This is just cruel KU! Why tease us like this?


KU vs OU pregame notes


The decline in bench production has certainly hampered Self’s opportunities to invite players to take a seat after mistakes, but even a productive starting-five needs a rest every now and again. Four players — Taylor, Johnson, Thomas Robinson and Releford — are currently averaging more than 30 minutes per game. If the season ended today, it would be the first time that many players have averaged at least 30 minutes in Self’s career at Kansas.

Self has had three players play more than 30 minutes per game in two seasons. In terms of winning percentages, they were two of his three worst seasons at Kansas (2003-04, 2004-05)). In 2003-2004, the bench consisted mainly of Jeff Graves and David Lee, but both were able to shoulder the load with 18 minutes per game a piece.

The following season, there were four players coming off the bench to form a nine-player rotation.

“I do think it’s hard to develop great chemistry if you’re playing nine,” Self said, but he didn’t agree that seven players were too few either, arguing that the size of the rotation doesn’t always matter.

“But that ‘08 team, we played seven a ton of minutes,” Self said. “You look at that team and we had seven starters. I don’t quite feel that way this year. I feel like we have six.”

He was presumably speaking of Conner Teahan as the extra starter, whose 20.8 minutes per game nearly double the action seen by forwards Kevin Young and Justin Wesley.

With only one bench player seeing considerable action, starters are being relied upon much more than in the past. At the same time, Self hasn’t been happy with his team near the end of a shot clock after playing defense for sometimes 30 seconds or longer. One theory for the breakdowns on defense is fatigue.

“I would say the percentage of people scoring against us is far higher in the last seven to eight seconds of a possession than it is in the first 27,” Self said. “We don’t finish possessions.”
UDK


If this season is in fact the last year of the “Border Showdown,” at least it will go out with a bang.

Saturday’s game against rival Missouri in Columbia promises to be one of the most anticipated games of the series in years.

With animosity between the two sides dating back to actual violence in the Civil War, Kansas and Missouri have taken this hatred out on one another in athletic competition for 120 years. The history and intensity of this series makes the “Border Showdown” worthy of comparable national recognition as Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn and Duke-North Carolina. However, the rivalry has rarely received the national exposure and hype that it deserves.

That will change on Saturday.

ESPN’s College GameDay will make its first-ever trip to Columbia to showcase one of the final meetings between Kansas and Missouri. For just the third time in the series’ history, both Kansas and Missouri will square off while ranked in the top 10: Missouri at No. 4 and Kansas at No. 8.

The whole nation will be watching as a sold out Mizzou Arena bids farewell to the Kansas Jayhawks before the eventual leap to the Southeastern Conference. The Jayhawks are no stranger to hostile environments, but the scene on Saturday night will blow away the “Hilton Magic” that led to the Kansas defeat over the weekend.

From the looks of it, this game at Mizzou Arena should mean more to the Missouri faithful than it does for Kansas. The Missouri Alumni Association is even holding a contest for free tickets awarded to the person with the three best reasons he or she is not a Jayhawk.

Saturday night’s game is the most important regular season game in the history of Missouri basketball as beating Kansas in the last-ever meeting at Mizzou Arena would give the Tiger faithful bragging rights that they’d cherish forever.

Is this game really the be-all and end-all for Kansas? Absolutely not. The Jayhawks lead the series 171-94, so if the rivalry does end this year, Kansas dominated the basketball side. If both Kansas and Missouri take care of business during the week, the Jayhawks will enter Saturday’s match-up with a one-game lead on the Tigers in the Big 12 race. Yes, a win over Missouri would double Kansas’ lead in the standings, but there is still so much basketball yet to be played.
UDK


“I think it’s a coin toss, I really do,” said Self, whose Jayhawks have won seven straight conference championships. “You can make a case that we’re in good shape, but we still have to go to hard places – some real hard places.”

In Self’s estimation, Missouri may be the front-runner heading into the Tigers’ game Monday night against Texas. They’ve had arguably the toughest road so far.

“To me, even though teams with four losses, whether that be Kansas State or Iowa State or whatever, they can still win the league,” Self said during the coaches’ Monday teleconference. “I think 14-4 would be a really good record and 15-3 would be one that wins it outright.”
AP


What would be worse for Mizzou fans than not getting sent to the St. Louis regional?

Having the Jayhawks get their spot.
St Louis Today



13. Danny Manning, Lawrence (Lawrence, Kan.), 1984

Manning was national junior of the year in 1983 when he led Page (Greensboro, N.C.) to a 26-0 record and No. 2 national rating. When Kansas coach Larry Brown hired Manning's dad, Ed, to his staff, Manning spent his senior season at Lawrence (Lawrence, Kan.) where he was a national player of the year candidate. Before leading the Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA title, he was one of two preps to earn a tryout for the '84 U.S. Olympic team along with guard Delray Brooks (Indiana).

23. Paul Pierce, Inglewood (Inglewood, Calif.), 1995

After leading the Boston Celtics to their first NBA title in more than two decades in 2008, a strong argument was made that Pierce was the greatest player ever produced from California's massive CIF Southern Section. Pierce was an All-American at Kansas and the finest player on the West Coast as a senior at Inglewood. He averaged 27 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists for a 26-4 state-ranked team. In his last game, he scored 37 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter, in a loss to state power Dominguez (Compton, Calif.). He scored 28 points in the McDonald's game. In that game, he actually had to wear the jersey of West teammate Jelani McCoy because some jerseys were stolen prior to tip-off.
ESPN: Ranking McDonald's game top 35 players


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VOTE for Thomas Robinson for Zag's Blog's National Player of the Year (Anthony Davis 39%, TRob 36%)

Big 12 Schedule & Results


The 19 #Big12 MBB NCAA teams with RPI's of 40 or below is most of any conference (6 more than the next league!).
https://twitter.com/#!/Big12Conference/status/164063118199230464


Missouri forward Ricardo Ratliffe continues to lead the nation in field goal percentage (.751). Only three other Big 12 regulars — BU’s Perry Jones (.554), ISU’s White (.535) and KU’s Thomas Robinson (.532) — have made more than half their attempts.

... Entering play Monday, five Big 12 teams were among the top 50 in RPI — Baylor (3), Kansas (8), Missouri (12), Kansas State (41) and Iowa State (50).
TCJ


In mid-December, Andrew Carter — a junior journalism major at Missouri — recalls feeling “maxed out” due to his studies. He needed a break, so he decided to hop on the Internet.

“So basically I’m on YouTube, and I see there’s a lot of spirit videos for other schools,” said Carter, a 21-year old Naperville, Ill., native. “I remember thinking, ‘Man, our basketball team is good this year, someone should do a video in honor of them.’

“Then I thought wait — why can’t we do it?”

He met his fraternity brothers, sophomores Tanner Brandell and Matt Roberts. The three friends had never made a music video before, but really, how hard could it be?

Just find a catchy beat, write some clever lyrics, shoot at various spots around campus and … voila, you get “We Are Mizzou,” a musical love letter to their school that also packs as many swipes at Missouri’s rivals they can pack into 3 minutes and 34 seconds.

...“I’m pretty proud of it,” said Roberts, a 19-year old sophomore finance major from St. Charles, Mo., who wrote the chorus. “Everybody says it’s really catchy. We got it in everybody’s head.”

...But again, the video has received a mixed reaction - as of Monday afternoon, it had 619 likes and 1,258 dislikes on YouTube, and comments for the video had been disabled.

However, Carter contends the numbers are skewed due to the number of schools they swipe in the video.

“Anytime you call people out in sports, there’s gonna be a reaction,” Carter said. “Everyone is gonna back their team.”

Besides, Carter continued, it’s Kansas week — Missouri plays host to the Jayhawks on Saturday night at Mizzou Arena.

“So you know their fans weren’t going to like it,” he said. “And not everyone is fond of us in the Big 12, so you know some of those fans at other schools aren’t going to like it. And even the SEC, not everyone is thrilled about us going there, either.”

So really, the only support they expected to receive is from Missouri fans, and they say that’s been positive, for the most part. They estimate roughly 75 percent of Missouri fans who have reached out to them through Twitter, Facebook and email support the video.

“They think it’s awesome,” Carter said. “Some people at Mizzou don’t like it, but they are probably feeling that way because they think we are representing them poorly. They don’t like that other people are trashing Mizzou because of it.”
KC Star


The win was clearly a satisfying one for Missouri, which improved to 20-2 overall and 7-2 in Big 12 play. The Tigers were criticized by Haith for failing to close out Oklahoma State on Wednesday after also leading late on the road. But from the looks of Monday’s game, they certainly learned their lesson.

“Coach was stressing growth from the Oklahoma State game,” senior guard Kim English said.

And Let’s face it, Missouri had plenty of chances to cave in this game, too. But the Tigers held on, thanks to a combination of toughness and guile that allowed them to overcome a 38-26 rebounding discrepancy and beat a young, energetic Longhorns team that plays well at home.
KC Star


Game by game, the Texas' Longhorns season is getting more and more desperate.

Aching for a big win to turn their sinking season around, the Longhorns lost another close game, 67-66 to No. 4 Missouri on Monday night.

And once again, Texas rallied only to give away a late lead and missed the potential winner at the buzzer. The Longhorns (13-9, 3-6 Big 12) have lost five of their last six and are 0-7 this season in games decided by six points or fewer.

"Every guy in that locker room wants to win," freshman guard Myck Kabongo said.

…After the game, Texas coach Rick Barnes said officials didn't call a foul on the Tigers' Matt Pressey who had slapped Kabongo's left, non-shooting arm on the final shot.

"He did get fouled," Barnes said.
AP


Before they came together at Iowa State and helped turn the Cyclones into the potential NCAA Tournament team they are today, Royce White, Chris Babb, Chris Allen and Anthony Booker were spread across the country at different Division I schools.

But when you ask Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg about the development of the four high-profile transfers, he doesn’t say much about the time they spent at Minnesota, Penn State, Michigan State or Southern Illinois. Although they came to Iowa State from those destinations, they became the players they are today behind closed doors in practice jerseys.

…“They weren’t running our stuff, but they were running the other team’s plays in practice,” Hoiberg said. “They really embraced their roles and tried to help our guys who were out there, eligible to play.”
KC Star


Big 12 teams have never had a more active January.

By Wednesday, all teams will have played nine conference games, more than ever because of the 18-game schedule in the 10-team league.

Fatigue could come into play as the weeks continue. Who might be in the best position to handle the work load?

Teams that play a deeper rotation could have an edge. Starting near the top of the standings, the team with the advantage in depth is Baylor.

…Kansas coach Bill Self knows the challenge that lies ahead.

“We play five guys 30 minutes,” Self said. “How do we keep guys fresh mentally and physically? Two weeks from now we’ll have a better indication.”
KC Star


NCAA releases "Team Sheets" for the NCAA tourney selection and seeding process


This was supposed to be college basketball’s Big Year, its once-in-a-generation moment when older stars (at least by one-and-done era standards), historic teams and a weakened, post-lockout NBA conspired to drive interest in a sport that struggles to rise above niche status for 11 out of 12 months.
 
And yet, with roughly two-thirds of the games already played, college basketball’s regular season has settled into an all-too-familiar place. Despite everything the sport was supposed to have going for it, this year has turned out to be no different than the one before it or the one before that. It is, for lack of a better term, largely irrelevant.

There’s no joy in acknowledging that, by the way. Over the last 10 years, I’ve watched, covered and enjoyed college basketball more than any other sport. Give me Florida-Ole Miss, Indiana-Wisconsin and Gonzaga-Portland on a Thursday night, and I’m happy. But I’m a die-hard, stone-cold college hoops junkie.
   
I’m also the minority.

Sure, there are a few places where college basketball is king year-round. The states of Kentucky, Kansas and Indiana come to mind, as well as some major cities like Raleigh and Memphis where it’s long been part of the culture. But while the small group of loyalists have been watching since mid-November — dissecting what’s wrong with North Carolina, marveling over the potential of Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, familiarizing ourselves with upstarts like Murray State and Missouri — most of you will only start to pay attention right now, if at all.

College basketball has essentially become a six-week sport. In the big picture, it might as well not even exist before the Super Bowl. So why not change? Football owns the winter, but college basketball can own the spring.

March Madness is great, but you know what would be even better? May Madness — a 4½-month season, starting around New Year’s and ending just before the NBA playoffs take center stage.
The Daily


There are a combined 96 voters in The Associated Press writers’ and USA Today coaches’ college basketball polls. Just two of the 96, one writer from Mars and another from Pluto, do not believe that the University of Kentucky is the best team in the country.

There are three primary computer ranking systems. You’re more likely to find Kentucky ranked fifth than first by the computers. You won’t find the Wildcats first in any of the three computer rankings — the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) or formulas by Jeff Sagarin and Ken Pomeroy.

…The computer formulas are not convinced. Pomeroy and Sagarin favor Ohio State. The RPI prefers Syracuse. Kentucky is ranked second in Sagarin and third in Pomeroy. But the Wildcats lag at fifth in the RPI, trailing Duke, Baylor and Michigan State in addition to Syracuse.

The computer formulas appear to penalize Kentucky because of its strength of schedule and because the Wildcats compete in the Southeastern Conference.
Louisville CJ


Hmmm, extra benefits for Syracuse players?

_Andrew White and the Miller boys’ basketball team used a big second half to overwhelm visiting Evangel Christian, 106-62, on Monday night. 

The future Kansas Jayhawk put the Mavericks on his back and carried them in the third quarter. White scored on eight of Miller’s first ten possessions to bust the game wide open. The senior scored 18 of his game high 38 points in the third quarter.  

“This game, it was just a matter of scoring when I could,” White said. “I had some lanes to drive and the other players did a great job of finding me.”  

Added Miller head coach Scott Willard: “He has the skill to take over a game. He’s a high major player that gave us a great effort tonight in limited minutes."  

White sat the entire fourth quarter, but the Mavericks continued to pour it on.
Daily Progress


Video: Julius Randle goes off for 50 points (Some nice assists from Zach Peters)


Nike Extravaganza Preview


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


ESPN HS TV schedule


My 2011 Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, KU Alumni games, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos now on Youtube

Kansas

KU #4, SOS #1 says Ken Pomeroy


CBS Top 25 and one: KU #9


I thought by tweet deck was down when I came in today. Those little birds are all in hiding I guess after that shocker in Ames.
https://twitter.com/#!/JACKHARRYKSHB/status/163810242474409984


This being their first clinic with the Special Olympians in two years, Coach Self and his staff wanted to make sure the participants received the full Allen Fieldhouse experience.This was the first year since 2010 that Coach Self and his players were able to host the event, as in 2011 the KU women stepped in to put it on because of weather delays that forced the Jayhawk men to remain out of town.

“We are going to have some different stations, including dunk, shooting and ball handling stations,” Self explained. “Usually they get a big kick-out of it, but I think the dunk station without question is the most popular.”

Another popular part of Sunday’s clinic was the free giveaways that each clinic participant would be taking home with them. Autographed team pictures as well as commemorative basketballs were just some of the items Special Olympians would be walking away with, in addition to their unforgettable memories of the event.  

“Our guys have a pretty good platform here, being players at the University of Kansas,” Self thought. “And I think if you can sacrifice some of your time to benefit others who have been dealt a difficult hand; it is something you should do.”

The clinic was initially started by former KU head coach Larry Brown in the mid 1980s, but has since been renamed in honor of Chamberlain, who left money from his estate to help sustain the event. Sunday’s clinic is just one of many community service activities the Jayhawks take part in throughout the year.
KU AD


“I did not watch the tape on the bus. I was not in the best of moods coming home,” Self, KU’s ninth-year coach, said of the four-hour bus ride back from Hilton Coliseum, where KU (17-4) suffered its first conference loss in eight games.

“I figured, ‘You know what? Instead of getting upset, I’m going to relax and watch TV and not watch the tape.’ I saw plenty of highlights on TV about our game. I’m just now going to watch the tape as soon as we leave here,” Self added Sunday on a much happier occasion — the Jayhawks’ 28th-annual Wilt Chamberlain Special Olympics Clinic.

KU players and coaches worked with 200 or so Special Olympians from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

“Losing in Ames ... this certainly changes everyone’s perspective and has everybody in a good mood today,” Self said. “I truly believe our players get as much or more out of it than the Olympians do.”

Senior Tyshawn Taylor said the clinic took the sting off the loss to ISU.

