Big 12 Basketball

The University of Kansas reportedly self-imposed a four-game suspension for men's basketball head coach Bill Self and assistant Kurtis Townsend ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Stadium's Jeff Goodman reported Wednesday the punishment, which relates to an ongoing NCAA investigation into alleged violations within the program that began in 2017, also includes future recruiting restrictions.

Norm Roberts will serve as the Jayhawks' acting head coach until Self returns, per Goodman.

In August, the NCAA announced it would dissolve the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) once it completed all the ongoing investigations, including the one into KU. All the changes are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1.

Despite the upcoming alterations to the governing body's review process, no timetable for the NCAA's final ruling in the Kansas case has been announced.

In May 2020, the NCAA enforcement staff announced its investigation into the five Level I violations showed "egregious" and "severe" rules violations by Self and Townsend, who allegedly "embraced, welcomed and encouraged" Adidas representatives to persuade highly rated recruits to sign with the Jayhawks, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach.

More than two years after that statement, the case remains unsettled.

Self has led the Kansas program since 2003, which ties him for the 10th-longest-tenured head coach in men's college basketball.

The 59-year-old Oklahoma native has compiled a 556-124 record (.818 winning percentage) across 19 seasons with the Jayhawks. He led the team to national championships in 2008 and 2022.

His nearly four-decade coaching career also includes stops as the head coach at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois before arriving to Kansas.

Townsend, 64, joined KU's coaching staff in 2004.

The fifth-ranked Jayhawks are scheduled to open their title defense Monday night at home against Omaha. Self and Townsend will also miss games against North Dakota State, seventh-ranked Duke and Southern Utah.

They'll be eligible to return for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Kansas' first game in the event is a Nov. 23 clash with NC State.

Bob Huggins is one of the most successful college basketball coaches of this generation. The 69-year-old became a head coach during the 1980-81 season when he was hired by Walsh University in Canton, Ohio.

After a three-year stint with the Cavaliers, Walsh spent one season as an assistant at Central Florida. He moved on to Akron before getting his first high-profile job at the University of Cincinnati in 1989.

Huggins went 399-127 with 14 NCAA tournament appearances in 16 seasons with the Bearcats. He was at Kansas State for the 2006-07 season before being hired by his alma mater, West Virginia, in April 2007.

Heading into his 16th season at West Virginia, Huggins ranks second in program history in games (514) and wins (326). His 10 NCAA tournament appearances are the most in school history, and he's one of only two Mountaineers coaches to reach the Final Four (Fred Schaus in 1959).

Huggins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame over the summer as part of the class of 2022. His 916 career wins as a head coach are the fourth-most in men's Division I history.

As Huggins prepares to lead West Virginia into the 2022-23 season, he sat down with B/R for an AMA about the Big 12 realignment, past players he's coached and the outlook for this year's squad.

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Coach, obviously an interesting time in the Big 12, some of the mainstays departing from the conference but also bringing in some new member schools real soon. Cincinnati and Houston have definitely made some waves in recent tournaments...How do you feel about conference expansion and getting that sort of shakeup?

Sometimes I think shakeups are good. In our case, we’re losing two great schools, but we’re replacing them with more neat schools. You hate to see them go but you’re excited to see what the new schools can bring to the table.

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@Channing Have you ever thought about WVU in a different conference down the road?

No, not really. I didn’t know much about the Big 12. I went to Kansas State and I found out real quickly how good the Big 12 was. I think my first two games, one of them was against Coach Knight and the other against Rick Barnes. So now you’re looking around like: ‘I hope everybody ain’t like this’ … but they are. We have great coaches in the league. We have great players. We’ve had more NBA draft picks than any other league. We’ve had more first rounders than any other league. When you combine great coaches with great players, it’s a heck of a league.

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@ReidVandy Among opposing Big 12 arenas, is there one environment that sticks out that either the crowd makes things tough or every time you know that game is coming up, you feel a special energy about it?

I don’t like going to Kansas. Bill and I are great friends but it’s hard to make adjustments. It’s so loud. It’s a great home atmosphere for them, but for the opposing team it’s rough just because of the noise. The noise is off the charts. I don’t do sign language so they can’t hear ya. Unless they read lips, it’s hard.

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@WVU005 Which opposing coach was always toughest to go against not because the quality of their team necessarily but because you felt like they always are prepared or make the right adjustments?

I think that’s multiple guys. It would be hard to say it’s one coach. The coaches in our league are great at making adjustments. They are great at taking people and putting them in positions that are most advantageous to them. The coaches are terrific. The great thing is we all get along. When we get the opportunity to see each other, we enjoy it. It’s an extremely hard league, and to a large degree because the coaches are fantastic.

