Rise And Fire - Big 12 Basketball Morning Link Dump for 8/3/2011

Wondering if it was simply coincidence that Christopher Columbus set off on his famous voyage and the first intercollegiate athletic event took place -- Harvard defeated Yale in a boat race -- on this date in 1492 and 1852 respectively, we sail around the web to find interesting information on each Big 12 basketball team.
Check these links, then come back each day for updated information. If you have any links of interest, post them in the comments section or send them to me for inclusion tomorrow.

	IOWA ST. CYCLONES Des Moines Register - Iowa State men's basketball: Hoiberg has new point guard to call on
	KANSAS JAYHAWKS Wichita Eagle - [Athletic Director Sheahon] Zenger already implementing changes at KU KUsports.com - KU basketball offers Texas prep Kansas University's basketball team has offered a scholarship to Phil Forte, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior-to-be from Marcus High in Flower Mound, Texas, jayhawkslant.com reported Monday.
	OKLAHOMA SOONERS SI.com - Rotnei Clarke worried about Oklahoma's near future "I really believe Coach Kruger will turn the program around quickly," Clarke said. "And while I was told that the NCAA decision wouldn't affect me, it wasn't guaranteed. I didn't know that for sure -- and didn't want to go there without knowing 100 percent."
	TEXAS LONGHORNS Burnt Orange Nation - Texas Basketball Recruiting Summer Evals: Harrison Twins, House, and Others
	OTHER BIG 12 BASKETBALL NEWS big12sports.com - Big 12 Announces 2012 Women's Basketball Conference Schedule ZagsBlog.com - July Recruiting Rundown Shamiek Sheppard '13, will take an unofficial visit to Iowa State the last week of August. [TJ] Warren recently trimmed his list to Florida, Georgetown, Kansas, Louisville, North Carolina, N.C. State, and Texas. [Isiah] Lewis has offers from the [Stanford] Cardinal, along with UConn, Kansas, Arizona, Ohio State and many more. [Zach] Auguste picked up offers from West Virginia and Missouri. Missouri also offered Stefan Jankovic, a 2012 forward from CIA Bounce, despite only being able to play in one AAU event this summer. Kansas is the latest school to offer Stephen Zimmerman, a 2015 PF from Dream Vision (NV). Isaiah Watkins '13 of CIA Bounce has new interest from George Mason, GW, Kansas, Michigan, Virginia, W-Virginia, Arkansas & Temple. 2012 C Richard Peters of Westwind lists UConn, Fla, Washington, Wash St, Clemson, SHU, Marquette, Texas Tech & Alabama, per his mentor, Kadeem Green.
	OTHER BASKETBALL NEWS NUsports.com - Help Northwestern Pick the New Welsh-Ryan Arena Court Design (h/t BT Powerhouse) I vote for Option 3 ESPN College Basketball Nation Blog - Mark Turgeon's first year gets more difficult