Thursday DBR: The Rise and Rise of Rico Gathers

How strong is Rico Gathers? How many boards could Gathers gather if Gathers was allowed to gather as many boards as he wanted? All good questions. Rico Gathers had another 12 rebounds last night against New Mexico State, a major contribution to Jonathan Motley's 16-point outing. Despite miserable shooting in the first half and 52 percent free throw shooting on the night, Baylor won 66-55 in another game that was dominated by the Bears' angry zone and excellent rebounding skills. Everyone who stepped onto the floor scored points, and Deng Deng went on a nice streak near the end of the first. Every week I gain more confidence in this team as they show new ways to win. I'm very excited to close out conference play and see how we fare against Oklahoma and Kansas, two of the conference heavyweights in 2015.

I'm not in a place where I have access to a computer, so please forgive any mistakes (and the lack of embedded tweets). iPhones are not a blog-friendly platform.

Football News

Chance Casey and Ahmad Dixon were both signed to active NFL rosters yesterday by Oakland and Minnesota respectively. Casey had been on the San Francisco practice squad and Dixon had been on the Minnesota practice squad. Dixon got quality minutes with the Bears earlier this year and I'm sure they regret cutting him.

Several Bears are earning All-America honors. Taylor Young and KD Cannon both made the Athlon Sports Freshman All-American list, while Spencer Drango has been sighted all over various lists as both a first and second teamer. Shawn Oakman has made sporadic appearances as well. All of these guys contribute to what Michigan State DC Pat Narduzzi says is the "fastest offense [he's] ever seen."

Lady Bears Christmas Vacation

The Lady Bears are in Orlando for the next two days to play Syracuse and Michigan State, two games that should bolster their resume considerably if they pull out wins. Nina Davis is on a hot streak right now, earning back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Week honors. Good performances here could help her take home a third.