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Garrett Gilbert transfers to SMU

November 2, 2011 By

Photo: John McStravick via Flickr

Despite recently having surgery to repair an undisclosed shoulder injury, Garrett Gilbert has decided to join June Jones and Southern Methodist University, according to reports. Gilbert will sit out a season, per NCAA FBS transfer rules, and will return to the field in 2013.

In all fairness, this was the right move for the young QB from Lake Travis to make. After his near heroics against Alabama in the ‘09 BCS Title game, Garrett has become a punch-line amongst many Longhorn fans.

When it came down to it, Gilbert lost out to fans because he: 1. Could not live up the hype he received out of high school  2. The coaching staff placed him on a pedestal of which no one could challenge and 3. Fans felt that Garrett was too aloof and arrogant as a player. When mixed all together, it’s a recipe for disaster, as evidenced by the 5-7 season Texas had in 2010.

It’s unfortunate that a talent like Gilbert transfers out, but in the end it is the right move. A change of scenery, as well as lowered expectations, may be something that he needs.

If anything, June Jones’ style of offense could also benefit Gilbert as well. The “Run-and-Gun”, Jones brought from Hawaii to Dallas may help Gilbert thrive and flourish, as it was the style he grew up in at Lake Travis.

In any case, Garrett Gilbert’s final stat line as a Longhorn:
305/538-3301 yards-13 TD-23 INT

Filed Under: 2010, 2011, College, Community Sports Teams Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Texas wins, moves on in Big XII tourney; NCAA baseball bat clarification

May 26, 2011 By

Longhorns Roll

After a rough beginning to the Big XII tournament, Texas rebounded in it’s “Loser’s bracket game” against Baylor with a 6-1 win.  The offense pounded out 11 hits, with Brandon Loy going 3 for 5, garnering 2 RBI’s against Baylor’s struggling pitching staff.

Texas’ ace pitcher Taylor Jungmann struck out 7 Bear batters and only allowed 4 walks en route to a complete game,  one hit victory for the Horns. Jungmann improves to 13-0 on the year, which gives Texas it’s 41st win of the season.

The next opponent for the Horns will be Oklahoma State on Friday afternoon.

NCAA regulations on baseball bats

In the last post, I referenced that some of Texas’ offensive woes could be the result of a new type of aluminum bat that the NCAA is using this season. However, there was little clarification on the subject, i.e: what exactly were the changes college baseball enacted?

So here is a rough summary of the changes that were made:

Before last season, the NCAA used the “Ball Exit Speed Ratio” or BESR to measure the total exit speed of the baseball after the ball has been hit  by the bat. This is formulated by adding the speed of the ball when it’s pitched with how fast the ball travels off the bat itself. The whole reason for the ratio was to find a way to make the aluminum bat as close to it’s wooden counterparts in the major leagues, thus the NCAA deemed that any bats that hit balls faster than 97 MPH off the bat would be illegal. However, the main complaint was that the ratio was not close enough to the wooden bats, giving them an ability to propel the ball further than what wooden bats can accomplish. The bats were too thin,  too light and consequently allowed the ball to “trampoline” off the bat (deemed the “trampoline effect”).  It was found that the  more the bats under BESR were used, the trampoline effect heightened, allowing ball exit speeds to exceed 110 MPH.

Starting in 2011, the NCAA implemented the “Bat-Ball Coefficient Of Retention” or BBCOR, a more accurate way of regulating the speed the ball travels off of the bat. Instead of formulating the exit speed of the ball, the BBCOR measures the trampoline effect on the baseball, how much the ball rebounds off the bat. The NCAA found that wood bats, which have no trampoline effect, give off a coefficient of .50 when one works out the mathematical equations for BBCOR. Therefore, the NCAA deems that any bat that goes beyond the .50 coefficient is illegal. Additionally, the NCAA has regulated the density and weight of bats, enforcing that all bats must weigh no less than 3 ounces than the length of the bat (ex: a 32 inch bat must not weigh less than 29 ounces). The latter rule would limit the deterioration of the bats, which would greatly improve the performance of the bat and the hitter by increasing the trampoline effect.

So, that’s quite a bit of information to understand. Here’s what everyone wants to know: Has the change in bats affected batters and team offense?

Yes, drastically.

Let’s take the top team in batting average from last year, Utah Valley State: Their batting average to finish the year was a torrid .372. So far in 2011, New Mexico is leading the NCAA with an average of .340.

177 of the 292 Division I teams had a batting average over .300 in 2010. Thus far in 2011, only 56 of 292 teams are hitting above .300.

Also, lets look at home runs: Auburn led the NCAA with 131 in 2010. In 2011, East Tennessee State leads Division I with 86.

Without a doubt, the offense has been regulated with the elimination of the BESR bats, making the game a much more pitcher friendly sport.

