European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 18, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pace 44 o stars and stripes sunday March 18 2007 the question will Durant stay or go by Eddie Pells the associated press Spokane Wash Back when his friends were going to movies hanging out at parties learning to drive and All the other things teenagers do Kevin Durant was in the gym basketball was always his first priority his no 1 love he never followed the traditional route says Taras Brown the aau coach who has mentored Durant since he was a lanky 9yearold Durant chose to go to College at Texas a school with Little basketball tradition when All the places he should have gone North Carolina Duke Maryland were banging Down his door now conventional Wisdom says the freshman arguably the Best player in col lege and certainly a can miss Aba Prospect will leave Texas after one year to move to the pros and Cash in on the immense Talent he honed in Browns gym nobody who knows him however can be quite sure Durant has never followed the traditional route entering his first Mcaa tournament game Friday night against new Mexico state he was focusing Only on helping his teammates living for the moment and win Ning if god feels like its his time hell go Brown says i honestly dont know i dont think he does either nobody denies Durant would like his col lege career to go the Way carmelo Antho nys did at Syracuse in 2003 one year one championship nothing left to prove at that level at 69 Durant a big Man who does More than most big men he shoots three pointers makes Good passes has great feet and is steadily learning the nuances of posting up and playing Interior de sense what his coaches notice As much As any of that is the Way he smiles you give him a basketball and a Basket and Hes going to be Happy says Josh Hutchison an assistant at Towson univer sity who helped coach Durant during his senior year of High school Hes Happy just Ted s Kevin Durant signs autographs after a Texas practice on thursday in Spokane Wash shooting Happy being in the gym i dont think its work for him at least not yet in a few weeks the swing Man with the huge wingspan almost certainly will be come the first freshman to be selected col lege basketballs player of the year and if he decides to go pro he could be the first pick in the Aba draft another fabulous freshman Ohio states Greg Oden also fac tors into that equation first though Durant must decide to leave the longhorns nobody in his inner Circle is ready to proclaim its a done Deal and Durant himself swats the question away like an opponents ill timed Floater through the Lane whenever the time comes ill make my decision about next year he says in just worried about winning games in the tournament the longhorns went 249 this season de spite a starting lineup that features four freshmen and one Sophomore they have taken Kansas largely regarded As the lit mus test in the big 12 to the wire in two close losses few expected them to be this Good this quickly even with Durant on Board who to say the Best player in the coun try cant spark a six game winning Streak to capture a championship and Force the school to Clear some room in the trophy Case for that other sport at football crazy Texas that the reason he came Here says Texas assistant coach Russ Springmann the Man who discovered Durant when he was a High schooler in Maryland he wanted to help the University of Texas do some thing in basketball that haunt been done before he came into the tournament averaging 25 Points 11 rebounds 2 blocks and 2 steals a game he scored his career High of 37 against Colorado on Jan 6 the first Guy in the film room after that game Durant Hes there asking us what he could have done better Springmann says its a testament to How much he likes basketball loves his teammates wants to be part of a Winner right now that All More important to Durant than going pro i love being at Texas he says this is the greatest decision i Ever made by com inhere but will he stay its a common dilemma for any College Star continue to soak in the experience on Campus risk injury a Possi ble decline in draft status and the Hundred other things that could go wrong by staying in school or go for the big Money and accept the Aba grind that goes with it Durant weighs Only 225 pounds and has trouble keeping the weight on he could and probably will get pushed around in the Aba at first his skills Are such though that he probably could play on the outside and Prosper and How might Durant handle the in creased Fame Money and pressure his naivete about the spotlight became evident before the season when Texas coach Rick Barnes chose to take Durant on a Road trip for a set of Media interviews in Oklahoma City when it was time to leave Durant wondered where the rest of his teammates were Barnes want taking other team mates Back then the Star treatment