THE MEN’S BASKETBALL team gath- ered in the Lone Star Room at the Erwin Center on April 11 to commemorate the 2012-13 season, award its highest achievers, and honor former player and coach Leon Black.
Sophomore Myck Kabongo received the highest honor of the evening. His teammates and coaches selected him as the team’s Most Valuable..
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Player and captain — despite his 23-game NCAA suspension. In 11 games, Kabongo led the team in scoring (14.6 ppg), assists (5.5 apg), steals (2.0 spg) and minutes (37.3 mpg) and ranked second in rebounding (5.0 rpg).
“It means a lot that my teammates voted for me,” Kabongo said. “If I could have,
I would’ve checked off every name on that list. We didn’t expect to go through what we did this year. It’s unfortunate that it happened to us.”
Texas finished the season with a 16-18 record(7-11intheBig12).AlthoughtheLonghorns didn’t have the season they hoped for, coach Rick Barnes stressed that the players gained experience that will help them grow stronger.
“We had high expectations going into this season — as we do every year — and any time you fall short of those expectations you’re going to be disappointed,” Barnes said. “No one was more disappointed than we were. The day after our last game we went back to work, with an attitude that ‘We’re going to do what we know we’re capable of doing.’ Next year you’ll see a whole different basketball team.”
The following morning, Kabongo announced he would declare for the 2013 NBA draft and forego his final two years of college eligibility. “Over the past year I’ve grown up as a person, a player and a leader,” Kabongo said. “I’m excited for this next stage of life. It was a hard decision.”
In his two seasons, Kabongo played and started 45 career games and averaged 10.8 points and 5.3 assists. For his career, he converted 138 of 345 (.400) field goals, including 33 of 106 (.311) from 3-point range, and 178 0f 249 (.715) free throws.
“Our staff wishes Myck and his family success as he moves forward, ” Barnes stated the following day. “He and his family faced a difficult situation this year with the suspension. But we’re so proud of the way Myck handled the situation. He’s a restless worker in the gym who strives every day to get better in all phases of the game, and we know that will continue in the future.”
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