College Confidential

TCU men's basketball announces three signees

TCU men's basketball announced Thursday the signing of three players for next season. Fort Worth Trimble Tech guard Charles Hill (6-foot-2), forward Reggie Murphy (6-9), from Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, Calif., and guard Clyde Smith III (6-2), who hails from Houston and is attending The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn. signed letters of intent to be Horned Frogs. TCU moves from the Mountain West Conference to the Big 12 in July.
"Each is an athletic player with tremendous upside, but most important is the fact that each possesses solid character that will fit well within the culture of our program," TCU coach Jim Christian said. "I think my staff was able to accomplish exactly what we wanted in signing this class."

-- Stefan Stevenson
@FollowtheFrogs

Missouri FB coach Pinkel cited for impaired driving, school officials pondering disciplinary measures

Missouri athletic director Mike Alden said today that school administrators are “extremely disappointed” in football coach Gary Pinkel’s lack of judgment after Pinkel received a citation Wednesday night for impaired driving.

Alden and Pinkel released statements this morning about the situation, with Alden calling Pinkel’s action “a very serious breach” of his job-related responsibilities. He said school officials were gathering facts, with plans to “take action appropriately” and communicate that action publicly.

Alden has scheduled a 4 p.m. news conference today. Neither statement mentioned the possibility of Pinkel being suspended for Saturday’s game in Columbia, Mo. between Missouri (5-5, 3-4 in Big 12) and Texas Tech (5-5, 2-5), which has bowl ramifications for both schools.

Below is a look at both statements, released this morning:
 
Statement from Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel
“Last night after practice, I met some friends for dinner.  After dinner, I was stopped by a Boone County officer and received a citation for impaired driving.  First and foremost, I am very disappointed in myself for my lack of judgment in this instance.  Nobody should drink and drive, including me.  My staff and I constantly reinforce with each of our players the importance of not putting yourself into a position such as this.  I did not follow that here and for that, I sincerely apologize to the University of Missouri, to our administration, to the Board of Curators and to our fans.  I have already met with our staff and communicated with our players and have apologized to them.  I accept full responsibility for my actions and will abide by whatever course of action our leadership deems appropriate.”
 
Statement from Director of Athletics Mike Alden
“We are extremely disappointed in Gary’s lack of judgment.  He is known as a man of great character and integrity.  However, this absolutely goes against everything we stand for, and everything that he teaches his players in regards to our social responsibilities.  We hold ourselves to very high standards, and this is a very serious breach of those responsibilities.  We are gathering facts and will take action appropriately, and when those actions are determined, we will communicate them publicly.”

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas A&M-Kansas is Top 10 football matchup for all the wrong reasons

Among the football games on this week’s Big 12 schedule, there is only one Top 10 matchup: Kansas vs. Texas A&M.

No, we’re not referring to the BCS standings or the AP poll. We’re talking about a matchup of Top 10 coaches at the website www.coacheshotseat.com.

Kansas coach Turner Gill, a Fort Worth native, is No. 3. Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman, who has been in and out of the rankings throughout his four-year tenure in College Station, is back in this week at No. 7.

Kansas (2-8, 0-7 in Big 12) cannot become bowl-eligible this season, Gill’s second year at the school. His overall mark with the Jayhawks is 5-17, which means that a 2-10 finish this season – A&M (5-5, 3-4) and Missouri (5-5, 3-4) are the remaining games -- would be regressing, not progressing, in his second season.

A&M, a Top 10 team in the AP poll at the start of the season, has blown double-digit leads in four of its five losses this season. The Aggies have lost twice in overtime, as well as a one-point loss to No. 2 Oklahoma State (30-29) and a four-point loss to No. 6 Arkansas (42-38).

A rundown of the nation’s Top 10 coaches on the hot seat, according to the website:

1. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA
2. Steve Fairchild, Colorado State
3. Turner Gill, Kansas
4. Paul Wulff, Washington State
5. Neil Callaway, UAB
6. Mike Riley, Oregon State
7. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M
8. Pat Hill, Fresno State
9. Everett Withers, North Carolina
10. Frank Spaziani, Boston College

_ Jimmy Burch

 

OU's Castiglione named to NCAA men's basketball committee

Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione will replace former commissioner Dan Beebe as the Big 12’s representative on the NCAA Division I men’s basketball committee, NCAA officials announced today. Castiglione will serve out the remainder of Beebe’s term through the 2012-13 season. The committee decides which schools receive at-large bids and establishes the seeding for participants in the 68-team tournament.

