College Confidential

Baylor's Brittney Griner is nation's top freshman

WACO _ Baylor center collected some more precious hardware Wednesday when the U.S. Basketball Writers Association selected her as the National Freshman Of The Year for the 2009-'10 season.

Griner is averaging 18.6, 8.6 rebounds and a nation-leading 6.4 blocks per game while leading the Lady Bears to a 27-9 record and a berth in the NCAA Final Four. After being a YouTube sensation while dunking in high school, the 6-8 freshman from Houston Aldine Nimitz has rapidly changed the face of women's basketball.

"I can't think of a freshman in the country who has impacted her team any more than Brittney Griner,'' Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "She is the best freshman in the country.''

While being a serious offensive threat that attracts constant double- and triple-teams, Griner also set a single-season NCAA record for blocks this year with 218. She also established a new NCAA Tournament record for blocks with 35 -- in four games -- with at least one more game remaining Sunday at 8:30 p.m. against No. 1-ranked Connecticut.

In addition to her latest honor, Griner also has been named second-team All-American by the Associated Press, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, the co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12, and first team All-Big 12. 

-- Dwain Price

 

 

Mulkey wants Baylor fans to show her team some love

WACO _ Baylor Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey has always been a straight shooter.

So she wasted little time at a press conference Wednesday expressing her thoughts on what she expects from the Baylor fans when the Lady Bears meet No. 1-ranked Connecticut at 8:30 Sunday night in the semifinals of  the NCAA Final Four inside San Antonio's Alamodome.

"I know it's Easter Sunday, and spend time with your family,'' Mulkey said. "Eat your meal with your family at noon, go do your Easter egg hunt.

"But what else do you have to do at 8:30 at night? What! You're going to go to bed? You're going to be fat and full.''

And the perfect way to empty a full stomach?

"Go to San Antonio,'' Mulkey said. "Bring your family to San Antonio and (one day) say, 'You know, I remember when you were at Baylor on Easter Sunday and I took you to watch Baylor in the women's Final Four.'

"Because it's close to home it makes it a little special.''

San Antonio is about a three-hour drive from Waco. It's about the same distance Houston is from Waco.

This past Sunday when the Baylor men met Duke in the NCAA South Regional finals in Houston's Reliant Stadium, about 30,000 of the 47,492 fans who attended the game were dressed in Baylor green and gold. Mukley sure noticed, which is why she's expecting a similar huge backing from Baylor fans for her team's game Sunday.

By the way, Baylor becomes the first women's team to play in the Final Four in its home state since Southwest Missouri State participated in the 2001 Final Four in St. Louis.

-- Dwain Price

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UH fit not right for Gillispie, but Dickey's a solid coach

James Dickey’s announcement as the new men’s basketball coach at the University of Houston--which will come Thursday according to a source with knowledge of the situation--may not ring the bell like the hiring of Billy Gillispie or Tim Floyd.

But the program will get a solid and well-respected coach, though Dickey  has not been active for two seasons.

Gillispie was the name that most-excited UH fans who are oblivious to a number of inherent problems--not the least of which is lack of competitive facilities for which there is no concrete solution in place, only a feasibility study.

Though Gillispie wants to return to coaching, it doesn’t appear Houston was the place to resume his career though he spoke with athletic director Mack Rhoades more than once about the job.

Dickey’s task at UH will not be easy.

Yet if not for an unfortunate academic scandal at Texas Tech during the 1990s when he guided the Red Raiders’ then-successful program, Dickey might have a much-higher profile.

He led Tech to two NCAA Tournament appearances from 1991-2001. His 1995-96 team that featured stars Tony Battie and Corey Carr won the Southwest Conference tournament title and the regular-season championship with a 16-0 record. The Raiders finished 30-2 after losing to Georgetown in the Sweet 16.

His 1993 team also won the SWC Tournament title.

Dickey’s successful program was eventually undermined by widespread academic certification errors that touched nine Tech teams and dated back to 1990. The news of the irregularities broke during a Red Raiders’ game in the initial Big 12 basketball tournament.

Tech’s record during the 1996-97 season was 19-9 and the team was considered likely to again be selected to the NCAA Tournament field. But the morning after the Raiders lost a first-round game to Iowa State and following a meeting of Big 12 officials at a hotel in Kansas City, Tech announced a forfeit of its 10 conference victories and withdrew from post-season consideration after it was discovered two of Dickey’s players were mistakenly certified as academically eligible.

