40 Acres Sports

The Texas basketball team has struggled for four straight games, particularly shooting the ball, but on the bright side they’ve won three of those contests. Saturday afternoon the team came from behind again in the second half and then finished off the [tag]Iowa State[/tag] Cyclones 71-65 in overtime (video highlights).

Neither team played well on the offensive end in the first half, but thanks to their big men controlling the paint the Cyclones held a four point lead going into the locker room. All-American point guard [tag]DJ Augustin[/tag] putting the ball through the hoop all game long. On the few occasions in the first twenty minutes when a Texas big man had a scoring chance, they either fumbled the ball away ([tag]Clint Chapman[/tag]) or they missed makeable shots (everyone).

The Horns got off to a horrid start in the second half, it took the guys nearly five minutes to make two buckets. The slow start allowed Iowa State to build up a double digit lead that they held going into the final ten minutes. At that point they handed over point duties again to [tag]Justin Mason[/tag], allowing Augustin a chance to create off the ball both for himself and [tag]AJ Abrams[/tag]. Abrams’ shooting carried the team all game long, his seven threes were the only thing that kept the team in it. Texas was able to get some timely buckets from [tag]Gary Johnson[/tag], Abrams, and Augustin to eventually close the gap and send the game to overtime. They had a chance to win it in regulation but couldn’t get a decent shot off in the final seconds.

In overtime, Iowa State couldn’t buy a basket. Their only points from the floor came with 14 seconds left when the game was essentially over. Texas was able to get key buckets from Abrams and Augustin and hit their free throws to seal the win. The 12th ranked Longhorns are now 19-4 on the season and improve to 6-2 in Big 12 play.

Player of the Game: AJ Abrams, 25 points, 7/10 on 3-pointers

Next Game: 8pm Monday vs. #5 Kansas, Erwin Center, TV: ESPN

Yesterday the Longhorns overcame a 13-point deficit in their way to a 71-65 win over [tag]Iowa State[/tag] in Ames. Read the Bevo Sports’ recap or check below for ESPN highlights of the game:

Russell Shepard not affected by Gilbert decision. He knows there will be competition at whichever school he chooses.

Despite not being paid or actually playing, the NCAA is docking Dogus Balbay games next year for playing on a Turkish pro team.

Garrett Gilbert made it official this afternoon, he’s going to play quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. From Lake Travis’ state of the art indoor practice facility (that place makes most college programs jealous) announced he would be staying close to home and committed to Mack Brown and the Longhorns.

Excerpts from the press conference (courtesy of Orangebloods):

“I am here to announce my commitment to play football at The University of Texas. I’m very excited about this opportunity. I feel very blessed and I’m looking forward to a great opportunity to get a great education at Texas and also the chance to play football at one of the best universities in the nation.”

“It’s been my dream to be a Longhorn ever since I was a little kid, ever since I moved here to Austin. It’s just a real blessing and as soon as I got the offer, I knew that that’s where I wanted to go.”

Welcome to the family Garrett, can’t wait to see you in burnt orange.

Related Links

• Video of the press conference.
• Rivals.com profile
• Scout.com profile

What happened to the 5-star prospects? CFN re-ranks the top prospects from the 2004 recruiting class including Frank Okam and Drew Kelson.

Nevada football recruit lied about scholarship offer from Cal, and then lied about being scammed. The kid has issues.

The Austin-American Statesman has a scoop that might make Texas fans feel a little better after a day of rough news. Reportedly Lake Travis quarterback Garrett Gilbert, one of Rivals.com’s top 2009 QB’s and a 5-star recruit, will announce his college destination on Thursday afternoon. Of course this is only good news if Gilbert commits to the Horns, but fortunately word on the street is that is exactly what will happen.

Gilbert certainly knows how to fling the ball around the football field. The son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert, Garrett passed for 4,826 yards and 52 touchdowns for Lake Travis last season. He set Texas season records for passing yards, completions, and attempts during his junior season while leading his team to a 4A state title. Gilbert is one of the best pure passers to come out of the state in years.

The ink isn’t dry yet on the letters of intent from the 2008 class, but If the Horns can secure Gilbert’s commitment today they’ll be off and running for 2009. Keep your fingers crossed, this would be huge.

