1. Rick Barnes will just need to stay patient with Myck Kabongo, it appears. The star point guard has traveled with the team to Hawaii for this week’s Maui Invitational, but the NCAA has not yet deemed him eligible to play. The Longhorns have looked lost offensively without Kabongo, and they can’t afford for him to stay on the bench much longer. They should be able to dispatch of Chaminade and, truthfully, either Illinois or USC in the semifinals, but this team can’t get off the island with a championship if Kabongo’s not playing. Here’s the funny thing about all of this — technically, according to that article linked above, there’s nothing necessarily preventing Kabongo from playing right now. It’s just that if he plays and the NCAA eventually finds him ineligible due to his relationship with an agent, Texas would have to forfeit every game he appeared in. As if there’s a chance in the world Barnes would risk that.
2. Even before Oklahoma State’s thrashing of North Carolina State in the finals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, The Oklahoman published this piece about Le’Bryan Nash‘s maturity and improved play so far this season. Then he lit up the Wolfpack for 23 points, and his team looked immortal during the final two days of this three-day tournament. It’s obvious that some of us — like myself, who said in a preseason podcast I had serious doubts about Oklahoma State’s potential — might have been, um, dead wrong about Nash and the Cowboys. It’s early, sure, but everything’s coming together perfectly for Travis Ford. Nash looks like he gets it. Marcus Smart can play the point. His high school buddy Phil Forte really is one of the top shooters in his freshman class. There’s no telling how long the Cowboys may ride this wave of momentum from Puerto Rico.
3. It’s hard to be TCU. New league, new opponents, new era, and on top of that, Trent Johnson is really in rebuilding mode with this program right now. That’s why losing Amric Fields, the Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year last season, hurts so much. The Star-Telegram claims Fields is probably out for the season, which means he’ll join freshman center Aaron Durley on the walking wounded list (Durley’s also out for the year). Luckily, the Horned Frogs do have a lot of bodies up front still, even if they’re largely unproven. Nobody said Trent Johnson’s new job was going to be very easy.
4. TCU lost Fields in the midst of a loss to in-state rival SMU. That’s Larry Brown’s new team, of course, and here’s an interesting analysis as to how TCU and SMU differ in their approaches to rebuilding. It’s not as though Trent Johnson is some sort of up-and-comer as a coach. He’s taken three separate programs to the NCAA Tournament and established himself as one of the game’s better coaches during his tenures at Nevada and Stanford. He’s no Larry Brown, however. Nobody is. And that’s why this article is a good read, no matter if you live in TCU/SMU territory in Texas or 1,000 miles away in another part of the country. These two programs both needed a bold move, and they took different paths to achieve it.
5. Bruce Weber may not have the same sort of talent that Bill Snyder has on his football team, but he says he loves his depth so far. He has a point. Outside of Rodney McGruder and perhaps Jordan Henriquez, the rest of the rotation is mostly interchangeable. There are just solid players up and down the roster at every position. Right now, the Wildcats have 11 players averaging between 16-24 minutes per game. That will obviously change as the season progresses, but even against early cupcakes, that’s quite staggering.

For months, we’ve heard rumors about Travis Ford’s job security and the pressure to win big this season with Marcus Smart and Le’Bryan Nash. It’s rare for a college basketball coach to have one star of their caliber, much less two, so all eyes were on that duo during Oklahoma State’s showdown with Tennessee this morning in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. It was the first real test for the new-look Cowboys, and they could not have possibly played more flawlessly on both ends of the floor in a 62-45 win. Smart can apparently run the point just fine. Nash looks more mature. A smaller OSU team bullied the Jeronne Maymon-less Volunteers, winning the rebounding battle and stifling Jarnell Stokes, and it put on a defensive clinic.

J.P. Olukemi Is Hurt Again

That’s one heck of a start for Ford in this make-or-break year. But remember, the injury bug ruined Oklahoma State’s 2011-12 season, and Ford must once again deal with injuries after J.P. Olukemi hurt his knee in Thursday’s overtime victory against Akron. Ford said it “doesn’t look good.” That’s just heartbreaking to hear for the senior, who missed most of last season with an ACL tear. It’s even more heartbreaking when you consider that the NCAA just granted Olukemi a waiver to play the second semester earlier this fall — originally, he only had eligibility through the first semester. He was supposed to play all of 2012-13, and he was supposed to play it well. Oh, and Brian Williams is already out for the season as well, so it’s a mess of a time in the trainer’s room right now.

