Daily Bears Report 12/22

Next Event

• Football, vs. Boise State, The Cactus Bowl is 5 Days Away, 12/27 @ 9:15 p.m. CT, ESPN

Lady Bear’s Basketball Head Coach Kim Mulkey

• Baylor Lady Bears head coach Kim Mulkey is a candidate for the 2017 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class, the organization announced Wednesday. From Baylor Bears dot com.

The only female nominated as both a coach and a player, Mulkey is one of 13 women’s committee nominations.

Mulkey, the only basketball coach to win a national championship as a head coach, assistant coach and player, has amassed a 484-93 record amidst her 17th season leading the Lady Bears. She is No. 2 nationally in winning percentage (.839), and owns the top winning percentage and win total in the Big 12 Conference.

Mulkey, who earned WBCA, Naismith, Associated Press and USBWA National Coach of the Year recognition in 2012 and the USBWA National Coach of the Year award in 2011, is a 2000 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-American Hall of Fame, 2007 Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame and 2009 Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductee.

The five-time Big 12 Coach of the Year has led Baylor to national championships in 2005 and 2012 and a Big 12 record 15 league titles, including seven regular season and eight tournament championships. Mulkey has led the Lady Bears to six-straight Big 12 titles.

In her collegiate career at Louisiana Tech, Mulkey led the Lady Techsters to a 130-6 record, two national titles and four Final Fours from 1980-84. The All-American was also a gold medalist on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. Mulkey, a two-time Academic All-American, graduated summa cum laude from Louisiana Tech with a business degree.

Mulkey is a member of the National High School Hall of Fame, Louisiana High School Hall of Fame, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1999, she was the lone female named among the Louisiana Sports Writers top 25 athletes of the 20th century and was listed by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 50 sports figures of Louisiana for the 20th century.

Finalists from the North American and women’s committee for the Class of 2017 will be held at the NBA All-Star Weekend, which is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18 in New Orleans, La. The entire Class of 2017, including those selected by direct elect committees will be revealed on Monday, April 3 at the men’s NCAA Final Four in Phoenix, Ariz.

Enshrinement festivities will take place in Springfield, Mass., Sept. 7-9, 2017. Tickets for the various Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Enshrinement events are now on sale at www.hoophall.com.

Man Bears Basketball

Texas Southern coach Mike Davis wanted to give a diplomatic answer and say that each of the four ranked teams the Tigers have played this year are great. Story by Baylor Bears Foundation’s Jerry Hill from Baylor Bears dot com.

But, following his team's 89-63 loss to fourth-ranked Baylor Wednesday night, Davis had to admit, "They are the best team we've played." That's a murderer's-row schedule that includes Louisville, Arizona and Cincinnati, all on the road.

The Bears (12-0) shot a season-high 59.3 percent from the floor and got double-doubles from Johnathan Motley (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Jo Lual-Acuil (14 points, 10 rebounds) to win their fourth game in eight days and remain undefeated going into the Christmas break.

"That's how we wanted to go into Christmas, with a good feeling," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team is one of six remaining undefeated Division I teams in the country. "In college basketball, it's hard to be on-point every night with the parity and competition. Ish (Wainright) and our upperclassmen have done a tremendous job of making sure we're focused on and on-point."

On the 125th birthdate of the first college basketball game, the Baylor Bears continued to show that they’ve gained a certain proficiency in James Naismith’s invention. From BearsExtra.

Fourth-ranked Baylor shot 69 percent in the second half in cutting down visiting Texas Southern, 89-63, on Wednesday at the Ferrell Center in the Bears’ final game before the start of Big 12 play next week. Baylor (12-0) remained perfect on the year and will start conference play undefeated for the second time in the Scott Drew era, joining the 2011-12 Bears with that designation.

Even during stretches when No. 4 Baylor wasn't at its best Wednesday night, the Bears never allowed Texas Southern to get back in the game. From statesman dot com.

The fourth-ranked Bears shot 59 percent from the field, 69 percent in the second half, and Johnathan Motley led five double-digit scorers with 17 points and 11 rebounds in an 89-63 victory that completed a perfect run through nonconference play.

Football

Baylor Athletics: Matt Rhule Interview

College Football Live talks about Shock Linwood's decision to sit out for the bowl game

Football Recruiting Violations

Baylor issued a statement Wednesday from athletic director Mack Rhoades. From Yahoo Sports.

“Today’s announcement by the NCAA Committee on Infractions comes as a function of the NCAA legislated adjudication process in reconciling NCAA infractions. This isolated matter involving two assistant football coaches occurred during the spring 2015 recruiting evaluation period, and when notified of this issue in August 2015, Baylor immediately and effectively cooperated with the NCAA. We are grateful the NCAA Committee on Infractions accepted our original self-imposed penalties from September 2015. Baylor University accepts this outcome.

“Complying with NCAA regulation is a fundamental expectation of all Baylor coaches, staff, student-athletes and supporters. As President David Garland shared with the Committee on Infractions, we have tremendous confidence in our well-established compliance program, yet we will continue to place great emphasis on this expectation and hold those individuals accountable in circumstances where non-compliance occurs.”

Baylor December 2016 Commencement Address