Beyond the arc: Aggies in the fog, Big 12 POW, Ole Miss looking for a new coach

Texas A&M goes from bad......

Texas A&M freshmen guards J.J. Caldwell and Jay Jay Chandler were two of three men arrested late Saturday night on suspicion of misdemeanor possession of marijuana. According to a story on SportsDay, the three men were sitting in an idling car in a post office parking lot. They were approached by police and were arrested shortly after being asked to roll down the window. That’s when their activity in the car became rather obvious.

Both men were highly touted recruits coming out of high school. Chandler averaged four points and 11.4 minutes per game this season as a true freshman but has now been suspended indefinitely.

Caldwell, a redshirt freshman, was averaging 2.9 points and 16 minutes per game. He was also fourth on the team in assists with 41 in only 16 games this season. Unfortunately, this was not the first round of trouble for the young man. He was also arrested in May on a misdemeanor DWI charge and had outstanding warrants for a speeding ticket and failure to appear at the time of this recent arrest. He was a former ESPN Top 100 prospect and he has been dismissed from the team.

........to worse

In an announcement of a much different nature but same result; SportsDay reported that Texas A&M guard Duane Wilson announced via Instagram he suffered a career ending injury in the game against Kentucky last Saturday.

Wilson, a graduate transfer guard, started 16 of 22 games averaging nine points and 24 minutes per game. He also led the team in assists and steals with 89 and 25 respectively.

The departure of Wilson, in addition to the absence of Caldwell and Chandler, leaves a void for the Aggies at the guard position. They are ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since early January but they lost their first game without Wilson, 58-62 to Missouri.

Ole Miss looking for a new coach

Ole Miss men’s basketball coach Andy Kennedy announced he is stepping down as head coach at the end of the season according to a story in the Clarion Ledger last Monday

Kennedy is Ole Miss’ all-time winningest coach and has led the Rebels to an SEC tournament championship and two NCAA tournament appearances. He’s the fifth man in SEC history to win at least 20 games nine times in his first 11 seasons; but this is the third-straight year where Ole Miss is not near the NCAA tournament conversation.

In fact, this is his worst team — the 2017-18 Rebels are 11-14 overall and losers of six straight and eight of their last nine. The Rebels went on to lose their first game with Kennedy as a lame duck coach dropping a game Tuesday against Arkansas, 64-75. Kennedy gave some insight to the issues of his players and their lack of pride.

The search begins for the new head coach immediately. A couple of the names that pop up are Middle Tennessee coach Kermit Davis and Florida Gulf Coast coach Joe Dooley.

Big 12 POW

Manu Lecomte of Baylor was named the Big 12 Player of the Week and Cameron Lard of Iowa State was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for week 14.

Lard averaged 20 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks last week including putting up 19 points, 17 rebounds, two blocks, and three steals in their win over Oklahoma. The win over the Sooners was also the third straight victory over a ranked Big 12 opponent at home.

Lecomte averaged 18 points and five assists in 36 minutes per game in wins over Oklahoma State and Kansas. He also shot 59 percent from the field including 55 percent from three. Baylor is making a strong push towards the tournament with a current five game winning streak.

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On the women’s side, Madison Wise of Iowa State was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week and Kaylee Jensen of Oklahoma State was named Big 12 Player of the Week for week 14.

Wise had 21 points, nine rebounds, and two assists against Oklahoma State last week. She shot 66 percent from the field. The 21 points was a career high and marked the 10th time this season she has scored in double figures.

Jensen averaged 28.5 points and 14 rebounds in two road wins last week against TCU and Iowa State. Her week was highlighted by scoring a career-high 35 points and pulling down 12 rebounds against Iowa State.

Lady Raiders

The Texas Tech Lady Raiders (7-18, 1-13) struggled again over the last week dropping games to West Virginia at home, 60-74, and Texas in Austin, 72-87. The performance against the Longhorns was vastly improved compared to their 51 point loss earlier in the season.

Brittany Brewer led the way against West Virginia with 13 points in 32 minutes while the trio of Zuri Sanders, Erin Degrate and Angel Hayden tied for the rebound lead at six each. Tech only trailed by two at the half but let it get away from them in the second half largely because of allowing West Virginia to shoot 51 percent from the field including 57 percent from three.

Jada Terry led the way against Texas with 17 points in 27 minutes while Zuri Sanders pulled down eight rebounds in 33 minutes.

Tech returns to play Saturday in Ames, IA as they take on Iowa State. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

Lubbock Needs More Talent

This past offseason, Trae Young made a comment that has been able to stay dormant until recently. While explaining why he would not be committing to his father’s alma mater, Trae bluntly exclaimed “I just think they need more talent.” After an impressive season by the Red Raiders which has accumulated to a 22-4 record, a top 10 ranking and a spot atop the Big 12, I think it’s safe to say Keenan Evans and company has plenty talent. After defeating Trae Young and the Sooners 88-78, we wanted a way to commemorate this ironic comment and what better way to do it than on a shirt.

Make sure to get yours before they sell out.

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