4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
TUESDAY, MARCH 7. 2006
Steve Pone/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oklahoma State interim coach Sean Sutton directs his players during the second half of a college basketball game against Iowa State on Feb. 22 in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State beat Oklahoma State 68-52.
Coach Bill Self sits with the Jayhawks on the bench before the start of the senior night goodbyes last Wednesday in Allen Fieldhouse. The Big 12 coaches named Self Coach of the Year Monday afternoon.
Rich Suna/THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Missouri coach Quin Snyder is restrained by player Marshall Brown while reacting to a referee's call on Jan. 25, in Columbia, Mo. Synder was later ejected from the game. Iowa State won 82-58.
Coach, rookies make mark
Harry Cabluck/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas forward LaMarcus Aldridge, right, looks to pass the ball under sophomore center Sasha Kaun's defense during second-half action in their men's college basketball game Feb. 25 in Austin, Texas. Texas defeated Kansas, 80-55.
Youngsters impact Big 12's outcome
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SWIPETWISTER
It was a tough year to be a coach in the conference. Missouri coach Quin Snyder resigned after being told he would not be retained after the season.
The 2005-2006 Big 12 basketball season might be remembered more for what happened off the court,rather than what took place on the court.
Snyder was given the boot after Baylor dismantled his team on the road. 90-64.
Former Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins took over for Snyder on an interim basis and has only won two games since.
Missouri will begin its search for a new head coach after the season. It is rumored that Mike Anderson from Alabama-Birmingham, Dana Altman from Creighton and ESPN analyst Rick Majerus are top candidates for the job.
Snyder wasn't the only Big 12 coach who didn't finish the season on the sidelines. Legendary Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton took a leave of absence from his team, while his son, Sean Sutton, took over.
Sutton was involved in a car accident on his way to meet his team before boarding a plane to College Station, Texas.
Sutton was later given a citation by the Stillwater, Okla., police department for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Sutton held a press conference after he took the leave of absence and announced he has a problem with alcohol and would enter a rehabilitation facility for help.
It is expected that Sutton will not coach again. Sutton.
who coached at Kentucky as well as Oklahoma State, was just six victories shy of 800 career victories.
Another coach, Jim Wooldridge from Kansas State, was also forced to miss
some time from his team. Wooldridge missed a few conference games while recovering from surgery to repair a disc problem in his neck.
When Kansas State and Missouri played each other
on Feb. 12, it marked the first time in conference history that two interim coaches coached against each other.
On the court, the season will be remembered for a number of young players making a
big impact on their team.
Heading that list is the Kansas's Player of the Year, LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge, a sophomore, averaged 15.4 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. He had a big night against Kansas, scoring 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field and also grabbed eight rebounds along with four blocked shots.
Aldridge was joined by fellow sophomore Daniel Gibson to form the best inside-outside combination in the conference.
Gibson averaged 13.8 points per game and had his best game against Baylor, scoring 37 points.
The 2005-2006 season also saw normal conference contenders Texas Tech and Oklahoma State struggle.
Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight's team is young and struggled on the road all season. The Red Raiders finished the season with a conference record under 500.
Oklahoma State had to reload from a team last year that featured six seniors — including four starters — who played regularly.
Although the team pulled a huge upset when it beat Texas at home, it still struggled this season and will look to build with young players, such as sophomore guard JamesOn Curry and junior forward Mario Boggan.
A team that did finish in the bottom of the standings where most people expected it to finish was Bavlor.
Baylor couldn't play any non-conference games this season and had to wait to play its first game until January, when it played Texas Tech.
Baylor was serving a probation given by the NCAA for previous violations.
Baylor managed to surprise a few teams, including Iowa State and Texas Tech. It is a young team that should show improvements next season.
— Edited by Gabriella Souza