jp olukemi – Rush The Court

Big 12 Morning Five: Turkey Day Edition

dnspewak — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 14:31:16 +0000

Life is not fair. At all. Need evidence? After missing most of 2011-12 with an ACL injury, Oklahoma State’s JP Olukemi will now miss the rest of his senior season with another knee injury. This was supposed to be a year of celebration for Olukemi, who earned an NCAA waiver to play his final semester this winter after months of controversy. Instead, his future is now uncertain after this nightmarish scenario. We all remember when Robbie Hummel injured his knee a second time, but Olukemi might not get another chance to lace up the sneakers. That’s tragic for a guy who’s been through [...]

Ten Tuesday Scribbles: On Realignment, UConn, Maui and More…

Brian Otskey — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 20:13:14 +0000

Brian Otskey is a regular contributor for RTC. Every Tuesday during the regular season he’ll be giving his 10 thoughts on the previous week’s action. You can find him on Twitter @botskey

As someone who doesn’t watch one minute of college football but loves college basketball to no end, conference realignment frustrates me to no end as you might imagine. It’s actually quite depressing and I hate talking/writing about it. However, it’s a relevant story and must be discussed because of the far-reaching impacts it will have on the sport I love. I realize this is all about [...]

Morning Five: 11.16.12 Edition

nvr1983 — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:31:50 +0000

While one prominent Pac-12 incomer awaits the NCAA’s decision on whether he’ll see the floor this year, another one received his eligibility papers on Thursday. Oregon’s Arsalen Kazemi, a Rice transfer and former all-CUSA forward, has been cleared to suit up for the Ducks effective immediately, which means that we’re likely to see him in uniform against Vanderbilt tonight. The addition of Kazemi to a talented Oregon front line consisting of Tony Woods, EJ Singler and Carlos Emery is a major coup for Dana Altman right at the start of the season. In a league already fighting hard to regain [...]

ATB: Oklahoma State’s Injury Concerns, Alabama’s Defense, and Purdue’s Blown Lead…

Chris Johnson — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:02:19 +0000

Tonight’s Lede. Mini-Tournaments Abound! Few events typify the diffuse nature of non-conference competition in college hoops more than mini early-season invitationals. You have stacked fields like the Battle 4 Atlantis, replete with national championship hopefuls and quality mid-majors battling it out in a tropical locale. Then you have events like the South Padre Invitational, where the most anticipated match-up will pit annual bubble denizen Northwestern and Illinois State. Not to take anything away from Jackie Carmichael and the Redbirds, but come on – yuck. Several of this year’s events tipped off Thursday, and while the early-round match-ups may lack for [...]

Big 12 Team Preview #6: Oklahoma State Cowboys

Nate Kotisso — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:03:55 +0000

Over the next two weeks, we’ll bring you the obligatory team preview here at the Big 12 microsite. Oklahoma State at the #6 position is next on our list.

The Skinny

2011-12 record: 15-18 record, 7-11 in the Big 12 Key contributors lost: Cezar Guerrero, Keiton Page, Fred Gulley Head coach: Travis Ford, 5th season Projected finish: 6th

The 2012-13 season is the most important in Travis Ford’s coaching career. (Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press)

Years one and two: back-to-back NCAA appearances with fourth and sixth place finishes in the conference. Years three and four: one NIT birth with seventh and ninth place finishes in Big 12 play. Time is running [...]

Morning Five: 11.02.12 Edition

nvr1983 — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 11:31:28 +0000

We don’t typically spend much time talking about exhibition games in this space, but it was somewhat coincidental that each of the nation’s top three teams were in action last night. Indiana, Louisville, and Kentucky each got some work in against Indiana Wesleyan, Pikeville, and Northwood, respectively, with an average margin of victory of 33.0 points between the three games. The top storylines from each game: #1 Indiana was sluggish at the start but oft-injured Maurice Creek returned with a vengeance (12 points in 15 minutes of action); #2 Louisville hung its 2012 Final Four banner and may have found some [...]

Morning Five: 11.01.12 Edition

nvr1983 — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 11:30:41 +0000

While they are still missing a big piece of the class that was supposed to make them relevant again, UCLA received some huge news yesterday when the school announced that incoming freshman Kyle Anderson has been cleared by the NCAA to play for the Bruins this season. After an investigation into the relationship between Anderson’s father and an NBA agent, the NCAA must have agreed with the family that the relationship existed before Anderson became a highly touted recruit. Anderson may not be as talented in as many facets of the game as Shabazz Muhammad, who still sits in NCAA limbo, but there aren’t many 6’8″ guards [...]

