Morning Coffee Is Missing KD Again

by PB @ BON on Jun 24, 2007 11:04 PM CDT in Quick Hits Comment 11 comments

I've noted on a couple occasions that I don't care much whether Kevin Durant gets drafted first or second. I suspect that's true for a lot of us, if only because: KD was only around for one year, he didn't go on a magical postseason run, and he's gonna be drafted first to the Blazers or second to the Sonics. It's hard to get too worked up.

With that said, I'd forgotten how much I enjoy KD the basketball player until I'd watched this highlight video. Don't bother clicking through until you've got 25 minutes on your hands; once you start the tape, it's impossible to stop. Literally a complete tour of his entire season at Texas. Elsewhere, this Oregonian article rustled loose some nostalgic feelings from my mental rafters.

It really is easy to forget that two months ago we were making all sorts of ridiculous promises on a petition if he would have stayed.

Two quick questions for you:

(1) If Vince Young had left after his sophomore year (imagine the rules allow it), would it change how you view him? To what degree is your VY love attached to what he accomplished in '05?

(2) What's KD's legacy at Texas? He won't be remembered like Vince Young, that's for sure. But he'll have some lasting impact. I'm curious what you think it'll be.

Speaking of Vince Young... Merril Hoge is almost in season. Yup, he's at it again.

I could devote a whole post to how inconsistent his answer is, but it's hardly worth it anymore.

The Star-Telegram's Wendell Barnhouse has a sensible take on revenue sharing in the Big 12. In short: forget about it. As he rightly puts it, the current system allows for revenue to be shared "equitably, not evenly." As it should be. There's no reason to allocate the same amount of money to Iowa State for football TV deals as is given to Texas. Count on Barnhouse being right about this one - it's a non-issue.

Briefly: The Burnt Orange Nation Cat Osterman interview is in the works... Oregon State trailed for only one of their 45 innings of play at the College World Series in capturing back-to-back national titles. Congratulations to Jake, who was in Omaha for the fun... There's an excellent debate brewing at Dawg Sports about the path to a football national title...

--PB--

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Merril

"This kid definitely has the ability to be a good quarterback in this league and maybe much more..."

Sounds a TAD different than last season. He's slowly eating his crow.

41-38

by inVINCEable on Jun 24, 2007 11:46 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I thought Merril sounded reasonable

He basically said people are placing unrealistic expectations on Young, and it's unfair to do that when he won't have a good supporting cast to help him.

by Beergut on Jun 25, 2007 1:40 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Which was my point

It's not consistent with saying VY is overrated.

The question wasn't "Who's carrying the most unfair burden this year?"

It was "Who is overrated?"

He answered a question that wasn't answered, and the fact that he chose Young for his answer isn't surprising.

--PB--

by PB @ BON on Jun 25, 2007 2:27 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

ok, gotcha

It should be pointed out,t hough, that last season the Titans had the youngest roster in the NFL. I think something like 40 of the players on their roster were drafted in the preceding two years.
So, it isn't like Vince was playing with a full deck last season, either.

by Beergut on Jun 25, 2007 2:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

2nd youngest I thought

Weren't the announcers talkin bout bret farve "surviving" a season with the youngest roster in the nation all last year. I could be really wrong though and hey it's inconsiquential because regardless of age, Vince will have a great year, I'm confident

41-38

by inVINCEable on Jun 25, 2007 4:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No reason in Hoge-land

What the hell? VY is the most overrated player in the NFL? People would actually have to rate the guy first, and VY has only 1 year in the league. People had to wait three years before calling Vick overrated. Hoge is the most exasperating "analyst" on tv. I like Mark Schlereth's response, though. Dallas' Roy Williams has been to a ton of pro bowls and consistantly gets BURNED in coverage.

If only Hoge could see his own bullcrap, he would quickly notice that he ALWAYS overrates Reggie Bush. It was bad enough watching Hoge bitch about VY, but to have him constantly slurping Bush and ignoring MoJo Drew and Marques Colston was too much.

by DogTown on Jun 25, 2007 9:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

What else is new?

He's NEVER gonna give it up. Hoge will go to his grave, no matter what happens between now and then, insisting VY was overrated, overhyped and overblown. Our only solace is that he'll be the only one.

I truly believe he only continues to say this nonsense because, like Cowherd, pissing people off gets his an audience. Also, because he's an idiot- but that practically goes without saying.

by Texas Gal on Jun 25, 2007 2:43 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Actually PB,

The rules do allow it. Since Vince redshirted, he could have left after his soph. year, a la Mike Vick.

by ctex80 on Jun 25, 2007 7:09 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

If Vince had left...

He basically would have been T.J. Think about it, if T.J. had stayed for his junior year, we probably would have won the championship. I strongly (and admittedly with much bias) believe that.

So, considering that, and considering that T.J. is one of my favorite Longhorns ever, then I would definitely say that Vince would still hold a special place in the part of my heart reserved for Horns. But I don't think he would be the Almighty Emperor of that place like he is now.

As for KD, as long as I'm doing comparisions, he'll be Ricky Williams. One of the all-time greatest players we've had that you reminisce about fondly from time to time. "Hey, remember that time KD dropped 25 in a half against KU?" or "Hey, remember when Ricky took a 25 second hit from our bong?" In fact, I'm pretty sure if Mike Ditka was the GM of some NBA team, he'd probably trade away all his draft picks over the next three years just to draft Durant. And once again, I'd think it was a brilliant move.

by Meekrob on Jun 25, 2007 8:17 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

vince

I still say that when you look at Vince, you can't just look at the stats from the entire season. The progression he made over the course of the season was incredible.

If you look at his last 6 starts (kind of arbitrary, I know, but he started 13 games, so this is the last half of that), he completed nearly 60% of his passes, had a 6-5 TD-INT ratio, averaged 7 yards an attempt, and ran for 327 yards and 4 TDs. Plus, they went 5-1.

I am interested to see how the offense will look this year without Travis Henry, but I think the passing game will be improved.

by Jason Mayer on Jun 25, 2007 10:13 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

more on Vince

The other thing about his stats is that, yeah, you can criticize him if you only focus on the bad stats. He didn't have the greatest quarterback rating, but he also had a bunch of rushing touchdowns, and more rushing yards for a rookie quarterback ever. I mean, he also didn't hit any home runs or shoot any three pointers...well, maybe that's pushing it.

I agree with PB that the answer is so inconsistent it's stupid. He's overrated, but he's got too much pressure because they took away the weapons around him, which suggests that, if he has a bad season, it's not entirely his fault. Whatever, Merril. It doesn't bother me anymore, it's pretty much just not worth it.

Vince would certainly not be the hero he is now if he had left early. He wouldn't be considered UT's best quarterback ever, let alone player. And KD will probably be remembered as UT's best player (especially if he's huge in the NBA), but he won't be a "hero" because of his lack of a postseason run.

by hornbone on Jun 25, 2007 11:42 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs