NBA scouts will make McLemore’s length-of-stay decision for him. Even if it’s a short one, he’ll improve a great deal because he has skilled teachers, talented daily practice opponents and most of all because he cares. He proved that with the dedication he showed tutors and professors last year and with the effort he exhibited on the court Tuesday.

McLemore’s upbeat body language won’t make anybody think of Josh Selby or C.J. Henry. Sorry to evoke those memories. It’s just that when they pop into my head, I feel compelled to share them. Misery loves company.

Back to the present. Signs abounded that McLemore is serious about becoming a complete player.

When he was late recovering to Emporia State’s Kaleb Wright, who made him pay by hitting a three-pointer late in the game, McLemore’s disappointment in himself arrived at the same instant as that of his coach, who sent a verbal dart across the court.

In a team-high 26 minutes, McLemore committed three turnovers and, according to Self, was responsible for a teammate’s because he didn’t have the patience to let a screen get set. McLemore’s far from perfect but perfectly positioned to stack millions and millions of dollars, thanks to a blend of physical gifts and the proper attitude.

“I could have guarded better tonight,” McLemore chided himself in the postgame presser.
LJW Keegan


“Coach was just telling me I needed to crash the boards more often,” said McLemore, a redshirt freshman guard.

So McLemore took off, elevating toward the rim and hanging in the air for a split-second before finishing the two-handed putback.

“It came off,” McLemore said.

“Perfect timing.”

By this point, the Jayhawks were well on their way to victory. But, of course, the final margin was of little matter on Tuesday.

This was Kansas’ exhibition opener, and there’s generally a certain rhythm to nights like this. KU’s newcomers use it as a chance to work out the preseason cobwebs and experience a game inside Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas fans pack into the old building and take mental notes on the latest crop of reinforcements.

And for Self, well, there’s usually a message or two to send out while KU drops the hammer on some sacrificial in-state school.

On Tuesday night, those messages appeared to be directed toward two players in particular: senior guard Elijah Johnson and freshman forward Perry Ellis.

For Johnson, it meant losing his starting spot to sophomore Naadir Tharpe after he was, according to Self, “substantially late” to a class on Tuesday.

For Ellis, it meant a message about having a more aggressive mind-set — even after leading KU with 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds in his first game at Allen Fieldhouse.

“It’s not that he’s not playing hard,” Self said of Ellis. “He plays hard. But when you say ‘run’ and the guy can run faster after you yell, then he’s not running hard.”
KC Star


“I don’t really show much emotion, but I had a lot of fun out there, man,” the 6-foot-8, 225-pound Wichita Heights graduate said after scoring 15 points off 5-of-5 shooting and 5-of-7 free throwing and grabbing seven rebounds in just 16 minutes.

“I mean we’ve got guys on this team who have been working hard since the summer. It was a lot of fun. I’m just happy to be out there,” he added.

Ellis admits he was extra enthused playing his KU debut with his mom, Fonda, dad, Will, younger brothers Brae and Cameron, older sister, Savannah, AAU coach, Steve Young, and high school coach, Joe Auer, in the stands.

“It means a lot that my family gets to see me,” said Ellis, who scored eight points and grabbed six boards the first half in helping KU to a 42-21 lead. “It’s not too far (from Wichita). It’s a great feeling they came tonight to support me.”

While Fonda was proud of her oldest son — “great production I thought,” she said — she was not alarmed at his lack of emotion during the debut.

“He’s got that poker face. He’d be a good poker player,” she said while watching Perry sign autographs in the northwest tunnel after the contest.
LJW


The stage wasn’t big, the opponent wasn’t of note and at end of the day, the game didn’t count.
However, freshman forward Perry Ellis managed to answer the question of who would be the one to step in and shoulder the majority of the team’s scoring in the front court, a role that was left wide open following the departure of All-American Thomas Robinson.

And Ellis did it by finishing the Jayhawks 88-54 victory against Emporia State a perfect five-for-five from the field.

“If he could just become aggressive as far as a mind set, not shooting the ball, but just a mind set, he’s so gifted offensively. It just comes so natural to him, that he could be a really good player early in his career,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.
UDK


Everything matters at KU, though, including basketball in October. Coach Bill Self has said this team will rely on its seniors to carry the water, so it was notable that Johnson was sipping it instead when the Jayhawks tipped off their season.

“Elijah was substantially late to a class today,” Self said. “He knows the deal. It’s not a big deal.”

Against Emporia State, at least, the Jayhawks had a capable replacement. Sophomore Naadir Tharpe started in Johnson’s place and scored eight points, reminding Jayhawk fans not to overlook him when they pencil in projected rotations.

KU’s roster consists mostly of seniors and freshmen, and Tharpe is one of the few players stuck in between. His most memorable moments seem to involve exhibitions, including a 12-point, nine-turnover performance against Pittsburg State last year when Johnson and Tyshawn Taylor were suspended.

The Jayhawks will need Tharpe for more than one exhibition this season, Self said.

“I think he’s going to have a good year,” Self said. “We didn’t see it last year statistically, but he can shoot the ball. He’s really a small (shooting guard) as much as anything, but he’s working hard on trying to be a good backup to Elijah.

“I think Naadir’s going to have to have a big year for us. I really do. We’re going to need him in the game for offense.”
TCJ


Freshman forward Landen Lucas had nine rebounds and six points in 12 minutes.

“I feel the way I can contribute to this team is to come in and rebound in the minutes that I am playing,” Lucas said. “I feel like I did the best I could tonight, and I’ll continue to crash the boards the rest of the season.”

…KU senior Jeff Withey (seven points, six boards, 18 minutes) on Monday was named honorable mention All-America by the Associated Press.

The AP preseason team consists of five first-team members and 17 honorable mention picks.
LJW


"I had a chance to see Jamari Traylor bang heads with T-Rob (last year)," said Vandiver of observing a few KU practices with former Jayhawks forward Thomas Robinson a season ago. "And he was one guy who never backed down. He came at him. Now, is he as skilled as T-Rob? No. But he still is a red-shirt freshman."

Traylor, a starter Tuesday, finished with six points, four rebounds and four steals in 16 minutes. Aside from a second-half steal that was followed by a two-handed monster dunk, the 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward was fairly quiet, a product, KU coach Bill Self said, of his pregame nerves.
LJW

Kansas guard Angel Goodrich received votes in Tuesday's Associated Press 2012 Preseason All-America Team, thus earning the senior honorable mention honors.

In addition to the AP All-America Team, Goodrich has also received third-team honors on Lindy's Preseason All-America Team earlier this season.

Goodrich led the nation last season in assists per game (7.4) and paced KU with 14.0 points per game as she guided the Jayhawks to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, their best postseason run since 1998. Goodrich was named All-America Honorable Mention by both the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and Associated Press following last season. She also broke a Kansas and Big 12 Conference record, tallying 250 assists on the season.

Goodrich and the Kansas Jayhawks will be back in action Sunday, November 4, against Fort Hays State for the second of two exhibition games.
KUAD


There was never any reason to doubt the Rockets would pick up the options on Patrick Patterson and Marcus Morris’ rookie contracts, keeping them signed for the 2013-14 season.

The Rockets’ standard practice is to wait for the deadline. Patterson is the Rockets’ starting forward. Morris has barely begun his career and turned heads in training camp before an ankle injury. Both knew not to expect word until shortly before the season opener.

Still, there was a sense of relief Tuesday when the Rockets did the expected. Patterson will be signed for a fourth season worth $3,105,302 and Morris for a third season worth $1,987,320.
Houston Chronicle

Big 12 Composite Schedule


ESPN Top 10 Defenders (Withey #2)


CBS: Top 50 shooters


ESPN: Top 10 point guards


The last time Kansas failed to win at least a share of the Big 12 regular season crown, gas prices had yet to rise above $2, Usher's "Yeah!" was unavoidable on the radio and Lindsay Lohan was still America's teen movie queen.
Yahoo Big 12 Preview: Can anyone thwart Kansas' bid for a ninth straight title?


Regular complaints about the NCAA Committee on Infractions usually fall into one of the following categories:

The NCAA spends too much time worrying about stupid stuff and misses the real cheaters.
The NCAA is arbitrary in its punishment.
The NCAA takes too long.

Usually, when fans voice these complaints -- as they have often and loudly during the past two years of nonstop college sports malfeasance -- they come in all-capital letters with an expletive or two thrown in for good measure. But you get the idea, and so did NCAA president Mark Emmert, even before he began his tenure in November 2010. Since then, Emmert has often promised NCAA enforcement reform just as soon as the organization’s membership and board of directors could officially agree on the details.

Today is that day.

On Tuesday morning, the NCAA released an enforcement structure that marks a distinct departure from the crude and counterproductive mechanisms of its past. According to the Division I Board of Directors, the new rules "create additional levels of infractions, hasten the investigation process and ratchet up penalties for the most egregious violations.”

…This part is no joke, punitively. From the release:
Penalties in the previous structure relied on whether the head coach knew of the violations or whether there was a “presumption of knowledge.” But under the new structure, rather than focus on knowledge or the presumption of it, the bylaw will be amended to presume only responsibility. Accordingly, if a violation occurs, the head coach is presumed responsible, and if he or she can’t overcome that presumption, charges will be forthcoming.

In other words, the onus is on coaches to prevent violations on their watch. If they don’t, they can no longer make the case that they just didn’t know. They are presumed responsible until proven otherwise -- guilty until proven innocent.

And, last but not least, the NCAA increased the Division I Committee on Infractions from “10 to as many as 24 voting members from which smaller panels will be assembled to review cases more quickly and efficiently.”
ESPN


NCAA release


For the second year in a row, Ohio State has just one senior on its roster.

Save your sympathy.

A year ago, with just one fourth-year player, the Buckeyes went all the way to the Final Four before falling to Kansas in the national semifinals.

Maybe the term “senior leadership” doesn’t apply at Ohio State, where it seems there’s annually a huge turnover of top players yet the Buckeyes and coach Thad Matta just keep chugging right along, racking up 20-win seasons, NCAA Tournament appearances and Big Ten titles.

…“This team is athletic,” said Matta, whose last couple of teams have won big despite not being terribly fast or versatile. “I want them to use what they’ve got there. It correlates back to, hopefully, we’re going to be able to score some off of our defense. That’s why a major emphasis on the preseason will be getting our defense down.”

…The big man will likely be 6-11 Amir Williams, who has added strength and now is a formidable shot-blocker. Lone senior Evan Ravenel and Trey McDonald, both 6-8, are quality backups.

The other starting slot could be filled by either speedy swingman Sam Thompson or intriguing perimeter shooter LaQuinton Ross. Shannon Scott, son of former NBA and North Carolina star Charlie Scott, worked on his shot all summer and should be a solid sub behind Craft and Smith.

The Buckeyes will be different from a year ago. That doesn’t mean they’ll be worse.

“We’re going to be a very, very, very fast team,” Thompson said. “I don’t think we had that type of speed last year. We didn’t have that type of athleticism last year. It’ll be exciting to get out and put some pressure on the ball, get out on transition, run and make some plays.”
AP


Preseason All-America Deshaun Thomas scored 25 points to lead No. 4 Ohio State past Walsh 83-71 in an exhibition game on Tuesday night.

LaQuinton Ross, a sophomore who started his first collegiate game, added 13 points. Sam Thompson and Evan Ravenel both had 11 points for the Buckeyes, who went 31-8 last season and reached the Final Four.
AP


The preseason brings questions, and the first exhibition game is supposed to help answer some of them.

Michigan State’s raggedy 85-57 win over Northwood (Fla.) on Tuesday night at Breslin Center? It didn’t do much answering.

But here’s one thing that could be said emphatically after just a couple possessions: Branden Dawson is healthy and as athletic as ever.

The sophomore forward, who tore the ACL in his left knee on March 4, gave no hint he was ever injured in front of a three-fourths-full arena – other than the large brace on the knee, which didn’t hamper his movement or stop him from finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds.
DFP


Bruce Weber hopes they are all this easy.

In his first exhibition game at Bramlage Coliseum, which Kansas State won 81-61 over Washburn on Tuesday night, the Wildcats’ new basketball coach was able to experiment with lineups, try out plays and teach his motion offense during timeouts.

That’s the freedom of a 22-2 lead.

“Overall you are pleased, because you don’t know in this first game how the guys are going to react,” Weber said. “I thought they came ready to play. That’s your first challenge .… Everybody got pretty good minutes, we still won by 20 … It was pretty nice, to be honest.”
Wichita Eagle


There are seven letters, two words, and one phrase that no athlete, but more specifically, no basketball player, ever wants to hear over his entire career: Torn ACL.

It can bring that player to immediate tears, but as I found out on Saturday, it can bring many of his teammates to tears as well. This is my story from the perspective of a teammate who witnessed the knee of Josh Gasser, the starting point guard for the Wisconsin Badgers, buckle right before his eyes.

The scariest part of the whole play was how routine and seemingly innocent it really was. We were scrimmaging during a typical Saturday morning practice. Josh was on a fast break and planted his left foot. His knee gave out. It was as simple as that.

Athletes hear all the time, “Play every play like it's your last,” but this was one of the moments that made me take a step back and understand what that statement truly meant. I was less than 10 feet behind him trailing the play. I heard the piercing scream come out of his mouth as he crumbled to the ground. I tried to keep him calm and said, “You're fine, take some deep breaths.” However, Josh knew, and shot back sharply, “No, I'm not fine!”

Everyone in the gym fell quiet. Nothing could be said. We all saw our athletic trainer and team doctor immediately test out his left knee on the court. We all prayed for the best, though we knew we had no choice but to expect the worst.
CBS guest blog by Zach Bohannon


ESPN:Pauley Pavilion Renovation (video and article)



The University of Louisville announced men's basketball coach Rick Pitino signed a five-year contract extension that runs until June 30, 2022.

His original deal was set to end in 2017, but with this extension he'll be locked up at Louisville until just months before his 70th birthday. Athletic director Tom Jurich said it would be "cheating the game of basketball" if Pitino retired.
Link

Me and my boy Jabari Parker over at Simeon (Chicago) talk all the time about playing against each other this year. That’s a game I’m definitely looking forward to. We’re both competitive so we both think our team is gonna win. We’ll see this year though. We play them at least twice.

A little over a week ago, I went down to Duke’s Countdown to Craziness and had a ball with my boy Tyus Jones. We had a great time down there just talking with the coaches and embracing the fans. We got to hang out with Theo Pinson too, so all of us were just loving everything about Duke.

…Me and Tyus always talk about playing at the same school in college, as most of you know, but just being on the visit together and seeing the practices made it even more real. We kept asking each other how the other one liked it and we both loved everything about it. It’s not definite, but we would look forward to Theo coming in with us. That would be great.

…Kansas has started getting in the picture again now.

They had contacted me during my freshman year and I hadn’t heard from them in a long time, so when they called me they apologized for not keeping in touch. They said they thought I already had my list made up.

It’s crazy the rumors that go around.

That one almost kept them away. That’s why I really mean it when I say if you don’t hear it from me here on my blog then you can just assume it’s not true.

I don’t even have a list yet. I don’t want to have one right now, but I’ll probably cut things down after the basketball season.
USA Today: Blog by Jahlil Okafor


Monday morning, the official schedule was released for the 2013 Hoophall Classic, one of the premier high school showcases in the country.

In the five-day event, from Jan. 17-21, the Hoophall Classic will once again feature some of the best players in all of high school basketball. The two top players in the Class of 2013 – newly named No. 1, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker – will take part in this year’s event.

Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon, Noah Vonleh – all highly-ranked forwards – round out the group of 2013 stars, along with Florida commit, Kasey Hill.

Jahlil Okafor of Whitney Young (IL) headline the talent in the Class of 2014.

Several interesting match-ups will take place that weekend, including a head-to-head battle with some of the best wings in the nation. On day four (Jan. 20) of the weekend, Vonleh and New Hampton (NH) take on top-ranked Wiggins and Huntington Prep.

The final day of the weekend is where most of the top talent shows up. One of the more interesting games is between a pair of Kentucky targets, as Gordon and Archbishop Mitty (CA) take on Randle and Prestonwood Christian (TX). Parker and Chicago power, Simeon will play Oak Hill Academy (WV). The past two seasons at the Hoophall Classic, Oak Hill has held Randle and former Ohio State star Jared Sullinger silent.