Now, there’s no telling when Olukemi will make it back. Unfortunately, he’s out of redshirts and second chances from the NCAA. Oklahoma State could really use him, too, because he’s probably the best athlete on the team and just adds another athletic element to that backcourt full of big, physical guards. The Cowboys may have looked immortal against Tennessee, but Olukemi is a major part of this program. He’s a match-up nightmare, a versatile defender and an experienced leader with three years of Division I basketball under his belt. Outside of Nash and Smart, Olukemi is the sort of invaluable secondary player who makes this team run. And if he can’t play, it won’t only be heartbreaking for him. It’ll be heartbreaking for everybody.

1. As if TCU weren’t already in trouble in its first season in the Big 12, coach Trent Johnson learned he’ll likely lose forward Amric Fields for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury. Freshman center Aaron Durley is already out for the season, and Fields figured to play a more important role on the Horned Frogs after a earning Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year honors as a sophomore. Outside of point guard Kyan Anderson and perhaps Garlon Green, the team’s leading returning scorer, it’s hard to fathom a more significant loss for Johnson.
2. This is not a men’s basketball story, but it’s worth your time. Last November, Oklahoma State women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna died in a plane crash en route to a recruiting visit in Arkansas. They were traveling to watch Roshunda Johnson — who signed with the Cowboys this week. That’s chilling. At the same time, it’s inspirational and an incredible story. Here’s what Johnson told the paper: “At first, I started off blaming myself,” Johnson told The Oklahoman. “It was just like, ‘Aw, man. They were on their way to come see me, and then that accident happened.’ I felt kind of bad. It was kind of hard for me… (But I had to remember) ‘At the end of the day, they were still watching you.'”
3. It’s always fun to judge a first-year head coach in November. Kansas State fans haven’t seen Bruce Weber‘s team play any notable competition, but they’re already trying to size up their new guy. As you’ll read in that article, though, it’s difficult to make any sort of real judgment yet. It’s interesting to read that former coach Frank Martin had a reputation for failing to motivate his teams in guarantee games and cupcake non-conference matchups. This writer praises Weber for getting his kids to annihilate Alabama-Huntsville (and, just for kicks, he mentions Martin’s overtime nail-biter against Milwaukee over the weekend). He’ll have a lot more to write about after KSU’s trip to Madison Square Garden, of course.
4. Amath M’Baye has a fascinating life. It’s much more interesting than mine and probably yours as well. He’s traveled across the world, finally landing in Norman as Oklahoma’s newest star transfer. As The Oklahoman details in this feature, M’Baye’s mother will be there every step of the way. On the court, he just might represent the missing piece for the Sooners, who tanked in Big 12 play a year ago after a solid start in Lon Kruger’s first season. Now in his second season, Kruger needs M’Baye — and his mom, we suppose — to really take on a leadership role.
5. One final note: Kansas signed two additional recruits on Thursday. Bill Self inked Joel Embiid, a seven-foot center, as well as wing Brannen Greene. They’re both big-time prospects (I mean, they signed with Self, so they’ve got to be, right?), but Greene appears to be a little more polished at this point. He’s a top-25 recruit out of Georgia. Embiid hails from Cameroon, where he’s only played a year of organized basketball. True seven-footers don’t come along all too often, though, so there’s no telling how good this kid could be in a few years.

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 intrigue, their occurrence brings the promise of quality contests in the later rounds. Even if the first-round competition didn’t quite sate your hoops palate, there were some intriguing bouts scattered about the ledger, with conference and national contenders taking the floor in various spots around the country. These little tourneys may not tout Champions Classic-level prestige, but they’re exciting enough to spark the interest of most college hoops fans. What do you say we dig into some of these mini-tourneys’ first-round tilts?

Your Watercooler Moment. Flaws Exposed in Oklahoma State’s Overtime Win Over Akron.

So much of Oklahoma State’s Tournament potential rides on Nash and Smart (Photo credit: AP Photo).

Few teams count two top-10 recruits in their starting lineup. Even fewer combine that youth with effective complementary pieces and offensive firepower at every position. Oklahoma State, with sophomore wing Le’Bryan Nash and freshman guard Marcus Smart, fit the description. Based on Thursday’s near-loss in overtime to Akron in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, it seems the Cowboys have some fine-tuning to do before they can be considered a realistic contender in this season’s deep Big 12. The book is out on Nash: He’s an effective but inefficient scorer (last season, he took 29.3 percent of available shots and used 29.0 percent of possessions yet posted an ugly 89.2 offensive rating, per kenpom.com). The early returns on Smart are just about where you’d expect them to be: The talent is there, but the attention to detail is not. If Nash and Smart, who combined for 34 points and 16 rebounds Thursday, can bring it all together, and junior Markel Brown can provide consistent scoring from the perimeter, this is a dangerous team. Whether that if-statement translates to the affirmative – and whether the young duo can guide the Cowboys into NCAA Tournament territory, which is probably the threshold postseason benchmark to ensure the continuation of coach Travis Ford’s tenure – will largely fall on the shoulders of Nash and Smart.

Tonight’s Quick Hits…

• Another Key Loss for Oklahoma State? There were significant concerns about Oklahoma State’s depth heading into this season. With swingman Brian Williams done for the season, and point guard Cezar Guerrero leaving the team for family issues, the Cowboys’ bench was already very thin. Those concerns may reach new levels of immediacy if senior JP Olukemi’s apparent left knee injury, suffered during the Cowboys’ game with Akron Thursday, proves serious. Olukemi spent much of the second half with his knee wrapped in ice. For Oklahoma State, losing him would be a major blow. He’s an explosive scorer and a fantastic perimeter complement to Nash and Smart. On a more personal level, you can’t help feeling for Olukemi, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL and was granted a waiver to play out his final year of eligibility after a long and presumably anxiety-filled waiting game with NCAA folk.
• Late-Game Mismanagement Costs Purdue. Transition is the fitting byword for Purdue’s 2012-13 season. Gone are Robbie Hummel and Lewis Jackson, the heart and soul of Purdue’s recent outfits. In comes a new freshman class, which features three-top 100 players. The future is promising for the Boilermakers; Matt Painter will have his team challenging the top levels of Big Ten competition sooner rather than later. This year, the goals are more realistic, more focused on development and transition. Purdue’s inexperience proved costly Thursday night as the Boilermakers saw their seven-point lead evaporate in just over a minute’s time, thus sending their 2K Sports Classic semifinal contest into overtime, at which point Villanova — thanks to a pair of huge threes from James Bell — took over. Chalk this one up to youth — a veteran team with multiple years’ playing experience does not let that one slip away. For Purdue, the silver lining is plain: the young Boilers can take this performance, and use it as a reference point for future growth. The Boilermakers’ short-term outlook is far less promising than the long-term. Last night was a confirmation of the fact.
• 2K Sports Classic Provides Marquee Drama. In what amounted to arguably Thursday’s best matchup of power conference teams, Alabama needed a late three from Rodney Cooper to advance to Friday night’s championship round. Cooper’s shot was huge – it halted Oregon State’s valiant second half run. More impressive was Alabama’s guard play, namely Trevor Lacey and Trevor Releford. We know the Tide are going to lock you down; that’s what Anthony Grant’s teams do. They defend. The picture is less rosy on offense for Alabama. The development of a potent guard combo like Releford and Lacey could be just what the doctor ordered. And about that defense – Alabama’s suffocating defense produced produced 17 turnovers to Oregon State’s nine. It’s only November, and much Alabama has plenty of work left on the nonconference ledger before they can start thinking about Kentucky and Missouri and Florida, but this has the makings of another defensive-minded Tide team. Their identity is a timeless quality under Grant.
• The “Other” Freshman Shines for N.C. State. With all due respect to Rodney Purvis, T.J. Warren wants the spotlight just as much as you do. That’s the impression you got watching Warren, the less-heralded member of Mark Gottfried’s prized 2012 recruiting class, steal the show in N.C. State’s  win over Penn State in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-off. Warren mixes a savvy low post game with a high basketball IQ and range out to the three-point line, as comfortable to mix it up on the low block as he is spot up from deep (Warren connected on three of four three-point attempts Thursday). For all of Purvis’ lottery talent, Warren’s diverse inside-out game could be the more productive asset. Throw Warren, likely lottery pick C.J. Leslie, and interior enforcer Richard Howell in the same frontcourt, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find teams capable of matching that size and talent.
• Kansas Needs A Go-To Scorer; Hello Ben McLemore. Trap games arrive in many different shapes and sizes. For Kansas, coming off a three-point loss to Michigan State in Tuesday night’s Champions Classic, Chattanooga pounced on the Jayhawks’ sluggishness to jump out to an eight-point halftime lead. Then Kansas realized it was playing Chattanooga, shrugged off its shaky start and ripped off a 27-4 run in a 12-minute second-half stretch to silence the Mocs. An update on Ben McLemore: the hype – which amplified throughout last season and over the summer as tales of Mclemore’s athleticism and natural scoring ability surfaced in droves – is legitimate. Bill Self told CBS’s Jeff Goodman this week he had yet to find a player with a “killer instinct”, a Thomas Robinson-type lead option who he can hand the ball to in crucial moments. McLemore’s 24-point, eight-rebound effort could fashion an answer.
• Rethinking the Big 12 Hierarchy. All early-season caveats apply here, but it’s hard to argue Baylor hasn’t looked and played like the Big 12’s best team so far this season. The latest tour de force came Thursday night against an improved Boston College team, when Pierre Jackson’s 31 points on 10-15 shooting overwhelmed the Eagles and served and provided more fuel to the notion this could be Baylor’s best team under Scott Drew. It’s not just about Jackson – freshman Isaiah Austin has all the physical tools of Perry Jones III and all the intangibles he never had. To reiterate: It’s way too early to make any bold proclamations about conference races. At this point, we can come together on the concept that Kansas may not, as many posited throughout the preseason, cruise to a ninth straight conference title. Baylor feels like a viable contender.

