The Texas offer and commitment from Coppell kicker was something of a surprise in the summer of 2011. With all three kicking jobs open, which one is Jordan most likely to win?
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Nick Jordan: 2012 Texas Recruiting Spotlight
Filed under Lets Talk Texas by on Jan 31st, 2012. Comment. 
Every week, your humble college basketball hoops blogger (er, me) will respond to your questions, comments and nonsensical rants in this here Hoopsbag. To submit a query, visit this page by clicking the link under my name in the upper right-hand corner of the blog. You can also email me or send me your entries via Twitter . (Honestly, the best way to get me is Twitter.) Per the usual, we begin with video. @ Purdidit writes : Each year has one or two: Which preseason top 10 team is most likely to fail to live up to expectations? Eamonn Brennan : This one’s actually pretty easy. It’s Memphis. For much of the summer, I thought the Tigers’ preseason ranking was going to be too high; with all this young talent, it’s easy to forget that Memphis was basically a so-so C-USA team for much of the 2010-11 season. Sure, the Tigers finished strong, and there’s reason to expect scaled improvements from a team that features so many sophomores that played big minutes as freshmen. The addition of highly-touted recruit Adonis Thomas helps, too. But top 10? Didn’t that seem just a little optimistic? What was I missing? I put Memphis at No. 17 in my preseason top-25 ballot . I thought that seemed fair. Then Ken Pomeroy released his preseason rankings (Memphis is ranked No. 20) and ESPN Insider and Basketball Prospectus maven John Gasaway broke things down in this Monday piece for Insider , and I’m more convinced than ever that Memphis isn’t a top-10 team. As John wrote, that doesn’t mean they won’t be a top-10 team by the end of the season. It may even be earlier than that. But the team with the worst offense in Conference USA — the only team to score less than a point per possession in C-USA last season — can’t possibly be the ninth-best team in the country. It may happen at some point, but I’d be shocked if the Tigers didn’t struggle at times, especially early in the season. People will say they were overrated. But whose fault is that? (Speaking of Memphis, by the way: Josh Pastner just keeps snatching up elite recruits . The present was already bright, but jeez, that future! Look out.) @ LakeRosenberg writes : In honor of The Mid-Majority , what team from below The Red Line can go the furthest in the NCAA Tournament? Brennan : It’s a new season with (hopefully) new readers, so I won’t assume everyone knows what The Red Line is. You can get up to speed right here . The short version: The Mid-Majority’s Kyle Whelliston wanted to define what, exactly, a mid-major is. He cut through the usual nonsense about tournament bids and school enrollments (people used to come up with some really wacky mid-major arguments) and instead created an intuitive, simple mechanism: The Red Line. If your conference’s average athletics department spends more than X number of dollars, you’re a high-major league.
Filed under Basketball, Football, News by on Nov 9th, 2011. Comment.