Hall of Famer Bob Hurley and St. Anthony (NJ) also scheduled to return, as well as Findlay Prep (NV) and Brewster Academy (NH).
NBC


Hoophall Classic


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

The long wait is over for Kansas University red-shirt freshman basketball power forward Jamari Traylor.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder from Chicago — who, as a partial qualifier was ineligible to play in games all last season — has been slotted a spot in the starting lineup for today’s exhibition opener against Emporia State.

“He’s played the hardest, and in the last week, he’s played the best of the other guys, so he’s going to start and Perry (Ellis) will be our first (big) guy off the bench,” KU coach Bill Self said Monday.

Self noted that Traylor has been, “competing hard, playing to his athletic ability. ... He is relentless now. He’ll go after the ball.”

Traylor, who is eager to shake off the rust, said he’s thankful he’s been accorded his first start at KU.

…Self said Andrew White III, a 6-6 freshman from Richmond, Va., would likely be first perimeter player off the bench and 6-8 Wichita frosh Ellis the first big off the bench.

“He goes hard all the time,” Ellis said of Traylor. “He is doing everything as hard as he can. It definitely could rub off on me, too.”

…Emporia State freshman Terrence Moore is a high school teammate of KU’s Ellis. The 6-1 guard scored 12 points in ESU’s 60-49 loss to Danny Manning’s Tulsa team on Saturday in Tulsa.
LJW


For now, the four other starters appear to be more secure: Senior center Jeff Withey will start alongside Traylor, while seniors Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford and redshirt freshman Ben McLemore will start in the backcourt.

In the end, the power-forward spot could belong to freshman Perry Ellis, a 6-foot-8 McDonald's All-American with natural scoring ability. Self said Ellis would likely be the first player off the bench. But so far, Traylor's athletic ability and motor have stood out in practice.

"What I want to see Jamari do," Self says, "is be able to do it in a game and not just practice. There's no pressure in practice."

Self has made a point of saying that Traylor is still rather raw. And in experience terms, that's mostly accurate. Traylor had barely played organized basketball before playing his junior season at Julian High in Chicago. He then transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior season, blowing up on the national scene in the process.
KC Star


As you might expect, Self took an opportunity Monday to note that turnovers have been an issue so far in practice.

“It is getting gradually better,” Self said.

It's early, and few coaches are going to say they're happy with turnovers in October. But if KU has major question marks beyond who will start at the power forward spot, it’s how senior Elijah Johnson will adapt to his lead guard role and whether sophomore Naadir Tharpe or freshman Rio Adams will be able to develop into an adequate backup option. For now, the turnover issue appears to be a work in progress.

“Those of you that are sitting on press row,” Self quipped, “have your hands ready.”
KC Star


Lassie in the classroom, Cujo on the court. Is that too much to ask?
 
"Nice kids are great, but we definitely need that aggressiveness, that mindset," says Kansas coach Bill Self, whose No. 7 Jayhawks lift the lid on 2012-13 on Tuesday in an exhibition tussle with Emporia State. "We don't need blenders. We need guys to take charge."
 
The Lassie part, Ben McLemore has down. It's the Cujo bit that's the great unknown right now, one of the biggest "X" factors for a Kansas bunch earmarked to win a ninth-straight Big 12 title.

…"(McLemore has) got the most upside of any (guard) on the team right now," former KU guard Tyshawn Taylor told SiriusXM Radio last February. "He's young, is long, and is the best athlete in terms of getting off the floor."
 
Word on Naismith Drive is that the battles between the 6-3 Taylor, now with the Brooklyn Nets, and taller McLemore in practice were epic, and that the young whippersnapper won more rounds than the loquacious point man would prefer to admit.
 
"Tyshawn loved it," Self allows, "because he would actually take it personally if Ben made him look bad."
 
To this, McLemore just smiles.
FSMidwest


Releford and McLemore have separated themselves at the wing positions, Self said, with White and sophomore Naadir Tharpe projected to be the first perimeter players off the bench.

...Freshman Zach Peters, sidelined until at least mid-November with a rotator cuff injury, continues to experience pain in his shoulder, Self said.

“I asked him the other day if he could shoot, and he said it hurts too bad,” Self said. “I don’t see any immediate resolution on that at all.”

...Former KU assistant Danny Manning started his career at Tulsa with 60-49 exhibition win against the Hornets on Saturday.
TCJ


Gene Cusic only missed one game during his collegiate basketball career because of sickness.

Sixty-five years later, he wishes it hadn’t been when his Emporia State Teachers College team defeated Phog Allen-coached Kansas University, 67-44.

That was Dec. 13, 1947, and it still stands as the last time Emporia State defeated KU in men’s basketball.

“I didn’t expect it to be lopsided,” Cusic said from his Emporia home Monday. “We had a good night, and they didn’t have such a good one.”
LJW


Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self called Elijah Johnson, Jeff Withey and Travis Releford “without question our best scorers on the team,” Monday and added “that’s not good because they were the third, fourth and fifth scorers last year.”

In other words, it’s business as usual for Self’s powerhouse basketball program. The top scorers are gone and his team is a bona fide threat to make it to the Final Four.

…“We’ve got more guys who can get the ball in the basket, but more guys doesn’t necessarily equate to 35 a game,” Self said of replacing Robinson and Taylor’s points. “Maybe more balance than last year, but I don’t know if we have more scoring punch than last year. We might before it’s all said and done.”

Perry Ellis arrives at Kansas as a more natural scorer than Robinson did, and Robinson grew into a 17.7-ppg scorer by his junior season.

“Perry could be a natural scorer and get six if he doesn’t put himself in position to score,” Self said. “Thomas could play bad and get you 15.”

A look at the leading candidates to lead Self’s 10th Kansas team in scoring, with odds in parentheses:
LJW


Bill Self always has teams that can defend. According to Kenpom’s database, in his nine seasons at Kansas, the Jayhawks have never been worse than 18th when it comes to defensive efficiency. That was in 2005. They haven’t been out of the top ten since then, finishing as the most efficient defensive teams in 2007 and 2008, the year they won the national title.

This season, defense isn’t simply going to be one aspect of the game for Kansas; it’s going to be their lifeline. The Jayhawks weren’t exactly on offensive juggernaut last season, and that team was a two-man show with Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor accounting for more than 57% of the possessions when they were on the floor. With both Robinson and Taylor gone, the Jayhawks are going to have to answer some questions on that end of the floor.

…But the x-factor for this team is going to end up being Ben McLemore. McLemore is 6-foot-5 and, as Self put it, “he can run, he can jump and he can shoot, and that’s a pretty good combination for a wing.” But can he be a primary scoring option? Is he a guy that can go out and get 15 points every night? Is he a guy that can be isolated on the wing and create a shot for himself? Because that’s what this team is missing. As much veteran leadership as there is on the roster, they don’t have a true go-to guy.

McLemore is the player that most believe will fill that role.
NBC Sports Top 25 Countdown: #6 Kansas


Kansas University’s 2006-07 basketball team was inducted into the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony Friday morning in the Booth Family Hall of Athletics. Also inducted: track and field thrower Egor Agafonov and soccer player Holly Gault.

“That’s probably the most talented team we’ve had here, maybe by far,” Self said of the Big 12 regular-season and postseason championship team which advanced to the Elite Eight. “Think about it. We had Russell (Robinson) at the 1, Mario (Chalmers) at the 2, Brandon (Rush) at the 3, Julian (Wright) at the 4, Sasha (Kaun) at the 5. We brought ‘Shady’ (Darrell Arthur), Darnell (Jackson) and Sherron (Collins) off the bench. How many teams can bring three NBA guys off the bench? That was a fun team to coach.”
LJW


Hard to believe, but until Friday, college coaching legend Bobby Cremins had never stepped foot in Allen Fieldhouse.

“It’s an honor to be here. I feel I’m on hallowed ground,” said the 65-year-old Cremins, who went 570-367 overall in 31 years at Georgia Tech, College of Charleston and Appalachian State. “I feel like I’m at Augusta playing the Masters.

“The pictures on the walls are amazing. It’s like a shrine,” added Cremins, in town this weekend as featured speaker at Bill Self’s KU Coaches Clinic. “They’ve kept the history in place here. That’s what I love about it. They could modernize it and put fancy seats in it, but it would take away the meaningfulness of it.”

Cremins, who retired after 11 games last season after falling ill during his sixth season at College of Charleston, said he considered scheduling KU at his last coaching stop.

“We were already overloaded. We were playing North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, but it is an amazing place,” Cremins said of KU.

…A longtime friend of KU assistant Dooley, Cremins until this weekend hasn’t had a chance to really get to know 10th-year KU head coach Self.

“I related the story today. I was at a Final Four in Indianapolis, and they (Jayhawks) had gotten upset in the first round,” Cremins said. “I came out of my hotel room, and one of first people I ran into in the street was Bill Self. It told me so much about him. A lot of times you have a bad first-round loss, and you don’t want to leave your hotel room. You don’t want to get out. He was out and about. He had the best attitude.

“I admired that. It’s showed me the type of person he is, how balanced he was. I remember I had some tough first-round losses, and I didn’t want to go to the Final Four. I did go, but I’d hide out a bit. He was not hiding out.”
LJW


Unable to work out an extension with James Harden, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded the Sixth Man of the Year to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, breaking up the young core of the Western Conference champions.

Oklahoma City also sent former Kansas University center Cole Aldrich and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to Houston and acquired guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick in the surprising deal.
LJW


The Hornets, however, declined Monday to pick up the fourth-year options on forward Al Farouq Aminu and guard Xavier Henry’s contracts, a league source confirmed. The Hornets want to keep their options open regarding their salary cap space but they could re-sign Aminu and Henry at the end of this season.
nola.com


WBB: KU wins exhibition opener 57-35


Tickets to Coach Self's "Courtside View"


Champions Classic: KU vs Michigan State


Kansas 2012-13 MBB Schedule

Big 12 Composite Schedule


The biggest man on The Associated Press' preseason All-America team got the most votes.

Seven-foot sophomore center Cody Zeller, the main reason Indiana is the preseason No. 1 for the first time in 33 years, was one vote shy of being a unanimous selection for the preseason All-America team.

Zeller, who averaged 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 62.3 percent from the field, received 64 votes from the national media panel which selects the weekly Top 25.

Also on the team announced Monday were junior forwards Doug McDermott of Creighton and Deshaun Thomas of Ohio State and three guards - seniors Isaiah Canaan of Murray State and C.J. McCollum of Lehigh and sophomore Trey Burke of Michigan.

McDermott was named on 62 ballots, while Canaan was on 43 and Thomas 26. McCollum and Burke tied for the fifth spot with 16 votes each.

Zeller is one of five starters back for the Hoosiers and when a top-flight recruiting class is added in there are a lot expectations for the No. 1 team.

"I don't know that we've really set any goals as a team, but obviously, we want to win a national championship," Zeller said. "We're not going to guarantee anything. We're just going to play and see where it takes us."

…Other receiving All-American votes were: Kenny Boynton, Florida; Lorenzo Brown, North Carolina State; Aaron Craft, Ohio State; Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State; Solomon Hill, Arizona; Pierre Jackson, Baylor; C.J. Leslie, North Carolina State; James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina; Tony Mitchell, North Texas; Mike Moser, UNLV; Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA; Nerlens Noel, Kentucky; Otto Porter, Georgetown; Phil Pressey, Missouri; Peyton Siva, Louisville; Michael Snaer, Florida State; Jeff Withey, Kansas.
AP


Michigan State has scheduled its first of two exhibition games for Tuesday night at home against Northwood (Fla.) - an NAIA team led by former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino.

The Spartans will start the regular season with two road games in consecutive seasons for the first time in nearly 100 years. They'll open against Connecticut on Nov. 9 in Germany and will play No. 7 Kansas four days later in Atlanta a year after playing North Carolina on an aircraft carrier and facing Duke in New York.

''It'll be the same deal as last year,'' Dawson said. ''We'll be ready for it.''
Link


“You know what I think we have right now? Not as good leadership. But as good or better chemistry,” Izzo said. “I mean, you watch practice, guys just seem to … I don’t know. There’s a different respect for everyone. Probably because everybody’s on a similar level.

“I think the difference in our talent, we’ve got three or four really talented guys, but the difference is not major.”

Last season, Green was the face of the program, a consensus All-American, the Big Ten Player of the Year and the NABC National Player of the Year.

Now there is no clear star or go-to player, and the captains are senior center Derrick Nix and sophomore guard Russell Byrd. Junior point guard Keith Appling is trying to be more vocal as well.

The Spartans are hoping their closeness will compensate for the lack of a dominant voice.

“The crazy part is, I didn’t think we would bond like we did after Draymond left, but we picked right up,” Nix said. “The freshmen came in, they’re pretty cool. We’re just a close team.”
Lansing SJ


Tonight, the viewing public gets to see what Michigan State basketball players have been doing in two-plus weeks of preseason practice.

Here's a preview: They've been running. On offense. On defense. Between drills. And so on.

"We're going 100 m.p.h., nonstop," freshman guard Gary Harris said. "Practice is -- we're all just dead tired. But that's how practice is supposed to be, it's supposed to kill us so we're ready when the game starts."

Coach Tom Izzo's most dedicated attempt to create a fast-paced team will get its first public test when the No. 14 Spartans take on Northwood (Fla.) in a 7 p.m. exhibition at the Breslin Center.
Detroit FP


These rankings might not match what you’ve seen in any other venue. The uniqueness is due to two general reasons. First, my computer doesn’t see everything humans see, and for the most part, humans have an advantage here. I generally think humans do a good job of assimilating data this time of year, with perhaps the exception of overvaluing a long tournament run fueled by close wins or a favorable draw. Even then, it’s just a hunch on my part that people overvalue that. I could be the one undervaluing postseason performance.

The other reason is that my computer doesn’t know what humans are thinking. This is mostly an advantage to the computer. I think the AP preseason poll is useful, but one criticism I have of it is that voters’ ballots are a bit too similar. Of this year’s ballots, in what should be a more difficult year to predict, just two of 65 voters had Indiana outside the top 3, and those two had the Hoosiers at number four.
KenPom


Basketball Prospectus Preseason Rankings


Missouri Coach Frank Haith has suspended senior guard Mike Dixon and freshman guard Dominique Bull for undisclosed violations of team rules.
Columbia Tribune


There might have been a few Missouri fans among the crowd of 7,741 who showed up at Mizzou Arena for Monday night’s exhibition opener anxious to see how the 15th-ranked Tigers were getting along without Marcus Denmon and Kim English on the perimeter.

They should feel a little more confident in the team’s prospects of replacing the two departed seniors after watching Auburn transfer Earnest Ross pour in a game-high 22 points — including 6 of 10 3-point attempts — in a 91-58 exhibition rout of Division II Northwest Missouri State.
CT


ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Avenue: Artist from Boston Mass, creates a a records that celebrates the success of an fellow Bostonian who has recently committed to Kansas Jayhawks & will be apart of the schools great Basketball tradition. Congrat. Wayne Selden
Audio


Tyler Roberson, a 6-8 senior forward from Roselle (N.J.) Catholic, has narrowed his list of colleges to KU, Villanova and Syracuse. Rivals.com’s No. 31-rated player has eliminated Kentucky, Rutgers and SMU from consideration and is hoping to choose a school in the “next week or so.”
LJW


While Frank Haith’s program is still in a good place they’re down a commitment, as it was reported by Eric Bossi of Rivals.com that point guard Travis Jorgenson has decided to reopen his recruitment.

Jorgenson, who plays at New Hampton Prep in New Hampton, New Hampshire, was one of two point guard commitments for the Tigers as Wes Clark made his decision after an outstanding summer on the circuit.
NBC


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

The Kansas athletic department posted its highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) ever, helped by six teams — including men’s basketball — that achieved perfect scores.

The numbers were released by the NCAA on Thursday afternoon.

KU saw its GSR grow to 85 percent, up from 79 percent last year and the highest ever for the department since the statistic was created in 2003.

KU men’s basketball, men’s golf, women's cross country/track, softball, tennis and volleyball all had perfect GSRs, meaning for a four-year average all student-athletes either graduated or left the program in good academic standing.

“We expect quality results like this from our student-athletes,” KU athletic director Sheahon Zenger said. “We insist on responsibility in their personal lives and competitive excellence on the field of play. That is the best way to compete for conference and national championships, while at the same time preparing for a competitive world after college.”

