Longhorns honor Durant, retire his No. 35
Feb. 25, 2009 Natalie England, TexasSports.com AUSTIN, Texas -- This night was supposed to just be about a number. Kevin Durant's No. 35, which the Longhorns retired forever into the rafters of the Frank Erwin Center. After all, it was Durant's career numbers that ultimately raised it there. The 20 double-doubles. The 11 30-point games. The one and only freshman in NCAA history to win any National Player of the Year awards. But Wednesday night turned out to mean more than that, just as Durant's impact on the Longhorns is more than statistical. It was about heart, humility and homecoming. Blinking back tears, Durant couldn't help but ponder the moment out loud, with a microphone in hand, surrounded by friends, family and fans. He marveled at Slater Martin's No. 15, which commemorates the player who helped birth the modern program with the Longhorns' 1947 Final Four run, and at T.J. Ford's No. 11. "And then you see my 35 up there," Durant said. "It's an unbelievable feeling." When Ford led the Longhorns to the Final Four in 2003, it signaled UT's emergence on the national scene. And when Durant, a Washington, D.C., native, spurned typical East Coast powers for the Longhorns three years later, UT cemented itself among the country's elite as a program that could go anywhere to bring in the best and brightest talent. "Now, when people think of Texas basketball, they think of T.J. Ford and Kevin Durant," UT senior A.J. Abrams said. Durant helped the Longhorns reach from coast to coast, but his ultimate impact was right here at home. He came in and built bonds with teammates and coaches -- how else does a team that started four freshmen and one sophomore contend for a Big 12 title and advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament?
Durant and Damion James were freshmen together, and for the past two summers, Durant has returned to campus to play pick-up ball with his former teammates. James is a willing protégé, paying particular attention to the work ethic that molded Durant into the player he is now. "Any time anyone talks about big-time freshmen who come in and do good, they're going to compare them to K.D.," James said. "He was a great teammate." To hear Durant talk, though, he still considers the Longhorns his teammates. When asked about watching this year's team, Durant struggled to remove himself from the equation. In fact, he couldn't. "We went through a little period," Durant said of UT's early inconsistency. For UT's 87-81 victory against Texas Tech, though, Durant could only sit courtside and watch. Ironically, it was Durant's 37-point outburst on the road against the Red Raiders two years ago that head coach Rick Barnes counts among his favorite Durant memories. "You knew he was going to be willing to put it on the line every night," Barnes said. "In the second half (against Tech) he was phenomenal. He had so many moments like that." So Wednesday night became just another moment in Durant's enduring UT legacy. He returned for the first time to the home arena that housed so many of his electrifying heroics, to be honored and loved once again by a program that will forever bear his stamp. But, rather fittingly, Durant managed to make the evening about more than just him. "I miss being around here," Durant said. "I was only here a year or so, but I'll bleed orange for the rest of my life. I'm just honored to be part of this program. "We're going to be brothers for life." |
|