“There’s definitely a bigger picture outside of basketball,” Taylor said. “Life goes on after a loss. I’m just enjoying my time here with our fans today. We’re in the position of being role models, and it’s fun to put smiles on the faces of the Special Olympians today.”

…Hundreds of students stormed the court after the final horn and, in the process, injured ref Darron George.

“After coming off the court, our players were tending to the official, Darron George, who was down. He was in so much pain,” Self said. “From what we were told, he broke his arm trying to push people off in the melee. It was a very dangerous situation yesterday."

After the game, ISU officials said George hurt his wrist, but did not head to the hospital for treatment or X-rays. The Big 12 said Sunday George “suffered a hand injury” and is OK.

Self said he believed fans have stormed the court in about 60 percent of KU’s road losses during his nine years at KU.

“We’ve had some great ones. That court storming at Bramlage (Kansas State) was great. Missouri had a great court storming on us. That deal in Ames yesterday ranked right up there with the best of them as far as court storming,” Self said. “I am OK with it, but I think if you are going to allow your students to do that, administration should do a better job of somehow providing security to protect the players and everybody else.”
LJW


Perhaps the best thing about college basketball is that each team controls its destiny. Keep winning and you’ll keep playing. You can’t be left behind by computers or uninformed voters.

The harsh reality, though: college basketball’s regular season isn’t all that important in determining a national champion.

Losing a road game in conference, like the Jayhawks did in Ames, Iowa on Saturday, means little.

Kansas should still have its sights on the Final Four. How did last year’s Final Four teams fare in conference road games?

Virginia Commonwealth — best muttered under the breath followed by several curse words — lost road games at Georgia State, Northeastern and Drexel in conference. Not exactly elite programs.

Butler lost four times on the road in the Horizon: to UW-Milwaukee, Wright State, Valparaiso and Youngstown State, which finished 9-21 overall.

You say: those teams are mid-majors. Hard to fairly compare teams from the CAA and the Horizon to teams from BCS conferences.

I say: the bigger teams in last year’s Final Four also struggled in conference road games.

Connecticut dropped five games on the road in the Big East: to Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, St. John’s, Louisville and West Virginia. Tough teams, certainly, but the Huskies finished 5-5 on the road.

Kentucky lost six games on the road in the SEC and finished with a 10-6 conference record.

You say: that’s just one year. Last year was a fluke.

I say: let’s assume Kansas loses two more conference road games and keeps winning at Allen Fieldhouse to go 15-3 in conference. The Jayhawks lose two out of these three games: at Missouri, at Baylor and at Kansas State.
Is there another team that lost three road conference games — one to a fringe NCAA tournament team like Iowa State — and went undefeated at home?

Here’s one: the 2008 national champions, Kansas. That year, the Jayhawks lost road games to Texas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State. Texas and KSU made the tournament; OSU made the NIT.

So let’s not turn Saturday’s loss into some kind of tragic blow that proves Kansas can’t hang with the big boys. One lackluster effort on the road in a hyped environment, in the bigger scheme of things, means nothing.

Teams play NCAA tournament games on a neutral court for a reason.
UDK


The Twitter feeds of Jayhawk fans everywhere were especially active last week, as the “Border War” became the latest victim of the Internet rumor mill.

On Thursday, word spread that Missouri fans planned to wear t-shirts that displayed the letters “NMT,” meaning “No Mom Tom” during the Feb. 4 match-up with Kansas in Columbia. The phrase is reference to the passing of Thomas Robinson’s mother in January of last year.

However, like most rumors started on Twitter, there is little truth to these claims, even though it spread like wildfire.
The phrase originated on the popular Missouri message board called Tigerboard.com, but the widespread use of this reference to Robinson appears to be misconstrued amongst the Jayhawk faithful.

“There have been a total of eight posts using the phrase ‘No Mom Tom' or the abbreviation ‘NMT’ referring to Thomas Robinson directly on this board,” Tigerboard.com operator Nick Witthaus said.

The acronym for Robinson made its first appearance on the board in November of last year, and every subsequent post has been reported and deleted from the website. Despite the bitter nature of the rivalry between Kansas and Missouri, the use of the phrase “NMT” was met with entirely negative reactions from the Missouri posters on the board.

There was only one mention on Tigerboard to the production of “NMT” t-shirts, and it did not come from a user that frequents the message board.

“The t-shirt rumor was posted on the 26th from a first-time poster who registered about half an hour before the post was made. That poster was using an IP address reserved for an apparel company in California,” Witthaus said.

Just like the previous seven times, the “NMT” reference to Robinson was reported and deleted, but the word had already made its way around the Jayhawk fanbase.

The well-known faction of the Missouri student section, “The Antlers,” issued a tweet on Thursday in an attempt to bury the rumor.

“We aren’t making any signs, shirts, billboards or keychains with a 'NMT' slogan. That’s below us,” the tweet read.
UDK


There are more than 70 camping groups this Monday morn for the OU game Wednesday. Gotta love the students.
https://twitter.com/#!/KU_Hoops/status/163987528599339008


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Jayhawks in the NBA



Big 12/College News

Big 12 Schedule & Results


ESPN Big 12 Power Rankings - Kansas #1


Oklahoma's 63-60 win Saturday night at No. 22 Kansas State was the Sooners' first Big 12 road win over a nationally ranked team in three years, when OU defeated No. 25 Baylor in Waco, Texas.

Steven Pledger is averaging 20.8 points and shooting 57.8 percent in OU's wins, 12.7 points and shooting 33.3 percent in losses.

Grooms leads the conference in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.92) after dishing out 25 assists with only three turnovers the past four games.
The Oklahoman


The first half of Oklahoma's league schedule was a gauntlet.

After playing No. 5 Kansas twice, No. 22 Kansas State twice, No. 2 Missouri once and No. 6 Baylor once, the Sooners will have an opportunity to pad their resume. The second half of the league schedule is more manageable.

“We hope so, but we don't really look at it that way,” said forward Romero Osby. “We look at it that every Big 12 game is tough, home or road. We look at every game as an opportunity to get a win to gain some momentum going into post-season.”

The Sooners (13-7 overall, 3-5 in league play) will be huge underdogs Wednesday night at Kansas when the league schedule hits the halfway point.

It's how the Sooners respond the second half of conference play, starting with a home game Saturday night against Iowa State, that will determine how much progress was made in Kruger's inaugural season.
The Oklahoman


Video: "We Are Mizzou" (Not sure why you'd want to promote that, but whatever)


Saturday's 76-71 loss at Baylor dropped Texas to 0-6 in games decided by six points or less, a stat that could be a product of the Longhorns' inexperience showing through at the end of games.

They'll still have the Tigers' full attention. Coach Frank Haith will never be guilty of underestimating any team led by Barnes, whom he considers a mentor and his best friend. His team is also coming off a stinging road loss last Wednesday at Oklahoma State and survived some sloppy stretches in Saturday's home win against Big 12 bottom feeder Texas Tech.

"We're going to get their very best effort," Haith said. "They’re fighting as everybody else is in the league in terms of getting wins, protecting your homecourt. It’s going to take a yeoman’s effort out of us to go up there and get a W. We know that."

…If the Tigers make it through Monday's game in Austin, they'll have five days to rest their legs before Saturday's Border War game against Kansas.

…The Tigers offensive efficiency has fallen in Big 12 play, in large part because the Tigers aren't having the same level of success shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. They had made only 38 of 126 3-point attempts (30.2 percent) over the past six games before Saturday, and that they didn't help their success rate with a 6-for-21 performance from long range.
Columbia Tribune


I'll admit my bias for Missouri comes through, and that triggers a great deal of vitriol and hatred from the other camp.

I'm a big boy, I can take it.

For the record, I did not go to Missouri.

I truly believe that a sizable number of KU fans cannot stomach the attention Missouri is getting right now in the media.

It must be like a punch to the gut every morning to wake up to the fact Missouri is ranked higher.

Mizzou has become the darling of the national media.

It’s been my experience in 42 years of covering sports in this town, KU fans, for the most part, feel they're a cut above Missouri people in about every walk of life.

Where they live, where they eat, where they play.

I've lived on both sides of the state line.

I've experienced it. I've felt it, first hand.
Jack's Smack


For those folks - and there are legion - who want to do nothing except rail against the power and gory of the NCAA, you will only be half-sated by what you read here.

And for those folks -and there are legion - who are looking to do nothing more than wail, "UConn! UCheat!" at everything that goes on in Storrs, you, too, will be disappointed.

Caught in the crossfire between NCAA findings that cost him nine games of his freshman season and threats of legal action by his mother's lawyer, Ryan Boatright sounded awfully happy Sunday that his long nightmare was over.

"I'm just happy to be back on the court," Boatright said after UConn had played lifelessly in a 50-48 loss to Notre Dame at the XL Center. "Whatever my mom and the lawyer got going on, that's with them."

I'm going to say this plain as day. Anybody who sees this Boatright saga in absolutes has an agenda beyond the facts of the case. And anybody who is rooting for Tanesha Boatright's attorney Scott Tompsett to go to court against the NCAA, take this to the bank: The louder he gets, the worse it could be for UConn.

Whether it's to take down the NCAA, to take out Chicagoland AAU boss Reggie Rose, to turn the Boatrights into a totally innocent party, to further muddy UConn's reputation, or - in the case of Tanesha's ex-boyfriend - to extract revenge ... there are so many people in this case trying to manipulate the facts to meet their needs - some noble, some not - that it has gotten silly.

…Stop right there, UConn fans, if you're cheering. UConn is awaiting word from the NCAA on whether they it will be given a waiver on its academic problems so it can participate in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. UConn and Jim Calhoun, essentially innocent bystanders in the Boatright case, have done a good job holding their tongues.
Silence will serve them well until we see how the APR shakes out. Tompsett poking the bear will accomplish little at this point.

Besides, didn't the ex-boyfriend turn over the information?

"The NCAA did not violate the student-athlete or family's privacy in any way, nor did it imply that the benefits were used to influence Ryan Boatright to attend UConn," the NCAA responded on its website. "The NCAA statement 1/8came3/8 in response to numerous public misstatements and the resulting inaccurate reporting by some media.

"In fact, both UConn and Mr. Boatright should be commended for their cooperation ... Had Ms. Boatright cooperated fully from the beginning, this matter could have been settled months ago."

Look, there's some self-serving stuff going on here. But you also could have knocked me over with a feather with all the information the NCAA released in its timeline. Bless 'em, the NCAA finally gave it up.
Sac Bee


Mississippi State forward Renardo Sidney likely won’t be brought back to the team for his senior season, a source close to the program told SNY.tv Sunday.

Sidney, a 6-foot-10 junior who has battled weight and attitude issues for most of his career, will likely seek a professional paycheck although it’s possible he could transfer.

When asked if he would be chosen in the 2012 NBA Draft, one veteran NBA scout said flatly, “No.”

That would seem to leave options like playing overseas or in the NBA D-League.
Zag's Blog


Last fall, Villanova contracted with Varsity Monitor, a firm that uses computer software to screen the social-media accounts of university student-athletes, looking for all manner of potential trouble. The athletes must sign consent forms and list all their accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Many schools are employing similar services, while others have beefed up the scrutiny of social media by their compliance departments, and others merely keep their fingers crossed that they don't have a Marvin Austin-type of problem in the making.

It raises some privacy questions, naturally, although Varsity Monitor has no access to direct or private messages on those sites, only the ones that are already viewable by the entire world. And the systematic monitoring could be said to have a chilling effect on freedom of speech. But when universities weigh that against the stern hand of potential NCAA sanctions, it's an easy call.

…Think before you tweet, and ponder before you post. Those are the best guidelines for anyone, not just athletes. Especially when taking that shopping trip with the agent.
Philly.com



Recruiting

Will Shields is 'Dad' to Willie Cauley


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No Jayhawks or Cyclones were hurt during the court-storming that took place at the final buzzer. ISU officials, however, indicated that ref Darron George hurt his wrist trying to escape the mass of bodies en route to the locker room.

He iced the wrist, but did not head to the hospital for X-rays or treatment.

“I kind of wanted to get in there, rushing in there and party with them,” ISU forward Royce White said after scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds. “It was a good thing that they were excited. It was a good win for us.”

…The Jayhawks dropped their first road game in a rough stretch of four. The next three road contests are at Missouri, Baylor and Kansas State.

“We didn’t get off to a great start in what I told our guys is really the start of the conference season,” Self said. “It’s going to get hard. We have to tighten some things up. Sometimes maybe through a loss you can get their attention more than by winning ugly.”
LJW


Tyrus McGee, late in a tie game against the nation's fifth-ranked team, drove across the lane to his right, leapt, leaned back across his body, absorbed contact and released a shot as he fell back to the court.

Bucket. And the foul.

Clearly, there was something in the air inside Hilton Coliseum.

"Hilton Magic was definitely in full effect today," said Fred Hoiberg.

The Iowa State men's basketball team earned its biggest and most meaningful win in years Saturday with a 72-64 triumph over No. 5 Kansas that ended with fans rushing onto the court to party.

"It's a huge win for our program," said Hoiberg, the second-year head coach and Cyclone legend. "It was a great win for our program."

The win stops a 13-game and nearly seven-year-long losing streak to the Jayhawks (17-4, 7-1) and is the first win at home against a top five team in 17 years.

It was sparked by McGee's improbable three-point play with the score tied at 53 and 6 minutes on the clock.

"I didn't think there was a prayer that thing was going in," Hoiberg said. "Somehow, Tyrus found a way."
Times Republican


It was a big-boy game through and through. It was the type of game where every rebound counts, where every loose ball can swing the outcome. It was, in other words, an atmosphere a Bill Self team should thrive in.

Shots might not fall and calls might not go their way, but the Jayhawks always think they can control rebounding and loose balls.

That’s what big-boy teams do anyway, but against a feisty Iowa State team in a jacked-up Hilton Coliseum, Kansas was stripped of its big-boy card for one afternoon in a 72-64 loss.

“We pride ourselves on being a big-man school and rebounding and scoring inside,” Kansas center Jeff Withey said. “They just outhit us today.”

Or, as Kansas’ Self said, “they outmanned us.”

…“Our team is pretty good if we get 70 percent of the 50-50 balls,” Self said. “And if we don’t, we’re not very good. We get average real fast.”

…But in a game decided by toughness plays late, in a man’s game where KU lost on the boards and on the floor, the Jayhawks were left only with their missed chances.

“If we would have just controlled the boards and got some 50-50s,” Releford said, “we probably would have had control of the game.”
TCJ


Royce White has been so bad from the free-throw line lately that his struggles have literally turned into nightmares.

A few hours after waking up from a dream in which he couldn’t hit anything from the line, White sank the two biggest freebies of his career to give Iowa State a landmark win for Coach Fred Hoiberg.

White had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Cyclones upset fifth-ranked Kansas 72-64 yesterday in Ames, Iowa, snapping the Jayhawks’ winning streak at 10 games.

White, the versatile big man who entered shooting an abysmal 39 percent from the line in Big 12 games, hit a pair that rattled in to put Iowa State up 64-59 with 1:47 left.

Kansas then threw the ball away, and Chris Babb drained a backbreaking 3 to give the Cyclones an eight-point lead with 55.6 seconds left.

“I woke up this morning dreaming about missing free throws. So I was in the gym this morning and shot free throws trying to get it right,” White said. “Teammates keep encouraging me and telling me, ‘You can make free throws.’ ”
AP


When Royce White hit one of the biggest free throws in Iowa State’s biggest basketball victory in years, he walked up to the rim that had suddenly become his best friend and stared at it for a second or two.

It seemed an odd move at such a big moment, but it wasn’t. White, Iowa State’s high-profile transfer from Minnesota, was sending a message to Thomas Robinson -- possibly the player of the year in the Big 12 Conference -- and to anyone else who doubted he and the Cyclones were for real.

“That was for Thomas,” White said of the free throw that tied the game 53-53 and kicked off a run that led to Iowa State’s 72-64 upset of No. 5 Kansas.

“He said I was going to miss them,” White said with a smile afterward. “That was for him.”
Des Moines Register


Robinson, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, seems to be in a slump. He got most of his baskets from Tyshawn Taylor’s collection of 10 assists but labored otherwise. His missed dunk with about four minutes remaining kept Iowa State ahead by three.

