Henry brothers blending in at KU
Rather than joining their new college teammates and attending summer school at Kansas, brothers Xavier and C.J. Henry chose to remain back home in Oklahoma City, where Xavier mended wounds from dental surgery and C.J. finished rehabilitating a foot injury he suffered the previous season at Memphis.
At Big 12 Media Day on Thursday morning, KU coach Bill Self said the brothers were quick to blend in once they arrived in Lawrence in August.
Asked what their biggest adjustment was to spending the summer away from their new team, Self said, “I think the biggest thing was just being a teammate. Hey, our guys bought into them the first day they walked on campus. These are real quality kids. They’ve done a real good job fitting in.”
Xavier is a swingman and one of the nation’s most heralded incoming freshmen this season. C.J. is a former pro baseball player and will be a redshirt freshman walk-on guard with the Jayhawks. His college education is being paid for by the New York Yankees, who signed him out of high school in the first round of the 2005 amateur draft.
Self acknowledged several KU players wondered why the Henry brothers didn’t arrive on campus in June.
“No doubt they said, ‘Hey, why aren’t X and C.J. here?’ ” Self said, “but they didn’t hold it against them. I will tell you this, they (KU players) were all looking forward to them getting back here. They were all, ‘Hey, I can’t wait to see these guys in pickup games’ or whatever, which is good. That’s the way it should be from a competition standpoint.
“I told Xavier and C.J., ‘Just so you know, there’s going to some guys lined up to try and guard you when you get here.’ And I think they held their own.”
Self said C.J. has been slowed by various injuries.
“He just gets nicked up,” Self said, “whether it be a knee, an ankle, a hyper-extended elbow, but it’s nothing serious.”
Chat Recap: Oct. 8
BCS season approaches
Perhaps a miracle awaits either Oklahoma State and Oklahoma and one of them might somehow qualify for this year’s national title game.
The journey to reach that point commences when the first BCS standings are released on Oct. 18.
For pretty much this entire decade, OU fans have been engulfed in the BCS standings, with the Sooners making four national title game appearances in the last nine seasons. Cowboys fans were hoping this would be the year they could acquint themselves with the BCS process.
Bill Hancock, a native of Hobart, is head administrator for the BCS and sent a Cliff’sNotes’ version of the selection process. Should OU and OSU get on a roll in the upcoming weeks, local fans can follow the progress and the inner workings, which Hancock shares below:
With BCS Selection Sunday (Dec. 6) two months away, this week’s Bits topic is “How are the teams chosen for BCS games?”
The answer really is quite simple: some earn automatic berths, others are selected by the bowls. Basically there are four ways to qualify:
1. The top two teams in the final BCS Standings qualify automatically.
2. The champions of six conferences have annual automatic berths.
3. Other teams can qualify automatically as follows:
A. The highest-ranked champion from the MAC, MWC, WAC, Sun Belt or C-USA qualifies if it finishes in the top 12; (or top 16 if ranked higher than the champion of a conference that has an automatic berth).
B. Notre Dame qualifies if it finishes in the top eight.
4. If spots remain after the above teams are slotted, a bowl can select any other team that finishes in the top 14, but no more than two teams from a conference can participate.
The ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC earned their automatic qualification by virtue of contracts with the host bowls and by meeting performance standards. As agreed by all 11 conferences, the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 regular seasons were evaluated using three criteria: rank of the highest-ranked team, rank of all conference teams and number of teams in the top 25. Those six met the standard.
The 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons will be evaluated to determine if a seventh conference achieves automatic qualification for the BCS games that will conclude the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Explaining the Big 12 Power Rankings
Many have inquired how I determine my weekly Big 12 Power Rankings.
Weekly polls, for the most part, represent preseason expectations against how a team has done to date. This Power Poll represents how teams would do against each other at a neutral site.
This isn’t simply about which team has the better record each week. This isn’t about 4-0 vs. 3-1 or 2-2 vs. 3-2.
As it stands right now in the Power Rankings, Texas would have the best chance of beating everyone in the Big 12, so the Longhorns belong at No. 1.
Kansas would have the best chance of beating everyone, except Texas, and is at No. 2; Nebraska would beat everyone but Texas and Kansas, and is at No. 3; and so on.
I believe right now Texas, Kansas and Nebraska would beat Oklahoma at a neutral site, while Oklahoma State would lose to Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, OU and Missouri.
This is a very fluid situation. It represents how a team’s status improves or gets worse. Plus, power rankings tend to work themselves out naturally when common opponents are involved.
The Sooners and Cowboys have underachieved to date.
The two teams that beat OU have already suffered lopsided losses. Every team OSU has played this season lost last weekend, as did the Cowboys’ next opponent, Texas A&M. These losses will hurt OU and OSU in the BCS computer rankings, but quality victories against quality opponents in conference play will change all that.
