While we’re less than 30 minutes away from a press conference regarding Kevin Durant’s future — and all signs, including common sense, are pointing to his departure — last night served as a great opportunity to bring together the team and fans once more to honor the accomplishments of the best freshman to ever play the game, but also one of the most exciting Longhorn teams I’ve ever had the privilege of watching.

As the comments on the last post have mentioned, the staff surprised me with the Slater Martin Award early in the banquet. I was contacted by the basketball office last week about attending the event, but had already secured tickets through a fellow road-tripper’s Longhorn Foundation ties. I didn’t even think I’d be mentioned until I saw my picture flash up on the screen. After that, I don’t really remember what was said or what happened, but I am very honored to receive the award and to have been able to share even a sliver of the spotlight last night with such a great group of players and young men.

At the bottom of the post, I’ll have a complete rundown of who won what, but here were some highlights from the presentation:

Craig Way turned the mic over to Coach Barnes, who was interviewing Durant on-stage. Kevin mentioned that he never had a 30-point game in high school, which prompted Barnes to point out that good coaching must’ve changed something. Then KD made quite an astute comment — “Looking back, I think I did all right.”

While that seemed to be the quote of the night, just minutes later Barnes would top it. He spoke about the whirlwind week that Kevin and his family had experienced, traveling to awards ceremony after awards ceremony. “I kind of felt bad for Acie Law, Greg Oden, and Tyler Hansbrough,” Barnes said. “It was like they were just following around the Kevin Durant Award Tour.” As the crowd laughed, Barnes wound up and threw this zinger right down the heart of the plate — “I almost wanted to turn to Acie and say ‘Poor Aggie.’”

The coaching staff spoke, including the man who first recruited KD to the 40 Acres, Russell Springmann. While following up a man who brought a demigod to campus is certainly a tough task, Barnes made it even tougher on Coach Rodney Terry when he introduced him as the coach “responsible for recruiting Greg Oden.”

Terry later gave the staff a ton of credit, particularly Barnes. Minutes later, Coach Ken McDonald ripped on Terry for sucking up for a raise. Then, he turned on his most serious voice and began singing the praises of Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds. He couldn’t keep the bit up for too long before laughing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Dodds did give them all a bump in pay. This staff sure as hell deserves it.

After the banquet was over, a table was set up for fans to meet with Durant. There was a limit of two autographs per person in an effort to keep the line moving, but nearly an hour after the ceremony had ended, there were still folks waiting to talk with the superstar. From Phoenix to the end-of-year banquet, KD has truly been a rock star. A completely humble, gracious rock star, who doesn’t do coke on a tour bus while hooking up with a random groupie named Mitzi from Trenton. But otherwise, the term “rock star” is accurate.

Don’t forget to listen to 1300 AM, “The Zone,” to hear Kevin’s presser at the top of the hour. I wish him the best of luck in the League, and hope that the lottery works out to put him in Celtic green. It’s been a real pleasure watching KD take the country by storm, and this is certainly going to be a season I’ll remember forever.

Here are the other award recipients from last night’s banquet:

Mike Wacker Comeback Award: Matt Hill

Solid Citizen Award: Damion James

Jack Gray Award: Connor Atchley

Athletic Director’s Scholar-Athlete Award: Craig Winder

Jay Arnette Award: Justin Mason

Earlene Fulmer 3-Point Attack Award: A.J. Abrams, D.J. Augustin

Assists Award: D.J. Augustin

Blocked Shots Award: Kevin Durant

Field Goal Percentage Award: Damion James

Free Throw Percentage Award: AJ. Abrams

Rebounding Award: Kevin Durant

Hustlin’ Horns Award: Ian Mooney

Spirit Award: Harrison Smith and J.D. Lewis

Outstanding Defensive Player: Justin Mason

Most Improved Player: Dexter Pittman

Team Captains: Craig Winder and A.J. Abrams

Co-MVPs: D.J. Augustin and Kevin Durant

Senior Award: Craig Winder

It’s not quite a basketball game, but this evening the Longhorns will get together one more time for the annual basketball banquet. And while it probably won’t match the excitement of a double-overtime win over A&M, it’s our last chance to relive the season and celebrate the accomplishments of this young team. I’ll be heading over there shortly, and will have a report later tonight or sometime tomorrow.

