UT freshman Durant romping through Big 12 schedule

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The Big 12 will have to forgive Texas' Kevin Durant for turning the league into his personal playground. The kid just wants to have some fun here while he can. <br/><br/>His latest

Thursday, February 1st 2007, 9:10 pm

By: News On 6

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The Big 12 will have to forgive Texas' Kevin Durant for turning the league into his personal playground. The kid just wants to have some fun here while he can.

His latest romp? Try 37 points and 23 rebounds in a 76-64 win at Texas Tech on Wednesday night.

It was his most dominant performance in a season full of them and one that left Tech's Bob Knight, the winningest coach in college basketball history, befuddled as to how to stop him.

``He's mobile. He's quick. He's fast,'' Knight said after the freshman outscored his entire team 24-22 in the second half.

``There's no secret thing that he drinks before the game or that they rub on (him) before the game that makes him that good,'' Knight said. ``The guy is a great athlete that can really play basketball.''

Durant, who likely would have gone straight to the NBA out of high school if the pro league hadn't imposed an age limit, is having the kind of season Texas basketball fans have never seen before.

Durant has torn through the Big 12 with a flurry of 3-pointers, dunks and rebounds. He leads the league in scoring (33.3 points) and rebounding (14.4) and is making 83 percent of his free throws. He's been named Big 12 player of the week four times and has topped 30 points in five of his eight league games.

He won't say if he'll leave for the NBA after this season, but it's widely assumed he will. If he keeps playing like this, it would be hard to argue for him to stay in college.

The No. 22 Longhorns (16-5, 6-1 Big 12) will simply enjoy the ride. The rest of the Big 12 can hope he has a short stay in Austin.

``Send him to the league,'' Missouri coach Mike Anderson said after Durant scored 34 points against the Tigers. ``He needs to go to the league, man.''

Yet nothing compared to his domination of the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech beat top 10 teams Kansas and Texas A&M on its home court but had no way of slowing down the 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward.

Durant scored 18 points in the final 11 minutes. In one stretch, he hit a bank shot, a 3-pointer and finished a three-point play. He was 15-of-29 from the field and now has 13 double-doubles, tying him for the most in Big 12 history.

He did all of it after a bad ankle twist early in the game that had coach Rick Barnes considering taking him out. Durant shook it off and ended up playing all 40 minutes.

``You saw the best player in college basketball give maybe the best performance in college basketball this year,'' Barnes said.

It was even better than his 37-point, 12-rebound game in a triple-overtime loss at Oklahoma State on Jan. 16.

``I don't look at it as a great game for me. I think of it as a great win for our team,'' Durant said about his game against Tech. ``I could have played a little bit better. I missed some easy shots and free throws. I didn't play well on defense for some time. I mean, it wasn't a perfect game.''

Durant has learned how to use his slender frame to post up bigger players and can easily shoot over smaller defenders on the perimeter.

``It's hard to define him because he can play anywhere on the court,'' Barnes said.

Now that he's learning how to use ball screens and constant movement to keep defenders off him, Durant will be even harder to defend.

``He's not looking to score every time,'' Barnes said. ``But when he gets in the flow ... a lot of good things happen.''