1. Most signings across the Big 12 this week have been only formalities, but in Kansas’ case, the program picked up a new commitment in forward Landen Lucas. According to Self, Lucas might be the next Darnell Jackson. If you’ll remember, Jackson started for KU’s 2008 National Championship squad and even led that extremely talented team in rebounding. If Lucas ever grows into the kind of player Jackson was his senior season, then Jayhawk fans should be more than thrilled.
2. For the first time in 35 games, Iowa State’s Scott Christopherson failed to make a three-point basket in a five-point loss to Drake earlier this week. That streak was a school record, and without Christopherson’s contributions, ISU looked lost offensively. Most of his team struggled shooting the ball from the perimeter as well, and it appears the Cyclones with all their new players have a lot of work to do this winter. Of course, with four transfers playing big minutes, an acclimation period has to be expected.
3.  The Associated Press reports the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee will keep a Big 12 flavor, as Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione will replace former league commissioner Dan Beebe on the panel. Castiglione, also a former AD at Missouri, will serve until the end of the 2012-13 season. He’ll now have the difficult task of helping select which at-large teams make the NCAA Tournament, so hopefully he’s ready to face the inevitable criticism.
4. It’s hard to use just one word to describe Missouri’s Kim English. He’s known more for his Twitter and his post-game quotes than his game these days. After a productive freshman year in 2008-09, English then led the team in scoring as a sophomore before falling flat as a junior. Last season, he struggled in almost every facet of his game, which is why his pleasantly surprising start is good news for Tiger fans. We’ll hold off judgment until MU faces better competition, but English at least looks much more comfortable this season.
5. Since many of us stayed up all night to watch basketball during ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon, the thought of next year’s event is a little unsettling. We’re tired and sleep-deprived, that’s all. But Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie has a plea: he wants to be part of the event in 2012. Gillispie even offered to play at 3 AM CST, which is normally the time slot reserved for Hawaii. If Gillispie wants to play at three o’clock in the morning, then more power to him. It might be a difficult sell for his college-aged players, though.

dnspewak (343 Posts)

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 17th, 2011 at 7:00 am by dnspewak and is filed under big 12, microsites. Tagged: billy gillispie, dan beebe, darnell jackson, hawaii, iowa state, joe castglione, kansas, kim english, Landen Lucas, missouri, scott christopherson, texas tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.