As for everything happening with the NCAA coaching carousel and the NBA stretch run, I will attempt to touch on all of them beginning tomorrow. And with a couple of former Longhorns having punched their playoff tickets, we’ll have a lot to talk about for the next couple of months.

As Kevin Durant swept through the post-season awards this year, the Naismith seemed to be a foregone conclusion. All that remained was the official announcement making K-Smoove the first freshman to ever win the prestigious award. Last night, the Atlanta Tipoff Club finally ended the wait, naming Kevin Durant the Men’s College Player of the Year. KD is only the second Longhorn to win the award, and the third player from a Big 12 school to take home the trophy.

The Naismith can now go on Durant’s trophy shelf along with the AP Player of the Year, National Basketball Coaches POY, the Oscar Robertson Trophy, the Adolph Rupp Trophy, and that Chevrolet POY award he was given during the semifinals on Saturday. Oh, and did I mention he was a consensus first-team All-American?

If you weren’t planning on watching the national championship game tonight, at least try to tune in at halftime. CBS will do their halftime bit with Durant in a locker room where they congratulate him for winning the award. It’s a very weird and contrived setup, what with it being halftime and the real locker rooms being used by the teams playing in the game. But it’s still exposure for the program, and yet even more attention for the young man who deserves truckloads of it.

Yesterday

Royal Ivey did not play in the Hawks’ 105-97 loss to the Bulls. Perhaps he will show up at tonight’s NCAA title game in the pimp orange blazer he wore to last year’s regionals.

Only one thing could help Doc Rivers and the Celtics get a win over the Cavs — LeBron James didn’t play. Daniel Gibson did, though, and earned a steal, assist, and rebound in his 18 minutes on the court. D-Gib was 0-for-2 from the field.

The Raptors continued their winning ways, thumping the visiting Charlotte Bobcats, 107-94. T.J. Ford scored 11 and earned eight assists in the victory. T.J. also added four boards and two steals.

Maurice Evans finally made it back to the court for the L.A. Lakers, who destroyed the Kings by a 126-103 count. Mo earned Horn of the Night honors from Longhorn Road Trip, scoring 21 points — including an ally-oop worthy of SportsCenter’s “Top Plays.”

Tonight

The League takes a day off while the college kids play their championship game in the Georgia Dome. Interesting how they don’t do that for the Women’s Final Four. Hmmmmm.

Remember the old cartoons where the dog would see a juicy steak in a thought bubble and start drooling? Memphis, Boston, and Milwaukee will be a lot like that tonight. Except Danny Ainge will look more like an incompetent GM than a drooling dog.

A lot of draft-ready talent will be on the court in Atlanta — now it’s just a question of whose lottery ball comes out first.

Yesterday

The Cavaliers topped the Bulls in overtime, 112-108, putting them 2.5 games behind Detroit for the division and conference lead with only nine games left. Daniel Gibson saw 16 minutes of action, making the only shot he took. He added two rebounds, but also picked up four fouls.

LaMarcus Aldridge played only seven minutes in the first quarter before having to leave the game due to dizziness. Unfortunately, this is not a bad April Fool’s joke. He was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and was later discharged, with Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard attributing the dizziness to dehydration. Portland fell to the Clippers, 99-86.

Today

The Bulls and Hawks are in the middle of the second quarter in Atlanta, but Royal Ivey has yet to see the floor. (NBA League Pass)

D-Gib and the Cavs try to continue their winning ways against my Celtics. I have a feeling that they won’t have any problems with this one, but if for some reason Boston is ahead, don’t be overly concerned — Doc Rivers will bench all the starters for the entire fourth quarter. (5 PM CDT, NBA LP)

The Raptors and T.J. Ford face the struggling Charlotte Bobcats in Toronto tonight. The Raps are closing in on a division crown, as their magic number is down to only four. (5 PM CDT, NBA LP)

When will Maurice Evans return from knee injury? His next chance comes tonight at Staples against the Sacramento Kings. (8:30 PM CDT)