The problems were found to be largely the result of understaffing and unqualified personnel in academic certification with little oversight or knowledgable supervision.

An ensuing NCAA investigation did not find Dickey culpable. But the NCAA took nine scholarships away from the men’s basketball team over the next four years and in essence doomed Dickey’s program to failure.

Dickey, who had turned down an offer from LSU to remain at Tech, was subsequently fired after four losing seasons under the heavy sanctions. Tech hired Bob Knight.

Dickey became an assistant coach at OSU, where he served under both Eddie and later Sean Sutton. He previously had served on Sutton’s staff both at both Arkansas (1981-85) and Kentucky (1985-89).

He served one year as assistant to now-Tech athletic director Gerald Myers before succeeding him as the Raiders’ head coach.--Mike Jones.

Turgeon's new deal still in the works

The new deal for Texas A&M basketball coach Mark Turgeon is awash in final details, but will get done in the coming days, a source with knowledge of the situation assured Wednesday.

We reported last week that as part of the new package he would receive a raise that would bump his salary from approximately $1.2 million to $1.5 or beyond. The source said an announcement indeed could come this week, but not to read anything between the lines if that does not happen.

"Dotting the i's and crossing the t's," the source said.--Mike Jones.

Bradford apparently not doomed after all

For those of you who whined and moaned that Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford had ruined his future in the NFL by coming back for his senior year and suffering a shoulder injury, i though i'd pass on this review of his pro day at OU on monday.

here's what brandt had to say on nfl.com:

"Sam Bradford’s workout Monday in front of representatives for all 32 NFL teams at Oklahoma’s pro day almost left me speechless. And that’s saying something.

Bradford threw 63 passes (13 during a stationary period and 50 scripted throws) during the workout and, in my estimation, didn’t have one that was uncatchable. He moved around well, including throwing on the run out of the pocket, and went through the entire route tree. The scripted workout included three-, five- and seven-step drops, shotgun, and play-action plays, plus sprints and rollouts to both sides.

It really was a treat to watch, and I think everyone here was in awe of Bradford’s performance. In fact, he put on the best quarterback workout by a draft prospect that I’ve seen since I watched a private workout Troy Aikman put on for us with the Cowboys in California.

If Bradford is feeling the effects of his shoulder injury or is experiencing any weakness, there were no indications of that. He threw with velocity during the entire workout.

He officially measured in at 6-foot-5 and 236 pounds.

Terry Shea, a former college and NFL coach who’s working with Bradford as a quarterback consultant, told me they’ve been together for about eight weeks. Bradford has been throwing for a little more than four weeks since being cleared by doctors.

I would imagine that two weeks from now, Bradford’s arm will be even stronger than what we saw. And it was very strong Monday."

Bradford is scheduled for a private workout for the Rams on April 19.--Mike Jones.

Texas Tech is not playing Alabama in 2012

Contrary to multiple media reports, Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers said the Red Raiders are not playing Alabama at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington in 2012.

Myers, in fact, said the Red Raiders don't have any games planned with Alabama and he hasn't talked to Alabama officials about playing Texas Tech. He said the original stories about a Tech-Alabama game has ruined his day and is the constant talk of Lubbock.

"I don't know how the darn thing got leaked out that we had a game with Alabama,'' Myers said Tuesday. "It's just gotten blown all out of proportion.''

So Myers set out to set the record straight.

"Here's what happened,'' he said. "Dave Brown of ESPN talked to me about playing Alabama, he talked to the associate AD at Alabama, and we both said we'd be interested in talking.

"But I have not talked to Alabama as far as any kind of terms and conditions or dates or anything. At this point it is pure speculation.''

Myers can certainly understand why folks got fired up about Tech possibly playing the defending national champions Crimson Tide. But he said no one should hold their breath thinking this game is going to happen.

"I wish you'd clear that up for me because we're not even close to having a game in 2012 with Alabama,'' Myers said. "We've talked about it with a third party (Dave Brown) who'd like to put it together, but at this point it is strictly speculation.

"We have not even talked to Alabama about this, and they haven't talked to us. It might happen, but at this point it's a long way from anything happening. Some of these people in Lubbock just read what they want to hear.''

