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Durant just can't avoid the NBA talk

By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press

AUSTIN - Texas coach Rick Barnes doesn't like what he's hearing these days.

Not from the Longhorns' fans, who chant "One More Year!" hoping freshman Kevin Durant will put off the NBA another season. And not from reporters who assume Durant will leave Texas and are debating whether he should be the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Barnes' message: Back off.

Back at you, coach: Lighten up.

The fans are having fun and Durant's playmaking has put unranked Texas on the sports highlight shows. College basketball is paying attention to Texas, a solid team contending for the Big 12 title, mostly because of its spectacular freshman.

The kid has been so good he's among the favorites for national player of the year honors and many assume he'll turn pro.

If the fans want to chant "One More Year," Barnes should be happy they're coming to the games. He's complained in the past about small and quiet crowds at big games, and there's no doubt Durant is putting butts in the Erwin Center this season.

Before this turns into a complete smack-back of Barnes, let's be fair: The coach may just be trying to take some of the pressure off an 18-year-old kid who so far hasn't gotten caught up in the hype of his own game.

Barnes complained that reporters keep asking Durant about the NBA.

And he delivered this warning shot: According to Barnes, Durant said he won't do any more interviews if the question keeps popping up.

Watch Durant score 37 points in a Big 12 game and he appears to be a selfless player who wants to share the credit with his teammates, who in turn look like they enjoy playing with him and don't begrudge his celebrity.

"It really amazes me that people want to talk about this right now because from the time the Final Four is over with to the draft is a month," Barnes said, referring to the April 29 deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft.

"That's when it becomes a story," Barnes said.

Actually, it became a story when the NBA imposed an age minimum that all but forced the best high school players to go to college for at least one season.

And by signing Durant to play at Texas, Barnes invited the story to his doorstep. It gets bigger every time Durant lights up another team for 30 points and 10 rebounds.

The genie is out of the bottle and he's had a magical season. Which only leads to more speculation that he'll leave Texas after one season.

"He hates it because he feels like it takes away from him being caught in the moment and enjoying this [season]," Barnes said.

Barnes knows better than to expect reporters to back off. He has some experience dealing with this distraction, even if not quite at this level.

T.J. Ford spent two seasons in Austin and seldom met a reporter who didn't ask him about the NBA. Ford tried to shut it down by saying he would return after his sophomore season.

Few believed it. That's why the question kept coming up. Ford then left after Texas reached the Final Four in 2003.

Then it was LaMarcus Aldridge, who flirted with going straight to the NBA after high school. Even Barnes admits that if Aldridge hadn't been hurt as a freshman, he likely would have gone after his first season.

Aldridge stayed another year, but as soon as he was ready, he was gone last spring. And guess what? Two more players - P.J. Tucker and Daniel Gibson - took off early for the NBA as well, leaving Texas without a returning starter.

So in comes Durant, who Barnes said Thursday is "by far" more talented than Ford and Aldridge.

"Believe me, he is going to be one of the top picks," Barnes said.

We know that. The question is when.