…With the perfect score, KU men’s basketball posted its highest four-year GSR ever and is significantly higher than the sport’s national rate of 68 percent. As a department, the Jayhawks’ cumulative four-year average was five points higher than the national average of 80 percent.
LJW


Kansas University’s basketball team has scheduled a four-year, home-and-home series with Big East Conference member Georgetown, it was announced Thursday.

The Hoyas, who are 1-1 all-time versus KU, will visit Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 21, 2013, and again in the 2015-16 season. KU will meet Georgetown in the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., during the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons.

…KU, as previously reported, will participate in next season’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament over Thanksgiving week in Nassau, Bahamas. The field: KU, Villanova, Wake Forest, Tennessee, USC, UTEP, Xavier and a yet-to-be-determined Big Ten team. ESPN says Illinois initially was in the mix, but now it appears Ohio State or Michigan State will participate.
LJW


If he thinks this could be his best defensive team:

“Best in a while. I think we can be the best defensive team we’ve had maybe going back to a first year after the National Championship. That was really a good team defensively. We got to the point where we better be good defensively because we can’t score very consistently. They bought into it and since then I don’t think we’ve been great. I thought last year’s team was pretty good and I think we were second in field goal percentage defense but I never thought that we were great. I just thought Jeff made up for a lot of mistakes. This year we should be able to pressure and if we make a mistake we have a shot blocker on the back end, we have a little more depth with our bigs in case we get in a foul situation. I think it could be a good defensive team if we’re tough. One thing about Thomas and Ty is that they brought an air of toughness to us but I do believe this team will be pretty good defensively.”
Transcript and audio of Coach Self interview with Bob Fescoe


The Phoenix Suns have exercised the team’s 2013-14 option on the contract of forward Markieff Morris, the club announced today.

Originally the 13th overall pick (first round) of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Suns, last season Morris had the best statistical campaign by a Sun since Amar’e Stoudemire in 2002-03.  The 6-10, 245-pound Morris became just the seventh Sun in franchise history selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend.  He averaged 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.67 blocks and 0.65 steals in 19.5 minutes in 63 games (seven starts) last season, one of just six NBA rookies to average at least seven points and four boards a season ago.

Despite a shortened 66-game slate last season, Morris scored in double figures 22 times, the most by a Suns rookie since Leandro Barbosa in 2003-04.  The University of Kansas product followed up his successful rookie season by making his Las Vegas Summer League debut and averaging a team-leading 19.8 points, team-best 9.8 rebounds and team-high 2.0 blocks in five games (five starts) for the Suns’ entry.

Through six preseason games in 2012, Morris is averaging a team-leading 11.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and team-high tying 1.17 steals in 22.2 minutes. “Kieff” has also attempted a team-best 20 free throws.
Link


WBB: Media Day recap from KUAD


In the last four years, Kansas women’s basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson has become an unwitting expert on knee injuries. Henrickson will tell you it’s part of the women’s game, but every so often, even she will shake her head at her program’s misfortune.

In the last four seasons, Henrickson has watched three of the best players in her program’s history suffer torn anterior cruciate ligaments. The latest one came last season, when junior forward Carolyn Davis, the Jayhawks’ leading scorer, was sidelined with a torn ACL on Feb. 12, just as it looked as if KU might break a long NCAA Tournament drought.

But if Henrickson has learned a few things during her time in Lawrence, it’s this: Ligaments heal. Players recover. And the season always goes on.

Last season, the Jayhawks recovered with a surprise trip to the Sweet 16. One year later, Davis is back, and the Jayhawks might have their most talented team in years.

“She’s confident,” Henrickson told reporters on Thursday during Big 12 women’s basketball media day in Dallas. “She’s excited; her teammates couldn’t be more excited.”

One of those teammates is senior guard Angel Goodrich, a charter member of KU’s ACL survivors — and an All-America candidate who led the country in assists last season. In Davis and Goodrich, the Jayhawks have an inside-outside combo that could help Kansas equal or surpass its tourney success last spring.

Kansas was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll, and Henrickson has seen last season’s success translate into new expectations and motivation.

“I feel like we don’t have to do as much easing into the process,” Davis said. “We can just get right out there and pick up where we left off.”
KC Star


With Brittney Griner and all the starters back from Baylor’s 40-0 season, the race in the Big 12 likely will be for second behind the Lady Bears.

It is no surprise that Baylor is the overwhelming favorite to win the league again — and perhaps a second consecutive national title.

“I think all of us will make the most of our opportunity to step on the floor and tip it up and play against arguably the best team in America,” Kansas University coach Bonnie Henrickson said Thursday during the league’s media day. “But there are a handful of us that it will be a dogfight to finish either right around them in second, third or fourth.”

Baylor received the maximum nine first-place votes in the preseason voting by league coaches, who weren’t allowed to vote for their own team. Baylor has won the last two Big 12 titles.

The preseason vote had Oklahoma and West Virginia tied for second, followed by Kansas, which returns four starters from a team that won two games in the NCAA tournament. The rest of the picks, in order, were Texas, Iowa State, defending WNIT champion Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Kansas State and TCU.

“I can tell we’re more competitive in practice,” Henrickson said. “They demand more from themselves and each other. And that started, quite honestly, when the (NCAA) tournament was over. Within 24 hours, we had a bunch of those guys back in the gym. There hadn’t been much dust that had settled, and that work has continued until we started.”
LJW


Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby calls splitting his conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments “an interesting challenge.”

Several Big 12 women's coaches believe that moving their tournament to another city than the men is a necessary step in developing their sport.

For the first time in the 17-season history of the league, the men's and women's basketball tournaments will be divided. The women's championships will be contested March 8-11 in Dallas, with the men's tournament set March 13-16 in Kansas City, Mo.

The Big 12's women's national profile has never been higher after notching back-to-back national titles and leading the nation in RPI rating and attendance last season. With a transcendent star in Wade Trophy winner Brittney Griner and nine of its teams making postseason tournaments last season, the appeal of the league is strong.

But still, breaking apart the two championships would appear to be a gamble for women's games that traditionally haven't matched the attendance garnered by the men.

“Women's tournaments standing on their own haven't drawn particularly well, but if any conference can do it, we think the Big 12 can,” Bowlsby said. “If any league can pull it off in a first-class fashion and turn out the crowds, it's the Big 12.”
SA Express


Tickets to Coach Self's "Courtside View"


Kansas 2012-13 MBB Schedule

Head coaches in football and basketball will be held directly accountable for NCAA rules violations by members of their coaching staff in radically new legislation that is expected to be adopted Tuesday by the Division 1 Board of Directors, according to a document obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

The nine-page document outlines some specifics in the NCAA's new four-tier penalty structure, which would take effect immediately and replace the current rigid categories of secondary and major violations, and addresses several kinds of violations in football and men's basketball that can lead to the suspension of a head coach.

One example the document alludes to is the University of Connecticut basketball violations involving the recruitment of Nate Miles, in which head coach Jim Calhoun "failed to alert the compliance staff and administration of possible improprieties between the agent/booster" and prospect. Under the new structure, penalties could have included a suspension or other restrictions for Calhoun.

And the primary message for head coaches is that ignorance will no longer be acceptable as a defense.

The document reads, "A head coach is presumed responsible for major/Level I and Level II violations (e.g. academic fraud, recruiting inducements) occurring within his or her program unless the coach can show that he or she promoted an atmosphere of compliance and monitored his or her staff."

Any coach who is found responsible for the most serious violations under those guidelines will be subject to an entire-season suspension, according to the document.

The new guidelines also state that beginning Aug. 1, 2013, men's basketball coaches can be suspended for violations ranging from illegal contact with recruits, giving team gear to prospects or impermissible benefits given by third parties if the coach
knows the third party has a relationship with the recruit.
USA Today
PDF of NCAA proposal


Izzo is igniting a fire underneath Michigan State because he knows he could have something special again. And this tends to be when he's at his best. No coach has been as consistent the last 14 years with six Final Four appearances, including one national title.

And the beauty of Izzo is that he can rip his players, break them down and within seconds after practice they are laughing, seeking his counsel and advice. Tuesday's practice wasn't as sharp as the previous few days, according to associate head coach Dwayne Stephens. But there was no denying the talent.

The Spartans weren't picked to finish in the Big Ten's top three in the preseason media poll released Thursday at the league's media day. Indiana is the favorite behind consensus player of the year candidate Cody Zeller. Arguments can be made for Ohio State and Michigan as well. But MSU has to be considered a real threat to win the conference and challenge for a top seed yet again.

…Appling has a new backcourt mate in highly touted Gary Harris. Harris is more introverted with his voice, but not his game. He can dominate the ball, create his own shot and already has sold Izzo on his knowledge of the game.

"He's one of the best defensive guards I've had since Charlie Bell,'' Izzo said. "He is one of the smartest players I've ever coached. He's an unbelievable kid, a fun kid to coach and a guy that I see big things out of this year.''

Izzo is pushing Harris in practice. He knows he can excel and be a star in the Big Ten. And having Byrd and Travis Trice as backups gives the Spartans a legitimate four-guard rotation with each one having a different role.

The frontcourt might be one of the deepest Izzo has had with a finally healthy Branden Dawson (he should have his left knee brace off soon) able to score inside and out; the possibility of Adreian Payne as a possible stretch 4 (Izzo loves his ability to make shots now); and the foot movement of Derrick Nix making him a formidable post scorer. Add in a tweener like freshman Denzel Valentine and MSU has one of its most versatile teams under Izzo, who said he doesn't have a slew of all-stars but "a lot of guys that are interchangeable that can play together."

…In terms of roster makeup, the comparison being tossed around by some around here is to the 2000 club that won it all. But that team had a leader in Cleaves and an NBA lock in Morris Peterson. No one is quite ready to make that prediction. But there is a genuine affection that each player has for each other and Izzo -- that much is obvious.
ESPN


Adreian Payne can reflect on his first two seasons with Michigan State and understand what most are thinking.

"I haven't lived up to the hype,'' Payne said Thursday at the Big Ten basketball media day at the Hyatt Regency.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Payne, who was rated anywhere from No. 17 to No. 26 in the Class of 2010 after leading Jefferson (Ohio) to the Class IV state championship, averaged just seven points and 4.2 rebounds last season despite starting 36 of 37 games.

"I think there's a lot Michigan State hasn't seen from me yet,'' Payne said. "I think Coach (Tom) Izzo is starting to let me do more offensively, and this year I will have a breakout season.''
MLive


If you haven’t heard already, most of the nation will kick off the 2012-13 season on Friday, Nov. 9.
In one of the more intriguing games of the evening, Michigan State and Connecticut will battle it out, but in a pretty unique location. The two squads are part of a few various “military-themed” games that will take place on Nov. 9, with this contest taking place at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

The two teams depart for Europe on Nov. 7 and will return to the United States following the game on Nov. 10. Given the time difference, the game will tip-off at midnight local time, so it can be shown at prime time in the United States.

The unusual situation will test both squads and their respected coaches in terms of how to handle the unique start time. According to ESPN‘s Andy Katz however, the two teams plans to remain on east coast time, at least to the best of their ability.

Both teams are expected to sleep until after noon and then continue their daily routines with practice and dinner late into the night.
Link


Kansas’ athletic programs improved their total GSR to 85 percent, up from 79 last year and the highest in the department’s history. Missouri also showed gains, posting an 84 percent overall score, up from 81 percent last year.

But Kansas State’s overall GSR was 77 percent, down slightly from 78 percent from last year and 81 percent from its 2003 class.

The NCAA offers no penalties or rewards for GSR scores. The scores measure graduation rates within six years from an athlete’s initial enrollment. This year’s numbers reflect a four-year average for students who entered college from 2002-05. The numbers are different from the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rates, which can affect scholarship numbers if programs score too low.

…Missouri’s overall GSR ranks third in the Southeastern Conference, behind only Vanderbilt (91) and Alabama (85). The Tigers had perfect scores in men’s and women’s golf, women’s swimming and diving and women’s tennis and women’s basketball (92), gymnastics (91), softball (95) and soccer (92) also scored over 90 percent. The football team also was above average at 73 percent, up from 66 percent last year, but the men’s basketball team scored 67 percent, same as last year.

…K-State did not perform as well in football and men’s basketball. Both of those sports graduation rates ranked near the bottom of the Big 12 at 58 percent. In football, Oklahoma was last with a 47 percent graduation success rate and Texas also came in at 58 percent. In men’s basketball, Iowa State and Oklahoma State were lower at 50 percent.
KC Star


Connecticut's basketball program - already banned from the postseason for failing to meet other academic standards - has a graduation success rate of just 11 percent, according to an NCAA report released Thursday.

The GSR, released Thursday, measures the percentage of student-athletes earning diplomas at a school over a six-year period. This year's numbers are for the classes that entered school from 2002 to 2005.

UConn's 11 percent rate was far below the national average of 68 percent for men's basketball.
AP


UK basketball GSR is 78%
Link


Calipari, who has headed a recruiting effort that enabled Kentucky to secure the No. 1-rated freshman class four straight years, said his program did not need ESPN's help in getting players.

"It's going to help our recruiting?" he said in a rhetorical question. "What are we going to be? One and One-A?"

Nor did Kentucky seek more exposure, Calipari said. "We don't need anymore."
Lex HL


Big 12 Composite Schedule


ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule


2012-13 Early Season Events List

The father of Huntington (W.Va.) Prep junior Andrew Wiggins, considered the nation's best high school basketball player, told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday that "it is time" for his son to reclassify and play college basketball next season.

"It's time [for him] to show that he is the best in college right now," Mitchell Wiggins said in a telephone interview. "I think he is ready for the next step. Academically-wise he is doing great. Maturity-wise he is doing great. He has a lot of talent. He is ready for the next step, and everybody knows it is time. It's Andrew's time. Next year is coming soon, and he is ready."
USA Today


No one thought Kansas was in mix for Wiggins because Kurtis Townsend had old cell for Wiggins. Kurtis got new # in last week, Kansas in mix.
https://twitter.com/EricPrisbell/status/261459970971820032
(Now that just seems dumb Eric. They certainly knew how to reach his HS coach.)


For wiggins: UK/FSU (tie), UNC, then KU, OSU, Syracuse.
https://twitter.com/EricPrisbell/status/261634735992885248


Just how good is Andrew Wiggins? Well, an NBA head scout recently told me Wiggins would be the No. 1 pick today.

Wiggins is far from a finished project, but his reclassification back to his original class today sent reverberations throughout the high school world, as well as the collegiate and NBA game.

“If he stays on course, he will be the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft,” the scout said. “He would start on any NBA team today without a current All-Star at the small forward position.”

Now, future success is far from a guarantee no matter how talented the player is, but Wiggins appears to be on a path very few have traveled. With the hoopla over whether he would reclassify behind us, let’s look at Wiggins the basketball player.

Along with former ESPN 100 No. 1 player Jabari Parker, the 6-foot-7 Wiggins is the most talented player in high school basketball. Speaking of Parker, his drop in ranking to No. 2 has less to do with his talent or upside and more about just how dominant Wiggins has been in his career. Wiggins would have jumped over past No. 1 recruits such as Nerlens Noel, Shabazz Muhammad, Austin Rivers, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Andre Drummond. The only former elite prospect he wouldn’t have leapfrogged was this year’s No. 1 overall pick, Anthony Davis.
ESPN


Parker's father, Sonny Parker, told ESPNChicago.com that he did not understand why Wiggins passed his son in the recruiting rankings.

"Based on what? That's what I'm asking," Sonny Parker told ESPNChicago.com. "Based on a few weeks of AAU? The AAU stuff is overrated. Jabari was the national freshman of the year, the national sophomore of the year, the Gatorade national player of the year as a junior.

"High school is more important to Jabari. He's won three straight titles and wants to win a fourth this year. You talk about athleticism. Jabari can play the 1 through 5 at 6-foot-9. It's just peoples' opinions."
ESPN


Oklahoma men's basketball head coach Lon Kruger has a big weekend ahead.

When he goes to the OU-Notre Dame football game, there's a good chance that he will not be alone.

This weekend, Kruger will be hosting one of the biggest (literally and figuratively) recruits in the nation, PF Julius Randle (Plano, Texas/Prestonwood Christian), Bob Przybylo of ESPN.com reports.
LinkOklahoma men's basketball head coach Lon Kruger has a big weekend ahead.

When he goes to the OU-Notre Dame football game, there's a good chance that he will not be alone.

