College Confidential

Texas president Powers voices support for struggling men's athletic programs

Texas president Bill Powers said today he is “absolutely confident” that the Longhorns’ programs will rebound next season in football, men’s basketball and baseball after down years during the 2012-13 school year. Texas finished 9-4 in football, 16-18 in men’s basketball and finished last in the Big 12 in baseball.

“The programs are good,” Powers said. “There will always be ups and downs, wins and losses. I’m looking forward to next season.”

Powers also said he was “very gratified” by last week’s support from members of the Texas legislature during hearings with system regents.

_ Jimmy Burch

Big 12 officials distribute league-record $198 million in revenues to members

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced today that his league will distribute a league-record $198 million in revenues to its 10 members for the 2012-13 school year.

The revenue distributions, announced at the conclusion of the Big 12 spring meetings in Irving, break down to approximately $22 million per school for the league’s eight charter members. First-year members TCU and West Virginia each will receive half-shares of $11 million as part of a four-year phase-in agreement put in place when those schools agreed to join the Big 12.

Even as half-share recipients, the $11 million represents a significant jump in revenues from last year for TCU and West Virginia. TCU was a member of the Mountain West last year, where it never earned more than $2 million in any school year. West Virginia competed in the Big East.

For the other members, the $22 million is the largest per-school take in Big 12 history. It also exceeds today’s announced distribution of revenues in the Southeastern Conference, which passed out $20.7 million per school ($289.4 million total) to its 14 members, including Texas A&M.

Bowlsby said the Big 12 distribution numbers, derived primarily from television contracts, bowls and NCAA basketball tournament appearances, will only increase in future years. Bowlsby said projected revenues will reach $30 million per school by 2015-16, the first year that TCU and West Virginia will receive full shares, and could top $40 million by the end of the league’s existing television contracts with Fox and ESPN that run through the 2024-2025 school year.

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Texas AD Dodds favors 8-team playoff field in college football #Longhorns

DeLoss Doods, Texas’ men’s athletic director and a long-time proponent of a playoff system for college football, applauded the creation of the College Football Playoff after the 2014 season as a “baby step” in the right direction.

But he said during today’s session at the Big 12 spring meetings that the four-team playoff field needs to be expanded before it can be viewed as a solution to crowning college football’s top team with a minimum of controversy.

“I’m kind of an 8-team person,” Dodds said, discussing his playoff preference. “I think there will be a lot of conversation about the fifth team that didn’t get in or the 11-1 team that didn’t get in because somebody’s 12-0 that maybe wasn’t quite as good as the 11-1 team. If you take eight, then you don’t really have that. The ninth team has got a concern but it’s not really like the fifth team.”

Dodds called implementation of the playoff “a good step” and said he has no interest in serving on the selection committee that will seed the four-team playoff field. But he said there are “a lot of good people out there” who have expressed a desire to serve on the committee and would do a good job in that role.

Dodds  said he is not concerned about whether other leagues in the playoff mix schedule eight or nine conference games as part of their regular seasons. He also said Big 12 officials have not been pressured by administrators in other leagues to add a championship game to help determine their champion.

As a 10-member league, the Big 12 is the lone conference in the playoff mix that will not stage a championship game to help finalize its playoff representative(s).

“Some years, it’s going to be unlevel in our favor. Some years, it’s going to be unlevel in their favor,” Dodds said about the lack of a title game in football. “Anybody that tries to change that is going to get bit a few years later.”

_ Jimmy Burch

Kentucky, Kansas given best odds to win 2014 NCAA men's BKB title in Cowboys Stadium #kentucky, #kansas

With the recent addition of Andrew Wiggins, one of the nation’s top-ranked high school recruits, Kansas joins Kentucky among the early favorites to win the 2014 NCAA men’s basketball championship, based on odds released today by Bovada Sports Book (www.bovada.lv).

Based on today’s odds posted by the website, the primary teams to track as likely participants in the 2014 Final Four, to be held April 5-7, 2014 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, will be Kentucky (5/1 title odds), Kansas (11/2), Louisville (17/2) and Michigan State (12/1).

Louisville won last month’s 2013 title in Atlanta, defeating Michigan, 82-76, in the championship game.
Among Texas-based colleges, the teams with the best 2014 NCAA title odds are Baylor (50/1), Texas (100-1) and Texas A&M (200-1). Odds for other projected frontrunners in next year’s Big 12 race include Oklahoma State (50-1), Iowa State (100-1), Kansas State (100-1) and Oklahoma (200-1).