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas adds four men's basketball signees

Texas signed four men’s basketball recruits today, with three of them targeted to play along the front line: Prince Ibeh (6-11), Connor Lammert (6-9) and Ioannis Papapetrou (6-8).

The final signee for the 2012-13 season is point guard Javan Felix, a New Orleans resident who was the 2011 Class 5A Louisiana Player of the Year as a junior.

Ibeh, a center from Garland Naaman Forest, is ranked as the No. 54 prospect in the nation by Rivals.com after averaging 6.5 pints, 9.3 rebounds and 5.2 blocks per game as a junior last season.

 Texas coach Rick Barnes said the four signees “truly fill needs in our program” for a squad that includes six freshmen on its 11-player roster this season.

A look at the four additions:

2012-13 Texas Basketball Recruiting Class
Name                                                    Yr            Pos         Ht           Wt          Hometown (Previous School)
Javan Felix                                          Fr.           G             5-11       190         New Orleans, La. (St. Augustine HS)
Prince Ibeh                                         Fr.           F/C         6-11       230         Garland, Texas (Naaman Forest HS)
Connor Lammert                              Fr.           F              6-9          215         San Antonio, Texas (Churchill HS)
Ioannis Papapetrou                        Fr.           F              6-8          220         Melbourne, Fla. (Florida Air Academy)

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Oklahoma State QB Weeden moves to 2nd in Scipps' weekly Heisman poll, narrowly trailing leader Luck

Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden has narrowed the gap on frontrunner Andrew Luck in the latest Scripps Howard News Service Heisman Trophy poll, released today.

Luck, the Stanford quarterback and runaway poll leader before the Cardinal’s 53-30 loss to Oregon last week, still holds a slight edge in balloting. He received five first-place votes, and 41 total points, from the 10-member voting committee. Weeden received four first-place votes and 38 points, making it the closest gap of the season between the top two players.

Weeden threw for 423 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s 66-6 rout of Texas Tech, completing 31-of-37 attempts without an interception. The final first place vote went to Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson, who did not finish among the top five overall vote-getters.

The poll has correctly predicted the Heisman winner in 20 of its 24 seasons, including last year.
Below is a look at this week’s Top Five:

Player, School, Season Stats, Poll Points (first-place votes)
1. QB Andrew Luck, Stanford, 2,680 passing yards, 70.6 comp. pct., 29 passing TDs, 41 (5)
2. QB Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State, 3,635 passing yds, 73.1 comp. pct., 31 passing TDs, 38 (4)
3. RB Trent Richardson, Alabama, 1,205 rushing yds, 18 rushing TDs, 23
4. QB Case Keenum, Houston, 3,951 passing yds, 74.2 comp. pct., 37 passing TDs, 16
5. QB Kellen Moore, Boise State, 2,549 passing yds, 74.1 comp. pct., 31 passing TDs, 10

Others receiving votes: Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson 7 (1), Oregon RB LaMichael James 7, Baylor QB Robert Griffin III 5, Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon 2, Oklahoma QB Landry Jones 1.

_ Jimmy Burch

Baylor QB Griffin is one of four Walter Camp Award semifinalists from Big 12 schools

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III is one of four players from Big 12 schools among the 15 semifinalists for the 2011 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.

The list, announced today, includes nine quarterbacks, two running backs, two receivers and two defensive players.

The collection of quarterbacks includes three from Big 12 teams: Griffin, Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden and Oklahoma’s Landry Jones. Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon, the 2010 Biletnikoff Award winner, also made the list of semifinalists.

Three other semifinalists played high school football in Texas: Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Houston quarterback Case Keenum and Oregon running back LaMichael James.