… and Misses.

• Another Tough Loss for Georgia. The source of Georgia’s problems is no huge mystery. It involves sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the lack of proficient scoring talent around him. How else can you explain the McDonald’s All-American throwing up 21 shots and making just five of them in a losing effort, the Bulldogs’ second straight defeat in the Legends Classic after falling to Youngstown State Monday. It only gets harder from here for Georgia, with either UCLA or Georgetown (depending on who wins their first round matchup Monday) waiting in Tuesday’s semifinal at the Barclays Center. Pope is a very talented player whose high-end NBA projection borders on lottery-pick status. He is the driving force of all of Georgia’s offensive sets. Through three games – which, admittedly, is a small sample – Georgia’s 41.2 effective field goal percentage ranks 256th nationally. For that to improve, coach Mark Fox needs to find ways to get other players involved offensively.

The Bulldogs need a secondary scoring option to surface alongside Caldwell-Pope (Photo credit: US Presswire).

• Cancun not Kind to DePaul. Not all bad losses are created equal. Often times the better team plays down to its competition and loses by a small margin. Less common is the underdog blowout, when the putatively weaker opponent rises up and dominates its more prominent opponent. Gardner-Webb saw an opportunity in DePaul in the first round of the Cancun Challenge, and took it to the Blue Demons. Talk of progressive changes under Oliver Purnell has been constant. This marks a setback in that progress, even if, in the grand scheme, a menial non-conference loss won’t in any drastic way alter DePaul’s season – especially because they’re unlikely to land in a favorable postseason tournament. The baseline expectations are low for DePaul, but an outcome like this stains the rest of your non-conference season. Big East play has not yet arrived, and already DePaul is turning into everyone’s punching bag.
• Drexel’s 0-2 Start Recalls Last Season’s Tournament Miss. The main charge against Drexel’s NCAA Tournament resume last season was its lack of quality non-conference wins. Sure, the Dragons won 25 of their last 27 games (the losses coming to Georgia State and VCU), but their shortcomings out of the CAA loomed large in the selection committee’s eyes. Drexel looks poised to romp through the CAA yet again, especially now that their schedule doesn’t feature a home-and-home with VCU. But after losing their first two games out-of-conference,  the Dragons are in the early stages of piecing together a Tournament dossier similar to the one that left them on the wrong side of the bubble cut line last March. Bruiser Flint’s team needs to score some  respectable victories before CAA play, or else Drexel will be left feeling much the same way it did at the end of last season.