This weekend, Kruger will be hosting one of the biggest (literally and figuratively) recruits in the nation, PF Julius Randle (Plano, Texas/Prestonwood Christian), Bob Przybylo of ESPN.com reports.
Link


On the plane ride back I definitely couldn’t stop thinking about those two schools. It was so fun just being there and seeing how they do things. I was just thinking about how difficult a decision will be after taking visits like these because all of the programs are top notch.

Me and my family were talking the whole plane ride back about different parts of the trip. Everybody had a ball.

I don’t have any solid plans for another visit, but I’ll probably try and get out to Kentucky and Kansas next because I’ve never been to those schools.

Well, other than that, I’ve just been going hard with my schoolwork and working hard getting ready for the season to start. Me and my teammates definitely can’t wait for that.

OK guys, I’ve got to get going but thanks again for reading my blog, and I want you to come back soon and read my next one.
Tyus Jones for USA Today


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

Video: Vitale's Preseason Top 4 (KU #4)


We have been led to believe the hoops rivalry between Kansas and Missouri is dead in the water.
Maybe so, but not in my little world.

Not on paper, anyway. I refuse to let this go away.

After all, it's no fun if I can't make my annual prediction on how KU and MU will finish the season. I'm leaning on Kansas to win another conference title.

I say that with some reservation. I'm not completely sold on this Jayhawk team -- too many freshmen.

Bill Self will have to weave some magic to get the chemistry right with this bunch, and he's pretty good at that.

I think Baylor has better overall talent in the Big 12, but Scott Drew will screw it up.

KU is fortunate that Missouri saw the light and bailed for the SEC. There is no question in my mind –- none -- that the Tigers would win the Big 12 if they hadn't joined the SEC.

By the way, we keep hearing that the SEC is all about football. This just in: The SEC has won three of the last seven NCAA basketball championships.

The Big 12 and the Big 8 haven't won three in the last 60 years.

I don't know if you noticed, but Phil Pressey has been named SEC pre-season player of the year. That’s a pretty strong statement with all the thoroughbreds at Kentucky and Florida.

Missouri is picked third. It would be tough for Kansas to crack the top three in the SEC this year.
LOL c'mon you know who wrote this drivel. It's 'ol Jack Smack. Remember his prediction from last season?
(BTW Jack, scoreboard. For all time.)


CBS Top 50 Wings (McLemore #8)


Kansas University’s basketball team had its worst practice of the young 2012-13 season Wednesday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse.

“We had a bad day today, but something positive came out of it. I think we got in better shape today,” KU coach Bill Self told 450 women who attended Wednesday’s “Ladies Night Out” cancer benefit in the fieldhouse.

Suffice it to say, KU’s 10th-year coach made the Jayhawks run a batch of penalty sprints during their two-hour workout.

“I’m not trying to be funny, but the way we practiced today, I think they (players) should be paying us,” Self added, answering one of the attendee’s questions about the play-for-pay issue in college athletics during a Q-and-A session.

So what was so disturbing about Wednesday’s pre-“Ladies Night Out” practice?

“It was beyond bad,” Self said. “We had bad play, bad effort, no energy, a combination of things. They don’t like me, and I don’t like them right now. What’s great about something like this is it brings everybody back to the real-life aspect of helping others. Our guys get a chance to do that tonight.”

Besides ... “Everybody has some bad practices now and then. If anything, I hope it gets our attention for a great day tomorrow,” Self said.

…“This does change the mood. We come out of the locker room and see all these smiling faces, it brings a lighter mood to the situation,” freshman forward Landen Lucas said. “This is awesome. It’s been a fun experience seeing how excited they are for basketball season. I think we appeal to all ages and everything. It’s definitely nice to know we have support from everyone.”

There was a light moment in the picture-taking portion of the evening when a woman hopped on senior Travis Releford’s back for a piggyback ride.

“That doesn’t surprise me. He’s a senior,” freshman forward Andrew White III said of the popular senior guard from Kansas City, Mo. “This is a lot of fun. I think it’s a good opportunity just for these women to have a good time, learn some things about our team. I never get tired of the support. It’s good for everybody.”

…KU freshman guard Evan Manning continues to wear a boot on his right foot. He has been unable to practice in preparation for Tuesday’s exhibition opener versus Emporia State.

“Evan had a setback. He was out six weeks with a high ankle sprain, now it’s moved into a different location,” Self said of a hot spot in Manning’s foot. “We’re hopeful he’ll be back relatively soon. He hasn’t shown great progress in the last week. It still may be another week or two.”

Freshman Zach Peters has yet to practice this season because of a rotator cuff injury in his left shoulder and is not expected back soon. On Oct. 11, it was announced he’d be out four to six weeks because of the injury. There’s been no decision made on possibly red-shirting the power forward from Plano, Texas.
LJW
LJW Photo Gallery: Ladies Night


Pink was the theme Wednesday night in Allen Fieldhouse as Kansas head coach Bill Self and the rest of the men’s basketball team hosted the annual “Ladies Night Out”.

The event benefitted Jayhawks for a Cure and all proceeds were donated to Lawrence Memorial Hospital and the KU Cancer Center in an effort to fund cancer research.

“In all seriousness, we will have fun but this is for a great cause,” Self said to the crowd. “These guys (KU players) are young and haven’t been affected the same way we have. As we get older we all get touched in some way, shape or form (by cancer). I think it is awesome that you guys think enough about this to be here and we think it is awesome to do this. Hopefully you’ll get something out of it. We shouldn’t lose site of the fact to bring more awareness to this cause.”

The 450 women in attendance were treated to an opening by Self who introduced the 2012-13 Jayhawks and staff. A special highlight video followed which featured Kansas’ 2011-12 season which the Jayhawks won their eighth-straight Big 12 title, advanced to the school’s 14th Final Four and reached the NCAA championship game in New Orleans.
KUAD


He is the point guard on the Best Basketball Team In The World. And if you need the condensed version on how Mario Chalmers’ life has changed since he left Kansas, this is a pretty good place to start.

On Wednesday night, Chalmers sat inside a locker room at the Sprint Center and slowly pulled the laces through a pair of black high-tops. This is the NBA, of course, so there are probably people that could be doing this for him. But even in his Kansas days, Chalmers was the sort of person who could make do with an economy of words and conversations. So why not avoid the fuss and do it yourself?

The rest of his surroundings are decidedly more high-maintenance. All around the Sprint Center, there were signs that the Miami Heat — the NBA’s most spectacular big-top circus — had arrived in town.

…“He’s proven himself as a championship point guard,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says. “It’s always about consistency with him. He’s at his best in the biggest moments; he’s never shied away from them. We all know that. That’s why we love him so much.”

Chalmers was in the starting lineup on Wednesday night as the Heat lost 101-94 to the Washington Wizards at the Sprint Center. Chalmers finished with eight points and five assists in 20 minutes.

…These days, Chalmers says he still keeps up with most of his former Kansas teammates. And every once in a while, he’ll exchange in-season texts with KU assistant Joe Dooley. But in five days, the Heat will begin the regular season and Chalmers will assume his role on the NBA’s most-watched serial. That means keeping LeBron happy, deferring to Wade and finding a way to play alongside Allen.

No, it’s not easy being a point guard on the Miami Heat. But if all goes as planned, a repeat title would be worth the hassle.
KC Star


It was a packed house with screaming fans. The NBA in Wichita Wednesday night. Sold out. And some of the loudest screams were for Nick Collison and Cole Aldrich who now play for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

If you're not a fan of KU basketball, you may not know the names. But they have a legacy in Kansas basketball, and it brought out a lot of fans to Intrust Arena Wednesday night.

"A lot of Jayhawk fans," says Collison. "It's good to see them."

…"What's my favorite memory as a Jayhawk?" says Aldrich. "There are so many. Between the national championship game getting a triple double, it was so much fun my three years there. We appreciate you guys coming out. Not only supporting Nick and I but our team. It's a huge blessing to have you guys out at the game."
KSN (Video at the link)



WBB Big 12 Media Day today: See link for live coverage, schedule, more. KU on at 10am



Practice can only teach you so much, senior Angel Goodrich said Wednesday before she did just that — practice.

Don’t get the wrong idea, despite sharing the same number as Allen Iverson, Goodrich was not trying to downplay the value of practice as the former NBA point guard once famously did. What she meant was that you don’t really know where you are at as a team until you get into game situations.

Sunday at 2 p.m. the Jayhawks will be in a game situation for the first time this season in the exhibition against Washburn at Allen Fieldhouse.

“Once you get in the game, you can see how far you are and what you need to work on more,” Goodrich said. “As far as the first game, we’re just looking at getting out there and doing what we need to do to get a win.”
UDK


This goes out to any Lawrence residents who were pondering a trip to campus for Friday's KU homecoming parade but were worried they'd find nowhere to park without risking a ticket: No need to worry.

KU's Parking and Transit office will open up all the lots around Memorial Stadium, as well as the sizable lot in front of the Amber Student Recreation Fitness Center along Naismith Drive, for use by visitors.

Starting at 5 p.m., parade attendees can park in those spots without worry.

From there, they can walk up the hill to Jayhawk Boulevard to catch the parade, which starts at 6. And if they so choose, they can follow the parade to the Adams Alumni Center for the 7 p.m. post-parade pep rally, which is new this year.

The lots will remain free of restriction for the rest of the night, said Tim Caboni, KU's vice chancellor for public affairs.

He said he was spreading the word about the available parking because KU wants Lawrence residents to get involved in the homecoming events, and for Lawrence and KU to interact more in general. As he says, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little would like to "lift the crimson and blue curtain" around the campus.
LJW


Tickets to Coach Self's "Courtside View"


Kansas 2012-13 Schedule

KState Collegian Big 12 Predictions


UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad injured his right shoulder during practice on Wednesday.

A team spokesman said Muhammad was scheduled to undergo an MRI in the evening, and would be reevaluated on Thursday.
AP


My preseason All-America team: Isaiah Canaan, Trey Burke, C.J. Leslie, Doug McDermott, Cody Zeller
https://twitter.com/SethDavisHoops/status/261467382101458944


Emailed this yesterday for the preseason rankings: 1. Indiana 2. Lou 3. UK 4. Kansas 5. NCState 6. Mich 7. Ohio St 8. Syr 9. Ariz 10. MichSt 11. Mem 12. Duke 13. Fla 14. UNC 15. UNLV 16. SD St 17. UCLA 18. Wisc 19. Gonz 20. Cincy 21. ND 22. Mizz 23. Bay 24. Creighton 25. Murray St
https://twitter.com/SethDavisHoops/status/261466992215732224


Big 12 Composite Schedule


ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Rare indeed is the basketball recruiting visit to Arizona that doesn't generate positive feedback from the targeted player or his coach/parents/handlers.

The case of Aaron Gordon appears to be no exception.

"He said he had a great time," said Tim Kennedy, Gordon's coach at San Jose Archbishop Mitty High School. "He enjoyed the trip and getting to know the guys."

While Arizona may have helped itself by hosting Gordon for the Red-Blue weekend, there's no telling yet how much. The powerful forward is still expected to take his final visit to Kentucky, probably the weekend of Nov. 9, Kennedy said.

Gordon has already visited Washington, Oregon, Kansas and UA, and Kennedy said those four and Kentucky are still under consideration.

"I think he’s pretty open," Kennedy said. "Each trip he gets a new experience and it kind of opens his eyes."

Gordon is expected to make his decision in the spring.
Arizona Daily Star


Roselle Catholic forward Tyler Roberson has two visits two go and is nearing the end of his recruiting process.

The 6-foot-8 Roberson visited Kansas this past weekend and heads to Villanova this coming weekend and then Kentucky the weekend of Nov. 2.

“Tyler enjoyed his visit to Kansas and they remain an option for him moving forward,” RC coach Dave Boff told SNY.tv. “He is looking forward to his trips to Villanova and Kentucky each of the next two weekends.

“Once he is done with his visits he will sit down with his family and see where he is at in the decision-making process.”
Zags Blog


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

Former Kansas University forward/current Sacramento Kings rookie Thomas Robinson was trending on Twitter — his name momentarily flooding that popular website on Sunday night — after his spectacular, one-handed putback dunk over Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The dunk served as a reminder of some of the power to be missing from the Jayhawks’ lineup minus the 6-foot-10, 237-pound Robinson this season.

“The thing about Thomas ... we can talk about all the things he did well. He gave us an air of toughness. It made other players think they were really tough or fierce because he led by example,” said KU coach Bill Self. “If he got one mitt on the ball, I mean he was a fierce, tough competitive rebounder. He was unbelievable at 50/50 balls.

“That’s something we’ve got to get our guys to buy into: ‘If you don’t turn the ball over and if you outrebound your opponents and get 70 percent of the 50/50 balls, you are going to win because you’ll have a lot more possessions.’ We’ll miss that at least initially. I think we’ve got some guys that are very competitive and will get good at that before all is said and done.”

An obvious replacement in the toughness department would be senior pivot Jeff Withey.

“We need him to be a presence inside. We want to play inside/out. He’s a big reason why we can do that,” Self said. “Jeff benefited from having Thomas around, but I don’t know if you realize how much Thomas benefited from having Jeff around. He (Robinson) never had to guard the other team’s best big guy. (He said), ‘If I make a mistake, Jeff can clean it up.’ Offensively would be a question mark where he (Withey) needs to take another step.”
LJW


#7 Jeff Withey
I was voted down here. If I was making the list, Withey would be No. 5 overall. As it is, get ready for another huge season from a big white guy playing in Lawrence. -- Matt Norlander
CBS Top 50 big men

I guess @UKCoachCalipari didn't like my 2008 nat'l champs banner. He left a note while I was on vacation. #kubball
http://twitter.com/T_Dwyer/status/260800543490969600/photo/1

If true Kansas college basketball fans find themselves giving the NBA a closer look, maybe with Wednesday’s Dallas-Oklahoma City exhibition game at Intrust Bank Arena — this story is for you. There is no reason you can’t love the Rock Chalk Chant, the student section at Koch Arena and the “Wabash Cannonball” while appreciating the NBA.

If the success of Oklahoma City’s Thunder intrigues you enough to buy in, even a little, then open your mind to the possibility that the NBA, while different, can engage a fan as much as the college game.

The success of the NBA’s Thunder is changing things in Oklahoma, where Chesapeake Energy Arena is packed, the Thunder drew 18,223 fans to an exhibition game in Tulsa last week and Kevin Durant is the state’s highest-profile athlete. Young, owner and editor of the Daily Thunder blog, wrote a column in 2005 for the University of Oklahoma student newspaper revealing he didn’t understand the NBA. Now he is in fifth year of blogging about the Thunder and a loyal subscriber to NBA League Pass, the pay channel that shows almost every game.

…Recognize that there are no Allen Fieldhouses in the NBA and the feel of the fan bases is different.

NBA fans sit in chairbacks expecting to be entertained by millionaires and Paula Abdul wannabes, not to reminisce about college days in the bleachers. One-team towns such as Portland, Oklahoma City and San Antonio come to the closest to duplicating collegiate enthusiasm, while falling short. Accept that fact and see the NBA for what it is.

“If you can’t appreciate the size, speed and ability of these elite athletes, maybe you don’t like the game as much as you think,” Barry said.

One knock on the NBA is that nobody plays defense. While NBA defenses are more sophisticated than most fans realize, it is true that offense drives the game. It is also true that defense improves in April, when the playoffs start. If you’re looking for a 2004-era Southern Illinois effort on defense, look elsewhere.
Wichita Eagle


An IRS auction in Shawnee, Kansas this week features a couple pieces of KU's athletic history.

The IRS says it seized the property and household contents for nonpayment of taxes.

Among several items of sports memorabilia shown on a web site listing for the auction are an autographed KU basketball and a football autographed by KU's Orange Bowl championship team.

The IRS would not comment on who the property owner is.

The auction is 10 am Wednesday at Lindsy's Auctions, 4795 Frisbie Rd. in Shawnee, Kansas.
WIBW


Tickets to Coach Self's "Courtside View"


Kansas 2012-13 Schedule

A recent audit of the University of Missouri’s athletic department finances uncovered dozens of questionable personal charges made to university credit cards, including two totaling more than $7,600 at a Las Vegas strip club.

Department spokesman Chad Moller said director of video operations Michael Schumacher has since repaid a total of $7,605.50 for charges related to a visit to Olympic Garden, a Las Vegas strip club, on May 5, 2011. According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, one of the strip-club charges included a $2,000 tip on top of a $4,400 bill.

