Kevin Durant: His 3 most efficient Texas basketball teammates

Damion James, Texas Basketball (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Damion James, Texas Basketball (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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Dexter Pittman, Texas Basketball
Dexter Pittman, Texas Basketball (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

1. Dexter Pittman, Center

The big man that was learning to dominate down low for the Longhorns when the likes of KD and Augustin were putting on a show more often than not from the outside was former four-star recruit and true freshman center Dexter Pittman.

As a true freshman, Pittman played in 29 games (starting in none of them). He played in less than six minutes per game. Pittman averaged 2.6 points per game, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks. He also averaged 19.1 points per 40 minutes, 13.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 2.6 blocks.

The two players that likely got the least amount of playing time, when they deserved a lot more, were then true freshman big man Pittman and guard Craig Winder. During the 2006-07 season, Winder was second on the team in assist percentage, offensive rating, and in the top five in player efficiency rating.

Meanwhile, Pittman ranked third in true shooting percentage, second in win shares per 40 minutes, second in player efficiency rating, and third in effective differential (difference between offensive and defensive rating). He registered a 22.1 player efficiency rating, .220 win shares per 40 minutes, 0.9 total win shares, and a 57.7 true shooting percentage.

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Pittman would start getting more playing time during his sophomore campaign, after Durant was already picked up by the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder with the second overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. He finished out his Texas career with .266 win shares per 40 minutes, more than 10 total win shares, a 62.5 true shooting percentage, and a 26.19 player efficiency rating.

There were also numerous other advanced stats that highlighted the effectiveness of Pittman including a roughly 8.0 block percentage, 18.05 offensive rebounding percentage, and a defensive rating south of 95.0.