Dunkdafied. How about Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes with authority and-one?

Thursday’s All Americans.

• Pierre Jackson, Baylor (NPOY) – The lightning-quick point guard knifes through the lane in a flash, drops dimes on a pivot and finishes with pop. His season-high 31 against Boston College is the type of performance that makes people stand up and take notice.
• Isaiah Canaan, Murray State – The chances Murray State rolls out another 20+ win streak to start the season are slim. The Racers are undefeated so far, though, and Canaan’s 26 points and six assists in a 20-point win over Auburn are a strong indicator Murray State will be making headlines for a second straight year.
• Jordan Adams, UCLA – In the illustrious history of UCLA basketball, no freshman had ever scored 20 or more points in his first three games, until tonight when Adams went for 25/3/4 assts in 22 minutes off the bench.
• Jud Dillard, Tennessee Tech – Anytime someone scores 34 points, that’s an impressive feat unto itself. Accounting for 11 of your team’s last 14 points in a two-point win brings that huge night into a game-deciding context.
• Ryan Anderson, Boston College – In a losing effort, Anderson stood toe-to-toe with Baylor’s vaunted front line and finished with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting – this after notching 29 points in the Eagles season-opening win over Florida International. This three at the half was typical of his afternoon.

Tweet of the Night. Following D.J. Byrd’s questionable flagrant foul call in the final minutes of regulation against Villanova, which keyed the Wildcats overtime-forcing comeback, Purdue coach Matt Painter was understandably livid. ESPN Senior Basketball Recruiting Analyst Dave Telep apparently felt Painter’s pain.

If Matt Painter gets tossed, I’ll pay his fine.

— Dave Telep (@DaveTelep) November 16, 2012

1. Wednesday marked the first day of the early signing period, and as such, Eric Bossi of Rivals.com updated his 2013 recruiting rankings. Four Big 12 teams made the list of 30 teams, with Kansas coming in at No. 2. The Jayhawks snagged a commitment from center Joel Embiid this week, whom many recruiting experts believe will shoot up the next individual rankings, possibly into the top 20. Three four-star recruits highlight the class: guard Conner Frankamp (#31), guard Wayne Selden (#26) and guard Brannen Greene (#25). Bill Self also added three-star point guard Frank Mason (#134) to round out the group. Baylor’s three-man class is ranked 12th, led by four-star center Dominic Woodson. Big 12 newcomer West Virginia add four players including 2012 ineligible point guard Elijah Macon (56th in 2012) to put themselves at No. 24, followed immediately by Iowa State and sharp-shooting guard Matt Thomas (58th).
2. There are still a handful of top recruits unsigned and uncommitted, however — nine in Rivals.com’s top 30, to be exact. Wing Andrew Wiggins recently reclassified to this year’s class and instantly became the No. 1 recruit on every major recruiting list. Nearly every top program is getting in on his recruitment, and Bill Self is no different. Self is also still going after No. 3 recruit F Julius Randle, who has an offer from Oklahoma as well. Other uncommitted players with Kansas offers include: small forward Aaron Gordon (#6), center Dakari Johnson (#13), power forward Jermaine Lawrence (#21), and shooting guard Keith Frazier (#22). Additionally, the No. 16 recruit, shooting guard Isaac Hamilton, is being recruited by four Big 12 schools: Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas, and TCU.
3. Rumors are swirling about a potential Big 12/SEC Challenge beginning next season, similar to the Big 10/ACC challenge we have every year. The SEC’s 10 best teams (roughly) would play all 10 Big 12 teams, and it could produce some headline-grabbing match-ups if done right. The one potential game fans won’t see, however, is the one that would garner the most ratings: Kansas and Missouri. “Both conferences know their schools well enough to know what their wishes are,” KU associate AD Jim Marchiony told the Kansas City Star‘s Rustin Dodd recently. Translation: KU told the Big 12 they would not agree to play Missouri, and the Big 12 agreed.
4. Just before signing with Kansas State, three-star small forward Alex Etherington out of Arcadia, Indiana, re-opened his commitment, as reported by Indiana Basketball Source. Etherington is unranked on Rivals.com and had committed to Kansas State in June. According to the recruiting site, he also has a scholarship offer from Xavier. Kansas State received signed letters of intent on Wednesday from a pair of three-star recruits, though — shooting guard Marcus Foster and small forward Wesley Iwundu.
5. Ken Davis of Scout.com updated his Power Rankings Wednesday, with only a pair of Big 12 teams making the cut. Kansas dropped from No. 5 to No. 10 after its 67-64 loss to Michigan State on Tuesday in Atlanta. Baylor jumped up a single spot to No. 20 after two easy wins over Lehigh and Jackson State. The Bears should continue to climb the next few weeks leading up to their December 1 showdown with Kentucky. They play Boston College tonight on ESPNU and Charleston next week.

