Father says Durant may stay at Texas - NCAA

Father says Durant may stay at Texas


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By Chip Brown

The Dallas Morning News

(MCT)

AUSTIN, Texas - The father of Texas freshman Kevin Durant said Wednesday
it's not a slam dunk that Durant will turn pro after this season.

"There's a chance he would come back to Texas next year," said Durant's
father, Wayne Pratt. "Kevin is so young. There's not a rush for him to
go to the NBA. Right now, we're not even talking about that. We're
talking about winning the Big 12, and Kevin continuing to progress
academically."

Durant, the Big 12's leading scorer (24.9 ppg) and rebounder (11.4 rpg),
is tired of questions about whether he'll jump to the NBA after this
season. He doesn't answer them anymore because he said it draws attention
away from his teammates.

"Right now, I'm trying to win games at Texas," Durant said. "That's all
I'm thinking about."

Pratt, a police officer at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.,
said just because Kevin could be the first or second pick in this year's
draft doesn't mean he'll turn pro.

"There's certain things that Kevin has to show and do before that
decision is made, and we still have some things we need to see," Pratt
said.

When asked about the goals Kevin needs to reach, Pratt is quick to point
out that Kevin only turned 18 in September.

"It's a total thing - mentally, physically, all those things have to be
intact before a decision can be made," Pratt said. "My wife and I have
pretty good jobs. There's no rush for him to go to the NBA."

Kevin's mother, Wanda Pratt, is a manager for the U.S. Postal Service.

Durant made a 3.0 grade point average in the fall semester and has said
he wants to improve on that this semester. He has told Texas officials
he will attend classes the entire spring semester, which concludes with
finals in mid-May. The deadline for underclassmen to enter the NBA Draft
is April 29.

"Kevin is enjoying college life," Pratt said. "He's grown from a young
boy to a young man, and he's doing well academically, which is most
important to me and my wife."

Texas coach Rick Barnes said he's tired of reporters and TV commentators
making assumptions about Durant jumping to the NBA. Barnes was even upset
with Texas students who began chanting, "One More Year!" to Durant during
Monday's victory against Oklahoma State.

"Kevin doesn't want it to be about him," Barnes said. "He thinks all that
stuff takes away from the team."

Barnes, whose Longhorns play at Baylor on Saturday, said Kevin's parents
have been consistent in their message to him about Kevin's future.

"Kevin and his parents are smart, intelligent people, who are going to
make their own decision," Barnes said. "They are not going to let other
people make this decision for them."

Pratt said Kevin wants to win a national title at Texas.

"Kevin's got to light that tower up," Pratt said. "That's what we came
there to do to help with getting that done. Coach Barnes laid the
foundation and we just want to be a part of that. I'm looking forward
to Texas being on top of the basketball world. If they play like they
did Monday, I think they can get it done this season."


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