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Durant grillin' at McDonogh
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
08/24/09 10:28 AM EDT

The Goodman League charity game Sunday afternoon might as well have been an end-of-the-summer barbecue hosted by Georgetown head coach John Thompson III. After all, there was a grill outside McDonogh Gymnasium.

Inside, a bunch of the Washington area’s best pro players – those plying their trade in NBA, and some from further afield leagues such as Israel and Germany – gathered for what was essentially they’re last grouping on the court before they head back to their respective teams starting next week.

John Thompson Jr. was the one guy allowed to sit by himself behind the baseline. But the new king of District basketball is Kevin Durant. The buzz was different as soon as he came into the gym, shaking hands indiscriminately, always relaxed, and yet drawn to the court as soon as he put on a uniform. Not only was he the only NBA player on his team, during the pregame shootaround, it was essentially Durant on the perimeter, everybody else rebounding. That’s the kind of respect he commands.

At the other end of the court, Jeff Green, Andray Blatche and Pops Mensah-Bonsu were the headliners. Other notables in attendance: Donte Greene (showed up after I left), Josh Selby, Jonathan Wallace, Isaiah Swann, Rob Diggs, Omar Weaver, Eddie Basden (wasn’t playing). Not to mention Baby Shaq of And-1 fame and P-!@#$%y, a.k.a. Gerald Brown.

He’s one for you, Pops (generous 6-foot-10) taking the tip over Blatche (6-11)? Beats me.

The best way to recap the game: Durant vs.

You can find video of KD vs. Blatche here, but by then he had already taken on Green, which was much more compelling, simply because Green was the only guy in the gym with the athleticism and the polish to match – Blatche just doesn’t compare. Here are my thoughts in Cheers & Jeers. My point is that if not for Michael Beasley, the best two current NBA players from Washington are teammates in Oklahoma City. Durant is supposed to be back on the outside court tonight at Barry Farms, too.

They’re also good friends – they’ve had to be, since they’ve been attached at the hip since draft night three years ago. If there’s one difference, though, Green doesn’t Twitter. (By the way, follow me here.)

“I’ve tried to [get him to],” said Durant (@KevinDurant35), who has over 61,000 followers. “He said he doesn’t know how to work it. I’m going to teach him how, though.”

Like Durant, I asked Green about the Thunder, everybody’s second-favorite team.

“We all know what we have to do next year to get better,” said Green. “I feel like coming into this year, we have more experience, as far as being a young team, we only have two or three guys that are coming in that are young. Other guys have been in the league: myself, KD, and we have Russell [Westbrook] coming into his second year. We’re still a young team, still have improvement to make, but we’re just not in a big rush. Like I said, we have smart GMs, and they know what they’re doing.”

More later coming on Pops joining Houston and what he thinks about George Washington, and some thoughts from Green and Wallace on Georgetown -- not sure if that will end up here or on a hopefully-soon-to-be-created college sports blog.

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Durant, Green put on a clinic
08/23/09 11:00 PM EDT

To get a sense of the allocation of NBA talent at Sunday afternoon's charity game at Georgetown's McDonogh Gymnasium, one needed only to look at the rosters.

Kevin Durant played for one team, while Jeff Green, Andray Blatche, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu suited up for the other.

Sounds fair.

The game, held to raise money for Project Giveback and run in connection with The Goodman League, would've featured Durant against even more NBA talent -- if more players had shown as promised.

Instead, Durant followed his legendary 62-point showing recently at Barry Farms with another 40 points via an effortless mix of fadeaway jumpers, rim-rattling dunks and crossover drives to the bucket. He had 31 points in the first half alone.

Blatche scored 20 and a late-arriving Donte Greene added 17. Newly uncommitted Josh Selby also had 11 points. But the only guy who could match Durant was his Oklahoma City teammate, Green, who scored 28 points, part of which came during a rousing back-and-forth first-quarter battle between the Washington-area locals.

With the two players having spent their entire pro careers side by side, it was disconcerting to see them in opposing jerseys. But together they were a reminder of why the Thunder have become many fans' second-favorite team, both inside the Beltway and beyond.

"I think a lot of people like to see teams that progress right in front of their faces," said Durant. "With us, it's taken us a little time because we're young rather than us, like say for instance, Boston. They weren't that good, and they just added pieces and the next year they were great."

its always good to hear they are hanging in hte off season. Makes for good on court Chemisrty.