And as their status changes, so will the Power Rankings.
Rank and file
Calculating how Oklahoma football coaches Bob Stoops, Barry Switzer and Bud Wilkinson performed against ranked opponents is not an exact science. But as was pointed out in Monday’s column, it’s a solid gauge of determining how they did in big games.
The Associated Press poll has varied throughout time, from when they were released to how many teams were ranked.
- From 1936 through 1949, there was no AP preseason poll and the first poll was not taken until early October.
- Polls were not taken after bowl games until 1968.
- In 1989, the AP Top 20 was expanded to the Top 25.
Obviously, the overall records against ranked opponents for Stoops (33-15; .688), Switzer (43-21-4; .662) and Wilkinson (28-18-1; .606) remain the same.
The AP poll consisted of 20 teams throughout the college coaching careers of Switzer and Wilkinson.
Against teams ranked No. 21-25, Stoops has a record of 6-2 (.750).
As for Wilkinson, there was no preseason poll for his first three seasons at OU, but during that time none of his early season opponents likely would have been ranked.
There were advantages and disadvantages for each coach.
- Switzer had to face an elite Nebraska team every season, and still went 12-5 against Tom Osborne and the Cornhuskers.
- Stoops has had to play Texas Tech and Texas A&M on seven occasions when they have been ranked. Kansas State, a program Stoops helped build as an assistant, has been ranked four times in six head-to-head meetings. The Wildcats were never ranked in 33 meetings against Switzer and Wilkinson.
- Wilkinson went 1-5 against Notre Dame, but the Fighting Irish were ranked only twice.
Chat Recap for Oct. 1
Bradford to strike another pose?
Much has happened in college football since Oklahoma junior quarterback Sam Bradford went down with a shoulder injury in the season opener. What has not happened is a clear-cut leader in the Heisman Trophy race.
IF Bradford somehow can return in time for the Miami game in 11 days, and IF the Sooners can win the rest of their regular-season games, and IF Bradford can post efficiency numbers similar to a year ago, we could end up with an unprecedented result.
Bradford has become a monstrous long shot for a second straight Heisman, but the notion isn’t nearly as farfetched as originally portrayed after he injured his right (throwing) shoulder late in the first half against Brigham Young on Sept. 5 in Arlington, Texas.
This year’s Heisman race is off to a slow start, which is to Bradford’s benefit. Statistically, no one has taken a commanding lead.
Arkansas sophomore quarterback Ryan Mallett leads the nation in passing efficiency, and is followed by Notre Dame junior Jimmy Clausen, both of whom have already lost.
Florida quarterback and 2007 winner Tim Tebow is unbeaten, but has modest numbers (five TD passes; one interception) and ranks No. 7 nationally in passing efficiency. In the eyes of many Heisman voters — particularly in the Southeast — his leadership qualities again will garner heavy consideration.
All season, locals have wondered what’s wrong with Oklahoma State senior quarterback Zac Robinson, but Robinson (34th) ranks three spots ahead of Texas senior quarterback and preseason Heisman pick Colt McCoy (37th), who battled the flu last week against Texas Tech. Mississippi junior quarterback Jevan Snead, another preseason favorite, ranks 36th in passing efficiency.
Two new candidates to watch: Houston junior quarterback Case Keenum and Miami sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris are off to impressive starts and could quickly become contenders.
California junior Jahvid Best leads the running back candidates. He is averaging 7.8 yards-per-carry, but a hardly overwhelming 137.3 yards-per-game. Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers is at 114.0 yards-per-game, USC junior Joe McKnight is at 101.7 yards and Georgia Tech junior Jonathan Dwyer is at a measly 56.0 yards-per-game.
Oklahoma State junior receiver/returner Dez Bryant is a big-name, big-gain candidate, but he already has dropped at least five passes and made poor decisions.
Ohio State’s Archie Griffin (1974-75) remains the only person to win consecutive Heismans and no player has ever won a Heisman after missing 2 1/2 games that season. For some voters, Bradford’s injury will eliminate him from consideration no matter what he does after his return.
Then again, who knows? If Bradford returns with his remarkable qualities intact, the 2008 winner could be transformed into a sentimental choice.
Except in the Southeast, of course.
Tournament time for Tulsa
Tulsa will get to show off the BOK Center for the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Tournament sites were revealed Monday and Tulsa will host first- and second-round games, marking the first time since 1985 the NCAA men’s tournament has been staged in the city. The Mabee Center at ORU is the only Tulsa facility to previously host the men’s tournament (1974, 1975, 1978, 1982, 1985).
First- and second-round men’s tournament games will be held this upcoming season at the Ford Center, which unfortunately will be only halfway though its $100 million renovation project.
The Ford Center is bidding as a site for the 2011 NCAA women’s tournament, which would simultaneously put two NCAA tournaments inside state lines for the second straight year.
