Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas Athletics will have three mini-plan ticket packages available for the 2012-13 men's basketball season.
Each package includes seven games - including six in Allen Fieldhouse and the Friday, Nov. 30 Oregon State game in Kansas City's Sprint Center.
Williams Education Fund donors can purchase the mini-plans beginning Monday, Sept. 10. The packages will be on sale for the general public Monday, Sept. 17.
Packages are available in Tier 2 seating for $400 and Tier 3 seating for just $300.
…A limited number of season tickets are still available in Tier 2 ($1155) and Tier 3 ($855) seating. Tier 1 seating is sold out.
KUAD
Kansas 2012-13 Schedule
Big 12/College News
Texas A & M gets its first taste of SEC football this Saturday as they host the Florida Gators in College Station, and the university apparently felt it necessary to welcome themselves to the conference with this billboard at a busy intersection in the northeast corner of Gainesville.
That's according to UF's official athletics site, which presents a picture of the billboard advertising the Aggies as having "The Best Academics & Cleanest Program in the SEC," alongside "Real Football. Real Tradition."
The "cleanest program" claim is laughable; see here for a list suggesting the Aggies are actually the sixth-dirtiest program of all time (and it's a legitimate argument). Maybe they meant "since joining the SEC"? As for academics, I think Vanderbilt might put forth a strong claim to that title; in fact, Vandy blows Texas A & M out of the water.
But this is just trolling, right? And I guess it worked, delusional Aggies fans, because here we are posting about it.
Deadspin
Oklahoma State's trip to Europe was similar to trips taken by other programs in that the Cowboys mixed in basketball games wih sightseeing and visited a part of the world most players had never seen and might never see again.
But it was different in this way: No family allowed.
Travis Ford took coaches, managers, trainers and players.
That's it.
No wives. No girlfriends. No children.
"My wife and kids weren't real happy with me, but I wanted it to be like a business trip," Ford said. "If my family would've gone I obviously would've spent time with them, but I wanted to spend all my time with my players."
And so he did.
The result was a trip to Barcelona and the Canary Islands that Ford deemed highly beneficial. Oklahoma State played four games and won four games against what Ford described as "good competition." He returned with his team last month. I talked to him about the trip. Here's what he said ...
One of the interesting things Ford decided during the 10 practices leading up to the trip is that he's going to start heralded freshman Marcus Smart at point guard. "He's going to be our point guard," Ford said. "Defensively he's great because he sets the tone. And offensively he's really good because he's so unselfish. He can handle the ball and pass it, and we're doing some stuff where we can post him because he's just an animal down there. So, yeah, he can play off the ball. But most of the time we're playing him at point guard. He's our point."
…Kansas coach Bill Self is on record saying Oklahoma State has the Big 12's best roster and that he thinks the Cowboys will be a factor at the top of the league. I asked Ford about that prediction. "I hope he's right," Ford said with a laugh. "I just hope he's right."
CBS
So, I think it's time to dole out advice. Did I play college basketball, and therefore put myself in this position to dispel such counsel? No! Which makes it even better. Because I did go to college, and some things about university are universal. So, for all the freshmen players out there, from Nerlens Noel to the no-names, this is for you.
-- First things first. The coach is always right. Hey, listen to me. The coach is always right. At least in your freshman year.
-- I'm not kidding. Stop messing around. The coach is right. Stop doing that and listen to the man.
-- Yep, you've already put on five pounds.
-- There is plenty of time before the season officially begins and truly changes your life. Cram in the other three thousand things college has to offer before you're too tired to make the time.
-- Unless it's from CBSSports.com, don't read your press.
-- Yes, we hate your team. Just ask your fan base.
-- This is not your high school team. It is most definitely not your AAU team. Practices will be hard and run on a particular schedule. You will need to memorize plays and be willing to play defense. But this will be nothing compared to your 101 math class.
-- You are not entitled to 35 minutes per game. You're not even entitled to three.
-- You're going to get chewed out often -- and in public, during games, with thousands of people around. It will suck. You can choose how it improves or degrades your game.
-- Oh. Oh, no. Don't tell me you're already considering transferring. We haven't even gotten to the first official practice yet and you're really thinking the solution to your problem is to go to another school, possibly one where a coach didn't even recruiting you the first time around? Leaving is not the answer. And 95 percent of the time, if not higher, leaving after one year is definitely not the answer. College is where you find yourself. How can you do that if you're opting to run away from real challenge and diversity the first time you encounter it?