“I’m just not playing my game,” Robinson said. “I’m speeding up again, and not taking my time. I just not playing the same way now.”

That’s been the case for a few games, but others had delivered, especially Taylor, who in the first Iowa State meeting broke his personal scoring threshold with 28.

Taylor had 16 on Saturday, and all of the Kansas starters scored in double figures, but that spoke to weak bench play — a total of five points — as much as anything.

“Nobody really played well,” Self said.
KC Star


Bill Self distributed 29 minutes to his three chief reserves — guard Conner Teahan and forwards Kevin Young and Justin Wesley. In 29 minutes, They responded with five points, two rebounds, an assist and a turnover. They made two of 12 shots.

In the loss to Davidson in Sprint Center in December, the bench logged 48 minutes and contributed six points and 10 rebounds on 2-of-11 shooting. They had one assist and four turnovers in that one.

Duke? Scoreless in 30 minutes, no rebounds, no assists.

Detect a pattern anyone?

It’s not that the starters are responsible for all the season’s big victories. Young sparked the Jayhawks to a huge nonconference win against Ohio State. The game before that, Teahan caught fire and played a huge part in a victory against a tough Long Beach State squad.

Both of those games took place in Allen Fieldhouse, where the home crowd fueled the home team.

Typically, in basketball, the better, more experienced players display the least slippage on the road, the reserves the most. The road also is where a strong bench is most important.

Players get called for more fouls on the road than at home for a couple of reasons. One, fatigue sets in easier when the home crowd isn’t with them to pump them full of adrenaline. A tired basketball player doesn’t move his feet as well and doesn’t focus as well, two factors that lead to fouling. A second factor — or should it be first? — has to do with how referees call games. Everybody seeks approval, and even though officials try not to play favorites, they are human. Their innate desire to be liked kicks in, even if only on a subconscious level, and the close calls tend to go in favor of the home team more often than the visitors.
LJW


Withey's emergence is a surprise. He transferred from Arizona in 2008, sat out in accordance with NCAA rules and later played minimally behind star big men Cole Aldrich, Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris. Last season Withey played about 6 minutes a game behind the Morris brothers and Robinson.

"He didn't have a chance to play," Kansas coach Bill Self says. "He's a freshman from an experience standpoint."

This season Withey is giving opponents fits with his lanky frame. He is a starter who leads the Big 12 Conference with 66 blocked shots (3.3 average) going into Saturday's game at Iowa State. No. 5 Kansas (17-3) is atop the Big 12 at 7-0.

Withey averages 8.1 points and 6.1 rebounds while playing nearly 23 minutes a game. He had eight blocks to go with 10 points in a 64-54 win Monday against Texas A&M. Withey has been steady at the free throw line, shooting 84.7%, up from 51.5% last season.

He also gives Robinson some breathing room because he can guard other teams' top big men.

"When I transferred, I knew who was in front of me," Withey says. "I knew (assistant coach) Danny Manning was going to teach me a lot. I got a lot better by sitting."

Offensively, Withey wants to be more aggressive and physical. "He has a hard time when people body him up," Self says.

He has time to work on that. In 2013, he could be yet another Kansas big man to be taken high in the NBA draft.
USA Today


KU coach Bill Self and his assistants wore sneakers instead of dress shoes with their suits Saturday as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend — a collaborative initiative of the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Participating NABC member coaches wear sneakers one game a year to support the American Cancer Society and its vision of a world “with less cancer and more birthdays.”

…Self was asked on Friday’s Jim Rome radio show about possibly coaching in the NBA someday.
“I think there’s a part of me that would say that could interest me at some point in time, but right now I’m having so much fun working with these guys. To be honest with you, there’s a lot of good jobs out there. There are not many as good as what I’ve got,” Self said.

“Sometimes I think people get caught up in looking for something where the grass is greener when it is really not. This is a great gig. Maybe when they get tired of me here that may be something I consider doing. Even with that being said, there’s only 30 (NBA) jobs out there. What are the chances anybody’s going to want a college coach? I am certainly not thinking that or putting my eggs in that basket. All I want to do is coach this team as hard as I can and get this team ready.”

… ESPN’s Jay Bilas lists KU’s Thomas Robinson as his No. 3 big man in college basketball this season. His rankings are “based upon performance in college, and with a nod to pro potential.”

Kentucky’s Anthony Davis is No. 1 and Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger No. 2.

Of Robinson, Bilas wrote: “No big man has had a better season than Robinson. Clearly he is a high level athlete with an NBA body. And he has a tremendous motor that keeps revving at a high level game after game. Robinson is the best defensive rebounder in college basketball, averaging nine defensive rebounds per game and more than 12 rebounds overall. He can run the floor, and he has the strength and lift to block shots around the rim. He is not a natural scorer but can step away and hit to 18 feet, and he can also put it on the floor and drive it some. Robinson is averaging more than 17 points per game on 54 percent shooting, and he gets to the free throw line six times per game but shoots only 64 percent from the line. His activity level is what makes him special, and he will help a team win without having to be the focal point.”
LJW


Watching Kansas City’s oldest brand of vitriol from seats close enough to hear the curse words will cost you about $2,000. Normally, that’s insane. Normally, nothing short of a severe allergy to money would justify the cost, but normally, you cannot watch symphonic hatred at its historical peak.

You’ve never seen anything like what you’re about to see between Kansas and Missouri. Nobody has seen anything like this, at least not since the days when disputes got settled with guns and torches.

Whatever you think is the most intense season in the 106-year history of Border War basketball games — for most, it’s 1990 — is about to be lapped by an unrepeatable set of circumstances that will forever help frame Kansas City’s greatest rivalry when KU plays at Mizzou on Saturday.

Not even losses by both teams in the past few days can change that.

“It is for Missouri,” says Jon Sundvold, whose No. 20 hangs at Mizzou Arena.

“It certainly is from KU’s standpoint,” says Max Falkenstein, who broadcast more than 1,750 Kansas basketball games.

We live in a time of constant hyperbole and hype, particularly in sports, when the Game of the Century seems to happen at least once a year and it is bull, almost without exception.

Here, then, is the exception:

The Border War, with all its mutual hatred, featuring two of the best teams in the country playing for keeps.

…There is a theory coming out of Mizzou. It is a terrific college sports theory, because it rests comfortably at the intersection of hope, hubris and hatred.

The theory goes that, sure, we all hear KU posturing tough that the Border War is effectively dead once MU leaves the Big 12 because of pride and emotion. That’s all fine, but it will crash down if Mizzou beats KU twice this season.

The theory says that competitiveness will trump principle at that point, because nobody in Lawrence will be able to stand the thought of Missouri pointing to something like a forever scoreboard.

“I would stake on a bet that if Missouri wins in Mizzou Arena, and then Allen Fieldhouse, that Kansas would like to play Missouri again in basketball,” Sundvold says. “I would stake that claim.”

And it makes some sense, right? Basketball is KU’s pride and joy, and the thought of MU holding an irrefutable and permanent bragging point is enough to make any self-respecting Jayhawk shudder with disgust.

Except …

“If you look at the all-time series (KU leads 170-95), two games, or three, doesn’t make anyone think any differently,” says Greg Gurley, a former KU guard who now works at the university. “I mean, it’s pretty lopsided.”

Gurley pauses for a moment.

“Besides,” he says, thinking about KU losing twice to MU, “those are big ands, ifs and buts, too.”

And with that, the rivalry moves on, beautiful hatred sure to continue after the games end.
KC Star


Jayhawks in the NBA


Brittney Griner scored 28 points and moved into second place on the NCAA career blocks list in No. 1 Baylor’s 74-46 rout of Kansas on Saturday night.

Griner passed Michigan State’s Alyssa DeHaan midway through the first half. The 6-foot-8 phenom has 506 blocks in her career and now only trails Saint Mary’s star Louella Tomlinson, who had 663.

Kimetria Hayden added 10 points and Destiny Williams had 11 rebounds for Baylor (21-0, 8-0 Big 12), which is one of two unbeatens left. Wisconsin-Green Bay improved to 19-0 on Saturday by routing Valparaiso.

Carolyn Davis scored 12 and Angel Goodrich and CeCe Harper had 10 points each for Kansas (16-4, 5-3). Aishah Sutherland had 10 rebounds.
TCJ


There is a distinct message. Last August, when gridders, cagers, rowers, netters, spikers and every other athlete representing KU assembled for another year on the sports calendar, Zenger addressed them all ... town hall style.

Except he was the one doing the talking.

He read the Paul Harvey essay, “These Things I Wish For You,’’ after identifying who Paul Harvey was for his young audience. Eventually, Zenger delivered his punchline.

“We’ve got to shed our mentality of entitlement because we’re too soft,’’ he said.

Indeed, many sports at KU — too many — are faring poorly in the Big 12. Overall, the results are unacceptable to the now-second-year AD.

One coaching change was orchestrated already. As for other sports, well, stay tuned, though the money spent to facilitate the move in football could buy some time for other coaches.

Some strides are being made too. Track and field competes favorably, soccer qualified for the NCAA Tournament, and women’s basketball was improved at the halfway mark in its Big 12 schedule.

Kansas was recently cited for spending more on recruiting athletes for its men’s teams in 2010-11 ($206,723 per team and $3,731.47 per athlete) than any athletic department in the Big 12. Argue if you want that this falls under entitlements. But obviously, coaches were given the resources to bolster programs and they need to deliver.

…Back out on the speaking circuit, where the steaks are often salisbury, morale is improving.

People like what they hear. And they like that they hear it from an AD who loves reconnecting to his roots.

“Right now those are the signs that I’m reading — the fan base, the donor base, they’re feeling good about certain things,’’ Zenger said.

“Now, you drill that down to the athletes and the coaches, and I believe the culture is changing. They all understand what the expectations are. And our student-athletes are hungry for a challenge, and for discipline.’’

In today’s society, where virtually any feat can be replayed on SportsCenter, information is networked by four Gs, and showmanship is considered natural, the Kansas values Zenger emphasizes sometimes get lost. Even at Kansas.

So he repeats himself. One, be humble. Two, underpromise and overproduce. Three, just work hard.

“They need to learn Kansan,’’ Zenger says of the KU athletes and staff, “because that’s who they are.’’
TCJ


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Big 12/College News


Big 12 Schedule & Results


Visiting for the first time as an opposing coach, Lon Kruger directed Oklahoma to a season sweep of the Big 12 series with the Wildcats.

A weekend celebrating K-State basketball legends ended in a legendary upset for Kruger, a former Big Eight player of the year for K-State who went on to open Bramlage as the Wildcats coach. Behind 30 points from Steven Pledger, OU edged K-State 63-60.

“Sometimes in practice he says Big 12, (sometimes) he says Big Eight,’’ Pledger said. “This is his old stomping grounds, where he used to do it on the court, so it’s good.’’
TCJ


Sophomore point guard Phil Pressey tied his career high in assists with 12 (equaling the total against Villanova), and Tech, which dropped to 7-13 and 0-8 in the Big 12, turned the ball over 21 times, errors that Missouri turned into 27 points.

Ultimately, Missouri moved to 19-2 overall — and within a game of Kansas for first place in the Big 12 at 6-2 — because of its season-long ability to get contributions from every one of its mere seven scholarship players.

“The offense is set up where its equal opportunity,” English said. “We definitely try to get the ball inside to Ricardo, but it’s a luxury to have a team with seven guys that can really get it done any given night.”
KC Star


SEC begging fans to attend games



Recruiting


It doesn’t have a fancy nickname. It’s not something that Kansas high school basketball fans talk about.
Moundridge’s 59-game winning streak in boys basketball has stood as a state record for 18 years. And it soon could be broken. That may be news to you. It’s definitely news to those who were part of the Moundridge streak.

“I wasn’t aware,’’ said Dwight Helms, a four-year starter for Moundridge during the era that also produced four Class 2A championships in a row from 1990-93. “But I was wondering if Heights was going to get it.’’

Heights is chasing its own four-peat in Class 6A and has won 56 straight games. Four more and the Moundridge record falls. The Falcons, behind Perry Ellis, next face Southeast on Tuesday night, then play games at West (Feb. 7), at Northwest (Feb. 10) and at Bishop Carroll (Feb. 14).
“It’s cool that they’re close,’’ said Helms, who works for BP and lives in Houston with his wife and two daughters, 5 and 3. “We had a lot of fun at Moundridge in those years. But when you’re doing something like winning all those games in a row, you don’t really know what you’re doing.’’
Jacy Holloway, a guard who teamed with Helms to form one of the finest high school duos in the state’s history, hasn’t been following the Heights winning streak, either.
“But it doesn’t surprise me that they’re getting close,’’ said Holloway, a teacher and boys basketball coach at Garden City High. “It’ll probably be pretty easy for them now.’’
Or perhaps not. But it’s a good time to re-visit the Moundridge streak, which included a few close calls and a harrowing slow-down game against Ellinwood (win No. 44) that the Wildcats were able to pull out 27-25 during the 1992-93 season.
Wichita Eagle


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Kansas

Bill Self’s teams win on the road. Whenever people speculate why Kansas has won seven straight Big 12 titles, it’s because the Jayhawks win on the road more often than not.

That’s it in a nutshell.

They’ve continued that trend this year, winning all four games away from home. They’ve won ugly at USC, won ugly at Oklahoma, played ugly early and won at Texas Tech and played ugly late and won at Texas.

They’ve won them all, which is what counts, but they’ve yet to play a clean and efficient game away from Allen Fieldhouse. Ugly is fine — ugly, in Self’s opinion, can be good — but Kansas will need to be better at Iowa State on Saturday.

“We’re going to have to play the best road game we’ve played all year to have success,” Self said.

…“When you go on the road,” Self said, “it’s going to come down to the last few possessions if you play well. Certainly I hope we’re in that position again Saturday.”

They made those gutsy plays against Texas. The challenge, as always, is to make them again.
TCJ


This is no recent phenomenon. In each of the past seven years, when the Jayhawks have won outright or shared the Big 12 regular-season championship, they’ve had the best league road record — by themselves or shared — in each season.

Kansas won more than half of its road games all of those seven years. The rest of the Big 12 combined has a total of eight winning records in conference road contests.

Entering this season, the Jayhawks were 43-13 on the road during their seven-year run. The next best record belonged to Texas at 30-26.

The buzz phrase among the Jayhawks for this success was “tight huddle.”

“It takes a tight huddle and having everybody on the same page out there understanding their responsibilities and taking care of them,” said top reserve Conner Teahan.

Coach Bill Self added “foxhole” mentality and “blinders on” to “tight huddle … those things are very important when going away from home.”

Oh, and it helps to be good.

Self also knows that beginning today, Kansas’ next four road games are against the teams in the upper half of the standings. Next Saturday, the Jayhawks travel to No. 2 Missouri. Four days later they’re at No. 6 Baylor, then a trip to No. 22 Kansas State on Feb. 13.

“I don’t think there’s any question that this is the toughest stretch of our season starting out right now,” Self said.
KC Star


“They call it, ‘Hilton Magic,’” Self said of the term coined by Des Moines Register sports writer Buck Turnbull back in 1989 after an 82-75 home victory over No. 3-ranked Missouri.

“Kansas had some great teams with Larry (Brown). Larry never won at Hilton (0-5). I’ve been part of teams that lost some heartbreakers there. When that place is jumping, it’s really a great place,” Self said.

The Jayhawks have won seven-straight games in Hilton, where they are 22-18 all-time.

Self’s first KU team fell at ISU, 68-61. Since then, the Jayhawks have won by five points twice and four points once (in overtime in 2007) to go with double-digits victories of 10, 11, 15 and 23 points.

The Cyclones are 10-2 in Hilton this season, with the only losses coming to Missouri and Northern Iowa. In the league, ISU has home wins over Texas and OSU.
LJW


It's the start of a brutal stretch that includes a home game against Oklahoma and back-to-back road games against the second-ranked Tigers and No. 6 Baylor.

"Statistically, those are the four teams that are the best in the league," Self said. "As a matter of fact, I think they are the only four teams in the league with winning records, if I'm not mistaken. Besides us. So yes, without question, this is the toughest part of the season."

The two-game lead may sound luxurious, but senior guard Tyshawn Taylor remembers what happened to Texas last season.

The Longhorns beat the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse in late January, and then took a two-game lead when Kansas lost to rival Kansas State on Feb. 16. But the Longhorns eventually lost three of four to lose the lead, and the Jayhawks ultimately won their seventh straight league title.