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@DainfamousB What do you like about this year’s Mountaineers squad? (Obviously a bit of a more mature team, different dynamic perhaps)

The biggest thing is we can make shots. We have multiple guys that can make shots. We have three guys who haven’t really been on the floor yet, as they’re healing up from injuries. Those are also able to make shots. The hardest teams to guard are the ones in which everybody can make shots. You can’t help off one guy on someone who is having a good night because those guys who you helped off of are very capable as well.

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@KToler What’s one word you would use to define this year’s team?

Courageous. I think we got a lot of guys that made tough choices. We have guys who came from the state of Washington. They had to go get a plane ticket and fly across the country and come here with a great attitude, which is important and they did. They came here with a fantastic attitude.

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@StephenWallace14 Let’s talk Kenyon Martin. Guy had a great 4 years at Cincy. What do you remember about his recruitment?

He was a great competitor. Incredible. On top of that, he had ungodly athleticism. He could run, he could jump, he could move his feet. Ken could do virtually anything. Sadly, we were on our way to winning a national championship and he broke his leg. When you think about it: here’s a guy who broke his leg, got it healed up and played years after the injury, and played very well. He went No. 1 with a broken leg. That’s how good he was.

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@WVUgirl101 Any tips for staying motivated after such a long time coaching?

I love basketball. I was born in a home where basketball was really important. When I was born, my dad was still playing. As a little kid, I didn’t remember a whole lot of it, but I remember my dad playing. He then went on to become probably the most famous coach in the history of Ohio basketball. I’ve been blessed. … I’ve been around coaches my whole life. I’ve been around a guy named Ed McCluskey who was one of the greatest coaches in Pennsylvania and he was like my grandfather. When I went to Walsh and I thought I knew what I was doing, he was one of the guys who helped me. I’ve been blessed to be around some of the greats. Coach Knight and I had a great relationship. Jimmy V and I had a great relationship. Roy Williams and I today are still very good friends. I’ve been around the best and the brightest and shame on me if I didn’t learn something from it.

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@JasonKessler16 If you had to put together 5 former WVU players to execute your signature press defense, who are you going with?

You probably put Nate Adrian on the ball. Jevon Carter is going to take one of the guards. It’s hard from there. I don’t know if you put Tarik Phillip or Daxter Miles, but one of those two on the other guard. You got to have Sagaba Konate in the back because he blocked everything. I guess that’s five. That would be one heck of a pressing team.

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@ChuckSailor (I know you have the treadmill that you’re known for at practice.) Have you ever thought of any other unconventional techniques for teaching players like ping pong for hand-eye coordination or anything of that sort?

We haven't done ping pong. We have done a lot of other things, but we haven’t done ping pong. Shaun Brown, our strength coach, is terrific. When our position opened up, I called 3 guys I worked with in the past and they all said hire Shaun Brown and he has been fantastic. He does a great job with our guys.

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@Just_in_Time Who was the first person to call you Huggy Bear? Have you been called any other nicknames throughout your career?

I absolutely have no idea where that came from. It may have happened when I was at Cincinnati, but I don’t know if that’s for sure.

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@d_jonesy Was there a time in which you got ejected when you were like: “ya I probably deserved that one”?

I think the majority of times that happens, I deserved it, generally. We have crazy rules. It used to be if it stepped out on the floor as a coach, but today they give you a little bit more leeway.

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@WVPizzadog In your own words, what makes a good recruiter?

Honesty. If you are honest with a guy and they know you are honest. If they can trust you and their parents feel like they can trust you that goes a long way.

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@D_Jonesy Now that you’re a Hall of Famer, what is still on your basketball bucket list?

Winning a national championship. At least one.

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@JHeim19 Funniest player you’ve ever coached?

Probably Taevon. He made everyone laugh.

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@Hbraz98 What is your favorite and least favorite Halloween candy?

I don’t really like any of them. It makes me happy when my wife’s giving them away.

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@HBraz98 Favorite thanksgiving food item?

Turkey. We have turkey, we have ham, we have everything. Generally, we have the players who can’t get home over. Whatever they like, my wife cooks up. They wouldn’t come and eat if I did it

Former Florida basketball player Keyontae Johnson is expected to transfer to Kansas State after being cleared by medical personnel, Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Saturday.

Johnson last played in December 2020 when he collapsed on the court during a game, spending more than a week in the hospital before being released. He made one ceremonial start last season on senior day but was substituted after the opening tip.

