Big 12 Basketball

TCU men's basketball head coach Jamie Dixon has been accused of making "racial remarks" by the mother of Horned Frogs center Eddie Lampkin, who stepped away from the team prior to the Big 12 Tournament.

Lampkin took to Instagram and posted screenshots of text message exchanges between Dixon and his mother, Vanessa Lampkin.

"Coach Dixon we did not talk yesterday and no one has told you from our end that Eddie is entering the transfer portal. We discussing your behavior towards him. I do not appreciate the way you and everyone at TCU is making it about the transfer portal and not abut the real reason he is not there with the team he loves," she wrote, per Steven Johnson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (h/t 247Sports' Robbie Weinstein).

"If you all don't tell the truth of how you have mistreated, disrespected and said racial remarks towards him. We will. Please do not disrespect my son's name because all we have been is patient with YOU. Handle us with Christian values for once."

Johnson noted that he "spoke to multiple Black parents of current players and to another longtime AAU Black coach who has had multiple athletes play for Dixon." All of his sources said their children or players "never told them of any racist or racially insensitive comments made by Dixon."

The 57-year-old coach was asked if he had a response to the accusations prior to Thursday's conference tournament game against Kansas State and he said, "I haven't seen it, [so] no comments on it."

Lampkin has since deleted his Instagram account and the posts. He tweeted a message of support to his teammates on Thursday. He also indicated to Johnson that "this has been a trying season for him mentally" after his brother was killed last summer and his aunt died later in the year.

Lampkin was a key member of a TCU team that made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament last year. He had modest averages of 6.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this season as the Horned Frogs went 20-11. Dixon said he didn't learn that Lampkin would not be traveling to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament until this past Tuesday.

"We wish him the best, I love him, that's a Horned Frog," Dixon said.

Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self will not coach in the Big 12 tournament after undergoing a "standard procedure" Wednesday night.

Self is expected to make a full recovery.

It was previously announced that Self would miss Thursday's game against West Virginia because of an illness. The statement noted he was "doing well and receiving great care at the University of Kansas Health System."

Assistant coach Norm Roberts served as the team's acting head coach against the Mountaineers and will continue to do so in Self's absence.

Kansas is the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament and is considered the favorite to gain the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament. It's unlikely the Jayhawks will drop from No. 1 seed consideration even with a loss in the conference tournament, so Self's absence should not have a long-term impact on the season—barring his needing to miss more time.

Roberts already has experience coaching the team this season without Self. He acted as coach during Self's four-game suspension to start the regular season, and Kansas went 4-0 during that timeframe, including a win over Duke.

Mark Adams, who was suspended for the use of racially insensitive comments, is no longer the head coach of the Texas Tech men's basketball team.

Brian Hamilton of The Athletic relayed a statement revealing Adams stepped down from his position:

"My lifelong goal was to help and be a positive influence on my players, and to be a part of the Texas Tech men's basketball team," Adams said as part of the statement. "However, both the University and I believe this incident has become a distraction for the Texas Tech men's basketball team and the University, which I care about so deeply."

ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel reported Sunday that Texas Tech suspended Adams for the use of an "inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment" while reportedly trying to encourage a player to be more open to coaching.

The school said he made the comment when he "referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters."

While Borzello and Thamel cited a source who said Adams apologized to the team, the former head coach told Jeff Goodman of Stadium he didn't apologize but only explained the situation to the players.

"One of my coaches said it bothered the player," Adams said. "I explained to them. I didn't apologize."

Goodman also reported on another incident that happened this year in which the head coach spit on a player. Adams explained it by saying he had a bad cough and accidentally got saliva on the player, but another person alleged the coach said, "I can spit on you whenever I want to."

The 2022-23 campaign was Adams' second as the head coach of the Red Raiders. He was previously the director of basketball operations and an assistant coach.

Texas Tech was unable to build on last season's Sweet 16 appearance and went 16-16 overall and 5-13 in Big 12 play. It lost 78-62 to West Virginia in Wednesday's Big 12 tournament game, finishing its season with four consecutive losses.

Gonzaga is on the Big 12's radar.

"I like Gonzaga," Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark told reporters before the men's conference tournament. "Obviously a great program. My focus right now is to see what happens throughout our industry. There's a lot of moving parts. I continue to have conversations with Gonzaga."

Yormark also said he believes "the strength of this conference in basketball, I think, is unrivaled," which is notable given what he said the league is looking for in expansion targets.

"It's gotta be a good cultural fit first and foremost," he said. "Obviously, we look at geography. We want to be a truly national conference from a brand perspective and geographic footprint."

There aren't many realistic programs to target for expansion that would bolster a league's basketball standing more than Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are among the top teams in the nation on a seemingly yearly basis under head coach Mark Few and just defeated Saint Mary's by 26 points on Tuesday to win the WCC tournament title game for the fourth straight season.

This season will mark Gonzaga's 24th consecutive NCAA men's tournament appearance, and it has reached the national championship game twice, the Elite Eight five times and the Sweet 16 a total of 12 times during that span.

Both of the national championship game appearances came in the last seven years as the program continues to get closer to that elusive title.

The Big 12 will undergo radical changes in the coming years, with the departure of powerhouse football programs in Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC and the addition of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF.

Cincinnati and Houston, in particular, have strong basketball histories, and a focus on the sport while football has driven much of the conference realignment discussion would be notable.

A conference with Kansas, Gonzaga, Baylor, Houston and Kansas State, among others, would be a force on the hardwood, and it is clear Yormark is proud of the league's stature in the sport.

The Bulldogs would only add to that stature.

Texas Tech suspended men's basketball coach Mark Adams for "the use of an inappropriate, unacceptable and racially insensitive comment last week."

CJ Moore of The Athletic shared the announcement:

"On Friday, Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt was made aware of an incident regarding a coaching session between Adams and a member of the men's basketball team," the announcement read.

"Adams was encouraging the student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents and slaves serving their masters. Adams immediately addressed this with the team and apologized."

Adams—who said he explained the situation but did not apologize—told Jeff Goodman of Stadium, "I was quoting the scripture. One of my coaches said it bothered the player."

Goodman noted Texas Tech is also investigating a separate incident from this season in which the head coach spit on a player.

Adams told Goodman he had a cough and accidentally got saliva on the player, but another source said the head coach responded by saying, "I can spit on you whenever I want to."

Yet Adams said, "I don't remember even saying that."

This is Adams' second season as the head coach of Texas Tech, although he was previously the director of basketball operations and an assistant coach with his alma mater. The Red Raiders are just 16-15 overall and 5-13 in the Big 12 after finishing their regular season with a three-game losing streak.

ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello reported the coach was "already under pressure from influential people around the program ... due to Texas Tech's disappointing season."

The Red Raiders face West Virginia on Wednesday in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.