surprised Durant now when we go out everywhere we go people Are waiting to get his Auto graph Barnes says he has a hard time turning anybody Down soon he must decide whether to take the Money or stay in College that decision will come later in a Day a week or As All Texas fans Hope after the final four until later comes Durant simply wants to be with his teammates and do something special at Texas anything to help my team out that what in trying to do Durant said those accolades and things Are always Good but like i said i want to win Mcaa tournament inside the games paucity of Points noteworthy in opening round by Jim Oconnell the associated press the Lack of offence on the first Day of the Mcaa tournament was downright offensive As four los ing teams failed to break the 50point Mark that matched the total for the entire first round last year and was double the total for the first two Days of the 2005 tournament Marquette George washing ton Weber state and old Domin Ion failed to hit half Hundred in losing by an average of 21 Points All four came into the tournament averaging Between 70 and 72 Points a game it definitely want a Day of Nai biters Only Virginia commonwealths Victory Over Duke and Xaviers defeat of Brigham Young both by 7977 were decided by less than nine Points Vanderbilt 7744 Victory Over George Washington was the biggest of the blowouts Young blood freshmen have been in the headlines All season so it made sense that one of them came up with the first big performance of the Mcaa tournament Stephen Curry of Davidson had 30 Points in the wildcats 8270 first round loss to Maryland second Only to Kevin Durant of Texas among the nations fresh men in scoring Curry kept 13thseeded Davidson in the game until the final minutes Durant who played Friday night against new Mexico state averaged 256 Points this season and Curry son of former Aba guard Dell Curry averaged 212 they were the Only freshmen among the top 30 scorers in the country the 6foom Curry was 9for21 from the Field and 7for7 from the free throw line Hes for real Maryland coach Gary Williams said i told him after the game you could play anywhere free throws Dukes 7977 loss to Virginia Commonwealth the Blue devils first in the first round since 1996 featured an uncharacteristic performance at the free throw line Duke which entered the game shooting 692 percent at the line went 20for32 625 percent against the rams Sophomore Point guard Greg Paulus who finished with 25 Points went 6forll he entered the game shooting 786 percent at the line the Blue devils who ended the season with four straight losses had reached the round of 16 each of the last nine years the longest current Streak sour Streak Penns 6852 loss to Texas was the quakers ninth straight in the Mcaa tournament a Streak that dates to a Sec Ond round loss to Florida in 1994 the longest current Streak is held by Murray state at 11 in a Row from a second round loss to Kansas in 1988 through last sea son North Carolina has also lost nine straight 19821995 and holy Cross which played South Ern Illinois on Friday has dropped eight straight from a regional final loss to leu in 1953 to 2003 stopping threes Belmont Andy Wicke came into the first round game against George town As one of the country Best three Point shooters the hoyas who were sixth in the country this season in three Point percentage defense forced him into one of his worst games of the season the 6foot2 Sophomore was 10th in the nation this season hit Ting 46 percent in the Bruins 8055 loss to Sec on seeded Georgetown Wicke was 2forll from beyond the arc Butler did it Butler earned its Way to a no 5 seed with Stellar de sense All season holding opponents to 572 Points per game sixth est in the country the bulldogs held old Dominion 24 Points below its season average in a 5746 Victory in the first round old Dominion shot 327 percent from the Field including 4for20 from three Point Range it was the monarchs lowest Point total of the season their previous Low was 54 in a sea so opening Victory Over Mon Mouth blocking out Boston College showed it is still one of the better shot blocking teams in the coun try even without Sean Williams when the 6foot10 Williams was dismissed from the team in january he was third in the nation averaging 50 blocks per game the eagles still managed to average 58 blocks without him and kept it up in an 8475 first round Victory Over Texas tech the eagles had More blocked shots 9 than turnovers 8 against the red raiders pruned tree Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun had four former assistants coaching teams in this years tournament and three lost in the first round Karl Hobbs at George Washington 7744 to Howie Dickenman at Central connect Cut state 7857 to Ohio state and Glenn Miller at Pennsylvania 6852 to Texas Dave Leitao at Virginia re versed the trend when the Cava Liers beat Albany 8457 on Friday