- According to KUsports.com, Kansas freshman Ben McLemore was arrested for failing to appear in court on Tuesday. McLemore is ineligible to play for KU this season, but this isn’t good publicity for Bill Self‘s program. Self says McLemore did not tell anybody about the alcohol citation he received in early November on East Sixth Street in Lawrence, which means his staff had no clue that he even needed to appear in court. In the grand scheme of things, an underage alcohol citation is hardly a big deal, but McLemore is a public figure now and he’s got to pay the price for his crimes — no matter how minor. That means he’s not (nor should be) exempt from showing up to court when scheduled.
- Missouri tried to schedule tough this season, but Notre Dame and Villanova’s relative struggles (again, it’s still early) have left its non-conference strength of schedule a bit lackluster. Nobody’s accusing MU of being frauds — I mean, it beat Cal by 39 — but it now appears the Tigers could run the table for the better part of this winter. It sounds crazy, but if MU can beat Illinois in the Braggin’ Rights game on a neutral court and knock off Old Dominion on the road, it will complete an undefeated non-conference slate heading into Big 12 play. Those will be two difficult tasks, however.
- Want to talk to Lon Kruger? Here’s your chance: the Oklahoma coach will join ESPN’s chat at 1:30 PM CST this afternoon to discuss his team’s 7-1 start. Some potential questions for you: How is the team adjusting to his fast-paced style? And can this team really surprise in Big 12 play? Of course, we’re not going to submit the questions. You have to.
- Oh, and by the way, Travis Ford will make an appearance at 2 PM CST to talk Oklahoma State hoops. That’s right– two Big 12 basketball coaches from the state of Oklahoma in the span of an hour. Again, we’re not going to ask any questions… but you certainly can. How about something regarding LeBryan Nash? Or whether this team can break out of the middle-of-the-pack of the Big 12? We have to say, if you were going to choose two coaches for chats, Kruger and Ford aren’t bad ones. The Cowboys and Sooners are two of the most intriguing teams in the league this season.
- And finally, speaking of Ford, here’s some fodder for your chat later today. Ford has tinkered with his lineups so far and he’s dealing with a complete lack of experience in the frontcourt. So far, he has used a nine-man rotation and his team is facing its most difficult stretch of the season right now. The Cowboys still play New Mexico, Alabama, SMU and Virginia Tech before Big 12 play. You’ve got to think by then that Ford may have a better idea of how his team will compete in the Big 12.