Below is a look at all teams that were giving individual odds to win the 2014 NCAA men’s basketball championship, which will be settled in Arlington:

2013-14 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship - Odds to Win    
Kentucky                              5/1
Kansas                                 11/2
Louisville                              17/2
Michigan State              12/1
Duke                            14/1
Arizona                                 15/1
North Carolina                    16/1
Florida                                  18/1
Ohio State                    20/1
Syracuse                              25/1
Connecticut                         33/1
Indiana                                  33/1
Memphis                              33/1
Michigan                              33/1
Colorado                              40/1
UCLA                            40/1
Baylor                           50/1
Creighton                      50/1
Georgetown                        50/1
Gonzaga                       50/1
Iowa                                       50/1
Marquette                            50/1
Missouri                               50/1
NC State                       50/1
New Mexico                        50/1
Oklahoma State            50/1
Pittsburgh                            50/1
St. Louis                              50/1
VCU                             50/1
Wisconsin                            50/1
Butler                                     66/1
Illinois                                    66/1
Minnesota                            66/1
St. John's                     66/1
Tennessee                           66/1
UNLV                            66/1
Villanova                       66/1
Virginia                                 66/1
Wichita State                 66/1
Florida State                 75/1
Notre Dame                  75/1
Alabama                               100/1
Arizona State                100/1
BYU                             100/1
California                             100/1
Cincinnati                             100/1
Iowa State                     100/1
Kansas State                100/1
Miami Florida                     100/1
Ole Miss                       100/1
Oregon                                 100/1
Purdue                          100/1
San Diego State            100/1
Stanford                       100/1
Texas                                    100/1
Vanderbilt                     100/1
West Virginia                      100/1
Arkansas                              150/1
Boise State                   150/1
Colorado State              150/1
Dayton                                  150/1
St. Mary's                     150/1
Temple                                  150/1
USC                             150/1
LSU                              150/1
Georgia                                200/1
Georgia Tech                200/1
Harvard                         200/1
Maryland                              200/1
Oklahoma                            200/1
Texas A&M                   200/1
Washington                         200/1
Washington State          200/1
Xavier                           200/1
Clemson                       250/1
Davidson                      250/1
South Carolina                   250/1
St. Joe's                       250/1
Virginia Tech                 250/1
Wake Forest                       250/1
Boston College                 500/1
Northwestern                 500/1
Mississippi State           500/1
 
Andrew Wiggins - Will he be selected #1 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft?   
Yes                   -300     (1/3)    
No                    +200     (2/1)
 
Andrew Wiggins - Average PPG in the 2013-14 NCAA Basketball Season?
Over/Under                   18
 
_ Jimmy Burch

Texas adds fourth guard to its men's BKB signing class #Longhorns

Texas has added Martez Walker, a left-handed guard from Detroit, Mich, to its men’s basketball signing class, coach Rich Barnes announced today. Walker, who averaged 20.4 points per game last season for Pershing High School, is the fourth guard in a four-player class that Barnes described as being the culmination of a “concerted effort to improve our skill and athleticism on the perimeter.”

Texas’ top two scorers from last year’s 16-18 team, guards Myck Kabongo and Sheldon McClellan, will not return next season. Kabongo opted for early entry in the NBA draft and McClellan has announced plans to transfer to another school.

Other guards among Texas’ signees include Demarcus Croaker, Isaiah Taylor (Houston) and Kendal Yancy.

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Saints praise "high football IQ" of former Texas safety Vaccaro, their first-round pick #Longhorns, #NFLDraft

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said team officials were most impressed with the football IQ of Kenny Vaccaro, the former Texas safety the team selected with the 15^th overall pick in Thursday night’s opening session of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Vaccaro, a big hitter known for his versatility during this college career, had success a blitzer, a run stopper and a cover man at Texas.

“He’s got very good football intelligence,” Payton said. “Part of  being a pressure guy from the back end is anticipation, snap count and disguise. I think he’s an instinctive player, and you see that on tape. He’s got a high football IQ. I think that’s important ... He’s had a lot of snaps down over the slot and a lot of snaps where they were in the base package as opposed to the nickel package. He’s got that toughness and suddenness that you’d like at that position.”

Vaccaro becomes the 12^th defensive back from Texas on an active NFL roster, most of any school, and is the first Longhorn to be taken in the first round since 2010, when Seattle selected safety Earl Thomas.

Ironically, Vaccaro said he’s already talked to Thomas about adjusting to the NFL and plans to follow his advice.