…The Associated Press also reported that the audit flagged expenses from January 2011, when former men’s basketball director of operations Jeff Daniels billed the school for two charges of $1,489.54 apiece at the Vince Young Steakhouse in Austin, Texas.

Moller said those charges were for a team dinner — “something that happens on every trip by every athletic team in the country,” he noted — and estimated some 30 players, coaches and staff members were in attendance. Those charges were flagged because together they exceeded the $2,500 limit for single transactions.

…The audit also suggested the school tighten up its procedures for giving away free tickets and accounting for unused tickets to campus sporting events.

The audit summary and documents related to the improper charges obtained by The Associated Press revealed that while Alden and his compliance office do oversee ticket giveaways, an independent review is optimal if the school wants to protect itself from a scandal similar to the one that unfolded in 2010 at the University of Kansas.
KC Star


Hmm, now where have I heard about a strip club and a missouri basketball official together before?


While acknowledging the NCAA does not have jurisdiction over draft eligibility rules, that the NBA and its players association negotiated the current age limit, Emmert declared one-and-done to be “anathema to the collegiate model of athletics. I dislike it enormously.”

He went on to suggest some who enroll with that in mind are encouraged not to function as serious students.

Emmert was asked about the contagion of conference realignment that took place in the past two years. He spoke of his experience as president at the University of Washington when the Pacific-10 was considering expansion to include Colorado and Utah.

He lamented that one element that went missing when so many schools moved leagues was the degree of “trust” necessary for a league to function and also expressed concern about how leagues with vast geographies will affect the experience of athletes already facing great demands on their time and energy.“

To do business inside a conference, you’ve got to be able to trust each other,” Emmert said. “You know, you sit and you all swear allegiance to the conference, and then you know during the coffee break people are out there on the phone trying to see if they can get in another conference. That’s a problem. We needed to stop. We need a little healing to go on and we need to make sure that students—and this is where we come in—that students aren’t getting abused with travel.”

…On whether he would be willing to work with the NBA and NBA Players Association to alter the draft age limit that currently stands at one year out of high school: “We’ve had some conversations. I’ve had conversations with David Stern and others, in the league office. We’re still exploring with them and with the Players Association what is and isn’t possible. But at the end of the day, that’s got to be their decision.”
TSN


Chris Walker hasn’t been shy about using the ‘R’ word in the three weeks since taking over as the interim head coach at Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders, he’s quick to tell anyone willing to listen, are going to run.

Seven new players will take the court for Tech this season — five newcomers and two who were on the team but sat out last year — and Walker believes improved speed is collectively one of the biggest strengths of that group. Because of that, he wants his team to push the pace.

That begins on defense.

“We are one of those teams that is going to press every possession,” Walker said during the team’s local media day Tuesday. “... We’re really trying to create turnovers, get in the passing lanes.”
Lubbock AJ


Several players spoke of marathon practices which frequently exceeded four hours. Kevin Wagner and Jaron Nash told CBSSports.com that one practice in early November exceeded eight hours.

In the documents released to USA TODAY Sports, the school's reporting to the NCAA doesn't indicate that. On Sept. 1, a day after CBSSports.com published the story detailing excessive practice time, a Texas Tech compliance representative e-mailed the story to the NCAA. Jennifer Lisle Brashear, associate athletics director for compliance, e-mailed Chris Strobel, NCAA director of enforcement for secondary violations, to say the school already had investigated and "self-reported the violation to the NCAA on January 10th."

The school concluded it had exceeded practice time by a total of 6 hours, 10 minutes in the fall semester. It self-imposed a practice reduction of double that -- 12 hours, 20 minutes -- and reprimanded Gillispie and Bubba Jennings, an assistant coach.

In the three weeks in which Texas Tech found the program exceeded practice limits in October and November, none were reported to have totaled eight hours in a day.

The school's investigation found that on the weekend of Oct. 29-30, 2011, the team practiced for 7 hours, 15 minutes on Saturday and 6 hours, 30 minutes on Sunday. The school had initially reported no more than four hours of practice on any day, but a former men's basketball employee reported that the team had exceeded that on Oct. 29.

Jennings was responsible for documenting practice times and submitting them to Texas Tech's compliance office. According to the school's report to the NCAA, Jennings indicated "that he did not wear a watch."
USA Today


The 64 Bruins are the most influential team in college hoops history says SI
(2008 Memphis #9?)


Before the NCAA investigations, UCLA seemed to have the perfect plan.

If you’re going to unveil the renovation of an historic venue such as Pauley Pavilion, it’s best to do it in style.

With a couple of future pros who could lead the Bruins to its first Final Four appearance since it made three straight trips from 2006-08, UCLA -- on paper, at least -- has plenty.

But everything at UCLA is a question mark right now.

And if the NCAA investigations linger, Pauley Pavilion will open its doors with a sense of uncertainty.

That moment should announce that UCLA basketball is back on its feet. That was the goal.

Right now, however, the program doesn’t have any solid footing.
ESPN



The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) does many wonderful things, but consistent enforcement of its byzantine rules is not one of them. It is hard to know what is worse: the cases in which the NCAA investigates and imposes penalties, or the cases in which it does nothing. Its patchwork effort does little to inspire respect or deterrence.

Of course, this inconsistency is just one of many, larger hypocrisies besetting the NCAA these days. On several fronts, the NCAA finds itself in a credibility quicksand, and every action it takes lately seems to sink it deeper in the muck. The inconsistent enforcement of its own rules, however, is one area in which a workable solution exists within the current system's structure.

The solution is abdication. Not abandonment of any enforcement efforts but voluntary transfer of enforcement responsibilities to an outside organization. This gesture would serve as an acknowledgment that an independent body would do a better, more credible job of enforcing the NCAA's rules than the NCAA itself, which suffers from financial and other conflicts of interest in this regard.
The Atlantic


It's that time of year. Secret Scrimmages. I'd really, really appreciate it if you don't tell anyone about these -- or else I can get in trouble. Remember, don't go to the arenas this weekend -- because fans and media aren't allowed in to watch. In fact, it's basically as if these scrimmages never even happen. Never.

Except we know they did -- even if coaches aren't supposed to talk about them.
CBS


It's not often we write about the women's game on this blog, but when we do, it's usually because an issue transcends the sport.

This time, that's not the case. We're dealing with the very nature of the game that is women's basketball, and UConn coach Geno Auriemma has proposed a change that would forever alter the way that it's watched, played, scouted and strategized.

He wants to lower the rim.

It's so simple that I can't believe we haven't heard this come up more often. There are already distinct differences between the two kinds of major collegiate basketball: The women's ball is smaller than the men's; the women's 3-point line isn't as far out as the men's; there is no 10-second halfcourt rule in women's basketball; men get a 35-second shot clock (though it should be shorter), and women get 30.

So why not consider bringing the tin down a few inches to increase verticality, offense and aggressiveness in the women's game? Here's what Auriemma told CPTV in Hartford (via the Hartford Courant):
CBS

10/23/12, 4:55 PM
2013 C Joel Embiid confirms via Twitter he's visiting Florida this weekend. Has already visited Kansas, Texas, Virginia.
@gatorhoops


Andrew Wiggins, a 6-7, 190-pound junior forward from Huntington Prep in West Virginia, is thinking about reclassifying to the recruiting class of 2013, Rivals.com reports.

Recently, KU and North Carolina have joined the mix as schools with a shot at landing Wiggins, Rivals reports. Kentucky and Florida State had long been considered his favorites if he was a member of the Class of 2014. He’s currently ranked No. 1 overall in the Class of 2014.

…Joel Embiid, an unranked 7-foot senior center from Rock School in Gainesville, Fla., who has visited KU, Texas and Virginia, will visit Florida and Marquette in successive weekends, Rivals.com reports. The Cameroon native who has played basketball just a year, is expected to sign with a school during the Nov. 14-21 signing period.

…Aaron Gordon, a 6-8 senior small forward from Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose, Calif., who attended Late Night in the Phog, has visited KU, Oregon, Washington and Arizona. The No. 5-rated player in the Class of 2013, plans on visiting Kentucky on Nov. 9-10 and picking a school in the spring.

“He acknowledged the love from the fans (on KU visit),” Gordon’s dad, Ed, told JayhawkSlant.com. “For me, it’s just the history of Kansas basketball that stands out the most. It’s the legends that have come through Kansas, and the legends to be. Aaron really hit it off with coach Self and the entire coaching staff. They are wonderful people and they have wonderful families. Aaron is very much a family person. We feel extremely comfortable with them.”
LJW

Overall, Bill Self likes what he’s seen at practice 10 days into the 2012-13 college basketball season.

“I think things have gone above average, (but) I’m not giddy at all,” Self, Kansas University’s 10th-year coach, said Monday, commenting on progress made since the Oct. 12 Late Night in the Phog.

“We don’t have enough stuff in. We have so many young kids (seven scholarship freshmen), we’re probably going too slow. I need to trust them to learn a whole bunch of stuff real fast so we can get closer to being prepared to play when the real season starts.

“I like our guys,” Self added. “The ball moves (on offense). We move pretty well defensively together. I think we can become really good defensively with the ability to pressure. Offensively, we don’t have two guys that can go get you 35 every night. We have a nice collection of young kids, some nice veterans. They just have to get some experience.”

“We don’t have that star power. We don’t have a lottery pick next year. If we do, it means we’ll win a lot of games because that means somebody will emerge,” Self told 810-WHB radio in Kansas City.

“Until our young guys get some experience, we’re going to rely on those veterans (seniors Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford, Jeff Withey, Kevin Young) probably to be the mainstays, the consistent guys. I like our veterans. A lot of people would like to return the three starters we have.”

KU’s older and younger players, “like each other,” Self said. “The ball moves, but we turn it over way too often. Hopefully this team will reflect the past team’s toughness because that’s one intangible I don’t think people get. That team last year liked it when you had to get four stops in a row or you knew you had no chance. Hopefully this team will get to that level, too.”
LJW


When freshmen Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor made the two hour and 43 minute drive from Lawrence to Columbia, Mo. last Februrary to watch their teammates play, they saw firsthand how fierce the rivalry could be. The Missouri fans routinely honked and flipped off the car with a Jayhawk license plate as they traveled on the highway.

It was one of many drives the duo, who are also roommates, undertook to watch their teammates in games after the NCAA ruled them ineligible to play last season, and kept them from practicing with the team until the spring semester.
“They took a negative and made it into a positive,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “And it’s really not bad for their life at all.”

McLemore and Traylor responded to the ruling by working hard in the classroom, with each of them posting above a 3.0 GPA.

The ruling also helped the players on the court. In the spring semester, McLemore was charged with defending the explosive Tyshawn Taylor, and Traylor had to match-up every day with National Player of the Year candidate, Thomas Robinson.

“Jamari actually held his own with Thomas three out of five days,” Self said. “Then the other two he’d get murdered. But I think it was really  great for those guys to play against pros last year.”
UDK

The Bill Self Kansas Basketball Coaches Clinic will run Oct. 26-27 with clinicians watching the No. 7 Jayhawks practice twice on Friday afternoon (Oct. 26) and Saturday morning (Oct. 27) in Allen Fieldhouse.

Check in is Friday at 2 p.m. and those attending the clinic – open to all coaches at all levels – will be able to watch Kansas’ men’s basketball in the weight room, then practice at 3:30 p.m. Former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins and Bill Self will then address the clinicians following practice. Presentations by Cremins, Self and his staff along with an inside look at a Kansas Basketball practice will highlight the event.
KUAD


The matter of compensating student athletes will be just one of many pressing issues discussed when Self plays host to “A Courtside View” — a roundtable of some of college basketball’s most important voices and analysts. The upcoming event, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 1 at Crown Toyota Pavilion in Lawrence, will include Self, national writer Mike DeCourcy, ESPN commentators Jay Bilas and Fran Fraschilla and Star college columnist Blair Kerkhoff.

Self said he also expects the group to address issues such as the one-and-done rule, NCAA academic reform and the business side of college athletics, among others. The proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Self’s Assists Foundation.

“It’s a chance to bring some very knowledgeable people in to talk about important issues affecting our sport," Self said.

But it’s likely that the debate over paying college athletes — and the idea of amateurism in college sports — will get ample time. Bilas has been an outspoken critic of the NCAA’s convoluted rulebook, suggesting that NCAA athletes should be able to use their name or likeness to earn money from outside channels — a model similar to that of the Olympics.

Self, meanwhile, joins a growing list of high-profile college coaches who have expressed concern with the current model.
KC Star


Tickets to Coach Self's "Courtside View"


Kansas 2012-13 Schedule


More fine work from the KU video dept, this time for WBB.

CBS Top 50 point guards (EJ #14)


CBS Goodman, Parrish's Wooden preseason Top 50 ballots (Withey, Johnson)


Bob Knight gave us the shot fake and three years of sometimes coherent Big Monday basketball broadcasts.

Some people tuned in for the entertainment value, but no one accused Knight of being polished behind the microphone. His unorthodox commentary wasn’t a hit with everyone in the Big 12 demographic, although one guy with an excuse to complain opted for the high road instead.

“You know, it’s like being replaced in the lineup by a Hall of Famer,” said ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla, who teamed with Ron Franklin on the Big Monday broadcast before Knight and Brent Musburger took over three years ago. “They just move you to another position. I still got my at-bats.”

Big 12 fans will be happy to know Fraschilla is returning to the Big Monday lineup this season. The former coach at St. John’s and New Mexico will team with Musburger on the Monday night showcase after splitting time between Big 12 and Big East broadcasts the past three years, while Knight will call Thursday night games in the SEC.

“What excites me is, I know the league so well that I know how to promote the players and the coaches and the competition of the league without being a shill for the league,” Fraschilla said. “Ultimately I’ve still got to call them the way I see them, but there’s definitely a familiarity I have with the conference that I think is apparent when I get to broadcast a Big 12 game.”
TCJ (some Q&A at the link)


Jéan-Paul Olukemi understands his college basketball playing days are numbered.
He just hopes the number extends into 2013.

Olukemi's eligibility for the second semester remains in question, due to him unknowingly starting his NCAA eligibility clock as a prep school player. OSU has appealed to the NCAA, which initially denied a request for an added semester.

Now all Olukemi and the Cowboys can do is wait for a final ruling.
The Oklahoman


Defending national champion Kentucky is the preseason favorite to win the Southeastern Conference title.

The Wildcats received 17 of the 24 first-place votes in balloting by a panel of media members despite losing six NBA draft picks, including national player of the year and No. 1 selection Anthony Davis. Kentucky went 38-2 last season and won all 16 SEC games, and coach John Calipari brought in a highly rated recruiting class.

Florida was first on five ballots while Missouri and Tennessee got one first-place vote apiece.

Missouri point guard Phil Pressey is preseason player of the year. His six votes outpaced Florida’s Kenny Boynton (five). Arkansas’ BJ Young, Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes and Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel each got three votes.

Those five are first-team preseason All-SEC picks.
AP


ESPN: Can the Pac-12 be saved?


LeBron cheating on Cal with K (ooh, UK fan gonna be mad lol)


Big 12 Composite Schedule


ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Meet Cameroon-native and Gainesville (Fla.) The Rock School center Joel Embiid. While you may not have heard of him before, this is almost certainly not the last time his name will be prominent in the elite hoops scene now that his presence is finally being felt in the U.S.

As reported by Rivals.com's Eric Bossi and others, Embiid first began playing basketball just a year ago, at the age of 16. Despite his late adoption of the sport, the Cameroonian has shown few of the typical struggles with coordination and dexterity that often plague other 7-footers.

In fact, as the AAU highlight reel above showcases, Embiid has gone to the other end of the spectrum, flashing the kind of athleticism that one rarely sees from big men at any level, let alone those who have yet to officially tip off in high school basketball.
Yahoo Sports


According to multiple sources, Wiggins has pretty much asked for UNC and other schools to start recruiting him and UNC is turning it up on Wiggins.  Rumors of an in home visit with Carolina TODAY have also made the rounds.  Wiggins has stated that his recruiting is “wide open” and that he doesn’t favor other any program despite the rumors adding that many programs have not been recruiting him because of what they think.

Wiggins is now receiving interest from Kansas, Ohio State and Syracuse along with Carolina.  This is huge news  and a very unexpected twist of events after almost everyone considered it a foregone conclusion that he was going to end up with FSU or UK.  Now it seems as if it’s anybody’s ballgame.
Heel fan blog


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

“I used to be totally against paying players, paying athletes. I’ve changed,” Self said Friday in a phone conversation with the Journal-World to discuss particulars of his upcoming “Courtside View” panel discussion set for 7-8:30 p.m., Nov. 1 at Lawrence’s Crown Toyota Pavilion.

