Durant to declare for NBA Draft
AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas swingman Kevin Durant intends to declare himself eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft and will begin the process of hiring an agent, he announced today.
"I enjoyed my year here at Texas," Durant said. "All the fans and everyone here at Texas made me feel right at home, considering I was so far away from home. I will always be a Longhorn and never forget what the people at Texas have done for me."
The first freshman in NCAA history to earn consensus National Player of the Year honors, Durant led the Big 12 Conference in scoring (25.8 ppg), rebounding (11.1 rpg) and blocked shots (67). He was the only player to rank in the Top 10 nationally in both scoring (fourth) and rebounding (fourth).
Durant is the first player in Texas history to declare for the NBA Draft following his freshman year. The 2007 NBA Draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 28 in New York City.
KEVIN DURANT
On the decision to leave: I know I developed a lot in college and I thought it was my time to go. My coaches helped me out a lot and my parents sat down with me and we made the decision. It was tough because I knew I was going to leave my teammates, but I had to make the right decision for myself. I think my coaches and teammates understood that, and now that it's over with, I'm happy. It was definitely a hard decision. I'm leaving my family to go somewhere else and it was a very hard decision, but I have to look out for myself and I think I made the right decision. I never really talked to any of the other players. I mainly kept it to my family and myself. I never talked to anyone else about it. My parents just told me to follow my heart and weigh the pros and cons in leaving or not, and in the end, we came up with the right decision.
On any enticements to leave: It's been my dream for a while and I felt like I was ready. I had to take the opportunity. It wasn't the shoe contract or anything like that. I love the game and I thought it was time.
On when the decision was made: This weekend, my family and I were in Los Angeles and we talked about it there. That is when we made the decision. I told my coaches this morning and that's about it.
On if anything has changed: Nothing has changed. I'm still a part of the team and I always will be part of the team. I'm more of mature of a person, I think. I've grown up a lot ever since I have been here. As far as my basketball game goes, I think I have progressed a lot throughout the season.
On the importance of being drafted as a high pick: I just don't want to be a player in the NBA; I want to have an impact. That was one of the big decisions too. I just didn't want to go in there being a regular player. I thought I have achieved that status and it was just my time to go.
On if he ever thought about the decision beforehand: By the end of the season, I had never thought about it. I didn't want to take anything away from the team, so I never thought about it. When the season ended, I knew I had to make a big decision. That's when I took time to think about it.
On how he is feeling about leaving: I'm excited. This is a new challenge and I am looking forward to it, but right now, I am just a regular student here at Texas, and I am still very part of the team. Like I have said, nothing has changed right now. I am going to keep going to my classes. There is no doubt about that. I'm not going to hurt the program. I'm always going to keep going to my classes because like I said, I'm still just a student here at Texas right now.
On finishing college: Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to sit down with my parents in the future and make plans about coming back and have the opportunity to get my degree.
On taking the next steps: My parents are dealing with that and they are talking to agents and people like that. I'm letting them handle that.
On his teammates' reactions: I thought it was time for me to take my game to the next level, and they all understood that. They were all happy for me, and that made me happy as well.
On playing against players like Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal: It's just a game of basketball, and that's what it will always be. I'm always going to work hard when I get there and I am not going to change. I'm always going to work hard on my game. I'm just looking forward to it.
On the rule on having to come to college: I was always going to go to college. It has helped my game out so much. I don't think I would have even gone straight to the NBA. I wanted to come to college and work on my game, and that's what my family wanted.
On what he wanted to accomplish this season: I just wanted to keep progressing and not regress. I think I did that as the season went along. I wanted to work really well with my teammates and that was a big factor, as well. Like I said, my defense got better and I also got stronger. I also worked a lot on my ball handling skills and have the ability to take people off the dribble.
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