Texas After Durant

Ohio State is going to have a bit of a rebuilding year in the Big Ten after the departure of No. 1 overall draft pick, Greg Oden. Texas, however, might just have a tourney year in them this time around with a cast that is largely the same, with the noticeable exception of the No. 2 NBA Draft pick, Kevin Durant. D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams will lead a Texas program this season that is expected to get a preseason AP Poll ranking somewhere in the teens. Texas already has an ESPN/USA Today Poll ranking of No.16, so the Longhorns aren’t expected to have a dramatic slip up without the dynamic play of Kevin Durant. In fact, by a couple of games into the season, college hoops fan in Austin will probably forget all about the Durant, who is currently starting for the Seattle SuperSonics.

Other than Durant, the Longhorns get all four of their starters back for the 2007-’08 season. Texas coach Rick Barnes has gotten his team ready to play after big-name departures like T.J. Ford and LaMarcus Aldridge, so he knows that Durant leaving doesn’t have to mean the next season is a throw-away. Quite the opposite. You should expect to see Texas near the top of the Nig 12 all season long, and defiantly dancing in March.

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