Kevin Durant gets his, but his teammates were nowhere to be found...Joakim Noah struggles for touches but finds other ways to contribute to another Florida victory...Nick Fazekas disappears for his third straight NCAA tournament. Alando Tucker disappoints... And much much more.
NCAA Tournament: Stock Watch (round of 32, Sunday games)--Stock Up
NCAA Tournament: Stock Watch (round of 32, Saturday games)--Stock Up
NCAA Tournament: Stock Watch (round of 32, Saturday)--Down/Neutral
NCAA Tournament: Stock Watch (round of 64, Friday games)--Stock Up
NCAA Tournament: Stock Watch (round of 64, Friday games)--Stock Down/Neutral
NCAA Tournament: Stock Watch (round of 64, Thursday games)--Stock Up
NCAA Tournament: Stock Watch (round of 64, Thursday games)--Stock Down/Neutral
Stock Neutral:
Kevin Durant, 6-10, Freshman, SF/PF, Texas
30 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks, 11-24 FG, 2-9 3P
Jonathan Givony
While practically the entire country would have liked to see freshman sensation Kevin Durant match up in the Sweet 16 with #1 seed North Carolina, Nick Young and the USC Trojans had other ideas. Durant didnt go out without a fight, though, scoring 30 points for the 10th time this season in what turned out to be his last game of the season, and probably of his college career.
Rather than trying to shut down the best player in the country, USC head coach Tim Floyd instead went straight to the hand that feeds him in going after D.J. Augustin. That strategy worked flawlessly, as Durant struggled to get touches in the places hes most comfortable in, and wasnt able to take advantage of the huge size advantage he had over his defenders. Rick Barnes strategy of letting his freshmen work things out on their own didnt exactly help matters either.
Durant saw a few double-teams thrown his way here and there, but for the most part was defended straight up by 6-4 Daniel Hackett and 6-5 Nick Young. He wasnt able to get the ball in a position to exploit those matchups, though, as he was a bit passive calling for passes when the game was still within reach and did not have the benefit of a point guard who was committed and able to get him the ball. Regardless, we still got plenty of looks at the terrific perimeter game that has made him such a deadly weapon all season long, including his long-range shooting and ability to create his own shot.
On the negative side, it would have been nice to see a bit more urgency coming from his direction. He had just 4 points in the first 15 minutes, before scoring 26 over the next 25. He just wasnt selfish enough when his team needed him to be, while some of his lesser talented teammates certainly were. Defensively he looked hesitant to commit any fouls, letting USCs players score easily around the rim and not going as aggressively as weve become accustomed to after rebounds. He did draw two charges, though, an area that he is slowly becoming an expert in as a semi-flopper.
At the end of the day, this game probably wont move Durants stock in either direction. He showed up, but the rest of his team (except A.J. Abrams) didnt. Against a talented and well-coached team like USC, thats just not going to fly. What this will do, though, is give GMs a chance to keep Greg Oden etched in their minds during the advanced rounds of the tournament, while Durant will be sitting at home.
Rather than trying to shut down the best player in the country, USC head coach Tim Floyd instead went straight to the hand that feeds him in going after D.J. Augustin. That strategy worked flawlessly, as Durant struggled to get touches in the places hes most comfortable in, and wasnt able to take advantage of the huge size advantage he had over his defenders. Rick Barnes strategy of letting his freshmen work things out on their own didnt exactly help matters either.
Durant saw a few double-teams thrown his way here and there, but for the most part was defended straight up by 6-4 Daniel Hackett and 6-5 Nick Young. He wasnt able to get the ball in a position to exploit those matchups, though, as he was a bit passive calling for passes when the game was still within reach and did not have the benefit of a point guard who was committed and able to get him the ball. Regardless, we still got plenty of looks at the terrific perimeter game that has made him such a deadly weapon all season long, including his long-range shooting and ability to create his own shot.
On the negative side, it would have been nice to see a bit more urgency coming from his direction. He had just 4 points in the first 15 minutes, before scoring 26 over the next 25. He just wasnt selfish enough when his team needed him to be, while some of his lesser talented teammates certainly were. Defensively he looked hesitant to commit any fouls, letting USCs players score easily around the rim and not going as aggressively as weve become accustomed to after rebounds. He did draw two charges, though, an area that he is slowly becoming an expert in as a semi-flopper.
At the end of the day, this game probably wont move Durants stock in either direction. He showed up, but the rest of his team (except A.J. Abrams) didnt. Against a talented and well-coached team like USC, thats just not going to fly. What this will do, though, is give GMs a chance to keep Greg Oden etched in their minds during the advanced rounds of the tournament, while Durant will be sitting at home.