Rush The Court

#HoibergWatch has been the dominant storyline in the Big 12 since the season ended back in April, and with the Chicago Bulls head coaching job now vacant, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before The Mayor makes his next move, even if nothing’s official at this very second. We’ll have more on where Iowa State could go from here once the situation plays itself out and we get some resolution, but in the meantime, there’s been no shortage of other Big 12 activity to discuss.

• On Wednesday, commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced that the Big 12’s membership had given him full authority to hand down punishments to schools should they fail to adequately prevent students from rushing the court. While it’s a well-intentioned decision, it’s really tough to look at this development as anything more than a knee-jerk reaction to last season’s messy incident at Kansas State’s Bramlage Coliseum, where one student appeared to target Jamari Traylor and others inadvertently pinned members of Kansas’ coaching staff against the scorer’s table. While there’s been (misguided) uproar in the past over court-storms, it seems highly unlikely that the conference would have done anything if things hadn’t gone sideways after the Wildcats upset the Jayhawks that night. Moving forward, while the threat of severe punishment might keep future incidents from getting out of control, it’s no guarantee, and it’s important to note that the chaos from February was the exception, not the rule. The reality is that dozens of stormings take place all across the country each and every year without incident, and the pearl-clutching among many (though certainly not all) in the media is just way over-the-top. Court-storms make college basketball unique from other sports and provide memorable experiences for both the players and students, and isn’t that what college is all about? Yes, once in awhile, there may be an occasion where things get out of control, and in those specific cases, punishment beyond the simple reprimanding Kansas State received in February may be justified. Before getting too wound up, we’ll have to see how this broad policy ends up working in practice, as compared to a more specific policy like the SEC’s, which dishes out automatic fines regardless of whether or not anyone actually gets hurt. At the onset, though, this has the feel of using a flamethrower to take care of a housefly.

• In more positive news, yesterday the conference elected to keep the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City through 2020. As a resident of the area, I’m admittedly biased, but even by objective measures, the city that has hosted the conference tournament for 14 of the last 19 years has done a fantastic job, and fans seem to be on board as well, judging by the estimated $9 million they’ve brought to local coffers each March. The tournament is one of the few major conference tourneys that draws well each and every year. A very big part of that has to do with the conference’s dedicated fan base and the storied programs it supports, but with a busy entertainment district directly across the street from the Sprint Center, other attractive nightlife options around town and enough hotel space to meet demand, Kansas City really has an ideal setup for the event. Credit is due to the Big 12 for realizing the consistent level of success it’s experienced in partnering with the city and not messing with a good thing, extending the relationship for the foreseeable future.
• As I think about how the 2015-16 season is going to develop, the biggest thing that stands out is a sharp contrast between the league’s relative lack of one-and-done talents and a slew of proven upperclassmen who figure to get most of the headlines. At #7 nationally, Kansas’ Cheick Diallo is the conference’s highest-ranked incoming freshman according to ESPNU, and you have to drop all the way down to #33 (Oklahoma State’s Jaywun Evans) to find another Big 12 player heading somewhere other than Lawrence (although, to be fair, Texas has three top-50 recruits coming in). Then you look around the conference and there’s just so much experience returning to campus. Kansas, Iowa State, Texas and Baylor stick out as very good teams that won’t endure much talent turnover from last season and as such should have a leg up while other teams endure growing pains. Even lower in the preseason pecking order, seniors such as reigning Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield and Phil Forte will be worth the price of admission all on their own on many nights, even if their supporting casts leave something to be desired. It’s a significant departure from the last two seasons, when the headlines were mostly dominated by Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, Cliff Alexander, Kelly Oubre and Myles Turner as they went through their ups and downs in their lone college seasons. We may still be five-plus months away from tip-off, but the prominence of skilled veterans like Perry Ellis, Georges Niang, Rico Gathers and Cameron Ridley is likely going to be a central theme of the 2015-16 season.