- The Big 12 awards are out, so let the heated debate begin. We will release our own picks soon, but the one head-scratcher here is the Coach of the Year award. Bill Self and Fred Hoiberg shared the honor, and both are more than deserving choices. Still, Frank Haith‘s absence makes little sense to anybody associated with the league, much less Missouri people. After the adversity his team faced– from the Shapiro allegations at Miami to Laurence Bowers’ injury– he has to be the hands-down choice. Right? Maybe we are off-base here. If so, let us know in the comment section below. Frankly, though, the Coach of the Year award should be renamed the “Coach of the Most Surprising Team” award. At the conference and national level, the award simply goes to the coach of a team that overachieved– as if he explains the unexplainable. So as much as we may quibble about Haith here, who cares? Picking the best coach in the league is an almost impossible task.
- Texas is in desperation mode against Iowa State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, but it has learned that Alexis Wangmene will miss the rest of the season with a wrist injury. Good luck guarding Royce White now, Longhorns. And that’s pretty much all we will say about that.
- Here’s a shocker: Iowa State spent $420,000 on guarantee games to bring inferior opponents into Hilton Coliseum this year. This article from The Des Moines Register gives us an inside look at how athletic directors make scheduling decisions, and though it’s not the most revolutionary piece, it’s still interesting to consider the process from this perspective. It’s also interesting to see how much costs have increased for guarantee games. Look at Greg McDermott‘s comments at the end of the article–guarantee games are no longer a cheap deal for anybody.
- Read this lead and tell us what you think. We didn’t realize this, but Oklahoma hasn’t had a winning season since Blake Griffin left. That’s not very long ago– 2009, to be exact– but it’s a little longer than we realized. This program has taken a nosedive, but a strong showing at the Big 12 Tournament might carry a little momentum into next year.
- Oklahoma State needs a point guard. Bad. Really bad, even. It’s been such an issue lately for Travis Ford, especially this season, when Fred Gulley and Reger Dowell both transferred before Big 12 play even began. That switched Keiton Page to the point, but he’s going to graduate. So that leaves Cezar Guerrero, who just may be the most important player on the Cowboys next year. No pressure though, young man.
View Comments (4)
ku was picked to finish first...then they finished first and somehow that makes Self Coach of the Year? What a joke!
Personally, I think Hoiberg has done a fantastic job this season and if he won the honor outright I would not really argue but the fact that Self got it OVER Haith just goes to show the sour grapes and clown shoes antics of the Big XII.
What really surprises me though is that RTC isn't in full agreement on Self as the RTC/ku love affair is beyond sappy. But hey, I like surprises.
The "RTC/ku love affair" just chose Anthony Davis over Thomas Robinson for NPOY and Frank Haith for NCOY, but keep on keepin' on with that line.
I am with you on the fact that Hoiberg has done a great job and deserving of all the praise he receives. This move shows me that mizzou made the correct choice in moving to the SEC. The only thing that bothers me is saying RTC has a love affair with Kansas. In a season where national media built up kansas and waited for mizzou to colaps RTC was one of the few that keep it objective to what happened on the court. So thanks for everything RTC keep up the good work. And fairwell kansas and the big 12 can't wait to watch it all fall apart.
If Coach of the Year goes to best coach, then Bill Self would win it every year, right?
Haith did a good job, and no one could argue that he's deserving of Coach of the Year, but Missouri returned much more production and experience than Kansas did. Haith should be commended for stepping in and molding the Tigers in his image.
Self, on the other hand, lost six of his top eight scorers to graduation and the NBA draft and three of his top four recruits (remember, KU was picked to finish first in the Big 12 before these recruits were deemed ineligible) and still won the conference by two games. For the first time in a long time KU did not have any McDonald's All-Americans on the roster, and two of the first three players off the bench were former walk-ons. Bill Self definitely has as good an argument for coach of the year as anyone.