An Important Point on DJ

[bassale47]

I think this gets overlooked because we know he can't play for Texas anymore.

But another remarkable thing about this guy ... he stayed in school all the way through the spring semester, even after declaring for the draft. He took his final exams, got a perfect 4.0 for the semester (had a 4.0 in the fall too), and left school in good academic standing.

First of all, this is extremely rare for an athlete of his caliber (i.e. lottery potential). Secondly, it's very important to the future success of Texas basketball, in a number of ways. The program will not be penalized for DJ leaving early, since he left in good standing. It also means that, like many Texas players before him, he can come back and finish his degree, so we pretty much know he will continue to be around to influence future Longhorns. It's an excellent recruiting tool for Rick Barnes, when he's talking to kids and parents who truly are concerned about the team's focus on academics. And it further emphasizes the greatness of the University of Texas to have athletes like TJ Ford, Royal Ivey, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, DJ Augustin (even Vince Young, Cory Redding, and several others, if you want to get into football as well) who become successful in professional sports and still return to college in their free time to pursue their degrees. It speaks not only to the emphasis on academics in UT's athletics department but also to the value of a UT education.

Rick Barnes deserves a huge thank-you from the fans for instilling this in his players, and I know there are a lot of people in the athletics department who work very hard to encourage athletes in other sports to do the same.

I felt compelled to mention this after reading on an A&M board that DeAndre Jordan might have chosen to stay in the draft because he had no other option ... he stopped going to class at the end of basketball season and essentially failed everything in the spring semester. This is not meant to put down Texas A&M. I really don't know how their athletic department handles things of this nature. But it just reminds me of how special the group of coaches and other athletic administrators we have at Texas are, not to mention the quality of people our sports programs attract.

 

[jimmyjazz]

Very good points. Of course, DJ should get the lion's share of credit, as he is obviously not only an extremely intelligent kid as well as a gifted athlete, but also an efficient manager of his time. Those are all rare characteristics, and they can't be instilled by a coach or any mentor.

What those people CAN instill is an environment where such effort is not only encouraged but expected. That's what Coach Barnes and the athletic department have done, and they all should be applauded for it.

 

[VYFan]

That is very, very cool. I guess it's in the nature of "habits of highly successful people." It may not even directly help him to have those classes, but it says to everyone, "I am a winner, and I have not even begun to do the great things I will do."

 

[bassale47]

I agree DJ deserves most of the credit. But I mention Rick Barnes because I remember reading an interview with Kevin Durant where he said he was going to finish out the spring semester and leave on good terms because he promised Rick Barnes that he would. He said one of the little known facts about Barnes is how heavily he stresses the importance of doing well in school and fulfilling that part of your obligation to the University. Durant has also talked about the academic staff (Randa Ryan and others) in the athletics department and how much they do for the players in terms of helping them manage their schedules, encouraging them along the way, and basically just teaching them how to be students AND athletes at a major Division I university that takes academics very seriously. I just think it's great that not only do we seem to attract great student-athletes, but we also have great people in our program supporting them.

 

[Bob in Houston]

After PJ Tucker flunked out, I believe Barnes fought for and won reorganization of the academic support for basketball.

That's had impact across the roster, not just with DJ, but I can't say I had two 4.0 semesters...

 

[wadster]

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[Steinbeck]

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[Austintxusa]

Thanks to Coach Barnes for a number of great character players he's recruited to UT.

Congratulations to DJ for having the courage to dream big under very trying circumstances and the discipline to accomplish those dreams.

 

[orangeblack&gold]

bassale,

What a GREAT post. Thank you for taking the time to put this on the board.

Thank you DJ for everything you've done for The University. You were an absolute pleasure to watch play the game of B'Ball and I sure look forward to following your long career.