-- The annoying guy or gal whose name you can't remember but is always walking around the basketball facility? That's your sports information director. They keep people like me from bothering players like you. It's his or her job to keep you from looking like the n00b that you are. So be nice to them, because if you don't they might be willing to spill a secret or two to people like me.
-- Let's have a pow-wow here. Honestly, most of you are just putrid on Twitter. But if posting motivation-of-the-day quotes is what keeps you in line, by all means, keep at it. Just know someone is always watching.
-- Just because you're a top-50 recruit doesn't mean the rules don't apply to you. Ha. Kidding! You go and you steal whatever it is you're planning on stealing! And feel free to get arrested for disturbing the peace! We're all counting on you. A season without arrest is a season without existence.
-- And you? The mid-major player who had three D-I offers, nothing beyond a school with a direction in its name? Yeah, you can't screw up.
-- For all of you freshmen with NBA dreams that are realistic: If you've already got an agent in mind, make sure you've got a friend with a burner to work the angles in the shadows as the season goes on. And keep that commitment money back at home. The only thing that moves faster than money is gossip.
CBS
University of Missouri Head Basketball Coach Frank Haith announced the hiring of Rick Carter as the team’s newest assistant coach on Tuesday. A quick riser in the collegiate coaching world, Carter comes to Mizzou following a four-year stint at Western Michigan University and boasts strong ties to the Michigan high school and AAU circuits.
Link
ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule
2012-13 Early Season Events List
Recruiting
4 star forward Tyler Roberson has informedhttp://JayhawkSlant.com that he will officially visit KU the weekend of October 12. #kubball
https://twitter.com/JayhawkSlant/status/243325357581815809
Arizona coach Sean Miller will visit Aaron Gordon on Sept. 10 and the five-star recruit will take a trip to see the Wildcats Oct. 21, according to the Arizona Daily Star who spoke with Gordon's high school coach..
Gordon was scheduled to make an unofficial visit to California Sept. 1. It appears as if he'll make official visits to Colorado (Sept. 8), Washington (Sept. 29) and Arizona (Oct. 21). Reportedly he's also interested in Oregon, Kentucky and Kansas. New Mexico and Stanford have also been mentioned as possible destinations.
Seattle Times
Xavier transfer Dez Wells announced he will play for Mark Turgeon & the Maryland Terrapins.
https://twitter.com/TheRecruitScoop/status/242991860233146368
Turgeon is inserting two top-100 players into his lineup in 2012 -- top-10 center Shaquille Cleare and top-20 small forward Jake Layman. He's bringing back a batch of promising young players, including sophomores Nick Faust and Alex Len. And that's before Turgeon, who has massively expanded Maryland's recruiting footprint since taking the job last summer, truly shores up his 2013 class. (Could the Harrison twins be next?)
Taken as a whole, Wells' decision essentially gives Maryland the equivalent of a top-20 recruit -- if not better -- for the 2013-14 season. Combined with the rest of Turgeon's assets, and the players he can go out and get now, it now seems certain that by Year 3 the new Maryland head coach will be able to showcase serious progress toward the program's goal of returning to the national elite.
ESPN
Chris McCullough is officially headed to prep powerhouse Brewster Academy.
The 6-foot-10 forward, considering one of the nation’s top prospects in the Class of 2014, will leave for the New Hampshire juggernaut on Friday
“I just want to play better basketball, better competition,” said McCullough, who spent the last two years at the Salisbury School (Conn.). “Playing with better kids, better teammates, will make me better.”
Ranked 11th overall in his class by Scout.com, McCullough holds a bushel of high-major offers, from St. John’s, UCLA, Kansas, Arizona, Syracuse and Louisville, among many others. Kentucky has also become involved lately with head coach John Calipari text-messaging McCullough, the junior said. He plans to cut his list down to 10 at some point this month and has visited Seton Hall, Syracuse, Memphis and West Virginia recently.
…Dwayne Mitchell, the recently-hired Scanlan boys basketball coach, has been rewarded for his 17 years of service to the New York Gauchos.
Looking to find a spark, the once-renowned AAU program recently tabbed Mitchell as its director of basketball operations and named longtime streetball and AAU coach Maxwell (Bingo) Cole his assistant.
“I’m glad to have the opportunity to get it back to where we were,” said Mitchell, who replaces Billy Singleton. “We’re down, but we’re not out.”
For years, the Gauchos were one of the nation’s top AAU program, drawing the likes of Kemba Walker, Kenny Anderson and Mark Jackson. The program has fallen on tough times of late, losing its Nike sponsorship and a ton of its top players.
NY Post
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