. He had hurt the ankle during Friday’s practice and stepping on Arthur re-aggravated the injury. But an ankle was not enough to stop him. Durant returned four minutes later.

“Coach already knows I stay in anyways,” Durant said. “I just wanted to suck it up for my teammates. They did a great job while I was out. I just wanted to play for them.”

nutgraf

Although he couldn’t finish the game with a tying shot, Durant had a memorable, courageous performance in his first and likely last game at Allen Fieldhouse.

A chance for the Big 12 Conference title also motivated him. Texas came into Saturday on a six-game win streak that included a double-overtime victory against Texas A&M. If the Longhorns would have won, they would have clinched a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 and would have owned the top seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament.

Durant did all he could the rest of the game to give his team the chance to earn that No. 1 seed. With Texas trailing 88-80 and only 26 seconds left, Durant hit a three-pointer. Longhorn guard A.J. Abrams made one after that to pull the Longhorns within two. But with a chance to tie in the closing seconds, his teammates couldn’t find him.

Although he couldn’t finish the game with a tying shot, Durant had a memorable, courageous performance in his first and likely last game at Allen Fieldhouse.

“He’s done a lot of good things this year,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “What makes it impressive is what was at stake. I think he showed what he was about this game.”

Durant certainly showed enough to impress Self.

“He’s one of the best players to ever play on that court,” Self said. “He’s on a different level.”

Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.

— Edited by Carissa Pedigo

Jayhawks to play for Big 12 title ...

With the potential for a three-way tie for the conference title, the ...

/news/2007/mar/01/mbb/

Just how good is Kevin Durant?

The Texas freshman is being compared to Kansas great Danny Manning. See ...

/news/2007/mar/02/mbb/

Hero-less 'Hawks victorious

Kansas wins the Big 12 Tournament for the second straight year, but ...

/news/2007/mar/12/mbb_gamer/

Jayhawks ease defense against Texas star

Kansas keeps Kevin Durant from scoring big behind the three-point line in ...

/news/2007/mar/05/mbb_gamer/

Davison: Durant owns the Big 12

The best month of the year is here and the right way ...

/news/2007/mar/02/davison/

The Wright Stuff

Sophomore forward shares Player of the Week title with Kevin Durant. Wright ...

/news/2007/mar/06/mbb/

Versatile Budinger nearly sinks Hawks

Arizona sophomore forward Chase Budinger terrorized the Jayhawks with a great all-around ...

/news/2007/nov/26/sider/

Beasley presents challenge for Kansas

K State’s star player could give Kansas a run for their money.

/news/2008/jan/30/beasley_presents_challenge_kansas/

Jayhawks hold off Wildcats once again

A 67-61 victory means that Kansas will face Texas for the Big ...

/news/2007/mar/10/jayhawks_hold_wildcats_once_again/

Dar(r/n)ell off the bench

Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur took entirely different roads to Kansas basketball. ...

/news/2007/mar/13/mbb/

Six Jayhawks receive postseason awards

Brandon Rush and Julian Wright made the All-Big 12 first team with ...

/news/2007/mar/05/mbb_brief/

New season, new focus for Arthur

Sophomore forward Darell Arthur is sharpening the passing facet of his game ...

/news/2007/aug/29/arthur/

Arthur’s shot inspires team

After Darrell Arthur’s 15-foot jump shot, Kansas rallied to the cause, bringing ...

/news/2008/feb/28/arthurs_shot_inspires_team/

Calling a Collins Comeback

The old moves were finally back. Collins could cut, shoot and finish ...

/news/2008/feb/11/calling_collins_comeback/

Living the Wright life

Wright left Kansas for the NBA last year. His life outside of ...

/news/2008/apr/17/julian/

Downtrodden Jayhawks leave Lone Star State

The Jayhawks have yet to gain a critical victory against a consistent ...

/news/2008/feb/12/downtrodden_jayhawks/

Jayhawks emerge again as victors

Seniors finished their regular season in College Station, Texas as four-time Big ...

/news/2008/mar/10/jayhawks_end_regular_season_championsagain/

Threes all over

Chalmers made eight three pointers in a game where neither Kansas nor ...

/news/2008/mar/16/threes_all_over/

Foul trouble limits Arthur’s influence

After an impressive freshman season, many expected the Jayhawk offense to go ...

/news/2008/feb/07/Arthur/

Big 12 hits many highs this season

The Big 12 Conference season has ended, but the big moments still ...

/news/2007/mar/08/fastbreak/

NEW: Kaun's big night sparks KU against ...

Forward Sasha Kaun scored 14 of his 16 points in the first ...

/news/2007/jan/11/new_kauns_big_night_sparks_ku_against_cowboys/

Jayhawks Impress Capel

Sooner freshman Blake Griffin suffered a knee injury and the depleted Sooner ...

/news/2008/jan/15/jayhawks_impress_capel/

Kansas falls out of rhythm in Oklahoma

The men’s basketball team has lost three of its last four road ...

/news/2008/feb/25/mens_basketball/

Jayhawks off to the NBA

Brandon Rush and Darrel Arthur declared their intention to enter the NBA ...

/news/2008/apr/18/nba/

Tyrel Reed’s shooting wins close games

Sophomore guard proves reliable finisher with 39.7 percent from the three-point line

/news/2009/jan/30/Reed/

Kansas overcomes late deficit to clinch championship

Mario Chalmers' last-second three-point shot took the Jayhawks into overtime as they ...

/news/2008/apr/08/kansas_overcomes_late/

Freshman quartet enjoy the ‘madness’

Four freshman players are content to sit out of the spotlight this ...

/news/2008/mar/26/freshman_quartet_enjoy_madness/

Pressure pushes Jayhawks to close victory

A ‘timid’ second half is led by Rush’s weak performance. Teammates rely ...

/news/2007/feb/27/mbb_gamer/

Jayhawks need overtime to defeat Cyclones in ...

AMES, Iowa - After a sluggish first half, the Jayhawks came back ...

/news/2007/jan/13/new_jayhawks_defeat_cyclones_overtime/

Kansas conquers Iowa State

With a 75-64 victory, the Kansas men’s basketball team is regaining its ...

/news/2008/feb/28/kansas_conquers_iowa_state/

What a difference a season can make

With a look ahead to the tournaments, here is a look back ...

/news/2007/mar/08/mbb/

Momentum rolls on after shaky start

Despite a sloppy first half, Kansas maintains their lead and manages a ...

/news/2012/feb/02/shaky-start/

Self strives to make first trip to ...

Leading three different teams to the Elite Eight, Kansas coach Bill Self ...

/news/2008/mar/28/self/

Basketball team has struggled from outside

Most of the team’s points have come from inside and at the ...

/news/2008/feb/14/bball/

Second half focus key in defeat of ...

Despite a close first half score, the Jayhawks pull away for an ...

/news/2012/feb/02/second-half-focus-sooners/

KU 92, Washburn 60, starring: Brandon Rush

Jayhawks dominate on offense during the second half after the defense stuggled ...

/news/2007/nov/16/basketball_wu/

Chalmers leads Kansas to big victory

Behind sophomore guard Mario Chalmers' 22 points, the Jayhawks blew out the ...

/news/2006/dec/23/new_jayhawks_soar_past_eagles/

Vosburgh: Reed collects threes early on for ...

Three-pointers were key focus in practice, allowing opportunities for Reed.

/news/2010/nov/15/vosburgh-reed-collects-threes-early-secure-win/

Jayhawks roll over Red Raiders

/news/2006/jan/31/mens_game/

Ugly win works for Jayhawks

Scrappy defense and offensive rebounding carried the Jayhawks past a challenge from ...