He entered the transfer portal in May and was also considering Western Kentucky and Memphis, per Goodman.

Johnson had proved to be an impact player.

The 6'5" wing averaged 14.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game as a sophomore in 2019-20 and was the leading scorer for a Gators team that featured future NBA draft picks Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis.

Johnson was named the 2020-21 SEC Preseason Player of the Year and was off to a strong start with 19.7 points per game in three contests. His fourth appearance lasted just four minutes before he collapsed in a scary scene.

He was placed in a medically induced coma for three days and later diagnosed with myocarditis, which is heart inflammation.

More than a year later, Johnson will aim to make an impact for Kansas State. The Wildcats are coming off three straight losing seasons under Bruce Weber, but they are under the guidance of new head coach Jerome Tang.

Former Texas Tech women's basketball head coach Marlene Stollings has reached a settlement with the school following a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit.

Per USA Today's Josh Peters, the settlement came after Stollings and the university filed a joint motion to settle on Wednesday and a judge dismissed the case on Thursday.

Stollings filed a lawsuit against the school and athletic director Kirby Hocutt in October 2020, two months after she was fired by the program. She said the firing was due to "discriminatory biases against female coaches" and also accused the school of fraudulent inducement, fraud, breach of contract and defamation.

Texas Tech announced Stollings' firing on Aug. 6, 2020, one day after USA Today's Jori Epstein and Daniel Libit published a report with allegations of abuse and a toxic culture during her two seasons with the program.

In the report, multiple Red Raiders players said Stollings and the coaching staff would call players "disgusting," "trash," "fat pig," "grossly out of shape" and "grossly disproportional."

Three international players told Epstein and Libit they were targeted by coaches and ridiculed over their English language skills.

One of the players, Marcella Lamark, who is from Brazil, said Stollings called her "dangerous" to teammates and gave her instructions to eat and train in isolation.

According to Peter, Stollings argued in her lawsuit against the school that "two internal reviews conducted by the school before the investigation was published cleared her of the allegations."

Peter noted Stollings was under contract through March 2024 at the time of her dismissal.

Stollings was hired by Texas Tech on April 9, 2018. She took the job after resigning from the University of Minnesota, where she spent four seasons as head coach.

The 47-year-old Stollings went 32-28 overall at Texas Tech (11-25 in the Big 12). She didn't make the NCAA tournament with the Red Raiders. She has a 164-117 career record in 10 seasons as a head coach with four different programs.

Krista Gerlich replaced Stollings as head coach at Texas Tech. She is 21-34 overall in two seasons with the program.

Omaha Biliew, a 5-star power forward from the Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, committed to Iowa State on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

He becomes the Cyclones' highest-ranked recruit in the modern recruiting era.

Biliew is considered the No. 12 player in the class of 2023, the No. 5 power forward and the top player from the state of Missouri, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

He has major upside, but on a talented Link Academy team that also has included Jordan Walsh, Julian Phillips and Tarris Reed, Biliew acknowledged in November 2021 that he's had to learn how to play a role and be a solid team player.

"My game is always going up," he told Eric Bossi of 247Sports. "Right now we have a lot of guys on our team so there are certain roles we have to have. My role is being a high motor guy right now. My time will come where I go out on the perimeter and touch the ball more and be more assertive with the ball. All that will come, I just have to be patient."

Iowa State surely respected that level of humility, as Biliew has gone from a state champion to finding his niche on a new squad:

Sophomore Omaha Biliew led his squad to a STATE TITLE 🏆 @BiliewOmaha pic.twitter.com/Uu2WeoKK14

— Overtime (@overtime) March 14, 2021

He has all the upside of a future star, but Biliew's versatility and team-first attitude make him an extremely appealing addition for Iowa State as well.

The Cyclones are having one heck of a recruiting cycle.

The team already landed a pair of 4-star players in power forward Milan Momcilovic and shooting guard Jelani Hamilton. Now they've further improved their ranks, adding in Biliew as the headliner in the class. T.J. Otzelberger is building a strong team in Ames.

Frisco, Texas police arrested and charged Texas men's basketball commit and 5-star guard Arterio Morris on June 2 with a Class A misdemeanor for assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

Per an arrest affidavit obtained by Brian Davis of the Austin-American Statesman, who reported the details Friday, Frisco police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance stemming from allegations that Morris had a physical altercation with his ex-girlfriend, Caden Barnes.

Davis provided more details from the affidavit.

"Morris told officers that he lived nearby and drove to Caden Barnes’ residence to have a face-to-face conversation as opposed to text messaging. Barnes' sister let Morris into the townhome. He then went upstairs to speak with Barnes, who was sleeping at the time, police said.