"It's always good to have a cushion, especially now," Taylor said. "It's good to have, but it really doesn't mean much. Those are good teams and them being two games behind us, I'm sure they're going to bounce back. We're not going to be too giddy."

The fact that Kansas plays four of its next six games on the road doesn't help. The home team is 23-12 in conference play, with the Jayhawks and Tigers perfect. Five teams have yet to win on the road, including Texas Tech, which is winless in the Big 12.

"A two-game lead can be squandered quickly," senior guard Connor Teahan said. "We still have to go out there and take every game seriously and I think that's what we'll do Saturday."
AP


Saturday presents an ESPN-televised shot at redemption, an opportunity Cyclone forward Royce White relishes.

“For us, the motivation is probably as high is it’s going to have been for any game previously,” said White, who scored 18 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in the loss at Lawrence, but shot 3 of 8 from the free throw line. “And for me, personally, it’s the most motivated I’ve been for a number of reasons, a number of different reasons that have to do with how people view them as a team, how people view us as a team, how this whole process goes with your goals as a team.”
The Gazette


Chris Allen’s NCAA tournament clock is ticking.

Iowa State’s point guard — when Royce White isn’t handling the ball — played in three of those postseason events before transferring from Michigan State.

An opportunity at a four-peat could depend on the Cyclones’ outcome the next two games, starting at 1 p.m. today against fifth-ranked Kansas at sold out Hilton Coliseum. After the Jayhawks, it’s No. 22 Kansas State, again at home on Tuesday.

That’s two chances for eye-popping victories against ranked teams, always important when the NCAA tournament selection committee examines resumes for its 68-team tournament.

“It’s definitely a different kind of focus us now,” Allen said. “We’ve got to have a straight-point focus to win these games.

“These games basically determine the rest of our season. If we win these games, it’s almost a berth in the NCAA tournament.”

Iowa State hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since the 2004-05 season, when it upset ranked teams Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas.

…White had 18 points and 17 rebounds in the first Iowa State-Kansas game.

“He’s built like a tight end, and plays like a point guard,” said Fran Fraschilla, who will analyze today’s game for ESPN. “He’s going to be one of the intriguing storylines.”
Detroit Free Press


Go mess with the Des Moines Register poll and VOTE for Kansas to win


The Bottom Line: Iowa State is better than many may think. Robinson’s going to be a tough cover, but unless he goes crazy (which he’s clearly capable of doing), expect the Cyclones to pull off a minor upset.
 
The Pick: Iowa State 74, Kansas 71
Go mess with collegehoopsnet.com poll


Looking to snag a ticket to next weekend’s Border War hoops showdown?

Be prepared to empty your wallet.

Missouri’s final home game against Kansas as Big 12 rivals is the city’s toughest ticket in years. A spokesperson at StubHub, an online ticket resale company, said the game is trending as the hottest Columbia event in the company’s 12-year history.

Hundreds of tickets remain available on the secondary market. But on StubHub, sellers are asking for between $200 and $2,000 per seat, with a mean listing of $375. In some instances, it would cost less to sit courtside at
Madison Square Garden for next month’s Knicks-Lakers game.

The Ticket Guys, a broker in St. Louis, lists Missouri basketball among its five hottest tickets and is asking up to $840 per ticket for the MU-KU game.

Looking for something cheaper? Two tickets in Section 106, Row 14 are yours for $1,391 on eBay.

“We’ve seen incredible demand for this game,” Stubhub’s Joellen Ferrer said in an email. “Fans have been searching on StubHub for this over 8 times that of any other Missouri Tigers home game.”

MU sporting events have rarely been a scalper’s dream. No tickets for second-ranked Missouri’s game against Texas Tech today reached the three-figure range on StubHub — seats in the lower bowl are available for less than $40. And even for the Tigers’ football victory over Oklahoma in 2010 — a meeting of undefeated teams that brought ESPN’s “GameDay” to campus for the first time — tickets were available at the box office days before the game.
Columbia Tribune


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Jayhawks in the NBA


RIP Aubrey Nash



Big 12/College News


Big 12 Schedule & Results


The NCAA's national coordinator of officials for mens basketball fired off a scathing memo on Thursday urging referees across the country to do a better job of enforcing sportsmanship rules.

John Adams posted the memorandum on the NCAA men's basketball officiating website. "In games I have attended, I have noticed minor unsporting indiscretions between opposing players go unnoticed by officiating crews and invariably, these unnoticed acts later turn into much bigger problems," Adams wrote. "Quite simply, we are doing a poor job of enforcing Rule 10, Section 5, as written."

Adams was referring to the passage in the basketball rulebook which governs the way referees should react to unsportsmanlike conduct. Sportsmanship was one of three main areas of emphasis as determined by the mens basketball rules committee last summer, but the sport has been sullied by several ugly incidents this season, most prominently a brawl between Cincinnati and Xavier in December that led to multiple player suspensions. That melee was ignited by trash talking between players and coaches.

In his memo, Adams specifically urged referees to enforce rules against taunting, profanity, and gestures like "waving off" an official after a call. He also reminded them that coaches should be immediately penalized if they leave the coach's box to complain about a call. "These types of actions call for technical fouls. Call them!" Adams wrote. "Your coordinators and commissioners will support you."

Reached by phone on Friday, Adams cited the decision to assess a technical foul on Oklahoma State guard Markel Brown for taunting after a dunk during the Cowboys' win over Missouri Tuesday night as an example of the type of enforcement he wants to see. That was Brown's second technical foul of the game, which warranted an automatic ejection. "I really felt like we had to have a call to action," Adams said. "Most coaches and players are good guys, but the aberrations are the ones that get the most attention, and that's something we have to deal with."
SI


The moment the Missouri basketball team’s hopes died Wednesday at Oklahoma State was when Phil Pressey lost control of the ball in the lane and fell to the floor with less than two minutes left.

The second-ranked Tigers trailed by four with a chance to cut into the deficit, but the Cowboys came up with the loose ball — Pressey’s third turnover on a night when he mustered only two assists — got a three-point play from Brian Williams at the other end and closed out the game, handing Missouri its second loss.

That play spoke volumes about Pressey’s value to the team. When the sophomore point guard stumbles, the Tigers are at risk of going down with him.
Columbia Tribune


U-G-L-Y you ain't got no alibi, you ugly.

Recruiting


Academics: 4.0 GPA
College: University of Kansas

Extracurricular activities: In addition to donating his time as a youth basketball instructor, he has volunteered locally as part of multiple youth literacy-outreach initiatives and as a motivational speaker for young student-athletes, addressing the importance of education and positive thinking. He has also served on behalf of the Wichita Children’s Home.

Paul Biancardi, National Director for ESPN Basketball Recruiting: “He’s a three-time Gatorade Player of the Year winner, that’s extremely impressive because of the criteria you have to meet to do that. It speaks volumes about his abilities on the court and his character off it. He’s a strong, physical power forward who can score on the blocks. He has increased his ability to play facing the basket out to 15 feet. He’s a low-post and high-post threat and a good rebounder on both ends of the floor.”

Each Gatorade State Player of the Year is challenged by thousands of fellow high school athletes. These are a few of the returning boys basketball underclassmen that also contended in 2010-11.

Willie Cauley: Senior center, Olathe Northwest (Olathe, Kan.)
Conner Frankamp: Junior point guard, Wichita North (Wichita, Kan.)
Clint McCullough: Junior forward, St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.)
Colin Murphy: Senior forward, Basehor-Linwood (Basehor, Kan.)
Micah Swank: Junior guard, Pratt (Kan.)
Trey Unrau: Junior guard, Moundridge (Kan.)
Gatorade State POY profiles: Perry Ellis


Westview 62, Southridge 54: Landen Lucas had 13 points and 17 rebounds to help the visiting Wildcats pull away from the Skyhawks in Washington County.
The Oregonian


Anrio Adams had 22 points and top-ranked Rainier Beach (16-1, 12-0 Metro Sound) pulled away in the fourth quarter at Bainbridge for a 66-48 win over the Spartans.
Seattle Times


Andrew White highlights in this video, five three-ptrs in 1st quarter, had all 21 of teams its, finished with 33



Muhammad, a 6-foot-5 small forward, has had a pretty static list for the past year. UCLA, Kentucky, UNLV, Duke, Arizona, Kansas and USC are the ones jockeying for his services right now.

He’s taken his time throughout the process, only taking official visits to Kentucky and Texas A&M so far. He won’t make a decision until he’s taken all five of his officials.

“Probably when I’m done with my visits,” Muhammad said. “I have three more officials, and I’m definitely going to take them. I’ll have them scheduled in a month or so.”

For now, he said he’s looking at Duke, Kansas and Arizona for the remaining visits. Because they’re so close to home, UCLA and UNLV likely won’t receive official visits.

“It’s worthwhile to go to a farther school for an official, since they’re paying,” Muhammad said.
CBS


It’s easy to lose sight of his uniqueness as a player. He can made the three-pointer. He can play the post. He can make a move at the top of the key to shake a smaller defender. So? So you have to keep reminding yourself he’s 6-8, not 6-3, like former Simeon star Derrick Rose. And that he’s a 16-year-old junior.

‘‘He’s truly the best player I’ve ever coached at this level,’’ Simeon coach Robert Smith said. ‘‘Derrick was great; you never can take away from his speed and athleticism. But when you’re talking about basketball and being able to do everything completely, it’s Jabari.’’

Duke is after him, as are Illinois, Kansas, Michigan State and many other top programs. He hasn’t decided on a college, and he said he hasn’t decided whether he’ll go on a Mormon-sponsored mission. One of his brothers did.

A boy has talent, and everybody wants to shove him through the one mandatory year of college and into the pros.
Everybody’s in a rush these days.

‘‘We don’t want to put that thought in his head,’’ said Sonny, who runs a youth foundation in Chicago. ‘‘That’s why we keep him away from a lot of this stuff. People get to saying things. I told him, ‘We’re OK [financially]. We could be better, but we’re fine.’ If the time comes, we’ll sit down as a family and look at those options. But right now, we’re just getting through high school.’’

Jabari, meanwhile, keeps working.

‘‘I have big goals and dreams,’’ he said.
Chicago Sun Times


But why do some Mr. Basketball USA selections and top-rated players go on to be NBA stars, while others turn into fringe or complementary players? The Mr. Basketball panel offers some perspective.

"Some of them stop working and begin to read their own press clippings," said Fullctpress.net editor and panel member Dinos Trigonis. "Some maximize their ability early, while others max out their potential in high school."

It's interesting to note that Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, last year's NBA MVP, and 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year John Wall of the Washington Wizards were not consensus No. 1 prospects or named Mr. Basketball USA. In the case of Rose, not one organization ranked him the No. 1 high school player in 2006-07, the year O.J. Mayo was named Mr. Basketball USA. Wall (not eligible for Mr. Basketball honors) was No. 5 in the 2008-09 ESPNU 100 with Avery Bradley ranked No. 1.

"Even if we had included John Wall (he was our No. 1-ranked 5th-year player), he would not have been any higher than No. 4 on our list, behind Bradley, Derrick Favors and DeMarcus Cousins," said HoopScoop editor and panel member Clark Francis.

"In the summer of 2006, I thought Eric Gordon was better than Rose," Trigonis said. "Not that Gordon is a bad pro, but D-Rose has elevated his game above Gordon."

The last two Mr. Basketball USA picks -- Harrison Barnes in 2009-10 and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist last season -- were known for their tremendous work ethics and competitive nature. The same holds true for Shabazz Muhammad of Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), this year's front-runner with 94 out of 100 points in this week's balloting.
ESPN


All-access inside look from SLAM at the Pangos All-American Camp. Video is 16 min long but worth the watch for recruitniks.
SLAM


Social media has irreversibly transformed how recruiting works in college football. For coaches, it's another medium to contact, recruit and gather information about players. For players, it's a way to get recruited, control the message and interact with fans and other recruits at unprecedented levels.

"We are very involved with Facebook," said North Carolina coach Larry Fedora. "We are constantly messaging kids."

The NCAA limits how many phone calls coaches can make to recruits. Text messaging is banned altogether. Social media, meanwhile, is far less regulated.

Coaches can't write on a recruit's Facebook wall or instant message him, but are free to send private messages during contact periods. On Twitter, coaches can't publicly mention recruits, but they are allowed to send direct messages.

As a result, social media messaging has become the en-vogue method of communication between coaches and the players they recruit. Often, recruits even have Facebook and Twitter messages sent directly to their smartphones in the form of a text, one reason why there's an ongoing push to relax the rules on text messaging.
Social media "is an incredible tool," said former Stanford assistant Brian Polian, now tight ends coach at Texas A&M. "If you are not using it, you will fall way behind."

Through social media, coaches can learn who else is pursuing their recruits by whom they "friend" and "follow." It can also give them useful information on how to best recruit those players.

"Some guys that come on an official visit, they want to go see the town," Curry said. "Others want to go to an F.C.A. meeting. You need to know which is which."

Florida coach Will Muschamp said social media also provides another glimpse into a player's character, warning that "kids need to understand that they have to be very careful about what they do on social media."

…When fans aren't attacking recruits on social media, they often are trying to persuade them to come play for their schools.

"That part surprised me a lot," said Arkansas wide receiver commitment Keon Hatcher, a four-star prospect out of Owasso (Okla.) High School who flirted with Oklahoma State before reaffirming his pledge to the Razorbacks. "It felt good to be wanted."

Hatcher was also surprised at the outset of his recruitment by how many Facebook messages he would get from coaches.

"I got messages every day asking, 'How's it going?' and everything like that," Hatcher said. "But this is the Internet age. Almost every recruit is on Twitter and Facebook. It's a good way to get in touch with recruits."
ESPN


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


ESPN HS TV schedule


My 2011 Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, KU Alumni games, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos now on Youtube

Kansas


KU AD: Kansas vs ISU pregame notes


KU AD video & transcripts: Coach Self, Tyshawn Taylor, Jeff Withey, Conner Teahan preview the ISU game


“[It’s] definitely a redemption game for us,” said forward Royce White. “We felt like after [the loss to Kansas], we were upset with ourselves. We kind of gave the game away. We want to go out here and get it.”
Iowa State Daily


Scott Christopherson said Iowa State is capable of beating Kansas. Chris Babb thought ISU put itself in a position to beat KU two weeks ago.

Fred Hoiberg opined that it was a game the Cyclones should have won. Royce White believed the Cyclones had won.

There's little doubt emanating from the Iowa State men's basketball team heading into Saturday's rematch with No. 5 Kansas, that's for sure.

…"I definitely think we have something to prove," said Babb. "We put ourselves in a position to win, beat a top 10 team on their home court, which a lot of people don't do, we had a great chance to do that.

"We showed we can put ourselves in a chance to win and I think we can do that again."

…"We lose to the No. 9 and the No. 10 teams in the same week and had both games won, essentially," said White.

…"I thought it was a game we should have won," Hoiberg said. "You get up 12 on them in the second half, and we got away from what we did to get us that lead.

"So we need to go back to what we saw that got us that lead and try to stick with those things that made us successful."

The Cyclones' success and ultimate failure in that contest revealed two things, according to Christopherson.

"When we play smart, we we're capable of beating them," said the senior, "and when we don't play smart, they'll kill us."
Times Republican


Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor is our Men's National Player of the Week. Taylor, a 6'3 senior helped lead the Jayhawks to an 18-point win (92-74) over then-#3 Baylor to start the week. Taylor continues to quietly lead the Jayhawks (16-3, 6-0) through a brutal schedule. He scored 28 and dished out 6 assists in the Baylor game. He followed that up with a 22 point, 5 rebound, 4 assist clinic in a 69-66 win at Texas. Taylor averaged 25 points and 5 assists while shooting 58.3% (7-of-12) from behind the arc and 63% (17-of-27) from the field for the week.
NetScouts.com


Leaving a legacy in the Kansas men's basketball program is no easy task when names such as Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Pierce and Danny Manning adorn banners hanging from the rafters in Allen Fieldhouse. However, as a four-year starter for the Jayhawks, Tyshawn Taylor is climbing the all-time charts in many statistical categories at KU, doing his best to carve a place for himself in Jayhawk basketball lore.

