Big 12 Basketball

In the ever-changing college athletics landscape, the Big 12 is potentially looking to shake things up again in terms of expanding its membership, according to ESPN's Heather Dinich.

The conference had its spring meetings in West Virginia this week and a source told Dinich that while there were no votes on new memberships, there were plenty of talks regarding different scenarios to grow the league.

One of those scenarios is adding blue blood basketball programs like Gonzaga and UConn to the mix as basketball-only schools, according to Dinich. And Commissioner Brett Yormark confirmed as much when asked about the possibility of adding a team like the Bulldogs.

"We do see the upside in basketball moving forward for all the right reasons," Yormark said without specifically mentioning either program. "We think it's undervalued and there's a chance for us to double down as the No. 1 basketball conference in America, but football is the driver and we all know that.

"As we think about the future and ways to create value," he added, "there is always that option to decouple basketball from football to see if there's further value we can create for the conference."

Set to lose a couple of heavy hitters to the SEC in 2024 with Oklahoma and Texas both leaving the conference, the Big 12 has been extremely quick in trying to create what Yormark has been calling a "national conference in our makeup from coast to coast."

Joining the conference in 2023 are a few well-known commodities in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, which all have proved their worth, in both football and basketball, over the last several seasons.

If it's able to add Gonzaga and/or UConn in the coming years, the Big 12 will turn itself into the undisputed, best college basketball league in the country.

However, the Big 12's president and chancellors are waiting for the Pac 12's media deal to be announced before making any moves. They also have a number of priorities they are taking into consideration as expansion talks continue.

"Our institutions share the same high academic standards and we compete at a very high level athletically, so naturally those sort of criteria enter into our considerations, but also I think we have to open to this changing landscape of athletics," Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec said on the same call as Yormark. "That's one of the skills and perspectives Brett brings us. We're taking a very open attitude, weighing all the different issues that are presented, and when the timing is right and the situation is right, we'll make a decision."

While Gonzaga has been a longtime member of the West Coast Conference, a non-football league, UConn, the reigning men's national champions, is coming off a very recent switch back to the Big East.

After several years playing in the AAC, the Huskies rejoined the Big East ahead of the 2020 season, and it'd be hard to envision another move happening so soon.

Bob Huggins is going to return for a 17th season as the head coach of the West Virginia men's basketball team.

According to a release from the school, Huggins will undergo sensitivity training, be suspended for the first three regular-season games of the 2023-24 season and have his salary docked by $1 million after using an anti-gay slur during a radio appearance.

Huggins' contract has also been "amended from a multi-year agreement to a year-by-year agreement that will begin on May 10, 2023, and end on April 30, 2024."

The school added it has "made it explicitly clear to Coach Huggins that any incidents of similar derogatory and offensive language will result in immediate termination."

Terms of Huggins' return come after he used an anti-gay slur during an appearance on 700 WLW's Bill Cunningham Show on Monday. He was discussing his time as head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats from 1989 through 2005 when he used the slur.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing transcribed some of the conversation:

Huggins: "Any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn't do it, by god they can get away with anything.

Cunningham: "I think it was transgender night wasn't it?

Huggins: "It was a Crosstown Shootout, yea, no, what it was, was all those f--s, those Catholic f--s I think.

Cunningham: "All right.

Huggins: "They were envious they didn't have one.

Huggins released a statement in the aftermath of his comments in which he apologized to Xavier, Cincinnati and West Virginia:

"As I have shared with my players over my 40 years of coaching, there are consequences for our words and actions, and I will fully accept any coming my way," it said. "I am ashamed and embarrassed and heartbroken for those I have hurt. I must do better, and I will."

West Virginia also released a statement, which said the comments "do not represent our university values."

It also said the school was reviewing the situation and would address it in the future:

Xavier-Cincinnati remains one of college basketball's most heated rivalries, and Huggins has expressed dislike toward the Musketeers program in the past even after he was done leading the Bearcats.

After leaving Cincinnati, he coached at Kansas State for one season in 2006-07 before accepting the West Virginia job.

He has led the Mountaineers program since 2007 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.

Huggins signed a two-year extension in August 2021 that runs through the 2023-24 season but also gives him the option to extend his tenure through the 2026-27 academic year. The original terms of the deal paid him an average salary of $4.15 million, with all but $250,000 of that figure coming in supplemental pay.

The University of Michigan might need to step up its NIL game.

Hunter Dickinson, an All-American star with the Wolverines basketball team, suggested a lack of NIL money played a factor in his decision to transfer from Michigan to Kansas.

"The people hating on me would leave their job right now for a $10,000 increase," Dickinson said on his podcast. "I got, at Michigan, less than six figures. I got less than six figures at Michigan for the year."

Dickinson did not indicate how much money he'll make in NIL deals at Kansas, but one could easily presume it's well into six figures. Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio reported Dickinson was prioritizing guaranteed NIL money as he negotiated terms of his transfer.

