The NCAA did a couple of good things on Wednesday.
While I'm usually Doc Holiday when it comes to drawing on the gutless, often-pointless organization, I'll be fair and give them an attaboy after making a pair of rule changes that are absolutely in the best interests of its constituency,
1. Athletes can now transfer from one school to another school without needing to ask permission from the school from which the athlete is transferring.
2. Players can now participate in up to four games in a season without it costing a player his redshirt year.
It's about damn time.
With all due respect to the first rule change mention, let's spend some time talking about the second one because I might contend it's the most important rule change in college football since the addition of instant replay to the sport.
Gone are the days when a coach will selfishly burn an entire season of eligibility for a young man because of the desperation of trying to win a single game (see Tyrone Swoopes).
Gone are the days when coaches will have to make blind decisions on whether a young player is ready to risk a season of eligibility in the name of early playing time.
Gone are the days of regret, which usually follows when you con't play a kid at all, only to find out a year later that he should have been playing from day one (see Earl Thomas).
What really becomes interesting now is how coaches from across the country will use the four games each player has at his disposal before ultimately making decisions on which direction in which to go. Do you let them play a couple of games early and then save the last two for later in the season? Do you treat any easy non-conference games as a full-on young player scrimmage if you're up on a patsy going into the third quarter? Do you wait until the second half of the season to start playing young kids that are on the fence, instead of early in the season, out of potential injury need?
One thing is certain, coaches will no longer be forced to make decisions on kids in August and September, which is a good thing for everyone involved. There's absolutely no reason to rush into playing a kid in an early season game any longer. You play the guys who are truly ready, but you've got wiggle room now to allow for more informed decision-making.
There is no downside in this decision from the NCAA ... none.
Watching Tom Herman navigate this new change will be a fascinating little subplot to this season.
Number Two
I think the following group of five players are suddenly pretty critical in the Class of 2019 for the Longhorns:
* Cedar Hill Trinity defensive back Lewis Cine (No. 91 nationally by Rivals)
* Austin Bowie wide receiver Elijah Higgins (No. 128 nationally by Rivals)
* Mansfield Legacy defensive back Jalen Catalon (No. 151 nationally by Rivals)
* Crandall offensive lineman Branson Bragg (No. 154 nationally by Rivals)
* West Mesquite wide receiver Dylan Wright (No. 228 nationally by Rivals)
Of the top 30 or so of the best prospects in the state of Texas, these are the five that Texas has the best chance of landing by a large margin. Given that Texas currently has only two commitments from Texas Top 30 kids (as rated by Rivals), these five kids become pretty important because ... if not them ... who?
It's an impossible question to answer at this point.
Number Three
One of the real interesting subplots to the Texas/Arkansas match-up in the College World Series is the fact that the Hawgs busted up the Longhorns in such a way earlier in the season that I've had people in the Texas program tell me that those games represented a line in the sand moment for the players in the program.
Texas was 9-9 after those two losses and it was in the direct aftermath of those defeats that players like Kody Clemens really started to take control of the locker room from a leadership standpoint.
Now this team has a chance to deliver a little dose of revenge against an Arkansas team that will be sky high in the confidence department.
I'm popping my popcorn early for this one.
Number Four
This stat deserves its own section.
Number Five
I can't say I know a lot about new Texas track coach Edrick Floreal, but he sure seems to check a ton of boxes.
What he was able to do at Kentucky since arriving in 2012 is pretty damn impressive, considering Kentucky isn't exactly a track and field blue blood, as his athletes won 12 NCAA event championships, 142 All-America honors, and 37 individual SEC championships.
Over the course of the last two decades, I can't say I've ever seen Texas fans care about track outside of mild interest in the success of the women's program once upon a time under Bev Kearney.
It would be cool if Floreal can change that, even slightly.
Number Six
Bleacher Report put out an updated list of the Top 10 all-time small forwards in the history of the NBA following the recent NBA Finals and here's how it played out:
1. LeBron James
2. Larry Bird
3. Kevin Durant
4. John Havlicek
5. Elgin Baylor
6. Julius Erving
7. Scottie Pippen
8. Paul Pierce
9. Dominique Wilkins
10. Adrian Dantley
Here's what was said of Durant: "But he has those titles now. He owns a pair of Finals MVPs, putting him in a class containing only himself, Willis Reed, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Tim Duncan and Michael Jordan. History won't take those away, though it might instead gloss over the free-agency decision that overloaded the Dubs once a few decades have passed.
What won't be forgotten? Durant's status as a unicorn among unicorns, a 7-footer with a guard's skill set who can take over games as one of the greatest scorers in league history while playing excellent defense and filling a point-forward role. His lithe, wiry frame allows him to speed by bigger defenders and shoot over the top of smaller ones, making him a veritable cheat code when he finds a rhythm.
Among all 999 players in NBA history with at least 500 games to their credit, Durant ranks seventh in player efficiency rating. He sits at Nos. 10 and 16 for win shares per 48 minutes and box plus/minus, respectively. And none of those numbers isolate his greatest skill: sheer, unadulterated scoring excellence.
Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Jordan, James and Durant are the only six men in NBA history averaging at least 27 points per game throughout their careers. None of them can come close to matching Durant's true shooting percentage (61.1), with James (58.6) and Jordan (56.9) coming in a distant second and third. No one has ever blended together volume and efficiency quite like this two-time reigning champion.
And as such, with 11 professional seasons under his belt, he's truly earned treatment as the all-time great he's become. That would've been true even if he'd somehow come up short against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA Finals. But a little icing on the cake, especially in the form of two trophies earned in conjunction, never hurts. "
Number Seven
Be better, Aggies. Be better.
