40 Acres Sports

ESPN NBA Mock Draft 2007, only team with good chance of winning lottery that takes Durant is Milwaukee.

Texas football commit James Kirkendoll wins basketball All-Star MVP. WR/DB may try to walk onto basketball team.

Kevin Durant is keeping his word and still attending classes. Hires Aaron Goodwin as his agent.

A group of guys from the Orangebloods message boards are starting up a “Basketball Attendance Committee” in an attempt to improve the fan showing at UT basketball games. If you are interested in participating, show up at the Starbucks on 24th and San Antonio at 3PM on Saturday. Definitely a worthy cause if you’ve got the time.

Check out the details below:

This Saturday [a group of] students will be meeting at the Starbucks on 24th and San Antonio at 3PM.

If there are any other students (or non-students for that matter) that would like to help contribute to improving the basketball attendance to the level that is reflective of a top program, we would love for you to attend and share your thoughts.

We as fans expect quite a great deal from our basketball team, as we should, We’re Texas, but in order for this program to become a legitimate national power, it needs the support of our fanbase, one of the biggest and most supportive in all of college sports.

Fan support in influential in many ways. To begin with, it is a focal part in ensuring that our basketball program has the level of facilities needed to keep up with rival schools. If there aren’t people attending games, the revenue from ticket sales, concessions, merchandise, and advertising are all adversely affected. This in turn reduces the funding available for upgrades for the basketball program. Also, what top level recruit is going to want to play in front of an arena that is only 1/2 or 3/5 full? When recruits are visiting Texas and contemplating where to attend college, the fan support and gameday atmosphere undoubtedly play into the decision. The same is true for coaches, as Barnes has on numerous occasions expressed his disappointment in some of the turnouts for games. If we want to keep top caliber coaches around we must give them the support the deserve and desire.

Bottom line: If we want to have a great basketball program, we need to support it better. There is a great opportunity to take this issue in our own hands and be the change we desire to see take place. Even if you are unable to meet with us this Saturday, you can still help make a difference by just attending games and encouraging those you know to do the same. I know that this is a little anachronistic as the season has just ended and it is several months until next season, but now is the time to start shaping the culture of the fanbase so that when the 07-08 season does roll around, the response from Longhorn fans will be overwhelming.

Hook ‘Em

Update

If you have any questions or want more info contact Chris at hornsbball@gmail.com. A new web site is under development now for the group and they’re setting up a Facebook group as well. Continue to check back here for updates.

The condition that caused [tag]LaMarcus Aldridge[/tag]’s dizziness and irregular heartbeat has been diagnosed as Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.

Portland Trail Blazers Forward LaMarcus Aldridge underwent a series of tests today at Providence St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Portland. He was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW) and was treated for the condition by Dr. Daniel Oseran at St. Vincent’s. The procedure was successful.

Aldridge will be monitored by a cardiologist and will miss the remainder of the season. He is expected to make a full recovery and be cleared to resume physical activity, including basketball, in the near future.

Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome can be serious if untreated, causing dizziness, chest palpitations, fainting, or possibly cardiac arrest. However, the procedure performed on LaMarcus is relatively simple and if successful everything should be back to normal only a day or two afterwards. Sounds like if the issue had come up earlier in the season he could have been back on the court pretty quick, but with the season winding down they went ahead and shut him down. Glad to hear it was nothing too serious and it’ll be great to see Aldridge back on the court next year.

Source

Rick Barnes took one last shot at Texas A&M at the basketball banquet. “Pooooor Aggie!”

Take heart, A&M fans, there’s still women’s basketball. And you’ve still got Fran!

I kept hearing some serious rumors of this over the last two days, but I think I was hoping that if I ignored them they would just go away. Well, they haven’t. [tag]Kevin Durant[/tag] is indeed turning pro.

So congratulations to Kevin Durant. What he accomplished this year by sweeping every major award as a freshman is just amazing, and something we may never see again. As much as I would want Kevin Durant to return, how can you blame someone for not passing up all of that money?

Now we get to have fun seeing where he will end up in the NBA. The Celtics are already throwing games so that they can get Durant. Going to the Hawks or Grizzlies seems to be a career death sentence. Maybe Phoenix could jump up from the 4 spot (via Atlanta) to get him? Now that would be fun to watch.

There will be a press conference today at 4pm on campus in Austin announcing his decision. Feel free to send me pictures if anyone attends.

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Kevin Durant easily swept all the national awards, many by unanimous vote, but he had to share team MVP honors with fellow freshman D.J. Augustin Monday night. Both players were definitely deserving, you could see Augustin’s importance to the team when he hit a wall late in the season and the whole team struggled to get going.

University of Texas freshmen D.J. Augustin and [tag]Kevin Durant[/tag] shared the team’s Most Valuable Player honor in a vote of their peers, highlighting the 2006-07 men’s basketball team banquet held Monday evening at the Frank Erwin Center. Freshman center Dexter Pittman claimed the Lowe’s Home Improvement Most Improved Player Award.

With rumors swirling that Durant will declare for the NBA Draft this week, it could have been his last public appearance as a (current) Longhorn. Durant was the only Longhorn not available to the media at the banquet. Can’t really blame him though, he didn’t want to all the focus to be on him and I’m sure he’s exhausted. There will be a press conference whenever he announces his decision and reporters will have plenty of time to ask him questions then.

I love that the “Most Improved Player” award has a sponsor. They should sell sponsorship for all the awards. We could have the “Blockbuster Online Blocked Shots Award” and the “Acme Brick Worst Field Goal Percentage Award” and rake in the cash.

Award Recipients

• Slater Martin Award Ryan Clark
• Mike Wacker Comeback Award Matt Hill
• Coca-Cola Solid Citizen Award Damion James
• Jack Gray Award Connor Atchley
• Athletic Director’s Scholar-Athlete Award Craig Winder
• Jay Arnette Award Justin Mason
• Earlene Fulmer 3-Point Attack Award A.J. Abrams, D.J. Augustin
• Assists Award D.J. Augustin
• Blocked Shots Award Kevin Durant
• Field Goal Percentage Award Damion James
• Free Throw Percentage Award A.J. Abrams
• Rebounding Award Kevin Durant
• Hustlin’ Horns Award Ian Mooney
• Spirit Award J.D. Lewis and Harrison Smith
• Outstanding Defensive Player Justin Mason
• Lowe’s Home Improvement Most Improved Player Dexter Pittman
• Team Captains Craig Winder, A.J. Abrams
• Most Valuable Players D.J. Augustin, Kevin Durant
• Senior Award Craig Winder

Kevin Durant wins Wooden Award in a runaway to complete sweep of every single major individual award.