Already listed in the top 10 in career assists at KU with 489, the top 20 in career steals (144) and top 30 in career scoring (1,264 points), Taylor's name appears among elite company at a university where they began playing basketball in 1898 with the inventor of the game, James Naismith, as their first coach. But Taylor knows that one number carries much more weight than individual statistics at the second-winningest program in NCAA men's basketball history.

"The only thing that really matters is the wins. That's it," said Taylor, who became the 54th player in KU history to reach 1,000 career points when he scored 17 against Duke earlier this season. "I think the 1,000 points is a great accomplishment. Being able to achieve that at such a high level at a program like this is amazing. It's definitely a milestone and something I'm happy about, but the only thing that matters after I leave college and after it's all said and done is how many Big 12 Championships we won. We already have three, and hopefully we're working on another one, so maybe four. That's what people are going to look at."

Along with his assists, steals and points, Taylor has helped the Jayhawks pile up plenty of wins. With a career record of 112-17, Taylor has become a part of the 26th-straight senior class to win at least 100 games in its career at KU, dating back to the 1986-87 season. Taylor has started in 108 of those 129 games, including 33 as a freshman, but he quickly deflects credit for the victories to other players who have donned the Crimson and Blue.

"I think it shows you that I've been on some really great teams," said Taylor, who will graduate in May with a degree in African-American studies. "From my freshman year, being with Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich to my sophomore year with Sherron and Cole again to myself, the Morris twins, Xavier Henry, Thomas Robinson and guys like that. I think last year (junior season) was the best team. Marcus and Markieff (Morris) were great, and Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar could shoot the ball. Without being on those good teams, I wouldn't have won so many games."
Big12Sports.com


Kansas fans got on me last week for suggesting Tyshawn Taylor might be the best Kansas point guard in this millennium, but who's laughing now? The answer is me, not only because the angry Jayhawk fans were never even laughing in the first place but also because Taylor validated what I've been saying all along — he's a lock for Big 12 player of the year and an obvious All-American.3 Thomas Robinson, who most analysts think is the national player of the year, has undoubtedly been a saber-toothed tiger this year, but if you pick any game in the past seven days other than the Texas A&M game and compare Robinson's stats to Taylor's, it's easy to see who Kansas' best player is. For example, the non-Texas A&M game from last week that I just randomly picked is Kansas' three-point win at Texas, and in that game Taylor had 22 points, five rebounds, and four assists to completely outplay Robinson, who had 17 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. Not only that, but Robinson also had infinitely more turnovers in that game than Taylor (two to zero). Arguing with my opinion is one thing, but if you're going to argue with stone cold math, well you, Kansas fans, are dumber than I thought.
Grantland


CBS National Player of the Year Watch: TRob maintains at #1


For the first time since I’ve been tracking these stats, Bill Self has taken over the top spot in the coach rankings. And this season might be Self’s finest performance. Thomas Robinson has always been an explosive player. But Self has groomed him from an inconsistent freshman into the national player-of-the-year favorite. Tyshawn Taylor’s emergence as a polished player is equally remarkable. But it is Self’s consistent commitment to defense that has allowed his team to win conference titles year after year.
RealGM


Jeff Withey is a 7-footer, which instantly draws associations with lumbering, klutzy big men only playing because of their size.

But Withey is not one of those graceless giants who anchor near the basket. He actually is KU’s best free-throw shooter, making 85 percent of his attempts. He can knock down jump shots, which KU coach Bill Self doesn’t mind him taking.

And, of course, he is an elite shot blocker.

During Withey’s first summer in Lawrence after transferring from Arizona, KU guard Conner Teahan joined others in setting volleyballs for Withey one day. Watching the big man, Teahan quickly reached a conclusion.

“He’s a very coordinated 7-footer,” Teahan said.

Withey’s volleyball background — he calls his family a volleyball family — also translated to basketball.

…The standard for shot blockers in Self’s tenure is Cole Aldrich, now with the Oklahoma City Thunder. During his junior year, Aldrich averaged 3.5 blocks. Withey is averaging 3.3 blocks in his junior season.
TCJ


“I think he keys our success as much as anybody,” Self said. “He makes it awful hard to score on us in tight when he’s blocking and altering like he is right now.”

When Kansas visits Ames on Saturday to play Iowa State in Hilton Coliseum for a 1 p.m. tipoff, Withey will face challenges at both ends. During the first game, Withey spent a portion of the game guarding point power forward Royce White, who had 18 points and 17 rebounds.

Because Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg surrounded Thomas Robinson with multiple defenders even more than most coaches do, Withey found himself standing alone with the ball in his hands and shot jumpers by default instead of with confidence.

“I think they are going to do the same thing, focus on T-Rob, and I’ve been working on that jump shot,” Withey said. “I missed three or four of them the last game, but I think they’re going to play the same way they did, and we’re going to have to hit shots. No matter what, teams usually focus on Thomas. So I’ve been lucky this year to get a lot of opportunities on the offensive end.”

It’s easy to see Withey having a big day Saturday offensively, not as easy to see it happening at the other end if he’s on White as often as he was in the first match-up.

“He’s a great player,” Withey said. “It’s going to be tough guarding him. He’s quick. He can handle the ball. I think I know what to expect this time. It’s hard to believe that somebody that tall and that strong can be kind of like a point guard, and the first time it kind of shocked me. Now I know what’s going to happen. ... I’ve been guarding more on the perimeter (in practice).”
LJW


Jeff Withey makes Dick Vitale's All-Swat Team


“I think he’s kind of falling in love with that three,” Taylor said of Johnson, a 6-4 junior from Las Vegas. “I’ve been yelling at him and talking to him and giving him pep talks and letting him know he’s a way better player (than that), he’s not strictly a three-point shooter.

“That’s a luxury to have because he is able to get in the paint just like I am. He has to get himself going, get fouled, attack the rim, make a couple free throws, get a layup, and maybe those long balls will start falling. He’s keeping a good attitude, working hard, coming in the gym early to shoot. He’ll be fine,” Taylor added.

Johnson has been to the free-throw line 17 times all season, making 13 for 76.5 percent. Taylor has made 83 of 121 free throws for 68.6 percent.

“He can get hot. He can make four or five (threes) in a row. I’ve seen him do it, but I think he’s just falling in love with it too much,” Taylor said. “It’s still going to be there, try to get something easier to get something going. That’s what I tell him, anyway.”

KU coach Bill Self said the good news is he’s seen “nothing wrong” with Johnson’s long-range shooting form.
“It can get a little flat sometimes,” Self said. “If you are a good shooter, you never miss right or left, you miss long or short. If you notice, his misses are all long. I don’t think it’s major. I guess one was wide-left last game, but for the most part they are short or long.”
LJW


Nobody accuses Kansas of being soft inside. The Jayhawks rank at or near the top of the Big 12 in all rebounding categories, have the league’s leader in Thomas Robinson and two of the top 10 when Jeff Withey is included.

So it was something of an eye-opener two weeks ago when Iowa State came to Allen Fieldhouse and, by Kansas’ standards, hammed the Jayhawks on the boards.

The Cyclones’ advantage that day was 49-41. It was the most rebounds by a KU opponent since 2004. Withey noticed.

“We were down, and that’s something we need to improve on,” Withey said. “Coaches are coming to the bigs and saying, ‘We need to rebound better.’ ”

Assistant coach Danny Manning, who oversees the Jayhawks’ bigs, will add his emphasis.

“He’s definitely going to be hitting us with some pads in practice getting us ready for the game,” Withey said.
KC Star


“Tyshawn hit some big shots and he hit some shots we we didn’t expect him to hit,” said Cyclone forward Royce White, “and it gave them a spark that he hadn’t given them earlier in conference play.”

The Iowa State men's basketball team gets its second chance this weekend with Taylor, Robinson and the rest of the No. 5 Jayhawks coming to Hilton Coliseum for a rematch Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN).

Since that first matchup, Taylor has averaged 22 points per game, even equaling his career-high of 28 points the game following KU’s win over ISU, a 92-74 dismantling of then-No. 3 Baylor.

“He’s on a tear right now, playing as well as anybody in our league,” said Cyclones head coach Fred Hoiberg.

Over the past four games, Taylor has been shooting 58 percent from the floor as Kansas (17-3, 7-0) has run its winning streak to 10 games.

“He’s never really been a shooter in his whole career at KU. He’s always been that guard you kind of play off of,” said ISU’s Chris Babb, “but he started knocking down shots (against ISU) and that kind of built his confidence for the rest of his game.

“Since then, he’s been knocking down shots, he’s been shooting them with a lot of confidence. Confidence is a big part of shooting. He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now and he’s leading their team.”

Iowa State (14-6, 4-3) has targeted improved defense against the pick-and-roll as the key to containing Taylor this time around.

“We had no answer for the high ball-screen,” said ISU senior Scott Christopherson. “I think going into this game we’re going to have to come up with some sort of plan for that.”
Times Republican


In 2010, the violent heartbeat that has symbolized the onset of his anxiety since he was a child derailed his plans to transfer to a powerhouse program. That year, John Calipari offered to rescue White -- who hadn't played organized basketball in more than a year -- from college basketball's purgatory after a suspension and eventual departure from Minnesota.

Kentucky's head coach called the prep star from the Twin Cities one night and asked him to come to Lexington the next day to officially sign with the program. But White's fear of flying, coupled with his anxiety disorder, ultimately triggered a panic attack.

His heart thumped as he thought about sitting on the airplane alone. He could barely breathe as fear gripped him. The episode, stemming from a condition that's severe enough to consistently interfere with the daily lives of people who have it, sapped his strength and left him in emotional ruin.

He called his mother and told her to cancel the trip on his behalf. On that day, White's anxiety seemed stronger than any defender he'd ever faced on the basketball court.

"I was on my way to Kentucky," White said. "Anxiety set in. It hurt me so bad because I have so much respect for Coach Calipari and Kentucky basketball. I almost came to tears because my anxiety had let me down in that situation."
ESPN: Royce White and the battle within


Kansas doesn’t need a whole lot of help from the Big 12 office. During basketball, the conference rents a nook in Allen Fieldhouse (somewhere near the Dippin’ Dots) for its trophy engraver.

Still, when the first “How We Play’’ schedule was released, KU found a bargain on the front end of the round-robin.
Sure, some potential battles existed. Yet the Jayhawks rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit against Iowa State with relative ease, overcame a comeback bid at Texas and successfully escaped two or three layers of Texas A&M mud. KU also dispatched both Kansas State and Baylor by 18 points apiece.

By remaining perfect, the 7-0 Jayhawks carry a two-game conference lead. Any of the next four road games can be considered tossups. Yet the confidence KU lacked at the beginning of the season because of its inexperience, is now fully engaged.

“It definitely takes a lot of pressure off,’’ said senior guard Conner Teahan. “If we can keep taking care of business, especially on the road, that’s really going to help us out. A two-game lead can be squandered quickly in this league.’’
TCJ


The Cyclones host No.5 Kansas. It’s not just a chance for ISU to knock off a top ten team and have the kind of experience every college basketball player dreams off.

It’s a chance to get the NCAA selection committee’s attention.

That is what this game is really about. The goal every season for the Cyclones, and really any basketball team, is to make the NCAA Tournament.

The easiest way for them to do that this season is to win the games they should and pick up a marquee win or two.

There arguably is no bigger win on the schedule than one over the Jayhawks. They are a Final Four candidate. They are the front runner to win the Big 12. They are a true blue blood of the sport.

ISU doesn’t have that many chances left to get a win they can hang their hat on that will truly impress the selection committee.
gocyclones.com


SI's Luke Winn's Power Rankings moves KU to #2

VOTE for the Kansas Jayhawks student section


VOTE for Coach Self's Assists Foundation


VOTE for Thomas Robinson for Zag's Blog's National Player of the Year


Kirk Hinrich made his season debut late Wednesday night, scoring seven points in 14 minutes during his Atlanta Hawks' 105-83 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs.

Hinrich missed the first 18 games of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery.

...Yet, a bright spot for the Hawks was the return of Hinrich, who Atlanta has missed despite its solid start. A former Sioux City West prep standout and All-American at the University of Kansas, Hinrich started 22 of 24 games for the Hawks last season after coming over in a trade from Washington.

"It felt pretty good tonight. I'm happy," Hinrich said. "The last thing I wanted to happen was to come back and have some sort of setback, or wasn't able to just do the things I needed to do to contribute."
Sioux City Journal


If you haven’t seen Brittney Griner yet, you’re missing out.

The 6-foot-8 center from Baylor continues to dominate women’s college basketball as she’s midway through her junior year season.

It’s not just because of her height. It’s not just her ability to dunk, a rarity in women’s basketball.

It’s her incredible reach on defense that has opponent’s game planning around her.

“She’s ridiculously talented offensively,” said Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson. “I’m not trying to discredit her on that end, but she is more impactful on the defensive end,”

This weekend, the Kansas women’s basketball team will have the daunting task of defending Griner and the No. 1 Lady Bears (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Waco, Texas.

With a wingspan of over seven feet, 3 inches, Griner consumes any basketballs that come inside the paint. She leads the NCAA with 5.3 blocked shots per game.

The Jayhawks (16-3, 5-2 Big 12) must rely on their own big woman, 6-foot-3 junior forward Carolyn Davis, who will be matched up with Griner for almost the entire game.
UDK


Kansas forward Carolyn Davis first exchanged elbows with Baylor’s 6-foot-8 Brittney Griner as a high school junior in Houston. She knows what’s coming Saturday when the Jayhawks visit the undefeated and top-ranked Bears.

“It’s a daunting task,” Davis said.

For sure, but one Kansas is best suited to tackle in years. The 7 p.m., game in Waco, Texas, will match the league’s top teams. Kansas, at 5-2, stands in second place.

It’s rarified air for coach Bonnie Henrickson’s program, which hasn’t finished higher than seventh in the league since she took over in 2005.

Kansas, 16-3 overall, is coming off a signature victory, a 19-point triumph over Texas Tech on Wednesday.

The win ended a 12-game Jayhawks’ losing streak against the Red Raiders and was authored by Davis, a 6-3 junior who scored a season-high 34 points.

“It gives us a lot of confidence going into this game,” Davis said.

Saturday’s meeting matches the Big 12’s top offensive teams. Baylor averages 81.7 points; the Jayhawks, 74 points. Griner leads the league in scoring at 22.7; Davis is second at 18.5.

The Jayhawks are angling for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000, which is also the last time the team crafted a winning record in conference play.
KC Star



Big 12/College News

Big 12 Schedule & Results


Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas was clearly peeved when he told the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette on Wednesday that Missouri’s move to the Southeastern Conference next school year was “selfish” and “disruptive.”

But Neinas didn’t just stop there when contacted by telephone by The Star on Thursday afternoon.

He was asked why he was saying those things now when Missouri’s move to the SEC in 2012-13 was already announced, just as Neinas had already assured West Virginia’s move from the Big East to the Big 12 would happen in 2012.

“Because it’s true,” Neinas said.

Neinas went on to say that the Big 12 offered Missouri concessions to stay in the Big 12 and not move to the SEC until 2013-14.

But Neinas would not reveal any specifics of that offer and supposed concessions, but did contend that SEC commissioner Mike Slive had told Neinas that Slive would be willing to delay MU’s inclusion in the SEC until 2013-14.

“Mike Slive,” Neinas said, “said that he could live with 13 teams (for 2012). He advised Missouri not once, but twice. Mike also advanced our proposal to Missouri as did our (Big 12) chairman, Burns Hargis.

“Missouri declined and said they wanted to go in ’12.

“They knew full well what would happen if they went in ’12 because it was a domino theory,” opening up further conference chaos across the nation.

“That’s exactly what’s happened,” Neinas said.

The Big 12 is counting on West Virginia to restore the league to 10 teams and help fulfill its obligation to Fox Sports Net, which begins a 13-year, $1.2 billion cable TV rights deal this season. But the Big East intends to hold West Virginia to the conference’s 27-month departure notice, which would allow the Mountaineers to relocate in 2014-15.

A judge has ordered a nonbinding mediation between the parties and scheduled a status conference for Feb. 9.
Missouri, in November, informed the Big 12 it was heading to the SEC in 2012. Soon thereafter, Neinas said, he took part in a teleconference involving “the SEC, the Big East, the ACC, the Mountain West and Conference USA.”

During that teleconference Neinas suggested some of a moratorium on conference moves for the 2012 season.

