Today both D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams made it known that they were going to enter the NBA Draft process. Neither have plans to sign with an agent, but almost no one expects Augustin to return.
The All-American sophomore point guard surprised some by coming back after the 2007 season. According to some reports, the only reason Augustin has not hired an agent is that he is hedging against suffering a possible injury before the final withdrawal date of June 16. Otherwise, Augustin is not coming back to the Longhorns.
After being named first team All-American and the recipient of the Bob Cousy Award for the best college point guard, It's still hard to argue against going pro,. When the best reason offered is that the 2009 NBA Draft could be really weak, that's just not enough.
Abrams, however, will almost certainly be returning to the Longhorns. It makes sense for the junior to see what the NBA scouts say, but as a 5-11 shooting guard he will not be in demand unless he can improve his 3-point shooting above the 38% of this past season. Of course, without Augustin to set him up, that seems less likely.
The loss of Augustin definitely knocks Texas out of any talk of a pre-season #1 and likely top-ten ranking. Justin Mason will likely be the point guard by default. Given the rest of the talent still on the Texas team and how well Rick Barnes has coached the Longhorns, don't keep them out of the top-25 like so many did after Kevin Durant left.
