40 Acres Sports

Tony Hills is finally back after ankle injury. Should be a mid-round pick, hopefully he’s healthy enough to stick with a team.

Russell Erxleben is one of Mel Kiper’s worst draft evaluations. Former Texas kicker went 11th overall but struggled in the NFL. (*ESPN Insider)

Kevin Durant scores season-high 42 points in finale. Puts up his first double-double and finishes season with 20.3 scoring average.

Royal Ivey suspended three games for punch to Bulls player’s groin. One of Royal Ivey’s best shots of the year. (video)

I’m not sure what’s wrong with Mark Jackson, Jon Barry, or Jemele Hill were doing this last basketball season, but they certainly weren’t watching games. Those were the only three ESPN “experts” to not vote for Seattle Oklahoma City Sonics guard/forward [tag]Kevin Durant[/tag] as their Rookie of the Year for the 2007-2008 season. Durant picked up 17 out of 20 votes while Al Horford received the other three. Here’s how the votes broke down:

Kevin Durant Marc Stein ESPN.com	Kevin Durant J.A. Adande ESPN.com	Kevin Durant John Hollinger ESPN.com	Kevin Durant Chris Sheridan ESPN.com
Kevin Durant Chris Broussard ESPN Mag	Kevin Durant Henry Abbott TrueHoop	Kevin Durant David Thorpe Scouts Inc.	Kevin Durant Chad Ford ESPN.com
Kevin Durant Jalen Rose ESPN	Al Horford Mark Jackson ABC	Al Horford Jon Barry ESPN	Kevin Durant Tim Legler ESPN
Al Horford Jemele Hill ESPN.com Page 2	Kevin Durant Scoop Jackson ESPN.com Page 2	Kevin Durant Chris Palmer ESPN Mag	Kevin Durant Dr. Jack Ramsay ESPN Radio
Kevin Durant Maurice Brooks ESPN.com	Kevin Durant Chris Ramsay ESPN.com	Kevin Durant Andrew Ayres ESPN.com	Kevin Durant Matt Wong ESPN.com

Kevin managed to live up to the incredible hype and only got better and better as the year went on. Definitely well deserved. He only spent one season at Texas but Kevin is proud to be a Longhorn and we’re proud of him. This is just the first of many honors he’ll pick up in the coming weeks. Congrats Kevin.

Bobby Reid: Mike Gundy’s rant “basically ended my life”. As has been my impression from the very beginning, Gundy seems like a complete scum bag.

Muschamp brings intensity, impressive resume to Texas’ defense. Good article on the Longhorns new defensive coordinator.

Former Horn [tag]Kevin Durant[/tag] was nails for the Sonics last night in what was likely the team’s last game in Seattle. In a two overtime win over the Denver Nuggets, Durant had 37 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists but played an even bigger role than his career best stat line shows. With 22 seconds left in regulation he hit a huge 3-pointer to tie the game and send it to overtime. Then, with just five seconds left in the first overtime period he drained a 30-foot bomb to again tie up the game. It was a superstar shot.

Watch the second of his big shots below:

Great game and great clutch job by Kevin. His ability and willingness to take and hit shots like that are what separates him from other players. The Sonics are terrible and he started off trying to carry the team by taking tons of threes (yet was still Rookie of the Year frontrunner even then), but once he found his groove midseason he’s been playing at a much higher level. After several months hovering around 40% shooting, Durant made 53% of his shots in February.

With five games left in the season the Sonics are likely going to end up with one of the league’s three worst records and at worst a top five pick in the 2008 draft. If the Sonics can land another big time player (hopefully Memphis point guard Derrick Rose) with that pick they’ll have an incredibly young and gifted core to build on just up the road in Oklahoma City next year.

Freshman quarterback [tag]GJ Kinne[/tag] has announced his intention to transfer from the University of Texas. The young man from Gilmer redshirted in his only season and would have like been the fourth string quarterback for the Longhorns in 2008. From the official release:

“I chose the best school at what was the end of a very successful, but difficult high school career,” Kinne said. “I have definitely become a better quarterback with the help of one of the most knowledgeable offensive coaches in college football, Greg Davis. However, the quarterback position is unique in terms of playing time, and I have to find a program that best fits my skills.”

“Quarterbacks transfer in college football. That’s life for this position. I’ve made great memories, great friends and have been blessed with experiences most can only watch. So the answer is, ‘No,’ I have no regrets. I’m looking forward to what the future holds for me. I wish nothing but great things for The University of Texas. I appreciate all that Coach Brown and The University have done for me.”

There has been no official news of where he’ll be transferring but rumors are that Louisiana Tech is a possible option. GJ has a cannon for an arm (as displayed on a long bomb during the spring game) and likely could be an excellent quarterback if given the chance. Stuck behind three other young players I don’t blame him for seeking out a better opportunity for himself. I wish him the best wherever he ends up.

Barnes’ rotations in Texas/Memphis game. Nice analysis of the box score from the BON diaries.