Retiring #35?

by 54b on Jul 5, 2007 11:10 PM CDT Comment 8 comments

Taking a hint from Caradoc aluding to the fact there ain't shit to talk about, beauty pageants not with standing, I say we have it out:

Should UT retire Kevin Durant's #35?

Arguments for:

The dude won all 7 National Player Of The Year Awards, he's a Septuple Crown Winner. That can't be discounted nor denied. He set a new standard of excellence.

He'll proudly carry the UT banner throughout what should be a very storied NBA career.

As BZ or someone here said, "it's not like we're running out of jersey numbers in basketball." Plus, #35 isn't exactly like retiring 23 or 33. Recruits aren't going to be dissuaded from coming here because they had their heart set on #35.

He isn't Ricky Williams. I love Ricky, but I'm tired, like most of you I'd imagine, of defending his off-the-field indiscretions to my non-Longhorn friends. Not that I'm obligated to or feel like it's my place to, but the pot smoking and quirks get old and wear on you after a while and they're embarrassing. KD is solid. He's humble, respects the game, and he's into clean living. He does us proud in every facet.

The fact that he chose to spend his year at UT while he was on loan from the NBA will pay huge dividends to our program in regards to landing future recruits. With all of the exposure he garnered, he helped elevate our program to a competitive set that includes the Dukes, NC's, KU's, etc. and turned UT into a legit choice for elite recruits moving forward more so than it was in the past.

Arguments against:

It's just too soon...there's a guy, goes by the name VY, who needs to have his number retired before we even consider anyone else from any other sport (Cat O too.)

The individual awards are nice, but basketball is a team sport and under KD, UT was at best underwhelming (no conf. championship, 2nd round ouster in the dance)

He never really had that seminal sporting moment where UT fans say, "I remember where I was when KD did this..." Perhaps that game in Lubbock comes close or the 2OT win at home vs. A&M, but without much on the line during those games, it's hard to justify. If he'd hit the game winner against KU in the conf. tourney, I might feel differently.

He wasn't at UT long enough for Longhorn fans to truly embrace him...as someone wrote, he felt like more of College basketball's poster boy than he did UT's very own.

KD simply repaved the path TJ Ford blazed. He didn't really create a new mold.

If it were up to me...I'd table the matter for a couple of years. Give it some time and give him some time to blossom in the NBA. If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then two years from now, we'll really be ruing the day he decided to forgo the rest of his eligibility and declare.

And while I don't think there's any argument for never retiring his number, I'm just not sure I've heard an air tight reason for doing it right now.

My take anyway...by all means, please discuss.

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I agree

I'd much rather delay the decision. His individual awards are impressive! No question. However, it was a single season without any championships.

I'd rather consider retiring Vince's jersey and then take KD's into consideration in a few years.

--- All roads to the Big-XII Championships run through OU and the RRS. It's not just "another game." ---

by HornChamps on Jul 6, 2007 12:02 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

if you retire his number before Vince has

his number retired, I'll laugh at the stupidity of your athletic department.

Not that I think you really care what one Aggie thinks, but it is asinine to retire the number of a one-and-done kid who never won anything that matters, team wise, when you have someone who led you to a national title with his number still out there.

I know I'm in the EXTREME minority on this, but I thought Durant's accomplishments were somewhat overrated. Don't get me wrong, he was great, unbelievable at times, but I don't think he was worthy of winning every single national player ofd of the year award. As was shown in the NCAA Tournament, Durant can score 30+ in a game, and the team still loses. How does that make him the best player in the nation?

In addition, how is it going to look if you retire his number, and the basketball team does better this season, and goes further in the Dance without him than it did with him?

If I was in the texas administration, I'd wait a long while before I retire his number, say after he's appeared in a few All-Star games in the NBA. His 'body of work' in college basketball is too small to deserve immediate retirement of his number. If he had won the national title ala Carmello Anthony, I'd feel different, but he didn't.

by Beergut on Jul 6, 2007 12:55 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

a couple of points

First of all, I don't know if Vince should be considered in the Durant decision. I don't really know how it works, but as someone had mentioned in another post somewhere, basketball jersey retirings work differently than football. Obviously Vince accomplished more, even though he didn't win the Heisman, but I don't think that should factor into the Durant decision.

Secondly, I think a player can be the best player in the nation even if their team doesn't win it all. I mean, if Durant played on a team with four clones of me, they would lose all their games. But that doesn't make Durant any less of a player. On the other hand, it does lessen his argument for retiring the jersey, because truly special players elevate the level of their teammates. I think Durant probably did do this, and was probably a great teammate, but obviously it wasn't enough to win any championships.

Regarding your last paragraph, that's an interesting thought. Does he deserve more consideration in retiring his jersey based on what he does after college? Like if he's the best NBA player of all time, but his college jersey isn't retired, that would look kind of strange. I agree that UT should wait a while and think about it before retiring the number.

by hornbone on Jul 6, 2007 1:15 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No

Texas has consistently retired the jerseys of POY winners and should continue to do so with Durant. To stop now would be a silly slap in the face to the best basketball player to ever play at Texas.

What's silly is that the university seems to have adopted POY winning as the ONLY thing which can qualify a player for jersey retirement.

Retiring KD's jersey for winning the POY isn't a mistake; making the POY a necessary cause for jersey retirement is the mistake.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Jul 6, 2007 1:33 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Retiring #35, Why?

What's the point, another great player will come along in UT's storied history and set some records, in fact that may happen soon. Let the number move on. If Kevin has a stellar pro history after ten years, then lets see. But no; just after two years of solid play, when there was the opportunity of a national title, I don't think its time for this to happen.

by burntorange on Jul 6, 2007 2:35 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

pot

what the f@#$ is wrong with smoking pot? the damn thing should be legalized. Ricky rules by the way.

Go Horns, Go Vince, Go Mavs

by Cyrus on Jul 6, 2007 3:28 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Should have written, "failed drug tests"

Never really seen what the big deal was with pot either and I'm of the group who finds our government, that's been getting fat off alcohol and cigarette taxes forever, extremely hypocritical for making marijuana illegal.

That being said, I also readily admit that it's been hard for me to watch a superior athlete basically throw his career away simply because he couldn't say no to smoking a plant. But not everyone wants fame and fortune or to be remembered, so maybe Ricky was a bad example and the statement above says more about me (us) than it does about him.

Regardless, I think the athletic department (and most of us for that matter) would have much rather seen Ricky succeed in the NFL than the circus that's transpired over the past 8 years.

And remember, Miss Oklahoma always says, "drink before think, the mind is a terrible thing to waste time on.

Be nobody but yourself in a world that desperately wants you to be like everybody else.

by 54b on Jul 6, 2007 8:16 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well

Should Ohio State retire Odens number?

I'm in the arguments against category, but I do think it should/will probably happen in the next ten years. But to do it before VY is an insult to all things good.

by carsondude on Jul 6, 2007 2:56 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs