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| The College Baskeball season came to a close a few weeks ago, and now sports fans turn their attention to Baseball (college and pro), the NBA and NHL playoffs, and Spring Football (for us Texans). So going against the grain a little bit here, here's a preview of what the Big 12 might look like next year:
Big 12 North
Kansas- Even with Julian Wright leaving, I still think KU will be at the top of the conference (as long as everyone else comes back). With Arthur, Chalmers, Collins, Rush etc....KU going to be really, really tough (as usual). They do get the tough side of their Big 12 South scheduling this year, having to play at Oklahoma State, Texas, and A&M. All of those games can be considered toss ups, but the fact that they're playing in the Big 12 North will continue to benifit them in the standings. I think they're the frontrunners for the regular season title, but they'll have to work a little harder for it this year.
Kansas State- K-State returns enough talent to be a contender for the conference
title. Freshman Bill Walker was a force for the Wildcats before he was
lost for the season to injury, and they'll be expecting big things
from super-recruit Michael Beasley. They do lose leading scorer and 1st team All-American douchebag Cartier Martin, but it isn't exactly like they're losing an Acie Law or Kevin Durant. Like aggy, K-State has a question
mark at the coaching position, with assistant and Bob Huggins protege Frank Martin taking over for Huggy Bear after he bolted for his alma-mater at West Virginia.
Unfortunately, I would be lying if I said I knew a lot about the rest of the North, but quickly:
-Mizzou returns practically everyone and should be solid
-Colorado is starting over with a new coach and a young team, but returns Richard Roby for his senior season
-Iowa State returns leading scorer Mike Taylor and rebounder Wesley Johnson, and should continue to improve
-Nebraska returns leading scorer and rebounder Aleks Maric and should also improve losing only two seniors
Big 12 South
Texas- We should return a pretty strong team. Great backcourt in D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams, though we really need to add some quality depth behind them. This will be a huge key to the season. When D.J. got into foul trouble, we looked lost and struggled offensively without him (see: Kansas, Big 12 Tournament Championship). Even if he stays out of foul trouble, we still can't have him playing 40 minutes a game. I think this will be a breakout year for Damien James, who really found his stroke from mid-range towards the end of the year. J Mace and Conner Atchley should continue to improve. The offseason couldn't have come quick enough for a slumping Mason, while Connor can add consistancy to his on and off performances throughout the season. We'll also need Matt Hill and/or Big Dex to step up their game. You can obviously never replace a guy like Kevin Durant, but his absence will definately give our returning guys a chance to shine on their own, and I think we'll get on just fine without him.
Texas A&M- aggy will be tough again, especially if Joe Jones stays to give them an experienced inside presence for the 4 minutes he's in the game before he picks up 2 fouls and sits down for the rest of the half. The loss of Acie Law will obviously hurt, but sophomore Donald Sloan has a lot of potential filling in for him, and Dominique Kirk and Josh Carter will continue to be big shooting threats from the outside. Highly-valued recruit DeAndre Jordan willa also add great potential (if he keeps his committment). There is the question mark in the coaching situation, with BCG moving on up to Kentucky. Billy Clide is such a great defensive coach, so it'll be important for Turgeon to keep up the intensity if he wants to keep Gillespie's standard.
Oklahoma State- Okie Lite is returning scorers JamesOn Crack and Byron Eaton along with Big 12 Defensive POTY Marcus Dove. They need to shake off whatever the hell happened to them in the second half of last season, tying with Clemson for the "NCAA Tournament locks who went to shit and blew it" award. I really felt like Sean Sutton lost control of the team as the season progressed. They lost AT COLORADO (wtf?), and followed that with home losses to Mizzouri and A&M, along with road losses to Tech and Texas. The Cowboys then made a nice run in the Big 12 Tournament, falling short against Texas before going to the NIT and losing 1st Round at home to Marist (wtf?). They'll definately have the talent to make it back to the NCAAs, but they should probably think about winning a road game or two this time around. Sean Sutton needs to keep a jar of Bayer asprin by his side at all times...it might save his life.
Texas Tech-Tech loses their top scorer for the third year in a row, this time in guard Jay Jackson. They'll need someone to step up and be a leader; senior guard Martin Zeno will probably be the one to pick up the slack. Charlie Burgess and Decense White had some solid games last year, and now need to become more consistant scorers for the Raiders. Last year Tech relied too heavily on Jackson and Zeno to carry the scoring load, and if one or both of them were off, Tech was essentially screwed. Frontcourt scoring and rebounding hasn't been there for Tech since after Knight's first year in Lubbock, and it doesn't look to be much different this year. To have any shot at breaking out of the middle of the conference standings, they'll need foriegners Dimir Suljagic and Esmir Rizvic (if he can avoid Longar Longar's flailing elbows) to rebound well and make big overall improvements.
Oklahomo- OU should continue to improve under Jeff Capel, returning leading rebounder and elbower Longar Longar, along with guards David Godbold and Bobby Maze. They do lose leading scorer and 37th-year senior Nate Carter. In my opinion, they're still realistically a year or so away from contending with the big boys of the conference again. A few wins in the NIT would probably be a nice springboard for them into the next season.