-- Dwain Price

Baylor women plays UConn at 8 p.m. Sunday

Youth meets experience Sunday at 8 p.m. when the Baylor women faces Connecticut in the Alamodome in San Antonio in the NCAA Final Four semifinals.

Baylor has racked up a 27-9 record during its improbable run to the Final 4 and is led by 6-8 freshman sensation Brittney Griner. UConn has won its last 76 games in a row, including all 37 games this season.

The Lady Bears got this far after coming from10 points down to defeat Duke in the Memphis Regional finals Monday, 51-48, behind 15 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks from Griner. Maya Moore tallied 22 points and Tina Charles added 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead UConn to a 90-50 blowout victory over Florida State on Tuesday in the Dayton Region finals.

-- Dwain Price

UT's Terry among new candidates interviewed by UH

University of Texas assistant coach Rodney Terry, Villanova assistant Chris Walker and former Texas Tech head coach and Oklahoma State assistant James Dickey are the latest candidates interviewed in the Houston coaching search, according to sources familiar with the situation.

UH athletic director Mack Rhoades interviewed Terry and Walker on Monday and was scheduled to meet with Dickey Tuesday, as the second of two prospective candidates interviewed in the search to replace Tom Penders took another job.

Tim Floyd accepted an offer at UT-El Paso. Former Sam Houston State coach Bob Marlin took the job at Louisiana-Lafayette after meeting with Rhoades last week, but not receiving an offer.

Both Terry and Walker have some backing among UH alumni. Gillispie is regarded as the front-runner, though neither he nor UH at the moment have reached a definitive common ground as to strength of interest.

Terry is an Angleton native who understands the UH situation and is familiar with recruiting in the talent-rich Houston area. Walker is a former Houston Milby star who previously gained notice as for his recruiting of Texas players as an assistant at  New Mexico, one of the surprise teams of the 2009-10 season.

Neither Terry nor Walker have head-coaching experience, but neither did Cougars’ football coach Kevin Sumlin, who has continued the rise of the program started by now-Baylor coach Art Briles.

Lacking UH facilites and the condition of Hofheinz Pavilion remain a point of contention for some candidates. Rhoades, a former associate AD at UTEP when Gillispie was the head coach there, is aggressively pursuing a commitment to modernize Hofheinz and make continued improvements to Robertson Stadium, UH’s on-campus football stadium.

Rhoades according to sources is expected to begin to focus on possibly making a move before the Final Four.--Mike Jones.

Time for Baylor to show Scott Drew the money

Baylor's run into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament brought a lot of positive attention to the Waco-based university. It also should bring a lot of extra cash to Baylor coach Scott Drew.

Usually when a team makes an NCAA postseason run -- especially one that's very deep like the journey Baylor just experienced -- that automatically means the head coach will get a bump in his salary. And boy, has Drew earned it.

After all, Drew is the lowest-paid men's head basketball coach in the Big 12 with an annual base salary of $413,612. In fact, this season seven of the other 11 Big 12 coaches made more than twice what Baylor paid Drew this season.

Topping the list is Kansas coach Bill Self, whose annual salary is $3 million. He is followed by Texas' Rick Barnes ($2 million), Missouri's Mike Anderson ($1.55 million), Oklahoma's Jeff Capel ($1.5 million), Oklahoma State's Travis Ford ($1.3 million), Texas Tech's Pat Knight ($1.2 million) and Texas A&M's Mark Turgeon ($1.2 million).

Drew guided Baylor to an impressive 28-8 record this season, a tie for second in the Big 12 during the regular season, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight, where the Bears lost to No.1-seed Duke, 78-71, Sunday in the South Region finals.

Here's some examples of why Baylor should open its wallet for Drew, who signed a 10-year extension following the 2007-'08 season.

A&M reportedly is on the verge of increasing Turgeon's salary by an additional $250,000 annually. Turgeon led the Aggies to a 24-10 record and a berth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas State is showing coach Frank Martin it appreciates what he's done for their school. Martin just received a brand new contract that runs through the 2014-'15 season and pays him $1.55 million per year after he guided K-State to a 29-8 record and a berth in this year's NCAA Elite Eight. Martin was making $760,000 a year before the recent raise.

By the way, Barnes received a $500,000 raise after he guided Texas to the Elite Eight in 2006.

