KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Utah basketball coach Craig Smith was talking to his director of operations this week about travel schedules and what exactly the Utes will be facing this season in the Big 12, which now spans four time zones following more realignment.
It’s a long flight from Salt Lake City to Orlando, Florida, where Utah will play UCF — even longer than you might think.
“You have to stop and refuel on the charter,” Smith pointed out, “and you add it all together with the time zone change, that’s eight hours. You leave at noon and you land at 8 p.m. That’s just part of it. You adapt and adjust.”
It goes both ways, of course, with teams such as UCF, West Virginia and Cincinnati making long trips westward to Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado, the other three newcomers to the Big 12 this season. And it may even be an advantage for those in the old Big Eight footprint such as Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State, who are somewhat centrally located.
“It’s going to impact everyone. We’re all going to have to play schedules where we travel different time zones,” said UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, who likened it to his days playing in the NBA. “I’m kind of used to that, being able to make that transition, but it is different. We have to prepare ourselves properly when we go on those trips and when we return.”
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley has already begun the preparation. He scheduled a closed scrimmage on the road and will play an exhibition at Duke this weekend, giving his team a dry run at what such cross-country trips will be like.
“Hopefully,” Hurley said, “that will pay some dividends as we hit our conference schedule.”
Making the grind even more daunting is the fact that Big 12 teams will play 20 conference games this season — a schedule that has rankled some coaches because it means fewer weeks where they might get an extra day or two of rest.
“We’ve going to see how it goes this year,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. “I don’t think it’s set in stone. We’ll evaluate it with our coaches during the season and following the season and we’ll make a determination if that is what we stick to.”
Second chances
Once-heralded recruit Mikey Williams, whose career at Memphis was derailed before he even stepped on the floor when he was charged with allegedly firing a gun at a car outside his home, is getting a second chance at UCF this season.
Williams faced nine felonies after his April 2023 arrest, but the charges were reduced and Williams pleaded guilty to a single felony last November. He was sentenced to a year of probation and the felony charge was reduced to a misdemeanor.
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said Wednesday that his staff did its “due diligence” before offering Dawkins a spot on the team, and that he believes the former five-star recruit was “the right fit for our program.”
“If we were in a world where we didn’t give second chances,” Dawkins said, “I don’t know where we’d be right now.”
Injury news
Baylor guard Langston Love, who had a season-ending ankle injury in February, has been increasing his practice load, and Bears coach Scott Drew hopes to have him at full speed by conference play. Love averaged 11 points before getting hurt.
Cincinnati guard Day Day Thomas, who averaged 10.4 points before breaking his foot in the NIT last year, had a minor setback in practice this week. It is not expected to keep him out long, though it kept him from traveling to Big 12 media day.
“Everything had gone exactly according to plan, all the way up to the end of practice yesterday,” Bearcats coach Wes Miller said. “I don’t think it’s serious but he had a little bit of a setback on the foot, so just out of precaution we held him back.”
Young and hungry
Few players in Division I hoops this season are younger than Arizona State’s Jayden Quaintance, who just turned 17 in July. He was young enough last year to lead the U.S. under-16 national team to a FIBA Americas Championship gold medal.
“What he’s going to be a couple of years from now is scary because he’s so advanced for his age,” Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley said. “If you look at him, physically, he’s ready to compete in college basketball.”
Officials on notice
John Higgins, who was hired by the Big 12 to help oversee officials, has implemented a game-by-game evaluation process. The goal is to provide better and more timely feedback to the league’s officials this season.
“Within 48 hours, we’re going to give that evaluation to the official,” Higgins said, “so at the end of the year I’m very transparent with them whether they will be retained or get the games they think they should be getting.”
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