Loss of Oklahoma State’s Williams Not a Good Sign for Travis Ford

dnspewak — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:14:04 +0000

This was supposed to be a fresh start for Oklahoma State. A year after injuries and transfers derailed Travis Ford’s program and ruined Keiton Page’s senior year, the Cowboys’ 2012-13 roster looked healthier, deeper and significantly more dangerous on paper when practice opened more than a week ago. That’s why the latest injury to Brian Williams, who will now miss the rest of the season with a fractured wrist, is so discouraging for the Cowboys. The loss of Williams will not cripple this program, but the last thing Ford needed was to deal with another personnel problem. Consider this: In 2011-12, two of [...]

Big 12 M5: 10.18.12 Edition

Nate Kotisso — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:31:00 +0000

Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford took media day to reveal that starting guard/forward Brian Williams has a wrist injury and is out “indefinitely.” Williams started 20 games for the Cowboys last season, averaging 9.6 points and 3.3 boards per contest. It’s not welcome news to a team that finished last year without Le’Bryan Nash (now ready to go), Phillip Jurick (progressing but not all the way back) and JP Olukemi, who practices but still experiences some swelling. I think they’re a top five Big 12 team overall but with the departure of Cezar Guerrero and the injury bug continuing to bite, this Cowboys team [...]

Big 12 Season Recap and Postseason Preview

Brian Goodman — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:01:03 +0000

Steve Fetch is the RTC correspondent for the Big 12. You can also find his musings online at Rock Chalk Talk or on Twitter @fetch9.

Conference Tournament Preview

The big attraction this year for many fans is the chance to see one more Kansas–Missouri battle before the Tigers leave for the SEC. If Kansas reaches the final, they will likely be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and there’s still a chance Missouri can nab one if they win the Big 12 Tournament as well. Given the general lack of depth on both teams it might behoove them to lose early [...]

Checking In On… The Big 12

Brian Goodman — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:38:55 +0000

Steve Fetch is the RTC correspondent for the Big 12. You can also find his musings online at Rock Chalk Talk or on Twitter @fetch9.

Reader’s Take

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The Week That Was

Missouri played a relatively soft non-conference schedule, and got dominated in a tough road environment losing by 16 at Kansas State. All year long people, questioned whether the Tigers had the toughness inside to be one of the elite teams in the country. In Manhattan they grabbed only 21% of their available offensive rebounds and allowed the Wildcats an offensive rebounding rate north of 40%. What’s more, 6’3” Marcus Denmon [...]

RTC Conference Primers: #5 – Big 12

Brian Goodman — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:00:45 +0000

Steve Fetch of Rock Chalk Talk is the RTC correspondent for the Big 12. You can find him on Twitter @fetch9.

Reader’s Take I

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Top Storylines

This is of course the last year for Texas A&M to leave its mark on the Big 12, and it could be Missouri’s as well. Both teams enter the 2011-12 season with serious conference title hopes, but each comes with some question marks. Missouri lost Laurence Bowers to an ACL injury, which really puts a strain on their interior depth. They didn’t rebound terribly well in the first place, ranking 317th nationally in defensive rebounding, and [...]

RTC Summer Updates: Big 12 Conference

Brian Goodman — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:11:05 +0000

With the completion of the NBA Draft and the annual coaching and transfer carousels nearing their ends, RTC is rolling out a new series, RTC Summer Updates, to give you a crash course on each Division I conference during the summer months. Our latest update comes courtesy of our Big 12 correspondent, Evan Pfaff.

Reader’s Take

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Summer Storylines

Round Robin Scheduling – For the first time since the Big 12 was formed, the conference will implement full round-robin scheduling, meaning each school will play a home-and-home with each of the other nine schools in [...]

Conference Report Card: Big 12

Brian Goodman — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:00:01 +0000

Brian Goodman is an RTC editor and contributor.

Year In Review

Before the start of the season, pollsters bought into Kansas State as the sexy pick to take the Big 12 in 2011 on the heels of an Elite Eight appearance in 2010. The Big 12 was not overly impressive in non-conference play, as the Wildcats fell hard to Duke in a de facto home game in Kansas City, and Missouri did the same against Georgetown in one of the more thrilling matchups of the early season.

As league play began, the preseason #3 Wildcats disappointed, starting [...]

Big 12 Wrap & Tourney Preview

Brian Goodman — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:00:49 +0000

Owen Kemp of Rock Chalk Talk and SB Nation Kansas City is the RTC Correspondent for the Big 12 Conference. With tournament action set to tip from Kansas City on Thursday, get set with RTC’s postseason preview and regular season recap.

Postseason Preview

Headed into the Big 12 Tournament, Kansas State is widely considered the hottest team in the conference and is looking square in the face of a semifinal matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks that could be the game of the tournament. That of course assumes the Wildcats get past potential quarterfinal opponent Colorado, who recorded a regular season [...]