ADVERTISEMENT

What was he Thinking? (LONNQUIST THOUGHTS)

k lonnquist

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2009
39,929
21,868
113
A trip through the random juke box takes us to my personal anthem of the 1980s:




***
I hope you enjoyed the work the Courtney Roland provided for us when she did the video interview with Galena Park North Shore safety Eric Monroe.

You might as well get used to that. Starting today (Monday), Courtney is going to be joining SicEmSports in a part-time capacity providing some spot video interviews and maybe a story here and there.

You’ve seen Courtney work elsewhere with the Texas A&M. But Courtney has freelanced for other sites including LSU as well making the yearly trip to the Rivals 5-star challenge in early June. She does interviews all over.

I wanted to bring the video interviews back and thought who could I get that might measure up to the standard that Courtney set. Then, I thought, “Why not Courtney?”

She and I talked late last week. We are set to go. The best thing is that she’s based in Houston and can get to all of the big-name recruits. She also travels up to DFW frequently so we can definitely take advantage of that.

My thinking is that is if I’m going to be affiliated with a major outlet like Rivals, I should take advantage of the resources available. Courtney’s reputation on the Rivals network is unsurpassed.

For now, you could see her or read from her maybe once or twice a week. Maybe you won’t see her for a week. That plan continues to unfold. But she will be in Baltimore in the first week of June for the upcoming Rivals 5-star challenge. She will be doing reports from there.

The one thing you’ll find from this site is that the professionalism will win the day. We all are here because we want to keep up with all things Baylor. That’s a given.

I’ve really taken to heart what Cowboys announcer Brad Sham said when he was asked about whether or not he was a homer. His paraphrased response was that he wanted to bring professionalism to the booth but at the same time tell the story from the Cowboys’ point of view. That’s the same with me and Baylor.

You’ve welcomed Matt Clare with open arms. I believe those results speak for themselves. And judging by your reaction to Courtney’s piece with Monroe, I don’t expect any concerns.

Of course, if you do have some, please feel free to let me know.


***
I guess we can’t start this without addressing the horrible tragedy of the gang battle at the Twin Peaks in Waco.

The gist of this was based on two rival gangs meeting at some “neutral” location to discuss whose turf is whose and recruiting practices. In other words, these guys haven’t grown up. Sadly, an incident in the bathroom spilled into restaurant where shots were fired leaving nine dead, 192 arrested and more questions left unanswered.

I heard on the news this morning that Waco police and DPS had warned the owners of the Twins Peaks restaurant to turn down this meeting. That went ignored. So that kind of tells you who might be running this place.

Thankfully, no bystanders were caught in the crossfire and harmed. Gangs will be a part of our world. But I would think that many of us are so far removed from that part of life that we don’t really even know somebody who may be in one. We may have heard of someone being in one.

Because of the circumstances that went into this, I would consider this an isolated incident (as large scale as it was) and not a reflection of the Waco community.

Waco just happened to be the common ground where these gangs met up and then all heck broke lose. The good news is that the restaurant has been ordered closed for the next seven days so the investigation will continue.

Obviously, the Waco Police Department and other law enforcement agencies have to be vigilant against potential reprisals. You know there were gang members who weren’t there and want revenge. Now, threats are being levied against law enforcement.

Hopefully, time will eventually help restore the calm. And the justice will be swift.

As for Baylor athletics, I really don’t see this being an issue for any of the programs especially football. Obviously, there will be some parents concerned about the city that the coaching staff will have to address.

I’m also sure there will be some schools who will use this in their pitch as to why Baylor should not be the choice for recruit X. But one thing I do know is that Baylor’s coaching staff does a pretty good job of staying on message with the recruits it wants.


***
So let’s talk about all of these lists that Baylor finds itself on with big-name recruits.

>Marrero LA LB and Rivals 100 prospect Michael Divinity announced Baylor is in his Top 15.

>Palatine IL S Kenney Lyke has Baylor in his Top 4.

>Killeen Shoemaker DT and Rivals 100 prospect Kendell Jones has Baylor in his Top 5.

>Coconut Creek, FL CB and Rivals 100 prospect Trayvon Mullen has Baylor in his Top 10.

>Look for Houston MacArthur DE and Rivals 250 member Isaiah Chambers to have Baylor in his Top 10 whenever he releases it (Matt Clare will have a story on him).

>The same will be true for Euless Trinity DT and Rivals 250 standout Chris Daniels who told us at the Rivals camp series event in Cedar Hill that Baylor will be on his Top 10 list.

>Galena Park North Shore S and Rivals 100 prospect Eric Monroe said he will include Baylor in his finalist list when he announces that at The Opening in Beaverton, OR in mid-July.

So you have seven reasons as to why the recruiting process for Baylor’s 2016 class is going to be protracted with some decisions not being known until National Signing Day 2016 (Feb. 3). This is the price of doing business when you’re a program that is climbing to the top of the mountain and has shown it’s capable of competing for bigger things than just decent bowl appearances.

This the payoff of consecutive Big 12 Championships. I know there are some of you who tend to be enslaved by the Cotton Bowl finish and how much that might impact Baylor.

In short, it doesn’t.

My advice to you is (and I’m borrowing this line from “We Are Marshall”):

FUNERALS END TODAY!


***
If Baylor was really negatively impacted by a bad fourth quarter on New Year’s Day 2015, then why did you just read the above?