"Barnes told police that Morris 'grabbed her by the left forearm/wrist and pulled her up off the bed,' according to the affidavit. Barnes was wearing a sports bra at the time. Morris grabbed at Barnes’ sports bra near her chest and pulled, causing the strap to make what police described was a 3-inch-long abrasion on her neck."

Per the affidavit, Morris initially told authorities that there was no physical contact but he "altered his initial statement" to police when told of Barnes' allegations. Afterward, Morris was arrested and charged with a Class A misdemeanor, which can lead to a maximum one-year jail term and a $4,000 fine.

Morris reportedly posted a $3,500 bond and was released from Denton County Jail the following day.

Barnes told her side of the story on social media, as noted by Austin Massey of 247Sports and CBS Sports as well as Nick Moyle of the San Antonio Express-News and Houston Chronicle. She also claimed that family and high school coaches pressured her to drop charges.

Arterio Morris, a 5-star recruit and Texas signee, has been accused of physical abuse by his ex-gf.

According to her post, Morris was previously arrested for a physical dispute with her and his family/HS coaches pressured her to drop the charges due to Morris’ “NBA aspirations” pic.twitter.com/03LBIwHBDu

— Austin Massey (@austinmasseySBI) July 13, 2022

A woman has accused UT freshman Arterio Morris of physically assaulting and abusing her. She got a protective order against Morris + posted a photo of the order and several videos/pics to her IG account. It's disturbing. Reached out to UT for comment but still awaiting more info pic.twitter.com/AvWRkeKG7Q

— Nick Moyle (@NRMoyle) July 13, 2022

Morris' attorney, Justin Moore, provided a statement to the American-Statesman:

“It's disturbing that this case is being tried on social media without any regard for the facts. We look forward to dispelling all rumors and defending any allegation against Arterio in a court of law. The right to due process is an important function in American society, and we applaud the University of Texas for not rushing to judgement before Arterio has had the ability to fully defend himself."

The university made a statement as well to the American-Statesman:

"We were made aware of the allegations involving Arterio Morris and provided all information we had regarding this situation that occurred outside of the city of Austin to our campus Title IX office. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and cooperate with the University and legal process, which remains ongoing."

Morris, a McDonald's All-American, is ranked 16th on 247Sports' composite rankings. He played high school ball at Kimball High School in Dallas.

The Duke Blue Devils men's squad and Connecticut Huskies women's team will headline the 2022 Jimmy V Classic in December.

Per ESPN's Jeff Borzello, the Blue Devils will play Iowa, and Texas will square off against Illinois in the men's doubleheader at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 6.

The women's games will feature the Huskies taking on Notre Dame at the Joyce Center and Tennessee hosting Virginia Tech on Dec. 4.

The UConn-Notre Dame contest is a clash between two of the best women's programs in the nation.

ESPN's Charlie Creme had both teams ranked in the top 10 in his early top-25 list, which dropped in May. The Huskies came in at No. 2, behind defending national champion South Carolina.

Connecticut is bringing back Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Aaliyah Edwards and Dorka Juhasz.

Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey has had to replace a lot of talent from the 2021-22 squad. Sam Brunelle, Anaya Peoples, Abby Prohaska and Maya Dodson are all gone, though incoming transfers Lauren Ebo, Kylee Watson and Jenna Brown do help offset those losses.

Creme had Notre Dame ranked seventh in his top 25 coming off a Sweet 16 run in the NCAA tournament last season.

The Lady Volunteers came in just ahead of Notre Dame at No. 6 in Creme's ranking. Head coach Kellie Harper had her best season with the program in 2021-22 with a 25-9 record and a trip to the Sweet 16.

The Blue Devils figure to receive significant attention this season, especially early in the year. Jon Scheyer is taking over as head coach after Mike Krzyzewski retired at the end of last season.

Based on recruiting, there's no indication the Blue Devils will suffer without Coach K. They had the best recruiting class in the nation with seven commits, including four 5-stars, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

The class is headlined by three of the top four overall recruits, including top-ranked Dereck Lively II.

Iowa has won at least 20 games in each of the past four seasons under head coach Fran McCaffery.

Texas and Illinois are also coming off 20-win seasons in 2021-22. Both teams lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The Jimmy V Classic was established in 1995 to raise money and awareness for cancer research. It's named after former college basketball head coach Jim Valvano, who died from complications from cancer in April 1993.

The UConn women's team has 10 wins in the Jimmy V Classic, most all-time among men's or women's programs.