“I think if presidents are willing to take these athletes and send them across America, miss more school because they have conference realignment, and with the big business of the BCS Championship playoff in football plus the amount of money we generate through television in basketball, I can’t imagine why there aren’t different angles and avenues in which we could compensate the people that are exactly the ones bringing the money to the schools — the student-athletes,” Self said, taking one long breath.

Perhaps the athletes could sell their own jerseys and receive the profits?

“We can get into that later,” Self said with a laugh, referring to the event at Miles Schnaer’s Crown facility.

The panel, which includes Self, plus national basketball writers/broadcasters Mike DeCourcy, Fran Fraschilla and Blair Kerkhoff, includes another supporter of paying athletes — ESPN’s Jay Bilas.

…KU’s men’s and women’s basketball players have been using the new EliteForm weight training system during workouts this semester at Anderson Strength Center.

The EliteForm system, which according to KU officials is used by 10 strength training systems worldwide, uses a network of cameras, sensors and software. It allows coaches the ability to chart progress and performance during team workouts, tailor a workout specifically for an athlete during the course of the season and use the camera system to monitor and correct form.

For a video on KU’s new weight training system, go to http://www.kuathletics.com/genrel/101812aac.html
LJW


Still seats available for Coach Self's "Courtside View"


Ben McLemore had a heart-to-heart talk with his mom, Sonya, in the summer of 2011 before beginning his academic and athletic career at Kansas University.

“She told me to think about three main things. She said, ‘Remember this: B.B.B.,’” McLemore, KU’s 6-foot-5, 185-pound red-shirt freshman basketball guard from St. Louis, said. “I said, ‘B.B.B? What does that mean?’ She was like, ‘Ben, Books and Basketball.’ I heard what she said. I cherish that now. I keep working on my grades and stuff in class.”

...“I do like class. Class is great,” McLemore said with a smile. “It’s like I wake up (and say), ‘I’ve got to go to class. I can’t wait to go to class.’ In college, you learn so much, like different types of history I didn’t know about in high school. It’s helped me better myself as a person.”

KU coach Bill Self met regularly with McLemore last year to monitor his academic progress and state of mind.

“He came in my office one day, and I said, ‘How are you doing in school?’ He said, ‘Coach, I like it,’” Self said, emphasizing the word “like.”

“He liked learning. There was a different emphasis on what was important to him, which has now made him more balanced. He has matured. You watch him. He’s quiet, unassuming, a pleaser. He wants everybody to like him, maybe too much. I wish he had a little more ‘dog’ in him, so to speak. We’ll get that out of him in time. This kid works. He’s going to be really good.”

…“Just from an athletic standpoint — shooting, length, slide, rebounding — he can do about as many things as we have had here,” Self said. “He reminds me a lot of Brandon (Rush, now with Golden State Warriors) in that regard, but we struggled with Brandon being aggressive, if you guys remember. So that is one thing that Ben is going to have to be good at.”

…Who knows? McLemore, a new fan of academia, might even stick around more than one full season to continue his studies while improving his skills for what could be a long NBA career.

“I definitely could stay more than one year,” McLemore said. “This is going to be my first year playing. Definitely I could stay, getting the feel of the program and keep on going forward toward my goal.”
LJW


Kansas coach Bill Self was asked Wednesday what advice he would have for first-year Tulsa coach Danny Manning.

“I think he has to be — until he gets it the way he wants it, which will take a little time, obviously — I think the reality of it is to let people get to know him,” Self said. “Because there’s not that many alums living in Tulsa. So you have to draw from all the other fan bases together, and they will support him as long as they like him. And Danny is the most likeable guy around. And I would make sure he’s as visible as possible, and then when he starts winning games, that’ll all take care of itself, too.”

...Self said the Jayhawks will benefit from the return of Norm Roberts, who replaces Manning as KU’s big man coach, but said Manning will be missed.

“I think it’s a loss. Without question,” Self said. “… I think it’s a loss that Barry Hinson’s not here (he’s now head coach at Southern Illinois). I think you could say that. But the reality of it is you replace guys with either similar expertise or maybe bring a different set of skills to your program that are bonuses.

“So it’s great for Danny that he got the job and we’re gonna miss him. He was great with our guys. But Norm’s great with our guys, too. Norm, I mean, he’s been the head coach at St. John’s for six years. He worked with big guys for six years we were together."
Tulsa World


Kansas 2012-13 Schedule

Big 12 Composite Schedule


First, take out a pen and write 'KANSAS' at the top, no questions asked. We don't care if Justin Bieber is starting at point guard for the Jayhawks; Bill Self ain't foolin' us the same way twice.
 
So you slot Kansas and Baylor at one end, Texas Tech and TCU at the other.  As for projecting the rest of the men's basketball race in the Big 12 Conference, well — have fun, champ. With the middle of this league, it's a pencil proposition. Scribble the names of teams three through eight on little pieces of paper, grab a hat, and go to town. We'll wait.
 
"Scary," Horned Frogs coach Trent Johnson mused during Big 12 conference media day Wednesday at the Sprint Center. "I just think it's as deep as all get-out."
 
Oklahoma State is the sexy dark horse, tapped for third by the league's coaches in the preseason poll released last Friday. West Virginia was sixth, a fact that coach Bob Huggins, no stranger to the disrespect card, had to love. Kansas State was fifth, Iowa State was eighth, and both figure to be in the mix for NCAA Tournament berths.
 
And then there's Oklahoma. Lurking.
 
"I'm just looking forward to being the underdogs and (a chance) to show the league that we're better than what they picked us at," forward Amath M'Baye said of the preseason poll, which slotted the Sooners at seventh. "Being a sleeper is a great thing."
FS Midwest


An innocent practice play might have altered the outlook of Oklahoma State's basketball season.

Brian Williams threw down a two-handed slam Monday in practice — something many figured he'd make commonplace this season — but after the athletic finish, OSU's starting forward fell awkwardly.


The tumble fractured his left (non-shooting) wrist and tore some tendons. Surgery came Wednesday, and Williams is expected to miss the entire 2012-13 season.

“From what I understand, he's going to be in a cast for three months and he needs another month, month and a half to rehab,” coach Travis Ford said after Friday night's Homecoming and Hoops festivities.

It's another tough break for Ford and the Cowboys, with expectations and pressure building for what many believe is an NCAA bid or bust season in Stillwater.
The Oklahoman


You can’t make this up. Or perhaps you can.

Minnesota basketball’s off-court woes read like the script of a reality TV show.

On Friday, Gophers star Trevor Mbakwe dodged jail time after a Florida judge added two years to his probation from an earlier case.

On Sunday, the program announced that assistant coach Saul Smith, son of head coach Tubby Smith, had been placed on unpaid administrative leave after he was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence.

Count them, folks. Two. Days. Later.
ESPN


I've been asked to vote in the Associated Press men's college basketball rankings this season. I'll try and post my rankings Sunday night in this space.

This is the preseason top 25 list I emailed to AP. It also includes a preseason All-American team.

No. 1 Kentucky
No. 2 Indiana
No. 3 Louisville
No. 4 Michigan
No. 5 North Carolina State
No. 6 Ohio State
No. 7 Kansas
No. 8 UCLA
No. 9 Florida
No. 10 North Carolina
No. 11 Baylor
No. 12 Syracuse
No. 13 Duke
No. 14 Arizona
No. 15 Missouri
No. 16 Memphis
No. 17 Creighton
No. 18 Michigan State
No. 19 Gonzaga
No. 20 Notre Dame
No. 21 San Diego State
No. 22 Wisconsin
No. 23 UNLV
No. 24 Minnesota
No. 25 Murray State

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAM

C - Cody Zeller, Indiana
F - Doug McDermott, Creighton
F - DeShaun Thomas, Ohio State
G - Isaiah Canaan, Murray State
G - Trey Burke, Michigan
Seattle Times


A month ago, people in and around the UCLA basketball program expected a quick end to the NCAA investigation of freshman Kyle Anderson.

This wasn't supposed to be like teammate Shabazz Muhammad's case, they said. It wasn't supposed to drag on.

But as the Bruins enter their second full week of practice, both players are facing a similar predicament. They have been given no timeline for a resolution and feel as if they are operating in the dark.

"We have attempted to answer any question, provide any documentation that we can, but one of the problems is not knowing specifically any real issue or question that the NCAA has," said Robert Orr, the attorney representing Muhammad.

Investigators are looking into financial assistance Muhammad received from a man the family has characterized as a longtime friend. They have also asked about money that a financial planner gave to Muhammad's summer team in Las Vegas.

Anderson's probe still appears focused on the relationship between his father and NBA agent Thad Foucher, according to people with knowledge of the situation who are not authorized to speak publicly.
LA Times


ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Tyler Roberson, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound senior basketball small forward from Roselle (N.J.) Catholic High School, completed his official recruiting visit to Kansas University on Sunday.

The No. 30-rated player in the class of 2013 has also visited SMU and Syracuse and has upcoming trips planned to Villanova and Kentucky. His weekend host was red-shirt freshman Ben McLemore.

“Coach (Bill) Self talked to me about what my role would be if I decide to come to Kansas. He was just straightforward and he told me that I’d have to work hard if I come to Kansas,” Roberson told jayhawkslant.com. “Coach Self let me know that I’d have to work hard to earn playing time and he talked about what type of player I could become if I went to Kansas. The thing I liked most is how open and honest coach Self was when talking to me.”

Roberson is expected to sign with a school during the November signing period.
LJW

Long considered a near-lock to choose Kansas as the signing period approached, New Hampshire center Kaleb Tarczewski took a final recruiting visit to Arizona for last season's Red-Blue Game.

Tarczewski spent the weekend with three other top 2012 prospects, all of whom had already committed to the Wildcats: Grant Jerrett, Brandon Ashley and Gabe York. He watched the Wildcats honor several former players from the NBA who were available to show up because of the NBA lockout.

And he saw a sold-out crowd of more than 14,000 people fill McKale Center. For an intrasquad scrimmage.

Nine days later, Tarczewski pledged to become a Wildcat himself.

The Red-Blue "played a lot into it," Tarczewski said earlier this month at the Wildcats' preseason media day. "It was great seeing the fan support and also seeing Coach (Sean) Miller and all the other coaches. I got comfortable with the place, and I learned that this was a place I can succeed at, and a place I can have fun at."

Basically, one afternoon proved a final blow to everything Kansas had been doing for many months.

"Kansas had been recruiting me longer than Arizona had, but it doesn't matter how long they've been recruiting you," Tarczewski told the Star upon committing. "It matters how you feel."

Tarczewski and those three other 2012 commits - now all UA freshmen - will get to experience being a Wildcat today in front of a sold-out McKale Center crowd for the first time.

At the same time, it'll be their chance to help sell the program on another important batch of recruiting targets. The long shot this time is 2013 recruit Aaron Gordon, a powerful and talented forward from San Jose, Calif., who has longtime ties with Washington coach Lorenzo Romar and is also looking at Oregon, Kentucky and, yes, Kansas.
Arizona Daily Star (Arizona honored their first ever Final Four team (1988) at this event.)


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

If you don't, see below.

Kansas University’s four senior basketball players brought out the bling for Wednesday’s Big 12 Media Day festivities in Sprint Center.

Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford, Jeff Withey and Kevin Young each wore their NCAA Final Four/Big 12 title rings, with their intent NOT to be boastful around players and coaches from the other nine league teams.

“No. No. No. We’ve not been walking around flashing them in everybody’s faces,” KU senior guard Releford said. “We kind of don’t have to because they are huge.

“We know it’s our last time wearing these rings. We can’t be midseason wearing (NCAA) runner-up rings. We’ve got to put that in the past and go out and try to compete and win another one.”

…As far as the questions about his rotation, Self said: “We’ll start the season playing nine, then it will go to eight, and who knows where it will go after that? We could have a 10th, 11th (man) that will be pretty disappointed because they are pretty good. Last year we had a happy locker room. Everybody knew exactly what their role was and who was going to play and that kind of stuff. This year will be different. There will be some guys disappointed. That also brings out competition, which is good.”

Self said that, so far, the seniors have been the ones who have stood out at practice.

“They didn’t play well in Europe (on August tour). Kevin did OK, but Jeff, Elijah and Travis didn’t,” Self said. “They’ve been better since practice started. Of the freshmen, I’d say Ben (McLemore) and Jamari (have stood out). They have come a long way the last couple months.”

Self said he thinks “we have the potential to be good defensively. Offensively, I don’t know if we can score inside on the block enough.

“We probably will shoot more jump shots than we have at any point in time since I’ve been here. I’m not sure that’s a strength. We should play through our bigs more. We have a lot of guys that can rise up and make a shot. Hopefully we won’t become a jump-shooting team so to speak, but probably more this year than past.”
LJW



The 2006-07 Kansas University men’s basketball team, which won Big 12 Conference regular season and postseason tournament titles and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, will be inducted into Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame at 11 a.m., a week from today, in the Booth Family Hall of Athletics.

…Withey was asked at Wednesday’s Big 12 Media Days to pinpoint the reason he elected to return to KU for his senior season.

“I thought I could go higher and I wanted to win a championship,” Withey said. “To be so close and lose (in final to Kentucky) is heartbreaking and gives you motivation to come back and try one more time. Elijah came back and Travis (Releford) came back and that definitely helped my decision to come back, having them by my side.

“I was with Elijah a lot (before draft declaration date) and talked to him a lot. At the end of the day, we want to win a championship and coach (Bill) Self is a pretty fun guy to play for.”

Seven-footer Withey said he will not be thinking about the NBA at all this season.

“It’s pretty easy not to focus on it,” Withey said. “The way I think is, I have a great year, I’ll be in the NBA. I’m focusing on this year now and winning games. If I do that, the benefits will show themselves.”
LJW


In Withey’s first three years at Kansas, Danny Manning was always the one working closely with Withey on his low-post game. But Manning’s departure to take the Tulsa head coaching job created a hole in the Kansas staff.

Former Self assistant Norm Roberts returned to the staff to fill that void.

“I feel like he’s watched a lot of film from last year, because we’re doing a lot of the same things from when coach Manning was here,” Withey said. “He’s been extremely good with me.”

Roberts’ previous experience under Self eased his transition into his role at Kansas. Before leaving to take the head coaching job at St. John’s, Roberts coached in the same capacity under Self in each of his previous coaching stops.

In his first go-around on Self’s staff, Roberts used many of the same coaching techniques later implemented by Manning.
UDK


3. Ben McLemore, G/F, Redshirt Fr., Kansas
Top 100 Ranking: 20

McLemore sat out his freshman year at Kansas due to eligibility issues. He practiced with the team all year however, and drew praise from both coaches and observers who watched him play.

Head coach Bill Self has been raving about McLemore over the summer comparing him to a young Brandon Rush. McLemore has many of the same positives -- he's long, athletic, can shoot the rock and defend multiple positions. He also has a similar negative -- he can be way too unselfish.

The Jayhawks are going to need him to step in right away and produce. If he can lead this team to yet another Big 12 title, he could easily be a lottery pick in June.

5. Jeff Withey, C, Sr., Kansas
Top 100 Ranking: 33

Withey was a revelation as a junior last year. He had his coming out party at the Maui Invitational and by the end of the season, he was one of the best shot-blocking big men in college basketball.

Withey was basically plucked out of obscurity last year, so everything he did was gravy. Now, the expectations are much higher. Withey's calling card is on the defensive end. Only Anthony Davis blocked more shots per 40 minutes last season. Offensively, he's still a work in progress, though he did show progress all season.

If he can continue to add strength and improve his low post game, he has a chance to stick in the NBA. The league always needs back-up centers and Withey's defensive abilities should guarantee him a spot somewhere in the late first round.

Others to watch: Elijah Johnson, PG, Sr., Kansas; Marcus Smart, SG, Fr., Oklahoma State; Pierre Jackson, PG, Sr., Baylor; Deuce Bello, SG, So., Baylor
ESPN Insider: Ranking Big 12's Top NBA Prospects($)


If there's a team that could give the Jayhawks a run for their money, it may be Self's alma mater, Oklahoma State. While there's a lot of pressure on freshman guard Marcus Smart to perform, Billy Donovan (who coached Smart this summer) told me that Smart is the best leader he's ever been around. If Smart can get the Cowboys to play to their potential, the talent is there (including Le'Bryan Nash) for Oklahoma State to have a great season.