Of course, this was done to increase safety in the game. Thanks to shows like “Sports Science”, it has been proven that the normal reaction time to a 95 mph baseball thrown from the pitchers mound to home plate (60 ft., 6 in.) is 395 milliseconds or .395 of a second. With a ball that goes off a BESR bat travelling at over 110 mph, it essentially becomes invisible to an infielder, fan or worse, a pitcher. There have been many cases of serious and fatal injuries due to the trampoline effect and the damage it causes.

So, there is some clarification on what the NCAA has done in the 2011 season regarding bats.

For more info (and to credit where I got most of this information) visit: The NCAA’s rule protocol and formulation of the BBCOR and this video by NorthTexasBaseball on YouTube.

Stats via www.ncaa.org

Filed Under: 2010, 2011, Baseball, College, Community Sports Teams Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Texas Baseball can learn from Softball counterparts’ post-season failure

May 25, 2011 By

With a sterling record of 40-14 and a share of the Big XII regular season championship, it would be very easy for the Texas Longhorn baseball team to cruise into the 2011 post-season without too much stress upon their shoulders.

After all, they have already assured themselves the opportunity to host the first round of the NCAA regional and potentially host the second round, “Super Regionals”, of the NCAA baseball playoffs.

So there’s nothing to worry about, right?

In the immortal words of football TV analyst Lee Corso: “Not so fast, my friend”.

For Longhorn fans, the big fear isn’t based on lack of talent or coaching; Rather, it comes down to complacency and laziness amongst the players. The team can only look to the Longhorn Softball team for an example on how not to finish out the season prior to the playoffs.

Heading into the final six games of the regular season, the Texas Softball team was on a roll, going 43-4 (including winning streaks of 9 and 18 games) before losing to Oklahoma on April 30th. After that ball game, Texas seemed to coast into the playoffs, in the process losing 3 of their last 6 games of the year and losing the Big XII title to Missouri. Subsequently they were eliminated in surprising fashion by Houston and Louisiana Lafayette in two straight games in the Austin Regional last week. All of the momentum Texas had during the year was negated due  the complacency the players seemingly exhibited in the last month of the year.

Thus is the reason why Texas must show up during the Big XII post-season tournament this weekend: Not only to vie for a championship but to also keep themselves from losing any momentum going into the playoffs. Most notably for this Longhorn team, it’s keeping an already quiet offense from going completely silent.

Prior to the Big XII tourney, Texas as team put up some paltry offensive stats during the season: A .266 batting average (232nd out of 292 teams); .374 slugging percentage (202 of 292); 5.3 runs scored per game (181 of 292) and only 12 home runs hit (266 of 292).

Part of this can be blamed on the neutralization of Aluminum Bats in the sport (Which is, the increased mass of the bats, making them denser and heavier than in previous seasons). However, most of the issues Texas has had is personell related; the bats have not showed themselves for the Horns this year.

Hence why the Tournament is a good time to re-adjust and re-think the approach at the plate for Texas’ offense. The ‘Horns top ranked pitching staff, with it’s 2.21 ERA, can only take this team so far before their arms tire.

Unfortunately, it has already been an ominous start for UT, losing their opening round game to Missouri, 6-4. They will need to win 5 games in 4 days to take the Big XII title, but will need to beat Baylor on Thursday to stay in the tourney.

This might just be one of the more difficult challenges for iconic coach Augie Garrido: How to motivate a team to maintain momentum and in some ways, regain it altogether. Otherwise,  Texas Baseball could very well follow in the footsteps of the Softball team: Lots of talent and potential that would find itself with a surprisingly long summer.

Filed Under: 2010, 2011, Baseball, College Tagged With: , , , , , ,

San Marcos Academy Takes District Crown

February 6, 2011 By
SMA varsity boys basketball champs

SMA varsity boys basketball champs Photo Credit: Ronald Oswalt

AUSTIN, TX – The San Marcos Academy Bears varsity boys went to Austin for one reason, to bring home a district 6-3A championship home to San Marcos and stay undefeated in district. The Bears, ranked second in the state by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, used their patented tough defense to do so in grand fashion in a 40-16 blowout over the Knights of Austin Regents.

In first period action, Sabas Castillo would hit one of two free throws to give the Bears an early 1-0 lead but both teams struggled offensively through the first four minutes of the game.

With 3:01 left in the period a big block by Estevan Gutierrez would energize the Bears. John Nealon would hit a deep 3-point shot to put the Bears up 4-0. But Currie Pipkins and Castillo would pick up two fouls apiece early and put themselves on the bench. Gutierrez would put up a shot along the baseline as the Bears led 6-2 after the first period in the defensive battle.

Another 3-point shot by Nealon along with a drive by Ty Merriweather put the Bears ahead 12-2. The Knights would manage a free throw by Thomas Grafton but Nealon would answer again with another 3-point shot and the Bears would go up 15-3. The Bears would then go to their bench of Aubrey Oswalt and Juncheng Yang to give the defensive led Bears a breather.