This is a coaching staff on a mission and took that nightmare and used it as the genesis to hit the recruiting trail even harder. I was talking with someone who knows Phil Bennett pretty well and said: “Phil means business with this [2016] class.”

Baylor is a legitimate national title contender for 2015. Nothing is guaranteed. But in each of the last three years, I’ve said that this is the most talented team that Baylor has ever fielded.

I have to keep saying that every year because the talent on the team is improving. This 2015 team has so many options. It’s not a perfect team because we still don’t know what the ceiling holds for quarterback Seth Russell. There is an inexperienced secondary. Depth on the offensive line is in question.

There is still time to resolve those issues. I’m not changing my position when I released my way too early Big 12 power rankings and listed Baylor tied for first with TCU. I think these are the two best programs in the conference. If the season unfolds like we think it will, the day after Thanksgiving in Fort Worth could be the game of the year in College Football.

National pundits talk about the Big 12’s national reputation still in question because Texas and Oklahoma aren’t where they normally are. I get that. I understand it. Those two play in front of crowds in excess of 90,000 and 100,000. Baylor and TCU play in front of crowds in excess of 45,000.

But the longer Baylor keeps winning and winning big, the more that stereotype will fade to black. Same goes for TCU. Those two programs understand the dynamics of competing and winning at the highest level.

Whenever Texas and Oklahoma return to national prominence, there will still be room for Baylor and TCU. Why? One word can answer that: Commitment.

And you just saw it on Friday when the Board of Regents approved another $1.1 million for the renovation of the strength and performance wing of the Simpson Athletics Center.

The school just opened $14 million Hart Track & Field Stadium earlier this spring. The $6 million BANC will be ready for the 2015-16 academic calendar.

Is it always going to be 11-2 and Big 12 championships? Probably not. But Baylor is capable of doing what Oklahoma did when the Big 12 started. The Sooners won or shared eight conference titles in the first 16 years. That’s pretty impressive.


***
I’m still worried about Longview 2015 RB JaMycal Hasty. With back injuries, you just never know. He’ll be coming to a place where the training staff can put together a program that can help him get on the road to being 100 percent.

And that’s why I really hope he’s redshirted. First of all Baylor, doesn’t need him this year. There are plenty of skilled position players. The only scenario I can see is that Hasty comes through the summer sessions with no complications and dazzles to the point in fall camp that he can do it.

Otherwise, I can wait a year.


***
Hot other sports opinions…

>An amazing collapse by the LA Clippers against the Houston Rockets in the NBA Western Conference semifinals. That was a total gag on Friday in Los Angeles on Friday. They got what they deserved on Sunday in Houston.

>I’ve decided that New York Rangers goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist is my brother from another mother. Hey, he and I are both Swedes. Ok, he was born there and I’m third generation. But his and my last names start with L and end with IST. So in my book, it counts. Now, if the Rangers don’t win the Stanley Cup, then I’m out. (HA HA)

>Is American Pharoah going to tease us like California Chrome did last year in the quest for the Triple Crown? The 1 ½ mile Belmont has been the scene where many hopefuls go to die. It’s a long race. It’s about the pace and having enough in the tank down the stretch. We haven’t had a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. It would be great to see it again. In an unrelated thought, the ESPN 30 for 30 piece on Secretariat (I think it was 30 for 30) was one of the best sports documentaries I’ve ever. To win the Belmont by 23 lengths was numbing. I still have that picture of his jockey looking back at the rest of the field.

>I’m tired of the Deflategate with the New England Patriots. The more this is the argued, the worse it looks for that organization. I just want to know why anything where the integrity of the game is in question, the Patriots are the only ones in the middle of it.

>Also, congratulations to former Bear Max Muncy who hit his first Major League home run on Sunday for the Oakland A’s.


***
Let’s look at the other sports:

>The second-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis team will play in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2007 on Monday at the Hurd Tennis Center.

The Bears will face No. 3 Virginia at 1 p.m. to set up a possible matchup with the winner of No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 6 TCU in the national championship match held Tuesday at 1 p.m.

>Baylor’s softball season is over. The team had to win three games on Sunday to get to the Super Regionals against Auburn. It won two. Late Sunday, Louisiana-Lafayette eliminated Baylor with a 9-1 victory. A great season at 41-17.

>Baylor baseball opens the Big 12 baseball tournament at 12:30 pm Wednesday in Tulsa against TCU. The Bears are the No. 8 seed. TCU is No. 1. The winner gets the winner of No. 4 Texas Tech and no. 5 Texas.

>The men’s and women’s track teams took home a program-record eight Big 12 event championships at the Big 12 track & field meet this past weekend in Ames, IA. They finished The headlined moments were Trayvon Bromell winning the 100 (9.91) and 200 (20.64), Felix Obi capturing the triple jump (first time in school history) and the 4x400 relay wins that event for the 14th time.

> Despite solid early play and tight matches across the board, the ninth-ranked and eighth-seeded Baylor women's tennis team was downed by No. 1 and top-seeded USC, 4-1, Sunday at the Hurd Tennis Center.

Let’s make it a great week.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Clairatt
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
  • Member-Only Message Boards

  • Exclusive coverage of Rivals Camp Series

  • Exclusive Highlights and Recruiting Interviews

  • Breaking Recruiting News

Log in or subscribe today