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• Young Longhornsseason against Braves

  
  

  Austin, TX (Sports Network) - The 21st-ranked Texas Longhorns and the Alcorn State Braves get their seasons underway tonight, when they square off in theng round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic which benefits Coaches vs. Cancer from the Frank Erwin Center.

  The Longhorns are coming off one of their best campaigns ever in 2005-06, as they won a school-record 30 games, in addition to making it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. However, with all five starters gone from that group, Texas has some serious rebuilding to do. Despite those losses, the Longhorns enter the season in the top-25 thanks to several rising stars and a talented group of newcomers. In terms of season-rs, the Longhorns boast an 81-19 all-time mark, including a 6-2 record under current head coach Rick Barnes.

  As for ASU, it is coming off a disappointing 2005-06 season which saw the club stumble to an 8-20 finish. The team went winless in non-conference play (0-10) last season and also struggled greatly on the road (3-15). Still, with several key players back in the fold, head coach Samuel West could have the Braves primed for one of the biggest turnarounds in the nation this season.

  The winner of tonight's first-ever meeting between Texas and ASU will take on the survivor of Chicago State versus St. Bonaventure on Friday.

  For the second straight season, the Braves will be led by all-SWAC performer Delvin Thompson, who is a tremendous scorer that averaged 17.2 ppg a year ago. The 6-1 guard is also a decent rebounder (4.4 rpg) and defender (48 steals), although he shot just 29.2 percent from long range last season. Joining Thompson in the backcourt will be a pair of returning starters in Clifton Douglass and Alleo Frazier. Douglass ranked second to Thompson in scoring (11.4 ppg) last season, while Frazier did a solid job running the offense, handing out a team-high 4.0 apg. Up front the team will turn to Almaad Jackson to do much of the damage in the paint. The 6-9 Jackson, not only has the ability to score (10.1 ppg) consistently, but he is also the team's top rebounder, averaging 7.1 rpg last season. Juan Wyatt (6-8) posted 9.5 ppg and 6.8 rpg last year, and he will once again join Jackson in the frontcourt.

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  The Longhorns' success this season rides on the shoulders of several inexperienced players, including freshman Kevin Durant. The 6-9 Durant has already been dubbed as the one of the top picks in the NBA draft when he decides to come out, and he has been compared to Kevin Garnett. Durant has great size and skills, and can shoot the ball like a guard. Starting alongside Durant in the frontcourt will be sophomore Connor Atchley (2.3 ppg) and a another freshmen in Damion James (6-7). The two have plenty of talent, but are short on experience, like most of the team. In the backcourt, A.J. Abrams is the team's top returning scorer after averaging 6.4 ppg as a freshman last year. The 5-10 guard has been tearing it up in the preseason and could break through as one of the top players in the Big 12 this season. A pair of highly touted freshmen in D.J. Augustin (5-11) and Justin Mason (6-2), will see a majority of the time at the perimeter alongside Abrams.

  11/09 11:17:35 ET