Associated PressTexas star D.J. Augustin declared for the NBA draft Wednesday, and was joined by teammate A.J. Abrams, Kansas’ Mario Chalmers and Memphis’ Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier.
Augustin, who won the Bob Cousy Award as college basketball’s top point guard, averaged 19.2 points and 5.8 assists as a sophomore and is widely considered a first-round pick.
“I have dreamed of playing in the NBA since I was a little boy, and I am ready to start living this dream,” Augustin said.
Augustin joins an impressive lineup of former Longhorns who departed early for the NBA in recent years: T.J. Ford, Daniel Gibson, LaMarcus Aldridge, P.J. Tucker and Kevin Durant all have bolted since 2003, depleting the program of its most talented players.
Chalmers, who hit a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to send the national championship game into overtime before the Jayhawks went beat Memphis 75-68 for their third national title, said he’ll come out only if it looks like he’ll be picked in the first round. If not ó he’s currently projected to go between pick Nos. 25-35 ó the junior will return for his senior season.
– RICHMOND, Va. ó Virginia Commonwealth point guard Eric Maynor, the Colonial Athletic Association’s player of the year, will return for his senior season with the Rams.
v- CINCINNATI ó Xavier University has taken action again to keep Sean Miller as basketball coach, giving him a 10-year contract extension.
The 39-year-old Miller led the Musketeers to a 30-7 record and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance last season.
NBA
NEW YORK ó Boston’s Kevin Garnett won the NBA’s defensive player of the year award Tuesday. He beat out Denver’s Marcus Camby and Houston’s Shane Battier.
He led the Celtics with 9.2 rebounds per game. He added 18.8 points, 1.2 blocks and 1.4 steals.
– MESA, Ariz. ó Darell Garretson, the longtime NBA referee who also directed the league’s officiating staff, has died. He was 76.
GOLF
IRVING, Texas ó Trevor Immelman offered a visual response when asked how different things are for him as the Masters champion. He held up his ink-stained left hand.
“You can see all the Sharpie that’s rubbed up onto my hand. That wouldn’t normally happen to me,” Immelman said Wednesday. “That’s purely because I’ve had to sign so much today.”
Immelman had a whirlwind week after the victory, with his first trip to New York for countless interviews, a congratulatory phone call from runner-up Tiger Woods and a few days at home trying to reflect on what had happened.
“It still hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” Immelman said.
But the green jacket is now hanging at home and Immelman is ready to play again today in the EDS Byron Nelson Championship at the renovated TPC Four Seasons, the sole tournament course for the first time since 1993. Cottonwood Valley also was used from 1994-2007.
The Masters champ, who finished second at the Nelson two years ago, is suddenly one of the big-name draws in a field that has only one player from the top 10 in the world rankings.