SPORTS / THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Blackmon named Big 12 offensive player of the year
Sophomore cornerback Greg Brown breaks up a pass to Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon earlier this season at Memorial Stadium. Blackmon had 10 receptions for 130 yards.
OKLAHOMA CITY Justin Blackmon was named the Big 12's offensive player of the year Wednesday after a breakthrough season in which he went from a relative unknown to the nation's most productive wide receiver for No. 16 Oklahoma State.
Blackmon became the first receiver to win the honor after leading the nation with 1,665 yards receiving and 18 touchdown catches. Just a sophomore, he ends a streak of 11 straight years with quarterbacks as the Big 12's top offensive player, and before that running backs Troy Davis and Ricky Williams combined to win the first three awards.
"He's pretty amazing," Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. "He'll have a good chance to win the Biletnikoff as the No. 1 receiver in the nation, so we felt like that he was the player of the year in this league. I never really talk much about that. In my opinion, (Auburn quarterback) Cam Newton is the Heisman Trophy winner. He is the best player in the country.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
"Well, I believe Justin Blackmon is the best player in the league this year"
Blackmon received 16 of the 20 votes from The Associated Press' panel in a clean sweep by Oklahoma State, which is second
in the nation in total offense. Running back Kendall Hunter received three votes and quarterback Brandon Weeden got the other one. Blackmon also received the same honor from the league's coaches on Tuesday.
Oklahoma defensive end Jeremy Beal was picked as the defensive player of the year in the closest balloting for this year's awards. He received nine votes, Nebraska's Lavonte David got six, Texas A&M's Von Miller got four and Cornhuskers cornerback Prince Amukamara — the coaches' pick for defensive player of the year — had one.
Nebraska swept the honors for newcomers, with quarterback Taylor Martinez winning on offense and David on defense.
Blackmon practically came out of nowhere after making only 20 catches last season as a freshman. With star Dez Bryant moving on to become a first-round NFL draft pick and new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen bringing in a pass-heavy offense, Blackmon seized an opportunity to become Oklahoma State's go-to receiver.
"We knew he was going to be a good player. We didn't know about his durability and his ability to handle pressure and just all the accolades that he received during the season, and he's done a really good job with that," Gundy said.
the year that he's had."
"I'm still somewhat stunned at
Blackmon has tied an NCAA record with 11 consecutive games with at least 100 yards receiving and a touchdown, the last one coming as he played through a sprained ankle last week in a
47-41 loss to Oklahoma. Gundy said Blackmon did not practice all week before that game and will be in a cast for about two weeks as the Cowboys prepare to play in their bowl game.
Blackmon has not been allowed
to speak to reporters since Oct. 27, when he apologized for being arrested on a driving under the influence charge.
His yardage total this season ranks 16th in Bowl Subdivision history with an opportunity to
still move up.
"From about Week 3 on, he's getting tons of bracket coverage and he still managed to get big-time numbers," Gundy said. "It's just surprising that he was able to do that."
CONFERENCE (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
When Nebraska and Colorado pledged to terminate their contracts and leave next July, they paid a combined $20 million in penalties to the remaining schools. That sounds great, except the four schools remaining in the north — Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri — "volunteered" to give their share of the cash to Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. As reported in a
chron.com article from June, the four schols "didn't want to be left on their own." Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe added. "They wanted to ensure that those institutions stayed with them."
After Texas spoke of leaving the Big 12 in shambles and jumping to another conference, they took the north schools' payment as a "thank you" for deciding to stay. So they threatened to leave, then
took extra money for staying. Sounds like a great deal if you can get away with it.
But pardon me if I don't blame the Buffaloes or Huskers for running into the arms of stable conferences and bigger paychecks. The remaining fans will be left waiting for the Longhorns' next move, hoping their school is in good shape. Contrary to what conference officials might say, few
diehair fans believe the Big 12 is stable.
According to a recent ESPN, com poll of over 143,000 people, 70 percent of voters don't believe the Big 12 will be a viable conference in three years.
And if you can't trust an ESPN.
com poll, what can you trust?
Edited by Michael Bednar
NBA
Thunder prevail without Durant
NEWARK, N.J. — Russell Westbrook capped a 38-point, 15-rebound, nine-assist performance by scoring all of Oklahoma City's 13 points in the third overtime, and the Thunder overcame the absence of an injured Kevin Durant with a 123-120 victory over
the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night.
Jeff Green added a career-high 37 points as the Thunder outlasted New Jersey in a game in which the Nets blew leads of six points in the first overtime and three points with 4.6 seconds.
Associated Press
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