1. Joe Rexrode of The Detroit Free Press seems to think Michigan State will have problems with Kansas‘ frontcourt tonight when the teams meet up in Atlanta in the Champions Classic. That could be, but I think Kansas will have just as many problems against Tom Izzo‘s defense. The Jayhawks struggled for a good portion of their 74-55 victory of Southeast Missouri State last Friday, going 2-21 from three-point range. With five freshmen in the rotation, the offense looked lost at times. Elijah Johnson is still getting used to running the point and Jeff Withey has never been the #1 scoring option down low in college. Until those issues get sorted out, it’s hard to predict a convincing win over a team like Michigan State even if they are overrated to this point. Both defenses were impressive last week and we should see a low scoring affair tonight in Atlanta. Don’t be surprised if neither team cracks 65.
2. Yesterday, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf had 24 questions for today’s 24-hour hoops marathon. Here’s what I think about his five questions regarding the Big 12: Will Michigan State Open With Two Losses Again? No. Will Gonzaga Beat The Big 12? (The Zags play Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Baylor after beating West Virginia last night 84-50) I think they go 3-1 with that slate, the lone defeat coming against Baylor. Are Kansas State And West Virginia Underrated? Not at all. The Mountaineers don’t have enough experienced scoring and Bruce Weber is still Bruce Weber. Is Kansas ready for Michigan State? Similar to the first question, the Jayhawks could struggle against that Spartan defense. Who Will Win the Marathon’s Biggest Matchups? (Medcalf might have run out of questions by the end of this thing) Kentucky and Michigan State, but I wouldn’t bet on the Michigan State/Kansas game.
3. Yesterday, Doug Gottlieb posted an article about the four impressions he had during the first weekend of action. Oklahoma State grabbed his attention and not in a good way. The Cowboys beat UC-Davis 73-65 on Friday, an unimpressive debut for a team that’s been talked up for much of the off-season. Le’Bryan Nash and Marcus Smart were highly-touted recruits, but the freshman-sophomore duo have a long way to go to live up to expectations. Smart should be a solid distributor, but as Gottlieb noted there might not be enough scoring options for the Cowboys to win consistently this season. If that’s the case, head coach Travis Ford could be looking for a job next spring.
4. Yahoo!’s Pat Forde gave us his 25 best non-conference games in November and December, and four Big 12 teams made the list. Kansas’ meeting with Michigan State tonight is 13th, but it’s not the best Kansas game according to Forde. That goes to next month’s showdown with Ohio State in Columbus. The Jayhawks defeated the Buckeyes twice last season, once in Lawrence (78-67) and again at the Final Four (64-62). A potential Texas/North Carolina championship game in the Maui Invitational came in at #16, but those games might not be as good as the 22nd best game, Baylor at Gonzaga. After Gonzaga’s shellacking of West Virginia last night, the Kennel in Spokane will be nothing short of insane when the Bears come to town December 28.
5. After speculation that class of 2013 Center Joel Embiid would announce his college decision on Thursday, Embiid’s high school coach Justin Harden told TheShiver.com on Monday that Embiid’s announcement is coming today. He will apparently sign his Letter of Intent on Thursday, and he has narrowed his choices down to Kansas, Texas, and Florida. All three schools have visited Embiid at the Rock School in Gainesville recently in hopes of landing the four-star center, and his recruitment has been void of any big rumors up to this point. All three schools have been hot on the recruiting trail lately and all three have obvious upsides. Kansas has been putting big men in the NBA on a regular basis under Bill Self. Florida is the hometown team, and Texas is, well, in Austin. Check back later if/when Embiid makes the announcement.