In the summer of 2010, Missouri was telling anyone who would listen that it was a ” proud member of the Big 12 ,” even though its desire to leave for the Big Ten was the league’s worst-kept secret. Today, 17 months later, the Tigers are even more proud to be Big 12 expatriates. And who could blame them? Truth is, the Big 12 only has itself to blame for this disaster, the loss of a second founding member of the Big Eight (Colorado joined in 1947), which turned into the Big 12 when four Texas schools came to town. The departures have happened in those tumultuous 17 months. The frustration was obvious this past summer as Tigers coach Gary Pinkel repeatedly voiced his anger with the Big 12. “Obviously, we have some issues in our league. When you have Nebraska leave one year. Colorado leaves. Also now Texas A&M. Three really good football teams,” Pinkel said in a September radio interview. “We’ve got some issues. Without question there’s some issues that other leagues don’t have. You don’t hear anything about any other league in the country having these kind of problems.” So, the Tigers packed their bags and went to any other league in the country. A sizable sect of the fan population might have preferred the Big Ten, but hey, if the SEC needs a 14th, here come the Tigers. The Tigers were looking for a way into the Big Ten last year, but the SEC provided a way out of the Big 12. A year ago, while Texas and Oklahoma shopped for new leagues and the Big Ten shut the door behind Nebraska, Missouri was left waiting to hear its fate alongside Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and Baylor. Not exactly ideal company. Now, it’s leaving to join programs like LSU, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida, who have been glued together since 1932, 25 years after the Big Eight was formed. The SEC added South Carolina and Arkansas back in 1991 and threw Texas A&M and Missouri a helping hand for 2012 to leave a league filled with infighting and departures. Stability won’t be a concern anymore for the Tigers. Question a cultural fit or the idea that Missouri can compete all you’d like. The most important thing about the SEC for Missouri is that it isn’t the Big 12. Nervous meetings and guessing games about the intentions of fellow conference members are over. Missouri is a better cultural fit in the Big 12, where it will leave behind a century of history and possibly its fiercest rival, Kansas, where the mutual hatred burns 365 days a year. The Big 12 is a better competitive fit, too, with only a pair of historical powers left in the league to climb over to reach big success. The Tigers, though, are willing to test that culture and competition to get out of the Big 12. The Big 12, while it was busy sorting itself out, showed Missouri a terrifying future of constantly shifting leagues and a possible future in the Big East, where three members left in the past month and six more appear to be on the way, each a worse geographical and cultural fit than the other. Boise State? Houston? Can’t wait to see you guys at the annual clambake in Rhode Island ! The smell of desperation is among the most unattractive. The Tigers got a whiff and didn’t want to risk the chance at a second.
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Big 12 only has self to blame for Mizzou exit
Filed under Football by on Nov 6th, 2011. Comment.
1. Vanderbilt’s Festus Ezeli ’s six-game suspension to start the season for accepting a meal and a hotel room from an alumnus should be characterized as a mistake. It is not a trend by a player who has done everything right to get to this point. But the experienced Commodores’ can absorb losing Ezeli early in the season. Vandy coach Kevin Stalling said he’ll look to Steve Tchiengang or Josh Henderson to replace Ezeli inside. Tchiengang is more than capable. The ‘Dores are loaded at the wings with Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins , but Ezeli offered up balance for the top-10 ‘Dores. He’ll be back against Xavier on Nov. 28. But his absence could help Texas in a potential matchup if the two teams meet on Nov. 21 in the Legends Classic at the Meadowlands. Vandy would need to beat NC State and Texas would need to take care of Oregon State in the semifinals. 2. Kansas coach Bill Self said the loss of freshmen forwards Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor “kills our depth.” McLemore and Traylor were declared partial qualifiers by the NCAA. Neither player can practice or compete in the fall, but they can practice in the spring. If they maintain their eligibility then they would be able to play in games in 2012-13. Kansas’ 2011 newcomer class was ranked No. 22 by ESPNU’s recruiting site.
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3-point shot: Replacing Festus Ezeli
Filed under Basketball by on Oct 18th, 2011. Comment.
But even schools with artificial turf, including Robert Lee’s longtime rival, the Bronte Longhorns, have suffered. At Wylie High School near Dallas, where the temperatures on its field reached 185 degrees this summer… Source: Herald & Review
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In West Texas, a parched football field spells crisis
Filed under Football, News by on Oct 9th, 2011. Comment.