“I said if we all hold serve we can avoid money, litigation and have a reasonable and orderly transition process if it happens in 2013 rather than 2012,” Neinas said. “Because of the date Missouri said they were leaving, it put everybody in a bind.”
KC Star


Bill Self came next. His tenure showcased the programs true potential. He won two Big Ten championships, finished second once, won six NCAA tournament games and reached the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 in three years in Champaign.

Comparably, Weber began his career looking like he was going to carry Self’s torch. The Illini went 26-7 overall, 13-3 in the Big Ten, won the Big Ten and reached the Sweet 16 in Weber’s first year. In his second season, Illinois was 37-2, won the conference and lost in the national championship game to North Carolina.

Since then, Weber and the program have dropped off. In the last seven seasons, Illinois has gone 59-52 in conference, failed to reach the NCAA tournament twice and hasn’t advanced past the second round.

Illinois’ last four coaches have proven the Illini can be among the top 10 programs in the country. What is expected now is for it to be consistently there. By all accounts, Illinois should be in the same sentence with the likes of Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State and Syracuse.

Part of that equation is recruiting. Illinois is as packed any state with high school talent. If you can win Illinois in recruiting, you can compete for a national championship. Kansas won a title with Sherron Collins. Duke won a title with Jon Scheyer. Memphis finished second with Derrick Rose. Kentucky is likely to be near there with Anthony Davis this season. Upcoming recruits Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor could have the same effect.

Which brings us back to the opening question. While Weber has won consistently, won big early in his tenure, but not lately, could his job still be in jeopardy even if Illinois reaches the NCAA tournaments and bows out quickly?
ESPN


Honeymoon? Over.

Do you realize Sean Miller is 60-30 in his first 90 games since he took over a busted program whose leading players were Jamelle Horne and Nic Wise, neither of whom got a sniff in the NBA draft?

Lute Olson was 55-35 through 90 Arizona games. Why, Mike Krzyzewski was 43-47 in his first 90 games at Duke.

And now Miller can't coach in the clutch? Such are the standards at Arizona.

The reversal has been so ridiculous that Miller was recently asked if maybe he should re-examine his methods.

"I'm not changing," he said. "The players are gonna change."

After the Wildcats beat Washington State 85-61 Thursday night, little changed. Arizona still has no size, no consistency, no go-to shooter, an all-freshman starting backcourt and perhaps the least effective bench at Arizona in 25 years.

And yet nobody has toyed with the Wildcats or taken them to the woodshed. They lost by 11 to Gonzaga in what was a 62-56 game with two minutes remaining. They lost by 10 to Mississippi State in a two-possession game with three minutes to go.

Given his team's flaws, you could make a case that Miller should be a strong contender as Pac-12 coach of the year.
Arizona Daily Star


A week ago, during an embarrassing home loss to Vanderbilt that wasn't as close as the final 10-point margin, Grant showed his temper in a way we hadn't seen before. He earned one technical and probably deserved another and the automatic ejection that would've gone with it.

As vivid as that expression of frustration was, Grant raised even more eyebrows Wednesday night in his postgame comments at South Carolina. He did it without raising his voice, but the effect was jarring just the same.

Two sentences stood out:

"We're playing an entitled brand of basketball, and it's very frustrating as a coach," Grant said.

Entitled? Wow. Players in a program that hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2006 acting entitled? That's disturbing, especially in late January as a season starts to skid.

"And for me right now," Grant said, "I have to self-evaluate what I'm doing as a coach when it consistently feels like winning is not the priority that it needs to be on our team."

Whoa. Winning isn't the priority it needs to be? Consistently? What other priority is there for a college basketball player on a team that was ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation earlier this season? Padding your stats? Impressing NBA scouts?

This isn't the first time this season that Grant has questioned his team on an intangible level, which makes his stern postgame message even more alarming. It means the players, at least some of them, didn't get the message before. Or they got it and didn't respond to it.

Either way, not good.
AL.com



And just for fun, coming soon to a Super Bowl commercial near you



Recruiting


Former Springfield Hillcrest star Trey Starks strikes again.  The 5'10" Starks, who led Hillcrest to the 2010 Missouri class 5 state championship threw down a monster dunk for 9th ranked Seward County Community College in Thursday nights 81-74 loss to rival Garden City.

Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self was reported to be in attendance Thursday night.

Starks gained national fame for his amazing dunk at the 2010 state championship.  The alley oop jam has received over 270,000 hits on YouTube and was the ESPN SportsCenter "Top Play". Click the link for links to the videos.
KSPR


Andrew White scored 33 points, including 21 in the first quarter, as Miller defeated Virginia Episcopal, 75-63, on Thursday night in a matchup of two of the top teams in the state.

White, who has committed to play for Kansas next year, came out sizzling, scoring all of his team’s 21 first-quarter points. White went 5 of 6 from 3-point range in the opening quarter and accentuated his scoring blitz with a steal and dunk followed by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the quarter.

“I knew this would be a big game I wanted to rise to the occasion a little more than I have in the past,” said White. 
“When I start hitting early, it kind of opens things up for other players.” 

VES could not match White basket for basket and ended the quarter down 21-11. After White's sensational first quarter, VES coach Curtis Staples knew his team was in for a long night.

“White came out and was on fire. When a guy comes out and gets it going like that, it’s hard to stop him,” Staples said.
Daily Progress


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


ESPN HS TV schedule


My 2011 Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, KU Alumni games, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos now on Youtube

Kansas

 VIDEO: Gameday: The Allen Fieldhouse Experience


With the departure of Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar and the ineligibility of freshman guard Ben McLemore, the three-point shooting threats for Kansas entering this season were noticeably thin. The team seemed to count on senior guard Conner Teahan and junior guard Elijah Johnson to knock down jump shots and open up the floor for junior center Jeff Withey and junior forward Thomas Robinson. Even with a 17-3 record and a No. 5 ranking in the latest polls, the three-point shooting has been off and on for most the season. And lately, it’s been mostly off.

“We’re just shooting the ball so bad,” coach Bill Self said after defeating Texas A&M Monday. “I mean, good gosh. If it’s not for Tyshawn here of late, who’s making shots?”

In the 64-54 victory against the Aggies, Kansas was 4-for-20 from beyond the three-point line. In seven Big 12 games, the Jayhawks are shooting 32.8 percent from the three-point line. Those numbers can largely be attributed to Tyshawn Taylor, a seemingly unlikely three-point threat. Since conference play began, Taylor is fifth in three-point shooting percentage (.40) and eighth in threes made (14). Teahan and Johnson are absent from both lists on the Big 12 website, which rank just the top 15 in each category. But the shots the duo are taking can be considered good attempts.

“That’s the coaches fault if they’re shooting the shot you want and they don’t go in,” Self said. “And that’s basically what they’re doing for the most part.”

…“I thought Elijah went kind of haywire, brain dead in the first half with a couple he clipped off,” Self said. “But for the most part, those are shots we want to take.”

With the somewhat surprising three-point efficiency from Taylor and the All-American season from Thomas Robinson, the shooting difficulties haven’t proved too costly yet.

“We’re better shooters than that,” Self said. “Conner and Elijah are good shooters, we’re just not making them right now.”
UDK


Iowa State forward Royce White knows his free throw shooting is a problem.

So does coach Fred Hoiberg.

So what’s the key to fixing it?

“It got to be a confidence issue,” Hoiberg said. “That’s a huge thing with free throw shooting. It gets mental.”

White scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a 62-55 loss to Texas on Tuesday, but he went 1 for 7 at the line. He missed his final six free throws, which included an airball and one shot where the ball slipped out of his hand.

Hoiberg could tell White’s body position at the foul line wasn’t the same against the Longhorns as in recent games.

“He’s been good in practice,” Hoiberg said. “He hit a couple last game, game before that. The stroke has looked much better.”

White is hitting 51.2 percent at the line this season. He’s shooting only 38.8 percent in conference play.

After the Texas loss, White felt his free throws played a big role in the outcome.
GoCyclones.com


This season, the Cyclones already have four Big 12 victories, and while they don’t necessarily look like an NCAA tourney team, that could change in the next week. Iowa State plays host to Kansas on Saturday and Kansas State on Tuesday; a sweep, while unlikely, would provide a huge boost to their NCAA hopes, but getting swept could end them.

Iowa State lacks a marquee win, but has a shot at getting a few of those down the stretch. There are two games remaining against K-State and Baylor, along with Saturday’s game with Kansas and a Feb. 29 meeting against Missouri.

Even if the Cyclones don’t get that marquee win, they have a legit shot at an NIT bid, somewhat surprising considering the state of the program last season.

And, hey, more help is on the horizon for next season in the form of – what else? – two more transfers, guard Korie Lucious from Michigan State and forward Will Clyburn from Utah.

3 to watch

Kansas at Iowa State, Saturday, 1 p.m., ESPN: Kansas has won 10 in a row overall and is 4-0 in true road games this season. Iowa State would love to end the winning streak.
Rivals/Yahoo


Conner Teahan didn’t need a stack of box scores to give an evaluation of his recent three-point shooting stats.
“They’re not good,” the senior guard said following KU’s 64-54 victory over Texas A&M on Monday. “You know what? I don’t even know what the numbers are, but when was the last time I made more than two threes in a game? I can’t remember.”

It’s actually been four games since Teahan put in a pair of treys, as he went 2-for-6 from three in KU’s 81-46 victory over Texas Tech on Jan. 11.

Against Texas A&M, the Leawood native made one of five threes to drop his season average to 36 percent (32 of 88).

“It is frustrating, because you know that’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s what you bring to the team,” Teahan said. “I’m a three-point shooter. It’s not that I don’t do too much else, but that’s my key cornerstone I need to bring to the team. When I’m not knocking it down, I’m frustrated with myself, and I know my teammates have to get frustrated.”
LJW


LJW: Testing Bill Self's theory on KU's late-clock defense


Maybe you knew this, but still surprised me: #KUbball been ranked in top 10 every year but one (05-06) since 89-90.
https://twitter.com/#!/mellinger/status/162293571569987584


Take a look at the shoes the KU coaches will be wearing for Coaches vs. Cancer "suits & sneakers" this weekend
https://twitter.com/#!/KU_Hoops/status/162332684293652480/photo/1

VOTE for the Kansas Jayhawks student section


LJW: Jayhawks in the NBA


Since conference season began, the women’s basketball team has not had a convincing win inside Allen Fieldhouse.

That all changed on Wednesday night when Kansas dismantled No. 21 Texas Tech 62-43 to give the team its second conference home victory.

“I thought we got off to good start finally at home,” coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “We talked about how we played with a great sense of urgency on the road and built leads and were able to withstand some leads on the road and hadn’t done that at home.”

Texas Tech’s Red Raiders coach Kristy Curry also pointed out that defending the home court is the most important factor in the Big 12.

“The bottom line is that Kansas played great tonight,” Curry said. They defended their home court like you have to do in this league.”

After dropping two of their last three games at home to Kansas State and Texas A&M, the Jayhawks felt like they needed to make a statement to move their season in a positive direction.

“We are more mature,” Henrickson said. “We are, I think, playing more of a sense of urgency and responsibility.”
UDK

UDK photos


Texas Tech had no answer for Carolyn Davis on Wednesday night.

The Lady Raiders were without senior forward Kierra Mallard, who stayed home with an undisclosed injury, and Davis took advantage. The 6-foot-3 forward scored 20 of her game-high 34 points in the first half to lead the Jayhawks to a 62-43 victory at Allen Fieldhouse.

“She’s so tough to defend,” Tech coach Kristy Curry said of Davis. “No matter who you’re trying to defend her with, if you give up dribble penetration and don’t have great help and great ball pressure you’re going to have some problems. That’s where we broke down.”

The loss is the fifth in a row for No. 21 Tech (14-5, 2-5), which is likely to lose its spot in the top 25 when the next poll comes out Monday. The Lady Raiders have been ranked for 10 consecutive weeks and reached as high as No. 10 two weeks ago.

It was an effortless performance for Davis, whose shots went largely uncontested. Her 17 field goals were two shy of Tech’s total for the game, and her 34 points were the most by a Big 12 Conference player this season. She shot 71 percent in just 29 minutes, relegated to the Kansas bench after picking up her third foul early in the second half.
Lubbock AJ


One of the more impressive parts about Davis’ night was the fact that all of her points came off of field goals. Davis, who averages nearly six trips to the free throw line per game, shot — and missed — just one free throw on Wednesday. Henrickson said seeing that kind of point total with just one trip to the free throw line was unusual.

“There’s a thing in the NBA, with high volume scorers, that says for every three points a guy scores, there’s a free throw,” Henrickson said. “That’s the ratio. So for her to have 34 points and none from the free throw line, that’s amazing.”

Davis now has scored more than 30 points in a game seven times in her KU career. Wednesday’s total was four off of her career-high of 38, which she recorded against Duquesne in March of 2011.
LJW


LJW photos



Big 12/College News

Yahoo front page 1/26/12, projected NCAA tourney field


Years of basketball experience have taught Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson to respect the guards who are his teammates the way a quarterback values his offensive linemen, or a singer treasures that perfectly tuned accompanist. One cannot shine without the other.

"The ball has to go through them first," Robinson says, "before it comes to me."

Playing last season with All-American center Jared Sullinger taught Ohio State's shooting seniors how much easier their jobs could become with more room to operate. Jon Diebler and David Lighty saw their 3-point accuracy grow dramatically as defenders drifted inside, fretting about the damage Sullinger might inflict in the post.

"Honestly, Jon and Dave, they always said thank you," Sullinger says. "What made us special — it really didn't matter who shot the ball, who was the leading scorer. We wanted to succeed."

…If ever there were a season in which that "March is for guards" theory should be discredited, it is this one. If a team must rely on superior guard play to win the 2012 NCAA championship, the title might be left vacant.

There is no more Kyrie Irving, Jimmer Fredette or Kemba Walker in Division I, and no reasonable facsimile. The teams that appear to be most powerful are built around big men.
Sporting News (Video at the link, analysis of TRob)


Big 12 Schedule & Results


The whistle blew, the crowd hissed and for a while, it seemed like the Missouri Tigers, the nation’s No. 2 team, would do the same thing they’ve done all season long — find a way to win.

This was Wednesday, the second half of what turned out to be a 79-72 loss, and what should have been a momentum-turning play in favor of Oklahoma State — a ridiculous alley-oop slam by guard Markel Brown that had cut the Cowboys’ deficit to three with seven minutes left — appeared to swing Missouri’s way when Brown was issued his second technical foul of the game for taunting.

This not only sent the crowd of 9,476 at Gallagher-Iba Arena into a tizzy, it also sent Brown — who glared at a Missouri player following the slam — to the locker room and Marcus Denmon to the free-throw line. Denmon made both, Ricardo Ratliffe added two more, and all of a sudden, the Tigers had a 60-53 lead with 6 minutes, 31 seconds remaining.

This was the moment when Missouri — a one-loss team fresh off an impressive road win over Baylor — should have pulled away, should have buried a team that was not only sitting with a 9-10 record but riding a three-game losing streak.

Only the Tigers didn’t, as Oklahoma State rallied to outscore Missouri 26-12 the rest of the way.
KC Star


OSU students, who have been suffering through a difficult basketball season, rushed the floor to celebrate State's biggest victory since beating No. 1-ranked Kansas two years ago.

"That was a pretty great feeling, too," said OSU's Keiton Page, on the floor for both major upsets.

Nash scored 27 points, 19 in a fabulous second half, as the Cowboys dug out of an eight-point deficit in the final 14 minutes.
"He's a very good player who had a great night," said Missouri coach Frank Haith. "Oklahoma State played loose and easy. They were just trying to get a 'W' in the league.

"When you are on the road and you've got a bull's-eye on your chest, you're going to get everyone's best shot."
Tulsa World


Following the Kansas State basketball team’s 69-47 victory over Texas Tech on Wednesday at United Spirit Arena, coach Frank Martin viewed his bench players the same way the rest of us look at auto insurance.

He had no idea when, where or why he would need them against the Red Raiders, but when he did he was awfully glad they were there.

“That’s something that you need as a team,” Martin said. “Your bench can’t be potluck, because then as a coach you don’t know what to do. You don’t know who to put in there and then you lose confidence.”

That didn’t happen here. Not even close. K-State’s reserves outscored Texas Tech’s starters 38-34, and, in a roundabout way, won the game.

