In just one season with the Texas basketball program under former head coach Rick Barnes, Kevin Durant brought his teammates to a new level.
Back during the 2006-07 season, the Texas basketball program boasted maybe the best hooper that ever rolled through the Forty Acres. Current Brooklyn Nets superstar forward Kevin Durant had a historic season when he played under former head coach Rick Barnes with the Texas men’s hoops program.
KD was a former five-star recruit hailing out of the nation’s capital that also had interest coming from the likes of the North Carolina Tar Heels, Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats, etc. The Longhorns signed him as part of a 2006 recruiting class that also included five-star Nacogdoches forward Damion James and four-star Hightower point guard D.J. Augustin.
Texas signed seven players in the 2006 recruiting class, which helped make the program a top collection of talent in the Big 12. It was just a shame that group of talented players, including future NBA players like James, Augustin, and Durant, didn’t get them to even a Final Four. Barnes would wind up taking the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament, often with a single-digit seed, nearly every season he was on the Forty Acres. But that didn’t make up for the lack of Final Four appearances, or even Elite Eights.
The Longhorns finished up with a record of 25-10 (12-4 Big 12) in the 2006-07 season, but were ousted in the Round of 32 by the five-seed USC Trojans. Texas was a four-seed themselves in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
KD was a superstar in his own right with the Texas hoops program. He had a solid supporting cast that should’ve gone further. But this supporting cast is also worth remembering with a few names that don’t get near as much recognition as he does.
Here’s a look back at the three most efficient teammates the KD had during his one season with the Longhorns.