…If Kansas wins the Big 12, I'd expect senior guard Elijah Johnson to have the inside track at the league POY award.

…4. Who will be the Big 12's top newcomer?

I'm going with Kansas' McLemore for this one.
ESPN Insider 5 burning questions for Big 12 ($)


How will Kansas replace Thomas Robinson?

I know the Jayhawks have the goods to make a run at their ninth consecutive Big 12 title. Jeff Withey proved his worth in last season’s run to the Final Four. He’s one of the top interior defenders in America. And he has spent a lot of time working on his mid-range game. He should be a different player this season.

…Robinson, however, was an emotional leader for the team as much as he was its top player a season ago. There were moments in which the Jayhawks appeared to be on the brink of collapse and he simply willed them to a victory. I think that’s the one question facing this team. Who’s that guy right now?

…Can Baylor put it all together and upset Kansas?

Baylor is America’s “on paper” team. On paper, last season, the Bears looked like national championship contenders with Quincy Miller, Perry Jones and Quincy Acy. They were good. But various challenges throughout the season brought criticism to Waco. Even though they reached the Elite Eight, the Bears didn’t seem to come together until March. In 2012-13, Scott Drew has a roster that can challenge Kansas for the Big 12 title.
ESPN: What I can't wait to see in the Big 12


KU’s streak of eight straight Big 12 championships is an affront to parity and a point of fierce pride around Allen Fieldhouse. People take this stuff pretty seriously in Lawrence, which is why Elijah Johnson had to chuckle at the idea of KU ever growing complacent in its run of conference titles.

“There’s no forgetting about that,” Johnson, KU’s senior point guard, said Wednesday at Big 12 Media Day. “You don’t go two or three days without hearing about it.

“The only way you can’t hear that is if you just can’t hear, and you’ve still got to read the shirts everywhere.”

…As predictable as KU winning the Big 12, of course, is Bill Self’s annual case for why the Jayhawks aren’t a shoo-in.

“My team, I see all their warts,” Self said. “I don’t see anybody else’s warts. I would say Baylor and Oklahoma State, to me, are the favorites, but I do think that we’ll be in the mix.”

Assuming the Jayhawks are indeed in the mix, they will be bidding for their ninth straight conference crown, by far the longest active streak in the country. Logic says the streak can’t continue forever, and no one at KU wants to be associated with a team that failed to claim at least a share of the Big 12 title.

That’s especially true of KU’s seniors, although Johnson prefers not to dwell on the thought.

“It’s going to break sooner or later,” Johnson said. “I also don’t like to put all that pressure on yourself to think like that. You should just go out and do what the other groups did: Go out, have fun, learn the game and do what you’re supposed to do.”

Ask Self about source of KU’s Big 12 dominance, and he points to the players who have managed to pass the baton every year without a bobble.

“We’ve had some hard-rocking guys come through here,” he said.

Ask the players, and they point to Self, the common thread in KU’s run of Big 12 titles.

“The people who were there eight years ago, they’re not there now,” Johnson said. “He’s still there …

“I just appreciate the fact that he tries to share the light and make it look like it’s us who’s doing it when all of us know who it really is. It’s the head honcho.”

…“When you talk about KU winning all of those, I think there is one guy really responsible, and that’s Bill,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “He’s a great coach.

“Of course, having all those players doesn’t hurt anything either, in case you were wondering.”
TCJ

How many guesses would it have taken you to land on Cole Aldrich if asked at the start of the preseason which Thunder player would be the biggest standout through the first two games?

But that's what the Thunder's second string center has become while starting in place of the injured Kendrick Perkins.

Aldrich has recorded two double-doubles and blocked six shots the first two games. His style hasn't always been pretty, but at the end of each game no one could argue that he wasn't effective.

“Cole and the word pretty, that's not a good combination,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “Cole and solid is what we like. It doesn't look pretty, and that's probably saying it very nicely.”
The Oklahoman


Foot Locker’s House of Hoops is coming to Kansas City.

Block & Company Inc. Realtors has signed the concept store to a 5,206-square-foot space in the Skelly Building, at 47th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. It is scheduled to open in mid-November.

House of Hoops is a basketball-themed concept featuring Nike products and “limited edition personalized performance shoes.” There are only about 75 stores in the chain.
KC Star


Still seats available for Coach Self's "Courtside View"


Kansas 2012-13 Schedule

Big 12 Composite Schedule


ESPN Big 12 Media Day Notebook


Dexter Strickland's knee is healthy -- and so is his mouth.

First, we'll go with the bulletin-board material provided to Mark Gottfried's N.C. State squad -- which has been picked by both coaches and media as the preseason favorite to win the league.

"They talk those guys up every single year and we beat them every single year," Strickland said. "They are the least of our worries. Beat us one year and then they can talk smack. Until then, you can't put them in the mix."

..I asked him whether he still thought about how everything might have been different last season if Kendall Marshall and he had been on the court for the NCAA tournament -- and John Henson had been healthy as well.

"All the time," he said. "I'll be honest. If nobody got hurt, you might as well have given us the trophy. Nobody had the ability to stop us."
CBS


The Tigers and Illinois announced an extension of the Braggin’ Rights basketball game through 2017 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

…“There is nothing like this game in all of college basketball,” Tigers coach Frank Haith said.
KC Star LOL


NCAA National Coordinator of Officials John Adams and Secretary-Rules Editor Art Hyland have been conducting educational sessions at regional rules clinics to help college basketball referees to make charge/block calls more accurately this season.

When evaluating the officials who worked the 2012 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, Adams said officials made the right call around 90 percent of the time on all infractions. However, on charge/block calls, Adams said the accuracy rate was about 65 percent.

That’s natural, Adams said, given the nature of the play. He evaluated more than 100 charge/block calls from the 2012 tournament and found about 25 percent to be inconclusive, even on slow-motion replay.

“And I’m looking at these plays in a sterile, controlled environment with no one around, “ Adams said. “I can’t tell whether it was the right call or not on a quarter of them. The size of our court hasn’t changed, but look at how much bigger and faster the players are. They are trying to get to the same spot, and it is hard to tell who got there first in so many cases.”

To improve the accuracy rate on those calls, men’s officials are being asked to apply the following guidelines, which the Men’s Basketball Rules Committee approved in May:

• Before the offensive player (with the ball) becomes airborne, the defender must have two feet on the floor, be facing the opponent and be stationary to draw a charge. Otherwise, it should be a blocking foul.

• Secondary defenders (help defenders) moving forward or to the side are also in violation and those should be blocking fouls.

• Contact that is “through the chest” is not de facto proof of a charge. The rule in its entirety must be considered before determining a foul.

• In some cases, it appears a defender is being rewarded solely for being outside the restricted-area arc, without considering the other aspects of the rules.
NCAA


A defendant in the University of San Diego sports bribery case was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in scheme that strove to fix college basketball games by paying players to influence their outcomes.

Steven Goria, 33, pleaded guilty in August to sports bribery, part of a larger case that also involved marijuana trafficking and illegal sports gambling, U-T San Diego is reporting.

According to court documents, Goria admitted in his plea agreement that he profited more than $120,000 from the scheme, including a February 2010 game in which San Diego lost a lead late and fell, 72-69, with the Las Vegas line favoring USD by 3.5.

Goria admitted that guard Brandon Johnson was paid to influence the game.
NBC


ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule


2012-13 Early Season Events List

As for Roberson, he has visited SMU and Syracuse officially and now has three straight officials set to Kansas (Oct. 19), Villanova (Oct. 26) and Kentucky (Nov. 2).

Asked if he was tired of all the travel, he said, “A little bit but I got Kansas coming up. Villanova is not too far away so that shouldn’t be too bad. The last one is Kentucky.

“It will be all over soon because I hope to make a decision in the fall. It will all be over soon.”
Zags Blog


Faith played a major role in the healing of an injury suffered by Ishmail Wainright , and it did the very same during the college process. On Thursday night, the four-star prospect made his choice.

As his college decision came down to St. John's, Texas, Baylor and Ohio State, the Missouri native and his family found one school to be flawless.

The 2013 6-foot-6 small forward out of Montrose Christian (MD), by way of Kansas City, gave a verbal commitment to Baylor.

"The Christian atmosphere and school separated it from everywhere else," he told Rivals.com. "My father, Calvin, and mother, Mary, are both very religious and my mother is a minister. We felt very comfortable with it in that regard."
Rivals


A source close to Randle’s recruitment informs Busting Brackets that Florida and Texas, not Kentucky, are the two leaders for Randle’s services at this time.
Link


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

Bill Self heard Dick Vitale's advice: Don't follow the guy. Follow the guy who follows the guy.

But the call of Kansas, the magic of The Phog, the heritage set down by Dr. James Naismith and carried on through Roy Williams - it was too strong.

That was now almost a decade ago. The 2012-13 college basketball season will be Bill Self's 10th in Lawrence.

Now, after nine seasons of sustained excellence as the keeper of the Kansas flame, Self has attained celebrity status - he's a rock chalk rock star - and he's never been more comfortable in his own skin.

"I would say previously I'd worry about things that had nothing to do with winning," Self said Wednesday at Big 12 basketball media day. "Now I worry about the big picture."

One example: Former Jayhawk Tyshawn Taylor missed four weeks in 2009 with a dislocated thumb sustained in a brawl with the football team. Later in his career, Taylor openly criticized KU fans on Twitter.

"The appearance of some things that happened with him in the past would have really bothered me," Self said. "Now? That doesn't bother me at all. That's part of growing up, and as I get a little older, being able to see that and probably understand more about kids and how to deal with 'em than maybe I did five years ago."

..In the gym, players say neither age nor family has mellowed Self.

"He has the same attitude every year," said senior center Jeff Withey. "He's intense always during practice, he doesn't let up on people, doesn't matter if we're No. 1 in the nation or whatever. He expects perfection."

"He definitely hasn't changed," said senior guard Elijah Johnson. "Small things mean a lot to him. When you understand that, then you understand him."

Johnson said he has friends at other schools who recognize that their coach is - well, that their coach is not Bill Self. His engaging personality is rare even in a profession filled with slick-talking salesmen.

"Coach Self, he'll yell at you and then crack a joke with you. He's normal," Johnson said. "He's gonna get onto you, but he's a cool person. Like, he could sit right here, right now and hang out with us for just hours and talk relevant stuff with us. I think he knows how to relate to us, and that's what makes him so special."

…He actually got a question Wednesday about whether he wanted to coach in the NBA, and answered with polite incredulity.

"I just committed to be at the school for a long time, and they committed to me. ... But I can't see myself coaching anywhere else right now - in college for sure. And then as far as the NBA goes, there's only 30 jobs, and to be honest with you, I hate to say this, but I've got a better job than three-quarters of 'em. So I got one of the best jobs basketball has to offer, in my opinion. I can't see me being anywhere else.

"I like my job. I like my job a lot."
Tulsa World


A scene from Bill Self's 10th year as Kansas basketball coach: It's Wednesday at Big 12 media day, just before noon in the Sprint Center, and Self is staring at an iPhone screen.

Moments earlier, KU is ranked No. 7 in the preseason coaches' poll, and now a reporter is handing over his phone, the full top 25 cued up. Self wants to see the entire list — to make a mental note of each team in the top 10.

“I'm probably a little surprised,” Self says. “But I like it.”

…But there's another reason Self can see himself at Kansas for another 10 years — another reason KU seems more enticing than possible NBA riches.

“You win,” says Self, who will turn 50 later this year. “Because it doesn't matter what they pay you, if you don't win, you're gonna be miserable.”
The Oklahoman

The Jayhawks will be reloading after losing bruising forward Thomas Robinson and senior guard Tyshawn Taylor to the NBA, but three returning starters and a crowded class of freshman were enough to make them the unanimous preseason pick to win the Big 12 for the ninth straight time.

“It’s a great sense of pride, or source of pride for us,” said Kansas coach Bill Self, who agreed to a new contract in the offseason that should keep him in Lawrence for the next decade.

“Our players don’t want to be the team that doesn’t win it. They put that pressure on themselves,” Self said. “There isn’t a jubilation of winning the league that you might anticipate with our guys because they take the approach that this is their job. They’re supposed to win.”

Until they lose, they’ll keep getting picked first.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of programs, including the two newcomers, salivating at the opportunity to knock the Jayhawks from their comfy perch.

“We’d like to be the first team that doesn’t have ‘Kansas’ on its uniform to win this thing in a long, long time,” Huggins said.
AP

Big 12 Composite Schedule


10/17 Coaches Poll (Kansas #7)


Among the questions Kansas State athletic director John Currie posed in initial conversations with Bruce Weber, a candidate to become the Wildcats’ basketball coach, was if he could handle Bill Self.

Not necessarily a Self-coached team. Self and Weber had met only once, in the 2011 NCAA Tournament in a game won by Self’s Kansas Jayhawks. But the idea of the successful and popular Kansas coach, the same one Weber followed at Illinois and held a mock funeral to signal the end of Self at Champaign.

“However long he felt he lived in Self’s shadow at Illinois, how was he going to feel about the same coach 90 miles away?” Currie said. “We had to establish early this wasn’t going to be a problem.”

Currie got what he needed to hear.

“He wanted that challenge,” Currie said. “He’s confident and competitive. It was part of the appeal.”

Weber recalled the funeral Wednesday during Big 12 men’s basketball media day at the Sprint Center. Weber had grown tired of queries about his predecessor and boiled over because his Illinois players had to constantly deal with questions about how it was under Self.

“They wouldn’t leave it alone,” Weber said. “Our players were telling me every question is about Bill Self and not about our program. So, I had to do something to help our guys. There were no theatrics, just a simple thing.”

It really was simple. Weber arrived at game wearing a black suit jacket, a black tie, and black pants to address his players in the locker room. He was coming to a funeral, the end of Bill Self, Weber told his team.

“It got blown up,” Weber said.

As it did when Illinois played Kansas two years ago in the NCAAs, and will again when the Wildcats and Jayhawks meet this season. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Digs add spice to any rivalry.

…Oh, Weber’s been known to kick up a fuss. Or mock a predecessor.

“It was difficult to follow him,” Weber said. “The kids liked him, the fans liked him, and I had to get them sold that we’d be OK.”

Now, Weber gets to deal with Self again in a different way, and there’s only one way to get the better of him.

“It’s obviously a rivalry,” Weber said. “But we hope we can compete and have a chance to really get them worried about us.”
KC Star


Other than winning more often, about all Weber could do to approach the sizzle Huggins and Martin brought to the rivalry is wear all black every time he faces KU, but he’s not likely to cling to the weirdest incident of his career.

I asked Weber about the mock funeral and whether if he had to do over again he would not have done it. He stopped short of saying that.

“To me it was a compliment to Bill,” Weber said this morning in the Sprint Center at Big 12 Media Day. “The players loved him. The fans loved him. And he left. And I always joked, the fans were mad at me for coming and he’s the one who left. It didn’t make sense to me and I would always tell people, this is bass-akward.”

Why the funeral?

“I did it for the players,” Weber said. “The players kept saying, ‘Coach, we can’t move on. The media’s not letting us.’ Just like you’re not letting me move on. ‘They keep asking the same question.’ So I said, ‘I’m going to end it for you guys.’ That was my way of doing it.”

The after-shock continues.
LJW


The tangible connection Huggins had with K-State dissolved with Frank Martin’s departure to South Carolina,

Nonetheless, when Bruce Weber was hired to take over the Wildcats, a call was received from West Virginia. It was Huggins, offering essential advice.

“I saw his press conference and he didn’t have any purple on. I told him he’s going to get run out of town,’’ Huggins recalled.

Actually, a few more details were included, along with well-wishes from a coach whose 710 career wins span 30 seasons.

“He still has a deep love and affection for K-State,’’ said Weber, who has since learned to accessorize by acquiring 13 purple ties.
TCJ


West Virginia football's move to the Big 12 was accompanied by the suggestion that life there was about Texas and Oklahoma. WVU basketball's introduction isn't much different. The league is very much about the Kansas Jawhawks.

Make that the eight-time defending regular-season conference champion Kansas Jayhawks, who were showing off their bedazzled championship rings at Big 12 media day at the Sprint Center on Wednesday.