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 out for head coach Travis Ford, a coach who enters his fifth season under the most fire with perhaps the best roster he’s ever had. Sure he gets credit for making the Tournament in 2009 and 2010 but the reality is key guys (like James Anderson, Obi Muonelo and Byron Eaton) were holdovers from the previous Sean Sutton era. Once Ford’s players came around, that recliner of his soon became a hot seat.

The Personnel

The question isn’t whether Ford can bring talent to Stillwater but if he can win with that talent. Le’Bryan Nash was a huge get in 2011 and Ford was able to add his second five-star recruit in two years with the signing last year of Marcus Smart. Accomplished head coaches like Billy Donovan and Mark Few were still yukking it up about the freshman’s game and attitude more than a full month after coaching Smart’s team to a gold medal in the FIBA Americas U-18 Championships. The Cowboys also got some good news about J.P. Olukemi: The NCAA has granted him a full year of eligibility instead of the fall semester exclusively. Considering he played in only 13 of 33 games last season, any Olukemi is better than no Olukemi.

Read the rest of this entry »

1. Jeff Borzello and his CBSSports.com companions near the end of their Preseason Top 25 +1 Countdown with a look at the Kansas Jayhawks. KU is going to finish the regular season as Big 12 Champions. There’s no point in fighting it anymore. It’s as much of a sure thing as Steve Spurrier getting a daily round of 18 in or Skip Bayless uttering something nonsensical. The only reason Borzello has a “Why This Team Will Disappoint” section of the preview because he has to. I’m sure the Bible has a passage that reads, “Thou shalt doubt not Bill Self.” Check again, it’s in there.
2. Burnt Orange Nation released its full Big 12 preview yesterday. When making our own predictions here at the microsite, we came to the conclusion that predicting three through eight in the league was a total crapshoot. They have Texas ranked second in the league behind the Jayhawks, much like the mid-2000s. Their all-Conference team has the names you’d expect but a couple of their honorable mentions are from squads that will appear to finish at the bottom of the league. They aren’t as crazy as you’d think.
3. The Remember the Miners Scholars Program is announcing the release of the Huggins Horrible Hankie. What fans can do with the “Triple-Hs” is wave them around (a la the Terrible Towel; forget that I just used a Pittsburgh reference) at West Virginia sporting events. The program’s Honorary Chairman is West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, who provides financial aid to miners, dependents of miners, and students pursuing an education in the world of mining. We all know mining is a major part of the Mountain State’s identity, so if you would like to get yourself a hankie or if want to know more about Remember the Miners, do check out remembertheminers.org.
4. The Pistols Firing Blog has now hit number eight on its player-by-player countdown. Forward Kamari Murphy was the topic yesterday and he’s definitely going to get his share of attention as a freshman starter for the Cowboys. His high school coach at IMG in Florida was particularly high on him, and I am too, despite Travis Ford complaining about Murphy not doing enough with the ball when it’s in his hands. I hope Ford’s trying to keep Murphy under the radar now just so he can have a chance to surprise us all toward the end of the year.
5. The Collegian just ran a story on the best player in the Big 12 that nobody’s talking about. Rodney McGruder was the top scorer from last year’s Kansas State squad and he leads a team with the experience of playing a bunch of big games under their belt. I have the Wildcats finishing fourth in the Big 12 and that has a lot to do with no important losses from the program other than Frank Martin’s departure. In fact, I’ll even go as far to say that K-State could be a sleeper team to make the Sweet Sixteen this year.