This March, the Ford Center will host the men’s tournament on March 18 and 20, while women’s first- and second-round games will be held at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman on March 21 and 23.
No need for Tulsa and Oklahoma City to argue over who’s hosting what event or how often. This is great news for everybody.
A football state continues to enhance its stature in basketball with repeated NCAA tournaments, plus the addition of the NBA Thunder.
Ford’s deal an overreaction
On Feb. 10 of this year, the Oklahoma State men’s basketball team was 14-9 overall, 3-6 in Big 12 play, the head coach was shouting f-bombs at his players, and several folks at OSU were tilting their heads, wondering if Travis Ford was the right hire.
Seven measly months later, the school is so enraptured with Ford, he now has a 10-year contract.
Ten years?
(Say and think what you will about former Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton, but the man returned OSU basketball to greatness, deserved twice as much pay as he ever got and never got close to being offered a 10-year deal.)
Before Ford arrived at Stillwater, he made $400,000 his final season at UMass. Starting this season, he’ll make $1.8 million with a guaranteed bump of at least $100,000 annually through the 2018-19 season. All this after going 23-12 and winning one NCAA Tournament game in his first season with the Cowboys.
Look, I’m all for giving a man his due, but is the 39-year-old Ford due this much this soon?
What if the Cowboys had knocked off Pittsburgh in the second round last season and advanced to the Sweet 16? Would Ford have broken the $2 million barrier and been given a lifetime contract?
Last season was the Cowboys’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005, and for that Ford deserves credit. But so do his players, particuarly senior point guard Byron Eaton, who excelled at key moments down the stretch as OSU won nine of its final 12 games.
Ford’s new contract was an overreaction to what started in the football offices.
Basketball has a higher ceiling than football at OSU. Ford has a better chance at winning more conference or national championships than football does. There is really no debating this and Cowboys football coach Mike Gundy just signed a seven-year, $15.7 million deal.
If OSU is going to fork over big bucks for football coaches, yet the school has a greater chance for success in basketball, it had better offer at least as much to keep Ford on board. That’s precisely what happened, which is why Gundy and Ford will both make $1.8 million this season.
Ford now trails only Bill Self of Kansas ($3 million) and Rick Barnes of Texas ($2 million) in Big 12 coaching salaries. Meanwhile, Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel, who lost the South Regional final to eventual champion North Carolina last season, received a new deal in June, but will now make $300,000 less than Ford.
Ford was born, raised and played hoops in Kentucky and someday figures to be a candidate for the UK job, which he no doubt has used as leverage since the day he arrived in Stillwater.
To cover its asset, OSU bumped Ford’s buyout clause up from $1 million to $3 million. Doesn’t matter. If Kentucky wants Ford, it will get Ford.
Interestingly enough, the day Ford was hired at OSU (April 18, 2007), athletic director Mike Holder said he hoped Kentucky would someday want to hire Ford. “That’s a high-class problem to have,” Holder said that day.
Some prominent OSU boosters think Ford could win a national title coaching the Cowboys, and that might be true. But shouldn’t you offer that coach a 10-year contract after he wins the national title, not before?
O-line free-for-all
Whenever there are changes in a college football team’s starting lineup, the earlier the better for the coaches who have to make those changes.
Sunday or Monday are the optimum days to fill out that week’s starting lineup. Waiting until Tuesday is considered late. Wednesday might be acceptable in an either-or scenario at a certain position where a starter is nicked up and his backup gets extra reps.
However, potential changes along the Sooners’ offensive line are not an either-or scenario. It’s more like a free-for-all.
After last Saturday’s 14-13 loss against Brigham Young, during which 12 offensive penalties were committed, OU’s O-line is in the midst of a line dance.
During Tuesday’s media luncheon, Sooners coach Bob Stoops and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson did not share specifics as to which player might play where and replace whom.
“To me, I’ve got a couple of guys who I think can and should perform well who didn’t,” Wilson said. “I’m wondering and questioning why, and I’m tired of waiting and asking, so there needs to be a great sense of urgency from men to play at a better level, or some young guys are going to have an opportunity. ‘If you want to play, let’s go. It’s not a tryout. It’s not an open door. It’s not a mind game.’
“But it is concerning if you’re a third-, fourth- or fifth-year guy and you’re not playing at the level that we can play at. And if that’s the case, maybe you don’t want to, or maybe you can’t, and maybe we need to make some adjustments. I don’t think you wait until Friday and say, ‘You’re the starter.’ And I don’t think you come in (Monday) and make wholesale changes.
“The way we performed (against BYU) is unacceptable, and it needs to be fixed immediately. Right now. Either you choose to fix it or we’re going to fix it with something else, or another direction, or another player, another scheme or huddle-up, whatever. We can not and are not going to play that way.”