Tara Hall is a group home located in Georgetown, S.C., and it’s for at-risk boys who have been abused, neglected, or are troubled and hope to turn around their lives. It relies on donations of money, supplies and time to keep going after 40 years in operation. That’s where Texas coach Rick Barnes comes into the picture. According to WBTW-TV , Barnes became a godsend to Tara Hall, which was in need of major financial assistance until Barnes’ wife, Candy, read of the group home’s struggle in a magazine while vacationing in the area and told Rick all about it. [Tara Hall executive director Jim] Dumm said Barnes called and within days was on-site at Tara Hall with a contractor friend and plans to re-floor, re-paint, and generally make-over the entire residence hall. It all culminated over Labor Day weekend, when Barnes and other volunteers helped move new furniture into the dorms. “They just really are dedicated to seeing that these boys have a first-rate chance at everything,” said Dumm, who still can’t help but smile on Tara Hall’s fortunes lately. In a quick phone conversation Thursday morning, Barnes told News13 he didn’t want any publicity for the deed, and he and his family were inspired by what Dumm and his staff are doing at Tara Hall. Barnes brought his son to help and to spend time with the youths at the home this summer, and Dumm said Candy Barnes has also come by to spend time. The new furniture inside the residence hall includes new beds for the students and the adult staff, along with new sectional couches and high definition TVs for the lounges. Dumm said Barnes even threw in satellite TV service and separate TVs so the boys could play video games in the lounges and in the rec hall. There are also new pool tables and tables and chairs in the rec hall, new floor coverings throughout, and coats of fresh paint on walls everywhere you look. Quietly, Barnes stepped up to help at a place off the beaten path that desperately needed it. He spent his time and energy, and his family members pitched in as well when no one was looking. That’s a credit to Barnes, who clearly has compassion for young men looking to better themselves, and it doesn’t just end with the basketball team at Texas. From The Sun News : Dumm said new beds were the first thing he asked for when Barnes wanted to know what he could do to help. When Barnes pressed for more, Dumm had a hard time asking. “He said ‘Jim, you’re not asking for enough’ and I said something about not wanting to be greedy and he said ‘Sometimes you just have to get out of the way and let God work,’ said Dumm. “That was the last peep out of me. I let Him work.”
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Rick Barnes pitches in to help group home
Filed under Basketball, News by on Sep 30th, 2011. Comment.
Aided by an unforgettable name and knack for making legendary plays, Steele Jantz has become one of the Cyclones’ most talked-about players with just three games on his résumé. It’s warranted, and if Iowa State is going to upset Texas on Saturday, Jantz will be the reason why. “You can talk leadership, moxie, you can talk all those thing, but his production when those games have been on the line?” Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. “He’s delivered throwing the ball and he’s delivered running the ball.” In all three games this season, Jantz has engineered fourth-quarter comebacks, including a quarterback sneak in the final seconds against Northern Iowa and two key fourth-down conversions in an overtime win over Iowa. “For myself and the team, we’re glad we’re 3-0, but it’s been a learning process,” Jantz said. In a road win over Connecticut, Jantz began the game by throwing interceptions on three of his first four pass attempts, and Iowa State fell behind 10-0. Making matters worse, Jantz suffered a sprained foot that he said limited him to about 60 percent for the game’s remainder. After the rough start, he didn’t have another turnover and helped the Cyclones reach 3-0 for the first time since 2005. “I’m proud that we won and I’m proud of our team for pulling through in all those games,” Jantz said. “I know I have a long way to go, so I’m more focused on improving and eliminating the mistakes that I make.” He may do that eventually, but he’s already proven a handful for defenses even when he’s not trailing in the fourth quarter. On the season, he’s thrown for 666 yards and six touchdowns. He’s also run for 112 yards and a pair of scores. “If you get a guy that you have to worry about his legs also, you have to commit another guy to the rush or spying him that can be tough on your coverage,” said Texas safety Blake Gideon. “He poses a threat and it’s going to be tough for us.” The Longhorns defense enters Saturday’s game ranked second in the Big 12 in total defense and the league’s best in pass defense. “He’s a confident guy. He’s confident in his ability and he’s confident in his understanding of the offense,” Gideon said. “You can tell he spent time with his receivers in the summer and in the offseason. Their timing routes are good, they’re tough to defend. We’re going to have to make sure we can rattle him someway and be able to get in his head and make sure he doesn’t get comfortable in the pocket.” The Longhorns might be able to take advantage of that confidence with the most talented secondary Jantz will have seen so far this season. “He’s turned the ball over too many times,” Rhoads said of Jantz, who has six interceptions this year. “He’s made a higher number than we would like of poor decisions. He’s made great decisions and he’s made some spectacular plays. I would say at this point he’s inconsistent. Certainly not unusual for a first-time starter at this level, coming off a successful junior college career.” Saturday may be Jantz’s national coming-out party if he knocks off the Longhorns and gets Iowa State to 4-0 and just two wins from their second bowl appearance in three years under Rhoads. He’s good enough to beat Texas already. And with his career sitting at just three games old, he’s only going to get better
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Cyclones best chance to beat Texas: Jantz
Filed under Football by on Sep 29th, 2011. Comment.