“Earl Thomas told me to come in, have a chip on my shoulder and put an impact on this league,” Vaccaro said. “(Thomas said), ‘Don’t just sit around and wait for someone else to take your job.’ I am excited ... This is just the beginning. I am ready to do whatever the Saints want me to do.”

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Shipley joins Texas football staff in player personnel department #Longhorns

Bob Shipley, the head football coach and athletics director at Brownwood High School for the past four years, has been named as Texas’ football analyst in the player personnel department, Longhorns’ coach Mack Brown announced today.

Shipley, father of current Texas receiver Jaxon Shipley, will assist with the coordination and implementation of the daily operations, administrative and logistical processes within the football program in the newly created position. Shipley also will assist with high school relations by updating recruiting lists, monitoring contacts and securing transcripts of prospects.

Shipley’s previous high school coaching stops have included stints at Coppell, Burnet and Rotan. During his stint at Burnet, he coached his son, Jordan, a Longhorns’ All-America receiver in 2009. Shipley will report to Patrick Suddes, a former Alabama assistant and Texas’ newly named director of player personnel.

_ Jimmy Burch

 

TCU golfer Brun, Texas freshman Stone selected as 2013 Hogan Award semifinalists #TCU, #Longhorns

TCU golfer Julien Brun is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2013 Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the nation’s top college golfer.

Brun, a sophomore from Antibes, France who won a European Challenge Tour event as an amateur last fall, made the list of semifinalists for a second consecutive season. He was joined Thursday by Texas freshman Brandon Stone as well as Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers, one of three finalists in 2012.

The three finalists for the Hogan Award will take part in a live announcement of the winner May 20 in Fort Worth. The announcement is part of tournament week activities at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Three of Thursday’s other semifinalists made the list for a second consecutive year: Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan, Alabama’s Justin Thomas and Washington’s Chris Williams. Other semifinalists include North Carolina State’s Albin Choi, North Florida’s Sean Dale, California’s Michael Kim and Alabama’s Bobby Wyatt.

The list of candidates will be trimmed to three finalists on May 8, with those golfers honored during the live announcement of the winner in Fort Worth. No TCU golfer has advanced past the semifinals stage in Hogan Award voting.

 But Brun, the No. 6 player in the Scratch Players World Amateur golf rankings, joins Williams (No. 1), Wyatt (No. 4) and Thomas (No. 5) among the highest-ranked Hogan semifinalists on the elite list.

 Thursday’s list of semifinalists includes the top four players, as well as eight of the top 10, in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings for college golfers. Brun is fourth on that list, which is topped by Kim, Dale and Stone.

Members of the Hogan Award selection committee consider a player’s record in both college and amateur events over the past year.

 

 

Texas signs three guards for men's BKB program, including Florida standout #Longhorns

Texas signed three guards to basketball scholarships Thursday, with two of them ranked among the nation’s top 107 prospects by Rivals.com. The list includes shooting guard Demarcus Croaker (No. 105), combo guard Kendall Yancy (No. 107) and point guard Isaiah Taylor.

Croaker, from Orlando, Fla., is a two-time Florida all-state selection who averaged 23.9 points per game as a senior. Yancy, who played at Richardson Berkner, took his team to the Class 5A state semifinals as a senior while averaging 12.2 points, 7.8 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game. Taylor played last season at The Village School in Houston, where he averaged 17.6 points and 10.0 assists per game.

Texas lost its top two scorers from last year’s 16-18 team when point guard Myck Kabongo opted to enter the NBA draft and shooting guard Sheldon McClellan announced plans to transfer to another school.

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas PG Kabongo to enter NBA Draft, meaning team's top two scorers will not return next season #Longhorns

Texas point guard Myck Kabongo will enter the 2013 NBA Draft, bypassing his final two seasons of college eligibility, school officials announced Friday.

Kabongo played in 11 games as a sophomore last season, leading the team in scoring (14.6 avg.) and assists (5.5 avg.) after serving a 23-game NCAA suspension to start the season. He was selected Thursday as the team’s most valuable player and team captain at the Longhorns’ postseason awards banquet.

Kabongo’s departure, along with the announced transfer of guard Sheldon McClellan (13.5 avg.), means that the Longhorns’ top two scorers from a 16-18 team will not return next season. Texas’ top returning scorers for next season will be guard Julien Lewis (11.2), forward Ioannis Papapetrou (8.3) and guard Javan Felix (6.8).

In 45 starts during his college career, Kabongo averaged 10.8 points and 5.3 assists in 32.2 minutes per contest.

_ Jimmy Burch