A burnt orange tint to the NBA Draft
June 25, 2010
• Texas and the NBA Draft "Every day our staff gets up knowing that we have 13 or 14 young men who have dreams," Barnes has said repeatedly during his 12-year tenure in Austin. "The one thing as an educator you never do is put a damper on those dreams. The other thing you never do is to allow them to live a lie, thinking that those dreams are just going to happen. "Our players have to understand how hard they have to work to earn a degree," Barnes continues. "They have to understand how hard they have to work to win the next game. They have to understand how hard they have to work to play at the highest level, if that's something they want to do." For a trio of former Longhorns, those dreams became reality Thursday night during the 2010 NBA Draft. Avery Bradley was selected with the No. 19 overall pick by the Boston Celtics. Damion James was taken with the No. 24 overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks, and his rights were later traded to New Jersey. Dexter Pittman was chosen with the No. 32 pick, the second selection in the second round, by the Miami Heat. Bradley got the news of his pick while eating dinner with his family in a restaurant in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. "It's just a great feeling to be a part of an organization like that (the Celtics) and to get the chance to learn from some of the older guys on the team," Bradley said. James, the all-time career rebounding leader in both UT and Big 12 Conference history, summed up his feelings on a conference call late Thursday evening after watching the draft with his family and close friends in his hometown of Nacogdoches. "Hearing my name called, it was like a dream come true," James said. "A lot of tears are being shed." Pittman, who became a fan favorite in Austin while shedding 70 pounds during his four-year career, had already moved ahead in his thought process to what he needs to do now in the professional ranks by the time he talked to the South Florida media late Thursday evening. "I need to go to an organization like that (the Heat, a team well-known around the NBA for its conditioning standards)," Pittman said. "I think that's another challenge for me. I'm pretty good when it comes to taking challenges. I know I've got more work to do." This marks the second time in school history the Longhorns have had three players selected in the same draft. LaMarcus Aldridge (No. 2 pick by Chicago, traded to Portland), P.J. Tucker (No. 35 pick by Toronto) and Daniel Gibson (No. 42 pick by Cleveland) were taken during the 2006 NBA Draft. It also marks the second time in UT history the Horns have had two players selected in the first round of the same draft. Travis Mays (No. 14 pick by Sacramento) and Lance Blanks (No. 26 pick by Detroit) were taken in the 1990 NBA Draft. With the three selections on Thursday night, Texas has now had 13 players drafted in the 12 years under Barnes. Bradley and James became the sixth and seventh first-round selections in the Barnes era, joining Chris Mihm (2000), T.J. Ford (2003), LaMarcus Aldridge (2006), Kevin Durant (2007) and D.J. Augustin (2008). "Tonight was an outstanding night for our program," Barnes said. "To have three players selected in one draft is very impressive. We're happy for all three guys and their families. Obviously all of them had dreams of playing in the NBA long before they came to The University of Texas, and now they can begin to realize those dreams. "What pleases me is all three understand this is just the start of a new chapter in their lives, one they are prepared to face head on," Barnes said. "Now it is up to them to go back to work every day and keep getting better, both on the court and as people."
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