While conference realignment has dominated the conversation in college sports, here’s a friendly reminder that Division I independents merely dream of one day finding a conference to call home. Longwood University in Farmville, Va., finished with a 12-19 record last season, which is great considering that when the Lancers first played a Division I schedule six years earlier, they had a 1-30 record. Now, long after that one-win 2004-05 season, Longwood has gotten to the point where it will make a push for conference affiliation, according to The Rotunda . Longwood University’s Director of Athletics Troy Austin stated, “I would say about 85 to 90 percent of our effort is devoted to the Big South, but there are still other conferences of our size that may not be as great a fit, but do present an opportunity, that I continue to reach out to their commissioners. “In the past, we’ve talked to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, we’ve talked to the North East Conference, we’ve talked to the Atlantic Sun Conference,” said Austin. “They are good fits for us because they have automatic bids to the NCAA tournament, but some may stretch us a bit in terms of distance of travel.” … With the recent shuffle of large teams such as Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Texas A&M into new conferences, Longwood hopes to slip into the Big South when the effects of the conference shake-up trickles down. “We have long ago deserved to be in there [the Big South], have done everything on our part,” [coach Mike] Gillian said. “Now it becomes up to us to continue to show all of those other institutions in the league and the other presidents of those institutions that we don’t only deserve it, but we belong.” For Cal State Bakersfield, it’s an interesting time to try landing that coveted conference invitation.
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Division I independents play waiting game
Filed under Baseball, Basketball, News by on Sep 28th, 2011. Comment.
While conference realignment has dominated the conversation in college sports, here’s a friendly reminder that Division I independents merely dream of one day finding a conference to call home. Longwood University in Farmville, Va., finished with a 12-19 record last season, which is great considering that when the Lancers first played a Division I schedule six years earlier, they had a 1-30 record. Now, long after that one-win 2004-05 season, Longwood has gotten to the point where it will make a push for conference affiliation, according to The Rotunda . Longwood University’s Director of Athletics Troy Austin stated, “I would say about 85 to 90 percent of our effort is devoted to the Big South, but there are still other conferences of our size that may not be as great a fit, but do present an opportunity, that I continue to reach out to their commissioners. “In the past, we’ve talked to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, we’ve talked to the North East Conference, we’ve talked to the Atlantic Sun Conference,” said Austin. “They are good fits for us because they have automatic bids to the NCAA tournament, but some may stretch us a bit in terms of distance of travel.” … With the recent shuffle of large teams such as Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Texas A&M into new conferences, Longwood hopes to slip into the Big South when the effects of the conference shake-up trickles down. “We have long ago deserved to be in there [the Big South], have done everything on our part,” [coach Mike] Gillian said. “Now it becomes up to us to continue to show all of those other institutions in the league and the other presidents of those institutions that we don’t only deserve it, but we belong.” For Cal State Bakersfield, it’s an interesting time to try landing that coveted conference invitation. The Roadrunners didn’t receive one during the WAC’s latest round of expansion this summer, but they are at least making some noise. Cal State Bakersfield installed the nation’s only blue basketball court this offseason, and the publicity from that along with the arrival of veteran coach Rod Barnes doesn’t hurt. Also, the baseball program was able to join the WAC last week as an affiliate member while the school’s track and tennis programs are headed to the Great West. Athletic director Jeff Konya indicated to the Bakersfield Californian that he couldn’t envision the basketball program being able to become an affiliate member for a conference, but that’s the latest strategy for the school’s individual sports while it waits for a better situation for basketball. “If there’s a conference that comes on line that wants us as a full-fledged member, the contracts as an affiliate are not as substantial as if we were in a conference and were going to another conference,” he said. So if you have the realignment blues, consider there are schools just trying to find their way. And as those programs are finding out, it can be a long climb to relevance.
