<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> SPOKANE, Wash. ? For 35 games, freshman Kevin Durant treated Texas fans to some of the most must-see basketball ever played at the school. Over the next 41 days, he is prepared to provide them with even more intrigue. Welcome to Day 1 of the Kevin Durant Watch. The question: Will Durant return for a sophomore-season encore? Or will he, as expected, make the direct leap into the NBA? His answer will determine whether the Longhorns are able to continue to shape their program around him, or whether they will enter a rebuilding phase for the second consecutive year. "Obviously, if we lose Kevin, it's going to hurt," sophomore guard A.J. Abrams said. "If that happens, everybody has to go back and look at themselves, find ways to get better to make up for that." Durant, the Big 12 Player of the Year and front-runner for most major national honors, was mostly mum on the subject in the aftermath of UT's season-ending loss to Southern California on Sunday. "I really don't know right now," Durant said. Most observers, however, expect him to beat a quick path to the NBA. Projected to be one of the top two picks in the draft, Durant has little room to improve his stock by returning for a second college season. He has until April 29, the NBA deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft, to formalize his decision. Taras Brown, an AAU coach in Durant's home state of Maryland and the man he calls his godfather, says it won't necessarily be the NBA money that lures Durant from UT. It would be a lucrative shoe contract that, in all likelihood, will dwarf Durant's rookie salary. "The shoe companies kind of take the decision out of your hands," Brown said. "They will probably make the family an offer they can't refuse." Durant's decision will have a profound effect on the fortunes of the 2007-08 Longhorns. Sporting a lineup of four freshmen and a sophomore this season, UT missed the Sweet 16 for just the second time in six years. Durant was the obvious centerpiece, averaging 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. </div> Source
