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2007 Texas College Basketball Picks & Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on November 25, 2007

How will the Longhorns fair without standout Kevin Durant carrying the load this season. Jimmy’s 2007 Texas Longhorns season preview and NCAA basketball predictions give you his take.

With Texas losing LaMarcus Aldridge to the NBA two season’s ago and losing Kevin Durant after last season, one would think that this program might be scraping the bottom. Not even close. With those guys, the Longhorns would be challenging for a national title. Without them, they still have the talent to get to their fifth Sweet 16 in the last seven years. They lose 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game from Durant. That will be hard to make up. But the Longhorns still have one of the best backcourts in the country with point guard D.J. Augustin and shooting guard A.J. Abrams. Abrams averaged 15.5 points per game last season and Augustin tallied 14.4 points per game. Although some of their scoring opportunities stemmed from the attention that Durant commanded, I don’t feel like these guys will have any trouble picking up the slack and upping the averages.

Damion James is another talented player who you will see improve by strides this season with more time in the spotlight. He could take over Durant’s spot on the wing. James averaged 7.6 points per game as a frosh and is the team’s leading returning rebounder, averaging 7.2 boards per game last season. We fully expect him to be a double double machine this season.

Another reason why we shouldn’t expect a big drop off is because the Longhorns should be better defensively. Last season, Texas allowed its opponents to shoot better than 40 percent from the field. 6’10’’ center Dexter Pittman will be a huge reason why the Horns will be better on the defensive end. He has shed nearly 100 pounds of the 388 frame he came to college with. His size will be a factor both offensively and defensively.

One thing I didn’t mention about D.J. Augustin before in his stat line is his ability to dish the rock. He finished fourth in the nation in assists per game averaging 6.7 as a frosh. This kid is the total package. He’s a great floor leader who knows when to get his teammates involved and when to create his own shot.

Because of Texas’ talent level, a Big 12 title is not unthinkable. Likely, this team is still inexperienced and will struggle in the early going learning how to play without Durant. But we feel the Longhorns are a definite top-tier Big 12 pick and will be able to do some damage in the NCAA Tourney.

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