Brett Yormark will succeed Bob Bowlsby as commissioner of the Big 12, according to multiple reports.

Yormark is the COO of Roc Nation, the entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z. Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger and Pat Forde said Yormark "worked with artists, athletes, leagues, teams and brands and oversees sponsorship, licensing, content partnerships and brand strategy."

That experience will be beneficial in the name, image and likeness era of college athletics.

Bowlsby announced in April he was stepping down as commissioner, having served in the role for 10 years. He's walking away from the Big 12 at a time when the conference is facing an uncertain future.

Oklahoma and Texas are leaving the Big 12, with Cincinnati, Houston and UCF officially joining in 2023 from the American Athletic Conference. BYU will be making the move as well from the West Coast Conference.

While Bowlsby did well to strengthen the depth of the Big 12, the conference is losing its two biggest member schools. The Sooners and Longhorns moved the needle at a disproportionate rate compared to their conference rivals.

Hiring somebody from outside of the college athletics ecosystem could be what the Big 12 needs to discover new ways to maintain its relevance.

The Pac-12 made a similar bet when it hired George Kliavkoff, the president of entertainment and sports at MGM Resorts International, as its new commissioner in May 2021.

The Big 12's media rights deal with ESPN and Fox concludes following the 2024-25 academic year.

Each school received $42.6 million from the conference, the highest annual payout ever for the member institutions. That speaks to the financial health of the Big 12.

Maintaining that upward trajectory could be difficult, however, once Oklahoma and Texas are no longer in the mix. Yormark may have to get creative when negotiating the Big 12's next media deal.

Perhaps the Big 12 pivots away from one of the traditional networks and signs a contract with a streaming platform such as Netflix or Apple TV, the latter of which signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with MLS.

Bowlsby's departure allows his replacement to chart the future of the Big 12, but Yormark won't be afforded much time before he'll have to make some difficult decisions.

Elijah Fisher, a 5-star small forward from Toronto, announced Thursday on Sportsnet's Tim & Friends that he has committed to Texas Tech. 

Fisher will also reclassify into the class of 2022.

Fisher is a 5-star prospect considered the fifth-best small forward and No. 24 overall player in the country, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Despite the lofty ratings, the Canadian believes he is underrated.

"I’m very confident that I’m No. 1 in my class," Fisher said in an essay for Sports Illustrated.

He added in the piece that his goal is to be one-and-done.

Fisher has NBA potential with good size at 6'6", 195 pounds to go with impressive athleticism. He can attack the basket with regularity and finish well above the rim. The skill set makes him especially dangerous in transition with the ability to rack up fast-break points.

Adding his outside shooting ability, the young player has a lot of upside.

It led to over a dozen scholarship offers from some of the top teams across the country, but Fisher eventually decided on Texas Tech. 

The Red Raiders have become a consistent force nationally and earned a trip to the Sweet 16 in the first year under head coach Mark Adams. With a defensive calling card and some added talent offensively, the squad could compete for a title. 

Though it might not be a long-term partnership, Fisher has the chance to be an impact player from the start of his freshman season.

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby plans to step down later this year.

“After more than 40 years of serving in leadership roles in intercollegiate athletics, including the last 10 with the Big 12, and given the major issues that college sports in general and the Big 12 specifically will address in the next several years, I have reached a natural transition point in my tenure as Commissioner, as well as in my career,” Bowlsby said in a statement.

“The Big 12 will soon bring in our four new members and negotiate a new grant of rights and media rights agreements. I truly believe the Big 12 and our member institutions are in a strong position now and as we look into the future. As such, this is an appropriate time for me to step away from the Commissioner’s role so that the next leader of the Conference can take the reins on these significant matters that will come to the forefront before the end of the term of my employment agreement in 2025 to set the stage for the Big 12’s future ongoing success.”

Bowlsby, 70, has been the Big 12 commissioner since 2012. He will step into a yet-to-be-decided interim role once a new commissioner is appointed.

Bowlsby's crowning achievement as commissioner is arguably keeping the conference together despite the impending exits of Texas and Oklahoma for the SEC. At a point where it seemed reasonably likely the Big 12 would dissolve after losing its two cash cows, Bowlsby was able to add BYU, Central Florida, Houston and Cincinnati to strengthen the conference.

The Big 12 currently houses some of the best men's basketball in the country as well, with Kansas winning the 2022 national championship Monday. The conference has had a Final Four team six times since 2012, including each of the last four years.

The Big 12 has been represented in four of the first eight years of the College Football Playoffs, though no program has reached the national championship game.