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to discussing the recruitments of the top uncommitted players in the country. We also encourage you to check out his contributions dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Note: ESPN Recruiting used for all player rankings

Austin Nichols Stays Local, Picks Memphis

There’s no place like home. At least according to 6’8″ Briarcrest Christian (Tennessee) power forward Austin Nichols, who ended his college recruitment on Monday by committing to the hometown Memphis Tigers. The No. 12 ranked player in the class of 2013, Nichols will join an already loaded recruiting class that includes fellow ESPN 100 prospects small forward Kuran Iverson, small forward Nick King and point guard Rashawn Powell as well as three-star shooting guard Markel Crawford. He chose the Tigers over Auburn, Duke, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Virginia.

2013 No. 12 ranked prospect Austin Nichols completes a stellar recruiting class for Memphis

“At the end of the day, Austin wanted to stay at home and play with some talented guys who he knew very well,” said his father, Mark Nichols. Once back home after completing his last official visit to Auburn, Memphis head coach Josh Pastner showed up at the Nichols residence for one final recruiting pitch. Rumored by many to be fading down the stretch to the likes of Duke and long-time favorite Tennessee, Pastner never wilted and kept pushing to land what he considers a “future Memphis basketball icon.”

With his recruitment shut down for a week once Pastner made his last attempt, the Nichols family spent Sunday night pondering the important decision. Mark Nichols then presented Austin with a 58-page report from KenPom.com to review advanced statistics of each of the six teams he was considering. The innovative approach factored into Nichols selecting the Tigers, which was decided as the perfect place for his future. The allure of playing in the area he grew up and in front of family and friends at the collegiate level proved to be all he could have ever wished for. “I’m just honored, I can’t even explain it,” Nichols said. He intends on signing his national letter of intent during the early signing period, which runs from November 14-21.

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1. Does this upcoming season feel a little retro to you? ESPN’s Jason King thinks so as he spells out why 2012 feels a lot like the late 1980s to him. The Kansas Jayhawks are one of nine teams that enjoyed success 25 years ago (give or take) that is also projected for big things this season. Remember when Larry Brown coached Danny Manning and his Miracles to a national title at KU in 1988? Now the two will be going up against each other as first-year coaches in Conference USA. There are several more comparisons and symmetry in this piece and they are all delicious.
2. SB Nation‘s awesome Iowa State blog, Wide Right & Natty Lite, gave us a self-preview of the 2012-13 Cyclones. They see ISU finishing third in the Big 12 but they make a compelling case for it. Yes they are one Royce White, Scott Christopherson and Chris Allen short this season, but with Will Clyburn, Korie Lucious and Melvin Ejim (a year older) replacing that trio in the rotation, the idea doesn’t seem so far-fetched after all. And according to a well-respected name in the college hoops media talking about a Cyclone freshman, it only reinforces the notion.
3. Speaking of that well-respected name in college hoops, it is Fran Fraschilla who sees similarities between the games of Iowa State frosh Georges Niang and Creighton’s Doug McDermott. Rob Dauster of NBCSports.com has more on the freshman who played alongside Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel at the Tilton School in New Hampshire. Here’s a fun fact about Niang: After initially running for senior class president as a gag, he ended up winning the position and treated his role somewhat seriously. Still, just a mention of a current Cyclone drawing comparisons to the NPOY candidate McDermott is probably a weird consolation prize for not signing the Ames, Iowa, native back in 2010.
4. The Pistols Firing Blog is running through each Oklahoma State player from #15 down to #1 this week. Ninth on the list is Kirby Gardner, a JuCo point guard who, according to GoPokes.com, was seen as a backup plan since Travis Ford knew Cezar Guerrero wasn’t completely on board with playing ball outside of California. Gardner averaged 17.2 points and 4.4 assists per game in earning the MVP as a member of San Bernardino Valley Community College last season. Ford called Gardner the team’s “only true point guard” and he has a serious shot at some playing time this season.
5. The Jeff Boys at CBSSports.com — Borzello and Goodman — have compiled a list of all the injuries and suspensions for every team in every conference. Iowa State’s roster is notably hit with some small suspensions while Oklahoma State, a team projected by the coaches to have a big season, has been bitten badly by the injury bug. If you have time to read or even scan through the list, please do. They worked really hard on it.