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Patterson won't be wearing 'Won and Done' t-shirt

TCU coach Gary Patterson won’t be wearing the t-shirt commemorating TCU’s 36-35 win at Boise State. Patterson thinks the shirt, which is being sold by a company unaffiliated with TCU, is a tad distasteful. The shirt has the words "Won and Done" written across the back with the final score below. The word ‘Done’ is colored with Boise State’s blue and orange.
"To be honest, I’m kind of embarrassed by it," he said Tuesday. "I think it’s great to have a t-shirt that commemorates two great programs. But I don’t personally appreciate the t-shirt because they’re not the ones who played. The people in Idaho treated us very well."

-- Stefan Stevenson
@FollowtheFrogs

Texas Tech loses DT Langley, WR Fisher to season-ending injuries

Texas Tech lost two players to season-ending injuries in the team’s 66-6 loss to Oklahoma State: defensive tackle Donald Langley (broken ankle) and receiver Aaron Fisher (torn ACL), a Keller Fossil Ridge graduate. Coach Tommy Tuberville said today that both players will have surgery “in the next couple of days.”

Fisher, a sophomore, will be missed in more than one capacity.

“The tough thing about Aaron was he was pretty much our team captain on special teams,” Tuberville said. “He made some crucial third-down catches this year. He’s really coming into his own.”

_ Jimmy Burch

Big 12 Monday morning coaches teleconference notes

Big 12 Players of the Week:

Offense: Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State

Defense: Elliot Coffey, LB, Baylor

Special Teams: Anthony Cantele, K, Kansas State

First up is Texas coach Mack Brown:

Brown said the loss of RB Fozzy Whittaker hurts the team on and off the field, as Whittaker was the team's leader.

"Right now, we just need a win - if it was a pee wee team," Brown said of his team's performance against Mizzou. "We've got to coach better and play better."

On Kansas State, Texas' opponent on Saturday, Brown said stopping QB Collin Klein is key as is keeping the ball out of the hands of K-State's offense.

On the chatter that there may have been a problem with the turf at Missouri on Saturday, Brown said he would rather not comment on that topic. He said is sorry for the two players that suffered season-ending injuries (Mizzou RB Henry Josey, Texas RB Fozzy Whittaker).

Next up is Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops:

On facing Baylor and Robert Griffin III on Saturday, Stoops said RG3 presents a lot of challenges.

"You've got to be able to cover  down field, but to be honest, that is common," Stoops said, referring to the air attack Baylor and the rest of the Big 12 brings.

Stoops said replacing WR Ryan Broyles would be tough and one person wouldn't be able to fill Broyles' shoes.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy is up next:

Gundy said having a great kicker like Quinn Sharp has been a huge advantage for his squad and that veteran leadership on his team has helped carry the Cowboys.

He said all year long, his team has made the right decisions in acting professionally and focusing on the task at hand, which accounted for a big reason for the Cowboys' success.

Gundy said if QB Brandon Weeden continues to play as he has this season, he has a solid NFL future ahead of him.

 Next up is Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville:

"We've not played well since the Oklahoma game and we've not had success on either side of the ball."

"I guess we put too much pressure on the offense," Tuberville said. "We're not a great football team anyway."

Tuberville said not creating turnovers and poor situational play on defense has hurt the Red Raiders.

He said the Big 12 is much stronger this year than it was last season.

"Wow," Tuberville said of OSU QB Brandon Weeden. "We were going to try and make him think in the pocket...it didn't take him long. Anything we did just didn't turn out right and it was mainly because of him...I was very impressed. It looked like he was the offensive coordinator out on the field."

Next up is Baylor coach Art Briles:

Briles said his team never gave up in the come-for-behind victory against Kansas on Saturday.

"We just want to get better," Briles. "I think there is a lot of growth in front of us."

Briles said 7 on 7 high school competition is a big reason for the Big 12's ability to produce great QBs.

Briles said he had never been part of such a big comeback, on any level, like the Bears had against Kansas on Saturday.

Next up is Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman:

Sherman said having confidence is key in being able to bounce back from the Aggies' loss to Kansas State on Saturday.

"So much of the game is mental," he said. "We have to be held accountable as a team and as coaches for the predicament we're in.

"I've never, as a head coach or an assistant, been through a situation like this...It's a fine line between accountablility and confidence."