Kentucky reportedly refused to budge on offering guaranteed money, leading to Dickinson's transfer to Kansas.

"I think this is the best place for me," Dickinson said of Kansas. "It checks all the boxes. Worst-case scenario, it still works out fine for me [at Kansas]."

Dickinson averaged 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds last season, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors for the second time.

Michigan losing him is a major blow for a program that has struggled to make a consistent impact under Juwan Howard.

West Virginia men's basketball head coach Bob Huggins used an anti-gay slur when discussing Xavier fans during a radio appearance on Monday.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing transcribed part of Huggins' appearance on 700 WLW's Bill Cunningham Show in which Huggins, who used to coach Xavier's rival, the Cincinnati Bearcats, called Musketeers fans "f--s" when talking about an apparent incident during a game between the two schools:

Huggins: "Any school that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn't do it, by god they can get away with anything.

Cunningham: "I think it was transgender night wasn't it?

Huggins: "It was a Crosstown Shootout, yeah, no, what it was, was all those f--s, those Catholic f--s I think.

Cunningham: "All right.

Huggins: "They were envious they didn't have one.

Huggins said in a statement Monday that he will "fully accept" any consequences coming his way:

West Virginia also released a statement and said it is reviewing the situation:

Huggins coached Cincinnati from 1989-90 through 2004-05 before moving on to Kansas State for one season in 2006-07.

The Musketeers were coached by Pete Gillen, Skip Prosser, Thad Matta and Sean Miller when Huggins was on the other sideline of the rivalry.

Xavier-Cincinnati is one of college basketball's most heated rivalries that infamously featured an on-court brawl in 2011 after Huggins was no longer the head coach of the Bearcats. Officials from both schools temporarily moved the annual game to a neutral site in the ensuing years in an effort to avoid such incidents.

Huggins has been the head coach at West Virginia since 2007.

Sometimes the rich get richer in men's college basketball.

That is exactly what happened for the Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday when Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson announced he will join the Big 12 program:

Dickinson, who was 247Sports' top-ranked player in the transfer portal, spent the last three seasons with the Wolverines and established himself as one of the best low-post presences in college basketball. He'll bring that interior dominance to one of the sport's blueblood programs in pursuit of a championship.

The big man's resume at Michigan included a Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, three All-Big Ten honors and a consensus second-team All-America selection. He was a consistent double-double threat and helped the Wolverines win the Big Ten regular-season title in 2020-21.

Dickinson averaged 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 56 percent last season.

He comes to Kansas with NCAA tournament experience and as someone who won a major conference title, so he is accustomed to playing in the bright spotlight the program offers. He is also a veteran who can be a leader for a team with high expectations.

Jayhawks head coach Bill Self did excellent work in the transfer portal this offseason with the additions of Nicolas Timberlake from Towson and Arterio Morris from Texas even before Dickinson.

Already expected to be in the Top 10 of the 2023-24 rankings, Kansas has a new go-to option down low who can battle with the frontcourts of Houston, Baylor, West Virginia and others in what should again be a deep Big 12.

Anything less than a conference crown and deep run in March will be a disappointment.

The Big 12 may be heading South of the border in 2024.

Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle and Chris Vannini of The Athletic reported the conference is working toward finalizing a deal to host football and men's basketball games in Mexico as early as the 2024 calendar year.

The Big 12 hopes to make it a multi-year agreement with football games likely happening in Monterrey and basketball games in Mexico City. If things go well, the conference could host additional sports in the country in the future.

Vannini noted Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has already made his mark with plans such a partnership with New York City's Rucker Park to possibly host exhibition basketball games and a Big 12-only NFL combine event in Texas.

This could allow the league to make a move toward an international audience like when the Big Ten hosted a football game between Nebraska and Northwestern last year in Ireland.

The Big 12 is already going through a number of major changes.

Marquee programs Texas and Oklahoma are set to leave the conference for the SEC following the 2023-24 athletic season. That leaves quite the hole when it comes to traditional powerhouses, but the league responded by adding Cincinnati, BYU, UCF and Houston.

All four of those schools will play a Big 12 football schedule during the upcoming campaign.

There have been no formal announcements regarding which teams will play in Mexico, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see some type of rotation if it does end up being a multi-year agreement. That would expose more teams to an international audience and provide more of a fairness balance when it comes to traveling and potentially losing home games.

Vannini noted Kansas and Houston are seen as possible teams for the first basketball game, which would be quite the high-profile showdown.

The Jayhawks are a blueblood program with an extensive history of success, while the Cougars advanced to at least the Sweet 16 in each of the last four NCAA men's tournaments, including when they reached the 2021 Final Four.

It appears that the collegiate career of Kansas State forward Keyontae Johnson could be in the rearview mirror.

The senior guard announced his intention to declare for the 2023 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.

Johnson averaged 17.4 points and 6.8 rebounds across 36 games for the Wildcats, helping the team reach the Elite Eight round of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.

