Housekeeping

Yo and I had a good weekend in Houston, he played 3 games on Saturday, at 4, 6, and then at 10. Usually in these tournaments, the first 2 games are pool play and then you start in a bracket, so they had to win at 10 in order to play on Sunday, which they did and then went 1-1 on Sunday. The bummer is that they had to play back-to-back on Sunday while the other team had over an hour to rest and recap, Yo’s team had about 5 minutes. Got home around 5:30 on Sunday and I was pretty well spent.

On the Diamond

It has not been a great weekend for baseball or softball. Friday night, baseball lost 8-0, then dropped game 2 on Saturday, 7-5, and on Sunday fell 8-7

Softball didn’t fare any better against No. 1 Texas, run-ruled in the first two game, a 13-3 loss on Friday, a 23-0 loss on Saturday, and another run-rule loss 14-4.

On the Court

Frisco guard Leon Horner III committed to Texas Tech (6-6/195), part of the Dynamic Prep program. Horner had offers from Sam Houston St., Illinois-Chicago, Florida A&M, Hofstra, Loyola (IL), and Mount St. Mary’s. Horner spoke with Red Raider Sports’ Ben Golan about the commitment:

“I would say Texas Tech was the right move for me just based off how I am with the coaches. Me and coach Buff (Kellen Buffington), we’re really close and also coach Mac. I would say the coaches for sure. When I went on my visit everything was nice, the facilities were up to date and everything was nice. It just felt like the right home. Lubbock people are good people to be around the whole city.”

Prep Hoops believed that Horner was the top sleeper prospect from the state of Texas:

Leon Horner III is one of the biggest shooting guards that has not committed to the collegiate level yet. Horner III stands at 6’6 with a picture perfect shooting stroke whenever he is letting the ball go. It doesn’t matter if he is 5 feet away from the hoop or if he is 25 feet away, if he has a clean look from anywhere on the floor with a smaller opponent in front of him, it’s usually going to be a good shot. Other than shooting the ball, Horner III is fantastic at using his size to his advantage. Whether that be on the offensive side of the floor or defense. He understands his role within his own program to a T and does a great job of making the most of his opportunities.

I won’t have time to get an eligibility chart up this morning. This is obviously a bit different in the sense that this is not a transfer, which is what programs are really built on. On one hand, you could view Horner as a true sleeper and a kid like this would be offered by bigger programs in before transfers were the hot commodity. But I do appreciate McCasland understanding that it’s good to develop young players. It doesn’t hurt that his teammate Jaden Toombs is a big-time target for this program.

24 3 🌟 6’6 Leon Horner Ill stock continues to rise gaining interest from Texas Tech.

✅Polished offensive player
✅Good body control
✅Leverages turnarounds
✅Skilled with floaters
✅Converts very difficult shots in the lane
✅High volume shooter, that creates @Leonhorner8 pic.twitter.com/nmeEGAItpf

— HOOP DAWGS (@dawg_hoop) February 6, 2024

UNC-Wilmington transfer Trazarien White showed up on an official visit this weekend. White was set to only have official visits with Kansas State, Mississippi State, and TCU, or maybe it was Baylor, Mississippi State, and TCU. White is originally from Mansfield, which is why he’s connected to Texas Tech, played 3 years at UNC-Wilmington and averaged 19.8 points a game, 6.8 boards, 1.6 assists, while shooting 49% from the field and 39% from deep.

Big 12 Things

CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello on Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark’s remarks after the Big 12 annual meetings. A couple of items, namely that in regards to the college football playoff distribution, of which the Big 12 is set to receiver just 15%, there is a look-in in 2028:

“I certainly wasn’t happy with the distribution,” Yormark said. “I guess you could say in some respects I was satisfied. It was fine, but certainly not happy about it. I don’t think our [athletics directors] or coaches are (happy) either, but we’re going to continue to invest for the right reasons. We’re going to continue to build football. It’s at the core of what we do, and I’m excited about our future.”

Yormark asked for a look-in provision in the CFP contract in 2028, which would allow for a re-evaluation of the contract’s economics.

“Listen, I’m a believer that if you create value, you need to be rewarded,” Yormark said. “When you look at the first 10 years of the CFP, we didn’t perform probably as well as we would have liked. That’s OK. History might not repeat itself, and that’s why we have that look-in — and I made a point to get that in there — because I’m betting on the Big 12 and betting on our future. Hopefully, between now and ’28, we can perform at the level we’ll be really proud of and then we can exercise that look-in based on our performance.”

And also, Yormark was asked about the Big Ten and the SEC leaving the Big 12 behind:

“I think that’s overstated,” Yormark said. “I mean, we are very collegial with the conference commissioners. We spent a lot of time together around CFP. We spent a lot of time talking strategically about the direction of collegiate athletics and what’s in the best interest for everyone. I mean, does the SEC and the Big Ten break away from that from time to time and strategize together? I’m sure they do. But I will tell you, the chemistry and the culture amongst the four commissioners are extremely positive. Even though I’m relatively new in my job, I would venture to say it’s the best it’s ever been. I really believe that.”