Baylor was a program mired in an embarrassing scandal when Drew took over in 2003 in what many called the worst job in college basketball. The program was trying to overcome the murder of one player by a teammate, and the subsequent attempted coverup by then-coach Dave Bliss.

That's the nightmare Drew walked into.

However, three years ago Drew led Baylor to a 21-11 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament for just the fifth time in school history and for the first time since 1988. Last year the Bears were 24-15 and made it all the way to the National Invitation Tournament championship game.

And this year the Bears set a single-season record for wins with 28, and won an NCAA playoff game for the first since since 1950 en route to that magical trip to the NCAA's Elite Eight.

If Baylor fails to increase Drew's salary, don't be surprised if other schools like Oregon make a bid for Drew's services. Oregon is a broken down program that's reportedly willing to make Michigan State coach Tom Izzo the highest paid college basketball coach.

That honor is currently held by Kentucky coach John Calipari, who left Memphis and signed an eight-year, $31.65 million contract with the Wildcats last April.

Oregon was 8-23 last year and 16-16 this year, and is not exactly on solid footing in the Pac-10. It's a down-in-the-dumps program begging for someone of Drew's ilk to take over, and it wouldn't be a total shock if the Ducks made a call to Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw asking for permission to talk to Drew about their opening.

Especially if none of the "big name'' coaches like Tom Izzo steps up and decides they want to coach at Oregon.

Drew has shown that he knows how to recruit, knows how to relate to players, knows how to coach, and knows how to build a quality program. He has an amazing rapport with the Baylor players and fans, and has made the Bears loveable.

The nation saw some of Drew's qualities during Baylor's postseason runs the past three years.

Four years ago guard Tweety Carter was the first McDonald's All-American to sign with Baylor. And now Drew has signed another McDonald's All-American in Duncanville's Perry Jones (6-11).

In other words, because of the respectability Drew has brought back to the Baylor men's basketball program, it's time for the Bears to give him a raise. That's just the way this business works. 

To paraphase the words of that movie character, Jerry Maguire, it's time for Baylor to show Scott Drew the money.

_ Dwain Price

AVERAGE SALARY OF BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES DURING THE 2009-'10 SEASON

Coach........................School.....................Salary per year

Bill Self.......................Kansas....................$3 million

Rick Barnes................Texas.......................$2 million

Mike Anderson............Missouri....................$1.55 million

Jeff Capel....................Oklahoma.................$1.5 million

Travis Ford..................Oklahoma State.........$1.3 million

Pat Knight..................Texas Tech................$1.2 million

Mark Turgeon.............Texas A&M................$1.2 million

Doc Sadler.................Nebraska...................$800,000

Greg McDermott.........Iowa State..................$800,000

Frank Martin..............Kansas State..............$760,000

Jeff Bzdelik................Colorado.....................$750,000

Scott Drew..................Baylor.......................$413,612

Tarleton State football player dies

Here is the official release from the university:

Tarleton football student-athlete passes away
   
STEPHENVILLE – Zach Shaver, 18, a football player at Tarleton State University, passed away Monday morning at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital-Fort Worth after a head injury suffered Saturday during a spring practice.

Shaver, a redshirt freshman from Wichita Falls (Rider High School) who joined the football team last fall as a defensive lineman, was airlifted to the Metroplex hospital from Tarleton’s Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Shaver was involved in a routine football play when the freshman fell to the ground.  

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of this young student-athlete,” said Tarleton athletics director Lonn Reisman. “This is a tragic loss for the Shaver family and my heart goes out to them. I am thankful for our athletic training staff, the emergency medical teams and the hospital staff for their professional response.”

“It is always difficult to lose one of our Tarleton family members, especially when they are so young,” said Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio. “Counselors will be on hand to respond to any needs. Lisette and I will keep his family in our thoughts and prayers.”

When Tarleton head coach Cary Fowler was the defensive coordinator at Midwestern State, the Shaver family lived close to the Fowlers.

“Zach was a great young man, and I enjoyed watching him grow up over the years,” Fowler said. “This is a very difficult time for the Shaver family and the Texan football family. Zach was a great person and teammate, and he was a pleasure to coach. We ask that everyone pray for his friends and family to help them through this difficult situation.”

Shaver is survived by his parents, Robbie and Jennifer, and a sister, Emily.

Arrangements for funeral services are pending.