The Wildcats’ starters took the court in front of mostly empty red seats, but made the mistakes of a team playing in front of a record road crowd. The reserves came on strong and scored 24 points in the first half to give No. 22 K-State a 31-20 lead at the break.

Not only did K-State’s bench prove it was capable of outplaying Texas Tech on its own, it sent a serious message to Angel Rodriguez, Rodney McGruder, Jamar Samuels, Thomas Gipson and Will Spradling, who opened the game on the floor.

Play better in the second half or don’t play at all.
KC Star


More growth for the Big 12?

The subject gained steam on Wednesday when the league’s four-member expansion committee met during a teleconference.

According to a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education, which quoted two anonymous sources, Louisville and Brigham Young were back in play for league membership.

But Bob Burda, the Big 12’s associate commissioner for communications, said no action was taken.

“It was a routine call, with nothing of substance discussed,” Burda said. “No further calls or meetings are scheduled at this time.”

BYU and Louisville were considered by the Big 12 when the league looked to replenish after losing Missouri and Texas A&M to the Southeastern Conference.

The Big 12 added TCU and West Virginia and there had been no indication that further expansion was on the horizon.

Besides, West Virginia’s inclusion is more immediate concern.

The Mountaineers and Big 12 are planning the move that the Big East is blocking through the courts.

The Big 12 is expected to have its 2012 football schedule completed soon, perhaps by Feb. 1 and it’s expected to include the Mountaineers.

A judge in Rhode Island, where the Big East office is located, has ordered a non-binding mediation between the parties and scheduled a status conference for Feb. 9.
KC Star


Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said Tuesday that coming to Maryland was the best decision of his life. He said his family absolutely loves living in the D.C. area. He also is confident that he can get the Terps turned around. So, too, is Gary Williams. Williams had nothing but praise for Turgeon. Meanwhile, assistant coach Dalonte Hill will come off his two-game DUI suspension for the Terps' game against Virginia Tech on Saturday. Additional in-house penalties were assessed against Hill.
Andy Katz


Despite having as impressive a resumé as there is in college athletics, Tom Izzo never has been one to grandstand his personal accomplishments. When asked earlier in the week, Izzo without a hint of humility said winning his 400th career game meant “nothing” to him.

But humility was the flavor of the week as Izzo walked off the court to a standing ovation by 14,797 fans after his No. 10 MSU basketball team beat Minnesota 68-52 on Wednesday. Humbled and holding back tears, Izzo waved to a fanbase that’s followed along as he elevated the Spartan basketball program to an elite level in his 17 years at the helm.
MSU News


Will Barton and Tarik Black, two key players for Memphis, weren't around to see the end of Wednesday night's game against Rice.

Their departure after a second-half skirmish that saw multiple players ejected just meant they didn't see the ultimate margin of the Tigers victory over the Owls.
AP


How many players does it take to make a women's college basketball team?

Fifteen. For now.

Women's basketball coaches around the country have been watching with concern the past few months after a committee recommended to the NCAA that the number of women's basketball scholarships drop from 15 to 13.

The recommendation was part of a larger proposal that included reducing Division I football and men's basketball scholarships as well. The measure was viewed as both cost-saving and a potential contributor to improved parity.

But the NCAA Division I Board of Directors rejected the proposal at last week's NCAA annual convention in Indianapolis by a narrow 8-7 vote.

The proposal may not be dead yet, however.

The board referred the recommendation to the Collegiate Model: Rules Working Group for further study, and it could well come back to the NCAA Division I presidents in the spring for another vote.
ESPN



Recruiting


It was a record, quite frankly, that was thought to be untouchable.

After all, Nino Samuel’s McPherson Invitational record of 114 points in 1972 was 26 more than any other player in tournament history and even with Christian Ulsaker’s amazing tournament last year, he was still 34 points short.

But then along came Wichita North’s Conner Frankamp.

The KU verbal commit entered Saturday’s fifth-place game with Derby 48 points shy of Samuel’s record.

But in a jaw-dropping performance -- and not aware of what the record was -- Frankamp went out and dropped 48 points on the Panthers, though his Redskins wound up losing, 66-61.

If he’d had a decent start, Samuel’s single-game record of 54 could have been in jeopardy. Frankamp was just 2 of 5 for six points in the first period.

Then he started to heat up. He scored 15 in the second quarter to get to 21 by half, and added 10 more in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, he was unstoppable with 17.

Frankamp had scored 28 against Blue Valley West, then hit Buhler for 38, including the game-winning shot. He finished Saturday 16 of 28 from the field -- 6 of 13 from 3-point -- and made all 10 of his free throws. He played 32 minutes in every game.
McPherson Sentinel


The Grizzlies ended up outscoring the Redskins 21-5 in the second quarter and led 35-19 at halftime. Wichita North coach Gary Squires credited Northwest for controlling the boards and playing physical in the second quarter, but he also knew Frankamp didn’t have many scoring opportunities.

“We only scored five points that second quarter so obviously he wasn’t getting any touches,” Squires said.

Squires made sure Frankamp got more touches in the second half and the junior responded with 25 points, including 15 in the third quarter. Frankamp scored the Redskins’ first eight points of the third quarter and then the final seven points of the quarter.

“We told Conner, ‘You’ve got to go to work up top,’ ” Squires said. “We’ll give him the ball at the top of that zone or if they go man, we’ll go to our sets like we do for him.”

Squires also had the Redskins press full court and make the Grizzlies work before getting into their offense. The press and Frankamp’s third-quarter performance helped North (7-6) climb within nine heading into the final quarter.

The Redskins cut the deficit to eight twice in the fourth quarter and the final time came when Frankamp hit two free throws after the Grizzlies’ Spenser Gales was called for a personal foul and a technical foul, resulting in Gales fouling out.

…Frankamp finished with 37 points after scoring 19 in the teams’ first meeting of the year, which Northwest won 61-59.Video highlights at the link
Kansas CW


Thirty of the country’s top prep school basketball teams, up to 100 college coaches on hand to evaluate prospects, and several NBA scouts will gather for the 14th annual National Prep School Invitational.

Held at Rhode Island College from Thursday, February 2 through Sunday, February 5, the nation’s elite exposure event during the school year will once again have its top games broadcasted on COX Sports.

With an upwards of 50 players impressively already committed to colleges, the event’s main goal is to provide a springboard for many more to join that group.

The featured young talent competing ranges all the way from the traditional powers of the New England Prep School Athletic Conference to as far as the Canarias Basketball Academy of the Canary Islands.

Highlighting the field is last year’s National Prep Championship Tournament winner St. Thomas More (CT) and NEPSAC champion Maine Central Institute (ME). Previous titleholders Brewster Academy (NH), Bridgton Academy (ME), Notre Dame Prep (MA) and Tilton School (NH) return as well.
ESPN


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


ESPN HS TV schedule


My 2011 Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, KU Alumni games, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos now on Youtube

“I definitely work on it every day. Before practice, I’ll shoot between 50 and 100 free throws. I know they are free points, so I have to make them.”

Withey has converted 50 of 59 free throws for a team-leading 84.7 percent. He made just 17 of 33 in limited duty last year for 51.5 percent.

“I’ve been practicing free throws since the beginning of the season,” Withey said. “This year I’ve definitely improved. I’ve been working at it and will continue to work at it.”

…Overall this season, Withey has made 52.3 percent of his field goal attempts to go with the torrid free-throw mark.

“One of the underrated things he’s doing ... he’s shooting 85 percent from the free-throw line which is very good for a big man,” KU assistant coach Joe Dooley said, subbing for head coach Bill Self on Tuesday’s Hawk Talk radio show. “He draws a lot of fouls. It’s a good thing because at the end of a game, a lot of times you have to take guys out. You can leave him in the game to protect the basket and also know if he rebounds the ball, you’ve got a pretty good free-throw shooter. When he rebounds it, we hopefully can go to the other end and make free throws.”

…“What we are getting out of Jeff is consistency,” Dooley said. “It’s not necessarily shots he blocks, but also ones he alters ... or people stop and shoot pullups as opposed to getting all the way to the rim. As he gets through this year into next year, he will continue to develop.”

…Noted Dooley: “Tyshawn’s not turning it over as much in spurts. In Tyshawn’s defense — and coach (Self) has alluded to this so many times — the ball is in his hands so much more than any player we’ve had since we’ve been here. He has to do so many things. He is continuing to grow, adapting to his role, knowing when he needs to score and when he needs to be a distributor, which he has done well the past couple of weeks.”
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2012/jan/25/practice-makes-perfect-jeff-withey



Conner Teahan is living the dream.

He grew up a mere 30 minutes from the University of Kansas in Leewood, KS, and, like most people that grow up a mere 30 minutes from Lawrence, he's been a lifelong, diehard Jayhawk fan.

"There aren't going to be many bigger KU fans than I was. I'd be crying when they lost," Teahan said with a laugh after scoring five points in a 64-54 win over Texas A&M at Phog Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night. "Whenever I thought about what I wanted to do in college, the number one priority was play basketball at KU. That's all I wanted to do and I got the opportunity to."

Every kid grows up with a dream like that.

…"I had scholarship offers. I was pretty much Missouri Valley," Teahan said. "I was going to go to Wichita State when Mark Turgeon was there. I was going to also play football. I was thinking about maybe going to K-State or Missouri, but I couldn't do it. I just like KU too much."

…It puts Teahan in a bit of an awkward situation. Here he is, the elder statesmen on the roster at 23 years old, but how much of a leader can he be when his goals are so different than that of so many of his teammates.

"Not too many of these guys are doing what I'm doing," Teahan said. "When I try to motivate and lead or if one of my teammates is down, I try to cheer them back up by saying 'man, we gotta get it right because time flies by so fast'. I just tell them about my experience, how fast five years have gone by. You don't ever know when you're going to be done with basketball."

"I'm going to be done with basketball as soon as the season's over. I won't ever be playing basketball again. I just made up my mind on that. I'm not going to try and go with the overseas route or anything like that. You gotta get it your all every single day, I try to set that example in the locker room."

So why do it?

"This is something that I always wanted to do," he explained. "I'm just happy that I got the opportunity to play right now."

…Teahan did things differently. He was eligible his first three seasons, but in what would have been his senior year, he realized that he wasn't going to be getting any playing time. Instead of toiling away his final year of college buried on the bench, Teahan opted to take his redshirt and see if things would be better this season.

"That was our plan," Self said. "We talked about it and he was like 'Coach, if I can't be in the rotation, let me sit out and then I could hopefully be in the rotation next year'. That's been our plan with him."

He wasn't alone, either. Three of the starters on this year's team are redshirts.

"We've had so much depth that Withey and Releford and Teahan are all redshirts. That's been good for us," Self said.

…Teahan was finally going to play. He was finally going to be a key member of this team, playing important minutes for one of the best teams in the country.

But if Teahan could have his way, he would be back on the bench.

"To be honest with you, if Ben McLemore was able to play, I probably wouldn't be playing right now," Teahan said. "That's just how it is. I feel absolutely terrible with what's happened to Ben and he would make our team better. So I'm sitting here like I want him to be able to play. I want to be in a position where I have to beat him or Travis out. Its very unfortunate what's happened to them, because Ben and Jamari would be a great addition to our team."

"But I'm reaping the benefits a little bit and I'm now able to do something that I've dreamed about doing. Then again, they would have helped our team out a lot."

That's how much Teahan cares about this Kansas program.

He's living out a dream he's had since he knew what basketball was but he would trade it all to make his team better.

If that doesn't define what a team player should be, than I don't know what does.
http://www.ballinisahabit.net/2012/01/conner-teahan-is-living-his-dream-but.html


How many points, I asked Jay Kornegay of LVH (formerly known as Las Vegas Hilton), is Allen Fieldhouse worth this season, compared to a neutral court, when setting a line?

“Probably five, five-and-a-half points,” said Kornegay, who has been working in Las Vegas for 23 years. “That’s maybe a tad above average for a Kansas team during the Bill Self era.”

I would have bet one of my chins it would have been worth more like eight or nine points.

The five/five-and-a-half point edge means the swing in a home-and-home series with a school that has a similar home-court advantage would be 10 to 12 points.

“There are certain schools that actually don’t have a home-court advantage,” Kornegay said. “There’s just nobody there. I know it’s kind of hard for you guys out in Kansas to picture that, but TCU’s a prime example.”

…“Those rankings,” Kornegay said, “no matter what sport we’re talking about, they are useless. They are useless as far as setting a line. If Kansas were to play Baylor at a neutral site, we don’t look at the rankings. Do I look at them? Yeah, I just kind of laugh at them a little.”
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2012/jan/25/no-place-home-vegas-oddsmaker-talks-kus-advantage-/?mens_basketball


LJW: Jayhawks in the NBA


VOTE for the Kansas Jayhawks student section


To hear Texas A&M coach Gary Blair tell it, the Kansas University women’s basketball team has nothing to worry about.

“Give this team credit,” said Blair, following last Saturday’s 76-65 victory over KU at Allen Fieldhouse. “They’ll make the tournament. But they’re going to have a lot of games come down to the wire.”

The loss to No. 14 Texas A&M dropped the Jayhawks to 15-3 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play and turned out to be one of the few conference games so far that did not go down to the wire. With the Jayhawks slated to take on No. 21 Texas Tech at 7 tonight in the fieldhouse, proving Blair right is on the minds of the Jayhawks.

“It’s a bounce-back league,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “We’ve got a great opportunity to get one, and it’ll be a great game.”

In winning three conference road games for the first time since 2001, the Jayhawks have jumped out to a strong start in conference play and have been one of the surprise teams of the early going. While they’ve been particularly good on the road — winning at Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma State — they’ve been somewhat of a disappointment at home. With home losses to Kansas State and Texas A&M and a double-overtime victory against Iowa State, the friendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse have yet to be too kind to the home team, and several Jayhawks said recently that their struggles at home have made it difficult to enjoy their success away from Lawrence.
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2012/jan/25/struggles-phog-perplex-jayhawks/


Angel Goodrich has always possessed a special ability to locate the open player in the offense. In her first season on the court, Goodrich became the fastest player in Kansas women's basketball history to reach 100 assists, doing so in only 13 games.

Midway through her junior campaign, she has already climbed to fourth on the all-time KU career assists chart, eclipsing the 400-mark in a mere 58 games. Goodrich continues to set up the shooter with great efficiency this season with more than 7.5 assists per game. Different from years past, however, Goodrich is now finding that sometimes the best player to take the shot already has the ball in her hands.

In her sophomore season, Goodrich ranked sixth in the NCAA with 6.3 assists per game and 11th in the nation with a 2.24 assist-to-turnover ratio while also posting a team-high 47 steals. Fully aware of Goodrich's unique skill set to fill a box score, Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson noticed one area where Goodrich could contribute even more on the floor.

"Coach and I talked about it, and we both agreed that I needed to be more of a scorer," said Goodrich, who averaged 7.3 points per game in her first two seasons as a Jayhawk. "If I can get the bigs to come up on me, then it opens up more for the bigs, and I can dish it off. If they don't come up on me, then I can score, too. I worked on my shot over the summer, and I'm trying to work on it during practice. My biggest goal is trying to be more of a scorer."
Big12sports.com feature


The Jayhawks gathered together and supported each other in a riotously funny seventh-annual edition of the student-athlete variety show JayRock, Tuesday night at the Kansas Union.

Scot Pollard hosted the show produced by the Kansas Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and donations for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital were taken at the door. Each team competed to raise money for the charity and the Kansas rowing team took the top spot as the team that raised the most money.

The rowing team made it 2-for-2 as the panel of judges voted the team's "Super Mario Bros." the best act of the evening. The football team took second after a synchronized swimming rendition of "My Heart Will Go On." The women's tennis squad earned the third-place finish with their "Dance Heard Round the World" performance.

JayRock, the annual University of Kansas student-athlete variety show, is relatively new in relation to the storied tradition shared by many of the athletic programs at KU. Since its inception in 2006, however, the show has quickly gained momentum and fame as being one of the best things about being a Jayhawk. For the first three years, the bragging rights for JayRock victory were contained within the confines of Kansas Athletics.

As the event continues to grow, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee looks to the future and hopes to one day open the event to the general public as a way to fundraise for charities of their choice.
http://www.kuathletics.com/sports/saac/spec-rel/012412aaa.html



Big 12/College News


Big 12 Schedule & Results


Last week I did the Kansas-Texas game. Earlier that week someone informed me that Bill Self played against my Michigan team in December of 1982 when he was at Oklahoma State. In fact, as a sub, he made the basket to send the game into overtime. So last Wednesday I tracked down the box score and saw that he had 8 points off the bench. But I also noticed that my starting forwards were 2 for 18 from the field and that Roy Tarpley, who later became a superstar for me, had  only 2 points in 14 minutes of play.