…"It's really amazing," WVU Coach Bob Huggins said. "You talk about home court advantages, and I don't know who has a bigger home court advantage than KU has. We went in there and lost by I think it was (by) 106 my year at Kansas State (2007). My 7-foot-2 center fouled out in  seven minutes. 

"When you talk about KU winning all of those, I think there is one guy really responsible, and that's Bill. He's a great coach. Of course having all those players doesn't hurt anything either, just in case you were wondering. That doesn't hurt at all either."

Huggins was 0-3 as the Wildcats coach against Kansas, but lost by 37 at Kansas, by nine at home and then by six in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinal.
Daily Mail


Amric Fields had never been to Kansas City before, let alone the Sprint Center, the downtown arena that plays host to the Big 12 Conference championship tournament. He was impressed with the vibrant downtown scene, surprised at how big the city looked and compared it to his hometown of Oklahoma City.

Fields, a junior, looking suave in his new sport coat that coach Trent Johnson helped him pick out, represented Horned Frog basketball with his coach at Wednesday's Big 12 Media Day.

The Sprint Center is one of many new arenas Fields and the Frogs will experience for the first time during their maiden voyage through the league. And for Johnson, who is counting on Fields to build off his solid sophomore season, the jump from the Mountain West to the Big 12 is going to be an eye-opening experience for his team.

"Experience don't mean a thing if you can play," Johnson said, echoing sage advice from legend Bill Russell years ago. "Well, define 'playing'? Playing is when you play against elite-level competition. That's what's going to happen to him; that's what's going to happen to our whole team. But you have to go through it. You can't fast-forward."

Translation: This first year in the Big 12 is a necessary rite of passage for TCU.
FW Star-Telegram


As part of Baylor's NCAA probation for impermissible phone calls and text messages, coach Scott Drew will be suspended for the first two games of Big 12 play. He'll miss the Bears' Jan. 5 game against Texas and a Jan. 8 game at Texas Tech.

Veteran assistant Jerome Tang will take Drew's place.

“I think as a coach if you do your job in practice, the game is really about the players,” Drew said. “Me missing a game is a lot better than one of my players.”
SA Express


Like a basketball version of Cinderella, Pierre Jackson looked on in disbelief at the LeBron James Basketball Camp wondering why he wasn't invited.

The top college basketball players were summoned to the Miami Heat star's camp last summer in Jackson's hometown of Las Vegas, so he went to the workouts to check out who had been selected instead of him.

“There were no guards better than me,” Jackson said, still a little incredulous about the snub. “It hurt a little bit, but at the same time, it just proves I have more people to prove wrong.”

Jackson won't need to convince the Big 12 coaches, who picked him as the conference's preseason player of the year for the upcoming season. That honor came after Jackson directed the Bears to a school-record 30 victories last season, producing eight go-ahead, game-tying or game-winning plays that decided games.

“Without question, I think he's the best guard in the country,” Kansas coach Bill Self said about Jackson, whom he termed as a likely first-round NBA draft selection.

Jackson led the Bears in scoring, assists and steals last season on a balanced squad that featured five scorers in double figures. But with the loss of Quincy Acy, Quincy Miller and Perry Jones III to the pros, Jackson is poised to pick up even more offensive responsibilities.

It's a challenge that excites the 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior.
SA Express


Baylor power forward Cory Jefferson has drastically changed his body since the end of last season. The 6-9 Jefferson is an incumbent starter up front for the Bears and has all the requisites to be one of the breakout players in the Big 12. Jefferson logged starters minutes in Baylor’s first five games of the season a year ago when Perry Jones III was serving a suspension and averaged seven points, 6.9 rebounds, and three blocks per contest. Keep this guy in bold print.
CBS Rothstein


Fred Hoiberg smiled at the question.

When a reporter asked the Iowa State men’s basketball coach what he’d most like to “steal” from Kansas coach Bill Self, the answer flowed naturally.

“I’d try to steal how he wins all the time,” said Hoiberg, who saw another Big 12 media day at the Sprint Center come and go Wednesday with the Jayhawks picked to be league champions and his team pegged for eighth. “They lose one group of talented players, they bring in a new crop and he finds a way to get those guys to buy into their roles. You look at (former Kansas forward and NBA Lottery pick) Thomas Robinson. He was a role player two years ago then he’s the best player in the country the following year. So you find a way to get your guys to accept roles and if a team like Kansas can do it, your guys better do it as well.”

Kansas’ perpetual role: Favorite.
The Gazette


Injuries were already a storyline surrounding the Oklahoma State basketball team. And concern is amplifying, with Cowboys coach Travis Ford revealing that starting swingman Brian Williams has injured his wrist and is out indefinitely.

Ford broke the news Wednesday at Big 12 Media Day inKansas City, saying Williams “is pretty seriously hurt right now… will be out for a while, and that does not help our basketball team as far as rebounding. Brian Williams was one of the more athletic players in our league – 6-5, he was playing the three-four for us. He’s out for a while. We’re not sure how long yet.”
The Oklahoman


A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by former UCLA player Reeves Nelson against Time Inc., the parent company of Sports Illustrated, and a reporter who wrote a story about problems in the school's basketball program.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Murphy agreed with attorneys for the media conglomerate and reporter George Dohrmann that the complaint concerning the story - "Not the UCLA Way" - that appeared in the magazine's March 5 print edition, infringed on their clients' right to free speech. She also found that Dohrmann had numerous sources to back up the facts in his story.

"This man spent a lot of time and talked to a lot of people," Murphy said Wednesday.
AP


Hall of Famer Bob Knight is selling his championship basketball rings and Olympic gold medal for what he considers a very good reason: the education of his grandchildren.

A collection of the former coach's memorabilia will be auctioned by Steiner Sports Memorabilia. It's part of a sale that features the jersey Yankees pitcher Don Larsen wore while pitching a perfect game in the World Series.

"John Havlicek and I were just talking one day about all the stuff we had accumulated over the years," Knight said Monday from the Denver airport, referring to his college teammate at Ohio State who went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Boston Celtics. "As we talked we decided the money could be very useful to put our grandchildren through college."

The auction, which has already started for some items, runs through Dec. 5 and will feature Knight's rings from his three NCAA championship teams at Indiana — the undefeated 1976 season and the ones from 1981 and 1987.

The company will also sell a sports coat and a warmup jacket given to Knight as coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team in 1984.
Link


College basketball’s best-known TV analyst last season chose not to mention by name the team cruising to the national championship. ESPN’s Bob Knight referred to Kentucky only as that “team from the SEC.”

So of course ESPN will formally announce today that Knight will be reassigned to call SEC games — alongside play-by-play announcer Rece Davis on Thursday nights — including Kentucky action.

ESPN spokesman Mike Humes on Sunday said Knight will work UK games — but not ones on the Wildcats’ home court.

Knight was unavailable for comment Sunday but said in an ESPN statement that “the SEC has a lot of good matchups, good play and good coaching. I’m looking forward to watching and describing these games.”
LCJ


It is no secret that Kentucky values their national champion basketball team more than their not-as-relevant football team. That being said, the overwhelming difference between the attention spent focusing on the court as supposed to the field can still catch anyone off guard.

Obviously, the success of the program has brought about an immense amount of affluence to the organization. While Kentucky is expected to throw overly lavish pep-rallies for their team, this has to be crossing some sort of march madness line. According to “Bleed Blue Kentucky” (a Twitter account that enlightens its readers with news about the Wildcats) Kentucky spend over 300k on the lighting for march madness. That is basically just as much as they spend on football recruiting. The Tweeter provided us with numbers: In 2011, Kentucky spent $336,000 on football recruiting. The  light show cost close to $300,000.

In short, Kentucky spend basically as much money on having a light show for a basketball pep rally than they spent on trying to recruit players for their football team.
Link


Kentucky freshman forward Nerlens Noel has been cleared by the NCAA to play this season for the Wildcats.

NCAA spokesman Cameron Schuh said Wednesday the 6-foot-10, 228-pound Noel was "cleared to practice and play'' following a probe into the funding of unofficial visits to Kentucky.
AP


A spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie calls the NCAA's decision to move championship games out of the state because of plans to legalize sports betting "ludicrous and hypocritical."

The college athletic association says it cannot host games in states where gambling is allowed on them. New Jersey plans to license sports betting as soon as Jan. 9th.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak says the NCAA is penalizing New Jersey for legalizing what occurs illegally every day, often with the participation of organized crime. The spokesman also notes New Jersey's law bans betting on New Jersey college teams, or on any college game played here.

The NCAA and the major professional sports leagues are suing New Jersey to try to block the sports betting plan.
AP


ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Kansas University’s men’s basketball recruiting Class of 2013 is currently ranked No. 2 in the country by ESPN.com.

The Jayhawks’ class of Conner Frankamp (No. 28 Rivals.com, No. 37 ESPN.com), Brannen Greene (No. 22 Rivals, No. 41 ESPN), Wayne Selden (No. 14 ESPN, No. 23 Rivals) and Frank Mason (No. 131 Rivals, unranked ESPN) trails only Kentucky’s class of Andrew Harrison (No. 2 ESPN, No. 4 Rivals), Aaron Harrison (No. 3 Rivals, No. 4 ESPN), James Young (No. 5 ESPN, No. 8 Rivals) and Derek Willis (No. 126 Rivals, unranked ESPN).
LJW


We’re hearing Rutgers and Syracuse are the teams to beat for 2013 Roselle Catholic forward Tyler Roberson. The Scarlet Knights have been desperately attempting to land a marquee wing under Mike Rice and the addition of Roberson could make Rutgers a legitimate NCAA Tournament threat over the next few seasons. An athletic combo forward whose best basketball ahead of him, the 6-8 Roberson is eerily similar to NBA star Trevor Ariza in terms of his instincts and body type.
CBS Rothstein


Highly regarded 2013 power forward Aaron Gordon will continue his who's-who of basketball recruiting stops this weekend by taking in Arizona's Red-Blue intrasquad scrimmage.

It may take a long time, however, to find out if he has a really good time.

Tim Kennedy, Gordon's coach at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., said Gordon plans to visit Kentucky sometime after this weekend and will not make a decision until next spring.

Gordon has already officially visited Oregon and Washington and last weekend visited Kansas for the Jayhawks' Late Night in the Phog preseason event. He has also seen California unofficially, though Kennedy said Gordon's list is pretty much the five schools he is visiting officially.

"He had a good trip to Kansas," Kennedy said. "He's definitely been even-keeled about it, and he's going to wait until spring to make a decision."
Arizona Daily Star


There’s a running joke among elite high school basketball players that college coaches “probably just change the names and forward the same texts,” according to Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) senior forward Aaron Gordon.

He would know. The No. 6 overall prospect in the ESPN 100, Gordon has caught coaches double-dipping with their sales pitches.

“I had a school tell me that if I came there I’d definitely be Player of the Year, but then I talked to my friend and he told me that they told him the exact same thing,” said Gordon, who’s being courted by the likes of Kentucky, Arizona and Stanford. “I don’t know how we’re both going to be Player of the Year.”

…We caught up with a handful of elite recruits to find out what college coaches told them (and their friends):

Emmanuel Mudiay, Prime Prep Academy (Arlington, Texas)
Point Guard, Uncommitted
“Me and a few of my friends laugh about it all the time. This one coach told me that I could have the ball in my hands at all times, but then I found out he told one of my friends the same thing. I’m thinking, ‘How can we both have the ball?’”

Julius Randle, Prestonwood Christian Academy (Plano, Texas)
Forward, Uncommitted
“They all say the same things. All of them. You can almost say it with them after a while. But that’s their job, so I understand. The funny thing for me is hearing that they tell another player he’s the priority in the class when they told me the same thing. We just laugh about it.”
USA Today


Simeon Career Academy (Chicago) forward Jabari Parker, the nation's No. 1-ranked senior, doesn't plan to commit and sign during the early signing period, his father said on Tuesday.

Parker, a 6-foot-8 forward, recently cut his list from 10 to five schools: BYU, Duke, Florida, Michigan State and Stanford.

Parker is scheduled to visit Michigan State this weekend, Duke (Oct. 26-28), Florida (Nov. 2-4), Stanford (Nov. 9-11) and BYU (Nov. 16-20). He's previously made unofficial visits to all of the schools, except Florida.

The early signing period is from Nov. 14-21, and Parker would only have one day following his final visit to make a decision.

"I would like for him to commit and sign in one day," Parker's father Sonny Parker said. "He's doing this thing on his own, and I just have to support him. From what I'm hearing (from him), he's going to commit probably in December.

"He committed to his five visits. Maybe it'll change. As of now, everything has been scheduled."
ESPN


In an education column on the NCAA’s website posted Wednesday, the organization explains that coaches are not allowed to use Instagram before sending a photo to a recruit. Here’s the excerpt:

Question: May a coach take a photo and use software (e.g., Instagram, Photoshop, Camera Awesome, Camera+,) to enhance the content of the photo (e.g., changed color of photo to sepia tones or add content to the photograph), and send it to a prospective student-athlete as an attachment it to an email or direct social media message?

Answer: No, a photograph that has been altered or staged for a recruiting purpose cannot be sent to a prospective student-athlete.

Using an Instagram filter is different than doctoring a photo to make it look like a recruit was wearing a certain team uniform, or something of that nature. It’s changing the lighting. It’s why we use it to take and share photos of our delicious home-cooked meals with friends (because we may not be good cooks, but everything looks tastier with the “earlybird” filter.)

The NCAA still leaves some unanswered questions related to Instagram use. How does this give one coach a recruiting advantage over another? What if a coach uses the app to take the photo but doesn’t apply a filter — is that kosher? And what if a coach posts a photo from Instagram onto his Twitter feed, like Kentucky coach John Calipari does? Is that OK because it’s not sent directly to a recruit?

So many questions. So many filters. So little time.
Link


With an ESPN crew and dozens of friends, family members and classmates on hand, Deer Valley High basketball star Marcus Lee orally committed to Kentucky on Wednesday.

Rated a five-star prospect by Rivals, Lee chose the defending NCAA champions over Cal during a ceremony at his school's gymnasium.

The 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward made his decision just days after returning from his official visit to Kentucky, where he was on hand for the program's Midnight Madness celebration "Big Blue Madness."

At the ceremony, Deer Valley basketball coach LeChet Phillips and volleyball coach Lou Panzella both spoke to Lee's talent and character before Lee took the floor and announced his decision.

"The atmosphere (at Kentucky) is crazy," Lee said. "Once I got there I got treated with so much love. ... The coaches force-fed me love and passion. I felt like if I was going to go somewhere really far and my parents weren't going to be there I felt I had other types of parents that were going to look out for me."
Contra Costa Times


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

More than 1,000 people attended the screening — most dressed in their favorite Jayhawks gear — and cheered throughout the film, including giving a standing ovation at the end of the film.

Also in attendance were David and Suzanne Deal Booth, who won “The Rules” at auction, and Mark Allen, who played an integral role in helping Swade accomplish his goal.

Lawrence Mayor Bob Schumm and his wife also attended the screening and presented keys to the city to Mr. and Mrs. Booth, to thank them for their generosity in bringing “The Rules” to Lawrence.

“If I was the Wizard of Oz, I’d give you the Badge of Courage, for never giving up,” Allen told Swade in a speech after the film concluded.

Booth added, “The film is a tribute to how one person, if they have enough passion and vision, can accomplish so much.”
ESPN

And now, from a mizloser...

More from Fran on his visit to KU's practice here.


For Bill Self, the most important part of having his son, Tyler, on the Kansas basketball team isn’t his talent.

Tyler only averaged 3.9 points per game last season at Lawrence Free State High School, and given Bill’s knack for recruiting, there will always be more talented guards ahead of Tyler on the roster.

But as a father-son combo for the next four years, Self can make up for all the times during Tyler’s childhood where he had to put work ahead of his son’s activities.

“The thing that I’m most excited about is I get a chance to see him everyday,” Self said. “I think so many times we take things like that for granted and here he is almost grown, he’s in college, and I feel like I’ve cheated myself and him many opportunities to spend time together because we’re busy doing our job.”
UDK

Big 12 Composite Schedule


Today is Big 12 Media Day (Bill Self podium at 9:45am)

Schedule

Watch Live

Media Guide

LJW Live Blog


Bruce Weber says one of the first Qs John Currie asked during interview process was about competing against KU/Self.
https://twitter.com/rustindodd/status/258558414077173762


ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule


2012-13 Early Season Events List