Nealon would add another 3-point shot as the Bears took an 18-5 lead to the locker room. Nealon led all scorers in the first half with 11 points ,but the largest surprise was that the Bears held the Knights to 0-18 on field goal attempts during the half. The Bears also struggled going 6-20 from the field.

The third quarter was dominated by the down low play of Pipkins and Castillo. They dominated the paint on both ends of the court for the Bears. The Knights would not score from the field until the 5:56 mark of the period. The Bears would push the lead to 28-12 after a Pipkins shot and Castillo hit a fall away jumper at the buzzer for a 32-14 lead.

The point guard play of Ty Merriweather would push the ball fast and furious for the Bears. With 3:40 left in the game and the Bears up 38-16 both teams started heavy substitutions and Colin King would make a layup for the final points and seal the district regular season championship by a 24 point margin of 40-16.

SMA Head Coach Kelia Price said postgame, ‘This is one of our goals to complete this season, a team district championship. We played well from the starters to the kids that came off the bench in reserve. I am extremely proud of our work on the defensive side of the ball and the support of the staff and students at SMA.”

The Bears improve to 23-2 and 12-0 in district play; the Knights fell to 5-13 and 2-7 in district action.

In girl’s action, the Lady Bears fell to the Lady Knights of Austin Regents by a margin of 43-12, the Bears were led in scoring by Taylor Teis and the victorious Lady Knights were led by Lindsey Anderson with 17 points to lead all scorers. The Lady Bears drop to 6-18 and 2-7 in district and the Lady Knights 14-11 overall and 10-2 in district play.

The Bears return to action on Tuesday night for Senior Night versus Hallettsville Sacred Heart.

Filed Under: 2010, 2011, Basketball, San Marcos Academy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Record Breaking Crowd witness Bears beat Wildcats

January 23, 2011 By
Crowd At SMA's Chik-Fil-A Court

Crowd At SMA's Chik-Fil-A Court by Don Anders

By Richard Lopez

In front of the largest crowd in San Marcos Academy basketball history, the Second Ranked in State by Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll Bears varsity team played perhaps the biggest game of the season Friday night at Chick-Fil-A Court on the San Marcos Academy Campus against the New Braunfels Christian Wildcats.

The Bears, playing in front of a packed gym with standing room only, played a very physical game against the Wildcats, in which every possession mattered.

The Bears and Wildcats would battle during the first quarter, with the Bears narrowly edging out the Wildcats to a 9-7 lead. The quarter was lead by Sabas Castillo who had 4. The Bears would continue battling during the second quarter, taking a 21-16 lead into the half. Castillo would tack on 4 more during the second quarter to pace the Bears with 8 total points. John Nealon would be the Bears second leading scorer during the half with 6. Jonathan Abraham would lead the Wildcats with 8 points.

The second half would feature the two ranked teams trading buckets, including a six point lead by the Bears being cut down to four on the Wildcats clutch free throw shooting after a technical foul by Diondrick McCoy would send them to the line.

Ty Merriweather would end the quarter on a good note for the Bears drawing an “And 1”, eventually making the free throw attempt to put the lead back up to 7 points, at 33-28 to end the third quarter. Merriweather was proud of not only his play, but the play of the team.

“We knew that New Braunfels Christian was a good team,” Said Merriweather. “We did not give up, and fought through all kinds of adversity.”

Castillo,Nealon, Merriweather and Currie Pipkins would all come up with baskets early in the quarter, but the Bears tough defense would send the Wildcats to the line early and often, and the Wildcats took advantage sinking most of their opportunities from the line. Nealon would sink a three pointer with just over a minute left to make the lead 45-37 Bears. The Wildcats would make four quick points to cut the lead to 4 at 45-41.

Nealon would foul out on the Wildcats next possession with 39.8 seconds left, and the Wildcats would make the two free throws to put the game at 45-43. A bucket by Brett Mackall would put the lead back up to 4, and force the Wildcats to call a timeout.

Mackall was fouled, and sink both free throws to put the lead back up to 4. The Wildcats would come down and sink a three pointer to make the score 49-48 which would end up being the final score.

Nealon lead the Bears with 12 points, followed by Castillo with 10, and Pipkins with 8. Mccoy would pace the Bears defense with 3 steals, and Castillo lead the team in assists with 4. SMA Head Coach Kelia Price after the game would be proud of his teams play, in front of a record breaking crowd.

“Tonight we played through it all,” Said Price. “Tonight we played a very good New Braunfels Christian team, and at times the game was physical and emotional for both teams. Tonight helped us seal goal number one which was to win district. We have many more goals as a team to accomplish and are not satisfied with just accomplishing one of our goals.”