Oh sure, it’s been 30 years, but I was upset that the starting forwards played too much and Tarpley didn’t play enough! I immediately called Steve Fisher, who was my head assistant then. Steve always answers, but this time he just said “Coach, can this wait ’til tommorrow? I’m taking my team on the floor in 12 minutes to play New Mexico.” Fair enough. On the bright side, at least I didn’t distract Fish. His team went on to win 75-70 in Albuquerque.
http://dialglobalsports.com/2012/01/bill-frieder-on-kansas-bracket-busters-and-more/


Preseason All-American team: The list of Wisconsin'sJordan Taylor, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, Connecticut'sJeremy Lamb, North Carolina's Harrison Barnes and Kentucky's Terrence Jones looked good at the time. But if the season ended today, only one of those players (Sullinger) would stand a chance to make the team.

Is the Big 12 the best conference in the country?

It's close, but I'll still take the Big Ten. The parity in that league -- from top to bottom -- is what makes it so special. Just look at some of the results: Northwestern over Michigan State, Nebraska over Indiana, Iowa over Wisconsin and Penn State over Illinois. The threat of upsets is much smaller in the Big 12. You won't see Texas Tech beating Missouri or Oklahoma State topping Kansas. Granted, I think the Big 12 has three legitimate Final Four contenders in Missouri, Kansas and Baylor. I'm not sure the Big Ten can make that claim. Still, parity-wise, the Big Ten is the better league.
ESPN KIng


Royce White led Iowa State (14-6, 4-3) with 15 points, 15 rebounds and five assists but scored just four in the second half and was just 1 of 7 shooting free throws.

…White's scoring all but disappeared in the second half. He missed the rim on a free throw, was called for a violation when he began his shooting motion on another but stopped before letting it go, and then launched an air ball on a 3-pointer.

The game was on the verge of turning into a blooper reel for Iowa State when Melvin Ejim missed a dunk on a 3-on-1 fast break in which he didn't even get the ball over the rim.

But Texas, unfamiliar with having a big lead late, couldn't hold it. Sloppy play with turnovers and missed shots led to a 7-minute scoreless stretch, and Iowa State slowly trimmed the deficit.

Tyrus McGee pulled Iowa State within 48-42 with three free throws with 4:22 to play. Texas responded with a long jumper by Sheldon McClellan and another by Kabongo, and the lead seemed safe until the final minute.

"We had some big breakdowns at the end," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "When we got the lead, we got careless. Overall, I think we made progress."

Simply ending the losing streak was a big step for a young Texas team that is typically an annual title contender in the Big 12. The confidence boost was sorely needed for a team set to face No. 6 Baylor and No. 2 Missouri in the next six days.
Sioux City Journal


Like every other team Texas has faced this season, Iowa State built its entire defensive mission around slowing J'Covan Brown. But eventually, an opponent had to start guarding the other guys.

UT forward Clint Chapman never expected it would happen, though. Like Brown's other teammates, he was so conditioned to being ignored by defenders he didn't even notice when the Cyclones sent a double-team in his direction Tuesday during the Longhorns' 62-55 victory at the Erwin Center.

“If it came, I didn't see it coming,” Chapman said.

The same might be said of UT's offensive makeover Tuesday. With Brown mired in his worst slump of the season, the role players around him suddenly became the guys relied upon in key situations.

Chapman scored eight important points in the first half. Julien Lewis highlighted an early second-half run that gave the Longhorns an 18-point lead. And after Iowa State rallied to pull within seven in the final six minutes, freshmen Myck Kabongo and Sheldon McClellan calmly drained two midrange jumpers apiece to ensure the Longhorns would end their three-game losing streak.

“Our game plan was to slow down Brown,” Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We played off a few guys, and a couple of them made us pay for it.”

Said Brown, who shot 3 for 16 Tuesday and is 18 for 70 over his last three games: “You want to see that from the other guys when I'm struggling.”

For the Longhorns (13-7, 3-4 in the Big 12), the balanced approach at least temporarily provided a boost to their hopes of reaching the NCAA tournament. UT was in dire need of a quality victory, and the Cyclones (14-6, 4-3) are just the second team listed in the top 60 of the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) that UT has beaten this season. Temple is the other.

“Overall, we made some progress,” UT coach Rick Barnes said. “But we still have a way to go.”
San Antonio Express


Jordan Henriquez has been reinstated to the Kansas State basketball team, and he made the trip with the Wildcats to Lubbock, Texas for tonight’s game against Texas Tech.

K-State coach Frank Martin met with Henriquez several times since suspending him indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team last week. Henriquez practiced with the team on Tuesday.

“I feel the time away has helped Jordan re-energize and refocus his efforts for our basketball team,” Martin said in a statement. “He has three years of credibility built up in our program and has been an outstanding representative of Kansas State University, having earned recognition to two Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Rolls. Like a lot of young people, he just lost his focus and needed time to understand his priorities.”

Henriquez will be available to play against the Red Raiders, but Martin hasn’t decided whether he will use him.
KC Star


After Baylor followed two perfect months with two straight losses, coach Scott Drew was glad to see his star player back on his game.

Perry Jones III had 21 points and tied his season-high with 12 rebounds, leading the sixth-ranked Bears to a 77-65 win over Oklahoma on Tuesday night.

It was Jones’ highest scoring output in 11 games, helping Baylor (18-2, 5-2 Big 12) bounce back after consecutive losses to conference leaders Kansas and Missouri, both also Top 10 teams.

“Welcome back, Perry Jones,” Drew said. “After he tweaked that ankle in Kansas, for a game-and-a-half I think that affected him. He had two good practices and mentally got right and physically has gotten better.

“He’s back to playing how he’s capable of playing.”

Pierre Jackson added 16 points and seven assists, Quincy Acy had 13 points and three blocks for the Bears, who shot 54 percent — their fourth time in the last five games to hit at least half of their shots.

They also went 9 for 18 from behind the arc, after coming in as the Big 12’s best 3-point shooting team at 41 percent.
Baylor Lariat


Missouri is leaving the Big 12 to join the SEC, effective next season. OSU coach Travis Ford indicated he would like to schedule nonconference games against Mizzou in the future. But, unless that happens, the clock is going to run out on a series that began in 1926 and is 115 games old.

That's enough to make even a tough old coach a bit sentimental.

"People like me will miss it," Norm Stewart, who coached Missouri from 1967-99, said during a telephone interview this week. "I think the fans will miss it."

Echoed former OSU coach Eddie Sutton, "That will be a contest I think our fans will really miss."

How could they not?

Only Oklahoma, Kansas and Kansas State have made more trips to OSU's campus for basketball than Missouri, which is playing in Stillwater for the 50th time.

Twice-a-year Big Eight battles and once-a-year Big 12 clashes provided epic heroics.

Remember Bryant Reeves' halfcourt heave to force overtime in 1993?

Reserve guard Chad Alexander's buzzer-beating bank shot in 1997?

Doug Smith scoring 40 to lift Missouri to an overtime decision in 1991?

Andy Hopson's school-record 27-rebound performance for OSU in 1973?

Or John Brown's 41-point eruption for Missouri in a rematch later that season?

Burying this rivalry and those moments in a time capsule hurts more than losing hoops relationships with Colorado, Nebraska and (soon) Texas A&M. Sutton called OSU-Missouri a great series, especially when his friend, Stormin' Norman, was coaching the Tigers.

Stewart gave the rivalry not just teeth, but fangs. Sutton - and this is a compliment - said, "They always had a couple of guys that I thought played almost dirty. That's just the way they played though. They just played hard-nosed basketball. There is nothing wrong with that."
Tulsa World


The Big 12 has been without a permanent commissioner since Dan Beebe was fired last September. Former Big Eight commissioner Chuck Neinas, at the urging of Oklahoma president David Boren, replaced Beebe on an interim basis.

When the 79-year-old Neinas accepted the Big 12's offer, he said he expected the appointment to last no more than six months.

"I am not a candidate in any way, shape or form on a permanent basis," Neinas said. "I will offer my services to assist in the search. That's what I've been doing for the last dozen years."

And that could be a problem for those who want Big 12 leaders to follow the Pac-12's model of not limiting itself to candidates well-connected on the collegiate level.

Neinas' search firm has helped numerous universities hire athletic directors and coaches. Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione and football coach Bob Stoops were both recommended to Boren by Neinas.

Perhaps Neinas' firm has the wherewithal to identify a person like Scott, someone who doesn't need a strong college background to make the dramatic and vital changes needed for survival.

The Pac-12 was the Pac-10 when Scott arrived. But within a year on the job he had expanded the league to 12, narrowly failing to grow it to 16 by adding OU, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech.

Scott used his connections in professional sports to help both in expansion and signing the richest standard television deal of any conference.

Scott's impressive accomplishments don't stop there. But you get the idea what the next Big 12 commissioner's resume should include.

Having the skills to negotiate mega-TV deals is critical. So is the leadership needed to fight off predators like Scott, who still hopes to entice the Bedlam Brothers and the Longhorns to abandon the Big 12 and head west.

But the initial question the Big 12's search committee must answer is what to do with Texas AD DeLoss Dodds, who has long been viewed as the league's de facto commissioner.

Do they hire someone who will cater to Dodds like previous commissioners? Or will they find someone with the backbone to stand up to the Longhorns' AD, and then give him or her the power to do it?

If it's the latter, that should eliminate any sitting ADs, especially within the Big 12. The same goes for commissioners of non-BCS leagues, who might have strong connections to Neinas but not the skills and savvy of a Scott or Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany.
Tulsa World


9. Twin City Tat

Royce White // Soph. forward, Iowa State

White may have left his home state on uncomfortable terms -- he never played a game for Minnesota, had multiple brushes with the law, and announced he was quitting the Gophers on YouTube -- but he still represents his birthplace on his arm. Now the star of an Iowa State program on the rise, he wears the Twins' old logo on his left bicep.
SI Winn's midseason style update


Certainly, Tigers Coach Frank Haith deserves some credit. What the Tigers have done under Haith — 129-101 in his previous stop at Miami — is even more remarkable when you consider they’re essentially down to seven healthy scholarship players.

Some have questioned if Anderson’s “Fastest 40 Minutes” style could have yielded these results. Hard to know for certain.

What we do know is that Anderson had assembled his best team yet at Missouri. Anderson was well aware the Tigers were a team capable of winning the Big 12 and making a run in the NCAA Tournament.

And Anderson walked away from it to build at Arkansas. No doubt this season in Columbia, Mo., would have been much easier for Anderson, but he walked.

“When I took the Missouri job, the cupboard, it was kind of bare,” Anderson said last month. “I didn’t leave it bare. We left some pretty good players there, some good kids.

“It’s going to be a challenge to see if we can get that same mindset, change the culture, get players in here that are going to buy into winning and get this program elevated as well.”

Cynics (and jilted Missouri fans) will point out the fact that Anderson got more money to coach at Arkansas. That raise, they’ll say, is why Anderson left Missouri.


...Anderson knew (for the most part) what he was inheriting. Just as he knew what he was leaving behind at Missouri.

Clearly, Anderson wanted this job. He told us that from the beginning, and Missouri’s success provides us even better understanding of how genuine that sentiment was.
ArkansasSports360


It’s the annual weekend where college basketball coaches go casual to raise awareness about cancer.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Society are holding their annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend on Saturday and Sunday.
AP


ESPN Brennan mailbag: Cameron Lazies, love for Kim English, more


While other cities have hosted more Final Fours than New Orleans, it is hard to fathom a better site or a site which has had better championship games than New Orleans.

The NCAA Men's Final Four returns to the Crescent City for the first time since 2003 March 31-April 2 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The facility is vastly improved since the 2003 event which features Syracuse, Kansas, Texas and Marquette. Those improvements, along with an organized, concerted effort staged by state officials, city officials, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, SMG and Tulane University resulted in the return of the event.

At a press conference to announce the countdown to this year's event, Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne stated that this year's Final Four would produce a $134 million impact on the Louisiana economy.

Citing the great job that New Orleans did in hosting the recent BCS National Championship and other big-time sporting events, Jeff Hathaway, Chair of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee, feels New Orleans is a perfect site for the event.

"You would be hard pressed to find a city more identified with this event," said Hathaway.
Sportsnola



Recruiting News

Memorial (14-1), ranked No. 2 in Class 6A, needed a little bit of everything to secure the win over its upset-minded rival, and nothing more than junior point guard Jordan Woodard's prime time performance.

With Kansas coach Bill Self in the house, Woodard shined, scoring 14 points in the second quarter during an 18-2 run that stole all the momentum from Santa Fe (11-4), which led by seven after the first quarter.

“Coach told us after the first quarter that we needed to step it up,” said Woodard, who finished with 29 points. “We weren't playing our ball at the time. We needed a new focus.”
The Oklahoman


Wichita Heights returned from its title in the Dodge City Tournament of Champions by hammering Kapaun 55-32 behind Perry Ellis’ 26 points. Ellis is now just 69 points away from the GWAL All-Time scoring record.

Conner Frankamp returned to the site of his City League record 52-point performance at Northwest on Tuesday. He came away with 37 points tonight and his Redskins took a 75-63 loss.
KansasCW (Video highlights at the link)


Top-ranked Rainier Beach pulled away from Nathan Hale in the fourth quarter for a 78-67 Metro win. Anrio Adams scored 24 and Marquis Davis 19 for the Vikings, who led by only two going into the final period.
Seattle Times


A third-quarter tie appeared to be the smelling salts needed to revive the Prestonwood Christian Academy boys basketball team Tuesday against John Paul II.

After a nip-and-tuck two-and-a-half quarters, the final 10 minutes of the contest belonged to the Lions, who picked up a 54-42 win over the rival Cardinals.

"We got a couple turnovers and a couple run-outs," said Chris Mayberry, Prestonwood head coach. "We knew exactly what they were going to do as far as holding the ball to create minute possessions and then shoot a three. They made a lot of threes tonight and we could have done a better job defensively, but credit their spread offense."

…Senior Claude Person countered Bassett's make with a 3-pointer from the corner, which was promptly followed by a pair of makes from junior Julius Randle -- the first being an and-1 and the second a dunk following a steal. Freshman Mickey Mitchell capped the quarter spinning off the elbow for a finger roll in the quarter's closing seconds for a 39-32 Lions lead.

…A Bassett 3-pointer gave the Cardinals one last ray of hope at 47-40 with two minutes left, but a layup by Lions senior Zach Peters followed by a Randle layup put the contest out of the reach. Randle totaled 21 points, five rebounds, six assists and five steals in the win.

…Foul trouble to Peters also dampened the Lions' rhythm in the first half, with the post rebounding over the final two quarters for nine points while senior Austin Rettig added seven and Mitchell dropped six to go along with four steals.

The Lions resume play Friday at 8 p.m. with a home game against Trinity Christian Academy while John Paul looks to right the ship at Bishop Dunne.
http://www.scntx.com/articles/2012/01/24/sports_update/6980.txt


The Tilton School boys' basketball team knocked off Arlington Country Day (of Florida), 68-53, in the last game of the Mountaineer Classic in Morgantown, W.Va., as senior Georges Niang hit the 2,000-point milestone for his career. Niang finished with 29 points and eight rebounds as Tilton improved to 17-3. Nerlens Noel contributed 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Concord Monitor


While in Morgantown, the players attended West Virginia's overtime win over Cincinnati and toured the new practice facility. These opportunities got the Ram starters thinking about WVU a little more.

"After talking to (assistant coach Larry) Harrison, I got a better feel for the program," Noel said. "I'll be looking forward to building a better relationship with their coaching staff."

Noel is considered the nation's premier shot blocker and has been fielding interest from elite programs like Kentucky, Syracuse and Connecticut. He said after last week, WVU would be added to his list of schools.

He admitted the addition was due in part to the new practice facility and all that it offers players.

"It's important, especially if it's 24 hours, so that whenever you need to, you can get in the gym, and work on what you need to," he said. "It's state-of-the-art. Whatever you need is there, and I think that facility is real nice and there's no way to not get better having that."
Link