The big one got away today (under suspicious circumstances) but the 2008 Texas recruiting class is still a good one. Mack Brown and the Horns signed 20 young athletes to letters of intent, nine of which are already on campus for the spring semester.

The class is headlined by defensive backs Aaron Williams and DJ Monroe, who along with safety Nolan Brewster, should anchor the Texas defensive backfield for the next four or five years. On the offensive side WR/RB DeSean Hales is electric with the football in his hands and wide receiver Dan Buckner is huge and will catch anything thrown in his general direction.

Here’s the full list of signees:

Name	Position	Rating	Hometown
[tag]Emmanuel Acho[/tag]	LB		Dallas
[tag]Nolan Brewster[/tag]	DB		Denver, CO
[tag]Mark Buchanan[/tag]	OL		Austin
[tag]Dan Buckner[/tag]	WR		Allen
[tag]Brock Fitzhenry[/tag]	RB		Giddings
[tag]Blake Gideon[/tag]	DB		Leander
[tag]DJ Grant[/tag]	WR		Austin
[tag]DeSean Hales[/tag]	RB		Klein
[tag]Antoine Hicks[/tag]	ATH		Mansfield
[tag]Jeremy Hills[/tag]	RB		Alief
[tag]Jarvis Humphrey[/tag]	DT		Cedar Hill
[tag]Dravannti Johnson[/tag]	LB		Nederland
[tag]DJ Monroe[/tag]	DB		Angleton
[tag]Tre Newton[/tag]	RB		Southlake
[tag]Luke Poehlmann[/tag]	OL		Brenham
[tag]Kheeston Randall[/tag]	DT		Beaumont
[tag]Ryan Roberson[/tag]	RB		Brenham
[tag]David Snow[/tag]	OL		Gilmer
[tag]Justin Tucker[/tag]	K		Austin
[tag]Aaron Williams[/tag]	DB		Round Rock

Congratulations to the newest Texas Longhorns!

The recruitment of 5-star running back Darrell Scott has been a whirlwind to follow for Texas fans, but that all ends today on National Signing Day as Scott will announce his college choice at 11:50am Central. ESPNU and ESPN.com will carry his announcement live along with those of several of the nation’s other top undecided players.

Rivals.com‘s top running back in the country, Scott has narrowed it down to Colorado and Texas but no one is sure (maybe even Darrell himself) which one it’s going to be. Texas threw their hat into the ring for Scott’s services relatively late in the game, really not beginning to recruit him until he show interest early last Fall. At the time the Horns were seen as a long shot against schools such as Colorado, Florida, and UCLA.

The Texas coaches including Bobby Kennedy and Ken Rucker were able to build up a relationship with the young man and bring him in to Austin for an official visit. As always, Darrell left town extremely impressed with the coaches, the facilities, and the city. Texas quickly went from underdog to one of the favorites.

Next came Scott’s trip to San Antonio for the US Army All-American Bowl in early January. While in town Scott was impressed by the love he was shown by Texas fans, tons of people wishing him luck and flashing him the Hook ’em. And the big news, Jamaal Charles was leaving Texas early for the NFL Draft. Suddenly the depth chart was wide open and the experts were calling the Longhorns the favorites.

In the last 48 hours things have gotten truly crazy. All the inside sources, Darrell’s coaches, and the experts believed that he was clearly leaning towards Texas and would sign with the Horns. Then things went quiet. Family pressure has been pushing him to Colorado all along to play with his uncle (Josh Smith) and it is believed that has intensified in the last two days. Things have gone from Texas being the clear leader Monday, to 50-50 yesterday morning, and now it appears that the family has decided he’ll be headed Colorado. No matter which school he chooses, I hope Darrell is able to make the decision that is best for him and his future.

We all find out where Darrell is headed later today, stay tuned…

Update: According to Geoff Ketchum over at Orangebloods, Texas has “zero shot” of receiving Scott’s commitment today. The poor kid’s recruitment has become a “circus.” (10:40 am)

Update: Here is the link to ESPN’s live feed. Scott is supposed to announce at 11:50. (11:26 am)

Update: It’s official: Darrell Scott is headed to Colorado. He sounds like a well spoken young man, it’s a shame things turned out the way they did because it sounds like there’s some questionable things going on around him. (11:54 am)