Golden: What I'm asking the Horns at Big 12 Media Days
The Big 12 may have a new look, but the biggest storyline will still involve the blue bloods who will be playing their last season in the Little Conference that Could before leaving for the SEC.
Texas will be the sixth team to take center stage at Jerry World at Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday and Oklahoma will be featured on Thursday’s final day.
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Since the preseason Texas hype is at the usual optimum level — the Horns were picked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the first time in like, forever — I figured we should come up with a question for each person representing the Horns contingent.
No good journalist walks into an interview with a blank pad so have a peek at what I’m considering asking the Austinites.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian
Hey Sark, this is the first time you’ve been the head coach of a team that was a preseason conference favorite, dating back to the the 2015 USC team that was ranked No. 8 in the AP poll. How is this dynamic changed for your team compared to this last season when you guys were picked fourth?
Quarterback Quinn Ewers
The quarterback position isn’t always known for guys flexing their biceps and abs. Whose idea was it to post the pic that went viral and where did you rank in the gun show standings?
Wide receiver Xavier Worthy
Your reaction to LBJ High product Latrell McCutchin transferring to Houston went viral. We remember you catching nine passes for 261 yards as a freshman against Oklahoma, many of those catches coming at McCutchin’s expense. Was that tweet a sign of things to come when you meet in Houston on Oct. 21? Follow up: What will you say to Latrell if you run into him this week?
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Linebacker Jaylan Ford
You lost so many experienced teammates on defense like DeMarvion Overshown, Snacks Coburn, D’Shawn Jamison and Anthony Cook, to name a few. How much more of a leadership role are you taking to keep this train moving forward?
Defensive back Jahdae Barron
You’re one of the most talkative players on the team. How much can we expect you to amp up your trash talk game against opposing receivers and will you be practicing on Xavier and Jordan Whittington?
Jordan Whittington
As the elder statesman in the locker room, how much are you taking it upon yourself to keep these freshmen focused on football and not giving in to the homesickness and pressures that come with their first year away from home?
Who knows what other questions will come out at one of the most fun events for people in my business.
Hey, it’s just good to be talking football with a real season around the corner.
Spurs rookie shows potential
Wemby flashed star potential: One play in Sunday’s summer league game against Portland in Vegas gave us a glimpse of how far Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama has to go to become a star.
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The top overall pick got the ball at the top of the circle, dribbled past an opponent and dished to teammate Dominick Barlow who didn’t get the memo to cut hard to the bucket. The ball flew out of bounds for a turnover.
But before you could say “too much mustard” the 7-foot-3½ Frenchman opened up his sizable tool bag and let the world know he is no long-term project.
With stars sitting court side — including a not-so-fat Fat Joe — he hit a monster 3-pointer that cut the deficit to one point in the final two minutes, finished at the basket while being fouled and made smart passes while being double teamed. He also defended like a condor in the paint, disrupting offensive flow with that length, making an impact that won’t always show up in a box score.
Some tweeted that it was almost like watching a greener but much bigger version of a young Tim Duncan, but I see more of a Kevin Garnett skill set. Wembanyama finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in his second game.
He did take one ill-fated one-footed 3-pointer that was a brick, but it may have come because his teammates didn’t get him the rock when he was cooking. That’s partly their fault, not his.
He has huge upside, but it will come down to how quickly this coaching staff develops him and if he’s able to figure out what he does extremely well and not end up being average at everything.
Of note, before Wemby shut it down for the summer, he skipped out on a party the night before Sunday's game thrown by billionaire CEO Michael Rubin and the NBA Players Association.
It was an industry event he was well within his rights to attend, but the kid didn’t go to Vegas to party.
He went to learn his craft.
That has to have 74-year-old coach Gregg Popovich — who signed a five-year, $80 million contract extension — smiling from ear to ear.
On the job for only a few weeks and the kid is already acting like a Spur.
ESPN, industry make tough calls
Great talent leaving ESPN: One quick NBA note. I have no idea what ESPN was thinking when it whacked Jeff Van Gundy, breaking up the best three-man team in the league in the former coach, play-by-play man Mike Green and Mark Jackson. You can’t fake chemistry and this crew had it for days.
At least we still have the OG Mark Jones and my personal favorite analyst, Doris Burke. They’re wonderful.
Business is business, but the organization that’s purported to be the worldwide leader in sports has done nothing to improve its lot with the firings of people like Steve Young, Suzy Kolber, Keyshawn Johnson and Gene Wojciechowski, the best storyteller in the company.
This news, along with game changing developments at the New York Times, which disbanded its sports department and handed over coverage to The Athletic, is not good for anyone who understands the importance of local journalism and authoritative coverage from people who live in the same zip code of the teams they cover.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football: the biggest questions we should ask at Media Days
