FanPost

Retiring #35?

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:

  1. 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.
  1. He'll proudly carry the UT banner throughout what should be a very storied NBA career.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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:

  1. 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.)
  1. 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)
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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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