Baylor- Baylor returns basically everyone of importance from last year's team, including scoring threats Aaron Bruce, Curtis Jerrells, and Tweety "Brillo" Carter. Baylor was competitive last year, beating Tech and Okie Lite at home, and taking Texas to the limit three times. Any conference power who underestimates them this year should beware, they'll be more than capable of pulling off a few upsets. That being said, Scott Drew still needs to prove himself as a coach.
So in conclusion, here's my early take on the standings:
1. Kansas
2a. Texas
2b. aggy
4. Okie Lite
5. K-State
6. Tech
7. Mizzou
8. Baylor
9. OU
10. ISU
11. Nebraska
12. Colorado
With the losses of Kevin Durant, Julius Wright, and Acie Law IVXIIVXI, I think our conference will be weaker at the top than last year. Overall, though, with continued consistancy from Tech and K-State and improvements from virtually everyone else, it should be a much deeper conference than last year. I'd like to think that in addition to the top three (which I'd consider locks), 4-7 all have honest shots at picking up NCAA tournament bids. It should be an exciting season (including the Big 12/Pac 10 challenge in non-conference), but it's still a full 7 months away. Until then we have plenty of sports fun to keep us company: the NBA Finals, the start of College Football, the World Series, and OF COURSE all three remaining tennis majors! 
Anywho, off to our American Music Recital. Hope everyone is doin' great finishing up with the semester. Peace.
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| Oh xanga. An acutal update not about sports...maybe!?! We'll see if I can make it through...
- I am busier than I've ever been in my life. I am rushing for the Alpha Iota Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, camping out for and taking road trips to Texas basketball games, looking at apartments for next year, playing tennis to keep fit, and somehow trying to keep class and homework from being lost in the mix of things. I am still sort of lost in the shuffle of things...I haven't really gotten into a groove yet this semester. Hopefully that will happen sometime. Right now something needs to change...I'm tired out of my mind and classes are suffering. I thought briefly about dropping the fraternity thing (it's been a lot of work), but I've decided it's something i need to do so I'm going with it, b/c dammit, I'm not a quitter. I really haven't had too much fun pledging so far, but I think that will improve with getting to know the actives a little better. All those interviews are a bitch, though.
- Anyway, things aren't slowing down. After class tomorrow, it will be straight to the Erwin Center to camp out for the Okie Lite game, fraternity meeting tuesday, then TMEA starts this Wednesday in San Antonio. Since my classes are suffering at the moment, I'll probably stay here in Austin Wed. and Thurs., then head to S.A. early friday for Stepsing that night. Then back on the road as we head to the Golden Nipple in Waco to see my Longhorns take on those Baylor Bears. Should be another long, interesting, and tiring week.
- What else? This semester, I'm taking Russian History (since 1917), Accounting, Microeconomics, Men's Chorus, and my 4th and final semester of Espanol. Eric Panter and I will have a book burning after the spanish final, and there will be much rejoicing. God I hate spanish. I hate it so much. You don't even know...
-I also hate the Castillian. Had a fun 2 days the other week without water or electricity, and the cafeteria food is getting worse. A big problem is this: they have bad food, and they close early. Therefore, I don't eat a lot, and am hungry later, so I have to go pick something up. It will be so much easier and cheaper next year, when my midnight hunger is upon me, to just go grab something out of the refrigerator and cook something up.
- Apart from that, I guess everything is still the same. I'm still enjoying UT and Austin, still procrastinating, still wallowing in the success of the Mavericks (who won again tonight), still trying to be nice to everyone, still too self-conscious, still love the Beatles, still singing, still thinking I should be more social, still scared to death that I'm losing my hair, and (unfortunately) still single. There's a really beautiful girl here at the Castillian...but I'll probably never have the balls to talk to her. So it goes. Yep...I'm still me!
-Hooray! I made it through an entire update. Hope that the three people that still read this stuff enjoy it. In closing....Bawrs. Goodnight.
"Thank you all very much, you've got a lucky face!" -John Lennon
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| Watch as Lamarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers finds out what the Dallas Mavericks found out last June. It's well known that stars like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Dirk Nowitzki can sometimes get a few calls from the refs, but this is absolutely rediculous. You cannot touch, look at, or so much as breathe upon Dwayne Wade without being called for a foul. Sometimes, you don't have to do anything at all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aySGUzzxjGE
I know it's only one play, but if you watched the playoffs last year, you know what I'm talking about. In one game, the Dallas Mavericks shoot 21 for 25 at the free throw line. Dwayne Wade also shot 21 for 25 from the line. ESPN journalist Bill Simmons argued that the disparity was due to lopsided officiating that gave the Heat the advantage on the way to an NBA Championship last year. If you thought it was just a Playoff thing, this video should certainly show you otherwise. Wade got preferential treatment last year, he's still getting it now. Wade is a great player, but so are a lot of other guys in the NBA. What makes Dwayne Wade so special? I have no idea.
"You barely say boogety boo to (Dwayne) Wade, he'll flab his arms
all over the air and the person defending him is called for a foul. He
is untouchable" - Rasheed Wallace
"Fall down 7 times. Get the call at least 6."
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