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Division I independents play waiting game
Filed under Baseball, Basketball, News by on Sep 28th, 2011. Comment.
As I tweeted last night , I like to envision the Pac-12’s decision not to expand to 16 teams a certain way. I like to think the Pac-12’s various university presidents and league officials met each other in a conference room. I like to think the discussion went around the room — think “12 Angry Men,” but with shirts that look like this — until one of the participants raised his arms and quieted the crowd out of respect. “Can someone,” this imaginary person in this imaginary scenario says, “please give me one good reason why we need to expand?” The imaginary room falls silent. The members glance longingly around the room. No one has the answer. Of course, the actual reasons the Pac-12 made its surprise decision against expansion are far less dramatic. A source told ESPN’s Andy Katz that the Pac-12 eschewed the moves “because commissioner Larry Scott failed to get assurance that Texas would back an equal revenue sharing plan if the league added the Longhorns, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.” In its statement on the decision Tuesday, Scott cited the Pac-12’s “culture of equality” as one of its reasons for passing on expansion. Why add four more teams, and split that massive new TV rights deal four more ways, if good ol’ Texas wasn’t willing to do the same with its own individual network revenue? If USC and UCLA reluctantly agreed to revenue sharing last year, why shouldn’t the rest of the new-look conference follow suit? So maybe my pretend scenario isn’t that far off the truth. Maybe the Pac-12 realized how good things already were. The league doesn’t need to add teams to make more money. Just this summer, the conference signed a 12-year, $3 billion TV deal with Fox and ESPN. When you’ve got that in your back pocket, why rock the boat? Why do you need to add four more teams? The fallout from the Pac-12’s decision could be widespread. For one, it puts a halt — however brief it may be — to the rampant game of musical chairs that is conference realignment. It could save the Big 12, at least for a few more years. It keeps Missouri from having to sweat that big SEC invite . The Big East is still at risk, as the conference’s potential merger with the remaining Big 12 teams may have been its best move after the Syracuse and Pittsburgh defections. But the league’s football schools have made a pledge to stick together and seek to add new programs, and though the league’s hoops stable was weakened by the losses Sunday, it is still perfectly viable where basketball is concerned. In general, the Pac-12’s move helped restore some sanity to college sports. Can everyone take a breather on conference realignment now? I — and pretty much everyone else in the world, as far as I can tell — sure hope so. More than anything, though, the Pac-12’s decision helps us solidify what the Pac-12 will look like in the years to come, particularly from a basketball perspective. We know Arizona is on the rise. We know UCLA is right on the Wildcats’ tails. We know the league will be weak in terms of depth for the next few seasons, and we know that the conference’s recent additions, Colorado and Utah, won’t push the league toward basketball dominance anytime soon. But we also know that those 12 teams stand to gain every bit as much from not expanding as from making the move. As state above, the current Pac-12 configuration has a massive TV rights deal in its back pocket. It will showcase its teams on two major networks more frequently than at any time in its past. Its national exposure will increase by leaps and bounds. And that can only help each of those struggling teams — and the Pac-12 has more than a few these days despite all the rebuilding the conference has seen in recent seasons — get back to hoops prominence more quickly. We could understand why the Pac-12 wanted to expand. Hey, if you’ve got a chance to add Texas to your conference, it probably makes sense to try. But at the end of the day, expansion didn’t help the Pac-12, particularly in basketball. For once, someone saw the benefits of the status quo. For once, common sense prevailed over panic and fear. If only every conference realignment could proceed so rationally. Wait, why do we need to do this again? Maybe that question was never asked. Maybe it seemed silly. But whatever produced the Pac-12’s decision, every college sports fan has reason to be thankful.
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Mercifully, the Pac-12 remains the Pac-12
Filed under Basketball, Football by on Sep 21st, 2011. Comment.
