Kevin Durant has decided to turn pro after becoming the first freshman to win all six of the major national player of the year awards, including the Naismith and Wooden awards, The Dallas Morning News reported.
An official announcement could come as early as today. Durant, his mother, Wanda Pratt, and father, Wayne Pratt, declined to speak to reporters at the Texas team banquet Monday night.
After averaging 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds, Durant was the only player in Division I-A to rank in the top 10 in scoring (fourth) and rebounding (fourth). He set Texas and Big 12 records for points scored in a season (903) and set a school record for rebounds in a season with 390. He also led the Big 12 in blocked shots (67) and double-doubles (20).
UCLA: Former coach John Wooden has been hospitalized for treatment of a possible recurrence of diverticulitis.
Daughter Nancy Muehlhausen said the 96-year-old Hall of Fame coach was admitted to a Los Angeles-area hospital Sunday because of bleeding in the colon.
“He’s absolutely doing fine,” Muehlhausen said. “He’s laughing and cracking jokes. He looks good.”
Wooden had two blood transfusions and will need at least two more, she said. Doctors could keep Wooden in the hospital for a couple more days, she said.
He was hospitalized for three days in April 2006 for diverticulitis, a condition in which inflammations occur in pockets in the colon. It can lead to serious infection if contents from the intestine leak into the abdomen.
Arkansas: John Pelphrey was introduced as coach – and he said he will still be the Razorbacks’ coach when he goes to sleep tonight.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Pelphrey said. “But I have heard the first day is the toughest.”
Pelphrey arrived a week after Dana Altman took over the Razorbacks. Altman backed out the next day and returned to Creighton.
Chancellor John A. White referenced Yogi Berra’s remarks about it being “deja vu all over again” – but he said this time, Arkansas’ coach is here to stay.
“Don’t plan on coming to a press conference next Monday,” White said. “Enough’s enough.”
Pelphrey, 38, went 80-67 in five seasons at South Alabama, including 44-19 the past two seasons.
Texas A&M: Mark Turgeon likely will be introduced today as Billy Gillispie’s successor, according to several published reports.
The Wichita State coach toured the Texas A&M campus with athletic director Bill Byrne, who scrambled to begin a coaching search last week after Gillispie turned down a raise to take over Kentucky.
Turgeon, 42, has been at Wichita State for seven seasons, leading the Shockers to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament in 2006 as a No. 7 seed.
Kansas: Julian Wright, a versatile but inconsistent power forward who helped the Jayhawks win two straight Big 12 titles, is skipping his last two years to enter the NBA draft. He averaged 12 points and 8.1 rebounds during the regular season.
California: Center DeVon Hardin, fifth on the Bears’ career list for blocked shots, declared himself eligible for the NBA draft.
St. Bonaventure: Robert Morris’ Mark Schmidt reportedly has accepted an offer to rebuild the university’s program that has endured four straight seasons with at least 19 losses.