Johnson can retain his collegiate eligibility as he has not hired an agent.

Johnson began his collegiate career at Florida and was a 4-star recruit in the class of 2018. He played two full seasons for the Gators but collapsed on the court during a game in 2020 with acute myocarditis.

Johnson did not play in the rest of the 2020-21 season and missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season. He was medically cleared and transferred to Kansas State ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Johnson possesses a 6'6", 230-pound frame and is rated as a potential second-round pick. He would be eligible to declare for a medical redshirt if he were to decide to come back for an additional season with Kansas State.

Former Syracuse center Jesse Edwards is transferring to West Virginia ahead of the 2023-24 season, he told ESPN's Jonathan Givony on Sunday.

"I felt it was time for a fresh start," Edwards said. "I needed a new environment to challenge myself in, and I think West Virginia is just that. I've met some great people on my visit here, and the campus looks amazing. This team could be something special."

Edwards chose West Virginia over Kansas, Michigan, Gonzaga, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech.

Edwards was ranked the No. 3 player available in the transfer portal by ESPN's Jeff Borzello. Michigan center Hunter Dickinson and Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

The Amsterdam native has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining. Having played 95 games in his first four seasons, Edwards is one of the most experienced players in college basketball entering the 2023-24 season.

The 6'11", 230-pound center put together the best season of his career in 2022-23, averaging 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.6 assists in 32 games while shooting 59.2 percent from the floor.

The 23-year-old told Givony that playing against NBA players while representing the Dutch national team at the FIBA Eurobasket last summer helped lead to his breakout year with the Orange.

"Seeing what real pros play like prepped me in a way that was very helpful in my mental game," Edwards said. "It was a great learning experience going into last season and a lot of fun."

Edwards also added that transferring to West Virginia for more name, image and likeness opportunities was "a bonus" but that he wanted to make the move "to have a fresh start and a new challenge."

Edwards now joins a loaded frontcourt for the Mountaineers that includes Jimmy Bell Jr., James Okonkwo and Mohamed Wague.

West Virginia finished the 2022-23 season with a 19-15 record and was eliminated from the NCAA tournament in the round of 64.

Bill Self has put any speculation about his future as the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks to rest.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Self said he is "100 percent positive" he will be back for the "upcoming season at the University of Kansas and hopefully many beyond that."

Self didn't coach in the Big 12 tournament after undergoing a procedure to treat blocked arteries in his heart. He also missed both of Kansas' NCAA tournament games, and the Jayhawks ultimately lost to Arkansas in the second round.

Self released a statement on March 9, after his procedure, saying he was "very grateful for the overwhelming number of well wishes my family and I have received" and "excited to get back with my team in the very near future."

The school announced on March 12 that Self had been discharged from the hospital.

Speculation about Self's future with the Jayhawks picked up earlier this week when the university announced the coach would be holding a press conference on Wednesday that would be livestreamed on the school's athletics website.

"I missed my job," he told reporters at the press conference. "I love my job. And I want to do my job for as long as possible. I feel good about where I'm at."

Norm Roberts, who has been an assistant at Kansas since 2012, served as acting head coach for the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments with Self unavailable.

The Jayhawks had another stellar season under Self, despite their early tournament exit. They won 16 of their first 17 games, finished 28-8 overall and earned a No. 1 seed for the second successive year.

Self just finished his 20th season at Kansas. He ranks second in school history with 580 career wins and has won two national titles. The 60-year-old has a 787-237 career record in 30 years as a head coach.

Following a stellar run in the NCAA tournament, Kansas State point guard Markquis Nowell is declaring for the 2023 NBA draft.

Nowell officially announced his decision with a statement on Twitter:

A two-year starter for the Wildcats, Nowell was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team in back-to-back seasons. He was a third-team All-American selection by the Associated Press for the 2022-23 campaign.

Nowell led Kansas State to 26 wins this season, its most since 2012-13 (27). The team advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in five years, with Nowell having a historic performance in four tournament games.

His 19 assists in a Sweet 16 win over Michigan State broke the NCAA men's tournament record. The previous single-game record of 13 assists was done four times, most recently by Davidson's Jason Richards in 2008.

Overall, Nowell averaged 23.5 points on 41.9 percent three-point shooting and 13.5 assists in four NCAA tournament games. He set career-highs with 17.6 points, 8.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game in 36 starts during the 2022-23 season.

The two biggest concerns for Nowell as he prepares for the NBA draft are age and size. He's a fifth-year senior who played his first three college seasons at Little Rock before transferring to Kansas State.

Nowell will turn 24 on Christmas Day and is listed at 5'8", 160 pounds by Kansas State's athletic website.

B/R's Jonathan Wasserman doesn't have Nowell ranked among the top 50 prospects in the 2023 draft class.

Nowell's impressive performance in the spotlight of the NCAA tournament will likely get him a roster spot for some team during Summer League, but it could be an uphill climb for him to play in the NBA next season.