Wildcats dropped to 17-8 on the season, including 6-2 in district play with both losses coming to the second ranked Bears. The Bears improved to 19-2, including an undefeated record in district at 8-0

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In Junior Varsity Boys Action, the San Marcos Academy Bears played well and beat the New Braunfels Christian Wildcats 41-27 at Chick-Fil-A Court on the San Marcos Academy campus. Devante Williams and Aubrey Oswalt powered the boys offense scoring 19 and 17 points respectively. Oswalt was 4-5 from behind the three point line, including scoring 11 during the first half. He also had 5 blocks and 12 rebounds.

The Bears improved to 8-4 on the season under head Coach Payden Sharkey who is very proud of the way his team is playing stating “we are dominant on both ends of the floor, making early statements and setting the tone throughout the night.

—————-

In Lady Bear Action, the New Braunfels Christian Wildcats beat the San Marcos Academy Lady Bears 41-19 at Chick-Fil-A Court on the San Marcos Academy campus. Mallaree Kent was the leading scorer for the Lady Bears with 8, while Adams paced the 10th ranked in state Wildcats offense with 12 points.

Filed Under: 2010, Basketball, San Marcos Academy Tagged With: , , , , ,

SMA Bears Basketball Teams Win Despite Sloppy Play

January 18, 2011 By
Sabas Castillo battles inside during the Bears victory of Keystone Cobras Tuesday Night at Chick-Fil-A Court

Sabas Castillo battles inside during the Bears victory of Keystone Cobras Tuesday Night at Chick-Fil-A Court

The San Marcos Academy Bears, 2nd ranked in the state wide poll by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, came away with a slim win over the Keystone Cobras by the score of 42-37 at Chick-Fil-A Court on the San Marcos Academy campus Tuesday night.

The Cobras quickly jumped out to an 8-1 lead, during the first few minutes of the game with the only bucket for the Bears coming off a free throw by Sabas Casillo.

The Bears would answer with a 9-1 run to end the first quarter lead by Ty Merriweather to make the score 10-9 Bears going into the second quarter.

The second quarter would feature more of the same sloppy play by the Bears, as their defense would hold Keystone to only 6 points, while the offense continued to struggle only scoring 10 points.

The Bears would go into the half with a 20-15 lead, which is by far their smallest point total of the season during a half. The scoring leaders for the first half would be Merriweather and Currie Pipkins with 6 each.

The Bears defense would continue to play solid during the third quarter, holding the Cobras scoreless for the first few minutes of the second half with the Cobras making their first point off a free throw with 4:23 left in the third quarter.

The Bears would outscore the Cobras 13-6 in the third quarter as the offense continued to shoot poor from the field and the free throw line.

A technical foul by Sabas Castillo cut the Bears lead to 37-30 during the middle of the fourth quarter. The two teams would exchange baskets to put the game at 39-32. John Nealon would nail a three pointer to put the lead back to 10 at 42-32 before Keystone would close the lead to 5 by scoring two straight buckets, and a free throw.

This was as close as the Cobras would get losing by the final score of 42-37. John Nealon would be the leading scorer with 12 points, and Merriweather and Castillo would contribute 8 each to help lead the to Bears to victory.

The Bears would improve to 18-2, and stay undefeated in district at 7-0. The Cobras would drop to 4-9 overall with a 3-3 record in district.

Head Coach Kelia Price, had a few comments after the game about the Bears slim victory.

“Our team can play better than we did tonight. I expect a higher level of play than they showed me tonight, and as a team they expect a higher level of play for themselves”

In Lady Bear action, the San Marcos Academy Lady Bears would win a close game over the Keystone Cobras the score of 36-34 at Chick-Fil-A Court on the San Marcos Academy campus Tuesday night.

Lindsey Preston pushes the ball up court for the final shot during the Lady Bears victory over Keystone Cobras Tuesday Night at Chick-Fil-A Court.

Lindsey Preston pushes the ball up court for the final shot during the Lady Bears victory over Keystone Cobras Tuesday Night at Chick-Fil-A Court.

The Bears would trail the Cobras 19-12 at halftime, but would play a strong third quarter to tie the game up at 36, lead by the defense of Taylor Teis.

The Cobras would tie the game at 34 with 15 seconds left, and Tiara Hansen would hit a buzzer beater shot to give the Lady Bears the victory. The Lady Bears would improve to 2-5 in district, while the Cobras would drop to 0-7 in district. Hansen would lead the Bears with 14 points overall. Lady Bear Head Coach Toby Wade was very proud of his team following their victory.

“This was a huge win for the Lady Bears,” said Wade. “We played hard, kept fighting and did not give up. I am very proud of the way that our Lady Bears played tonight and hope that they continue to play the kind of basketball they showed tonight.”

Filed Under: 2010, Basketball, San Marcos Academy Tagged With: , , , , ,
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