BLACKBOARD » said. When they leave this place, they know who they are.Wide

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas players who packed the room were there to hear their coach speak. Some fought back tears.They heard Charlie Strong plead for a win this week to get their senior teammates to a bowl game. They heard him suggest that a win against TCU might be enough to save his job.And then dozens of them mobbed Strong with hugs amid laughs and praise as a teacher, mentor and builder of men.He doesnt want to fail us, and we dont want to fail him, senior defensive lineman Paul Boyette Jr. said as tears ran down his cheeks. He taught me what it really means to be a man ... My heart hurts for him.Strongs players clearly love him. It may not be enough to save him.Strong faced his weekly news conference on Monday amid reports that he will be fired after Fridays game, the result of a 5-6 record so far this season after last weeks loss to lowly Kansas, and a 16-20 mark over the past three years. The game against TCU (5-5) could be Strongs final game.Next year, I want to come back, Strong said. They said we will be evaluated after that game. I dont know how they will be thinking, but winning that game would help.Athletic director Mike Perrin on Sunday dismissed multiple reports that Strong would be fired as rumors, and said no decision would be made until after the game. Perrin didnt show up at Strongs news conference Monday and neither did school President Greg Fenves, who has publicly supported Strong but has been silent on his future since the Kansas loss.Strong didnt think a decision on his future was already made and expected school administrators to live up to that promise.The highest-ranking school official to attend was Greg Vincent, vice president for diversity and community engagement. Vincent broke through the scrum of players to hug the first black head football coach in program history.Whats most important to me as an educator, vice president and professor, is how he develops these young men, Vincent said.Strong has two years and nearly $11 million left on a five-year guaranteed contract. He admitted the wins and losses dont stack up but he tried to make a case Monday that he should stay despite his poor record on the field.He noted key injuries that decimated his first season, top-level recruiting and a two-deep roster packed mostly with freshmen and sophomores that he and his staff brought to Texas. The foundation for greatness is there, he said.This group of guys will win a national championship, Strong said with a nod to the players in the room. I stand by that statement.But Texas hasnt even been close to winning the Big 12 and may not qualify for a bowl game for the second consecutive year.Strong also said hed evaluate his job tenure not just in wins and losses, but as leader for young men who need a father figure in their lives. When Strong first arrived, he set his core values that included no guns, no drugs, respecting woman and honesty. The discipline message connected with fans as Strong dismissed 10 players in his first year.Theres no direction for a lot of young people, thats part of my job, Strong said. When they leave this place, they know who they are.Wide receiver Jacorey Warrick said a group of older players mobilized to get their teammates to attend the news conference to support their coach.He doesnt have the support of people who are trying to get him out, but the people who really matter, the players, you can see where their support lies, Warrick said.Strongs situation was noted among Big 12 coaches on Monday on their weekly conference call.Kansas coach David Beaty, whose victory pushed Strong to the brink at Texas, called Strong one of the finer individuals that Ive met in college football.My heart aches for him -- I mean, it aches for him and his staff, Beaty said.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---This story corrects spelling of Beaty in last 2 paragraphs. Cheap Football Jerseys China . 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Wholesale Authentic Jerseys .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Teams in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament have at least one thing in common: theyre all trying to replace a lot of production after losing their best scorer from last season.The tournament begins Wednesday in Paradise Island, Bahamas, with No. 10 Louisville, No. 20 Baylor and No. 24 Michigan State headlining the eight-team field. And after players such as the Spartans Denzel Valentine and the Cardinals Damion Lee now gone, each team is sorting out how their offenses run and whether the guy they pegged as their new go-to scorer can handle that role now that hes atop the defensive scouting report.Early in the year, the big thing for us is just seeing what chemistry, what rotations, and trying to get a flow, Baylor coach Scott Drew said. Its tough on players and coaches early in the year, because a lot of times in practice people might be good and in the games they might be great, or they might be great in practice and just average in the games.So youve got to give them experience and see what they can do when the lights come on.The Atlantis field includes LSU, Old Dominion, St. Johns, VCU and Wichita State. Each team plays three games in three days, with the championship set for Friday.---Some other things to know about this weeks Battle 4 Atlantis:TOUGHEN UP: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo wants more from his Spartans (2-2) after a bumpy start that includes losing on a last-second shot to Arizona, managing just 48 points in a 21-point loss to current No. 1 Kentucky, then hanging on to beat Florida Gulf Coast by one at home Sunday. The Spartans open against St. Johns (2-1) in the first meeting between the programs since 1979. I want to figure out whether Im going to start a different lineup to get what I want, Izzo said. Maybe different guys have got to come off the bench and then Ive got to do a better job. So dont anyone blame a player. Ive got to do a better job of making them tougher.PLAYERS TO WATCH: St. John redshirt freshman Marcus LoVett and Baylor junior college transfer Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. are putting up some big numbers. The 6-foot LoVett ranks in the top 20 nationally in scoring at 24.3 points wwhile playing alongside fellow freshman Shamorie Ponds (17.dddddddddddd points) in the Red Storms backcourt. Meanwhile, the 7-foot Lual-Acuil ranks among the national leaders in rebounding (10 per game) and blocked shots (5.3) for the Bears (3-0).VIRGINIAN FOES: VCU (3-0) and Old Dominion (2-0) are separated by roughly 90 miles in the state of Virginia, but they could end up traveling more than 800 miles south just to bump into each other in the Bahamas. While theyre on opposite sides of the bracket, the Rams and Monarchs could play then have a rematch roughly two weeks later with an already scheduled meeting Dec. 10 at Old Dominion.KEEPING IT GOING: Wichita State (4-0) might be in the biggest transition of all the Battle 4 Atlantis teams after losing Ron Baker and Fred VanFleet, two mainstays who were part of the 2013 Final Four team and a run of five straight NCAA Tournaments. So far, the Shockers are showing a lot of balance with Zach Brown, Markis McDuffie and Darral Willis Jr. each averaging around 11 points to lead an offense coming off a 116-point showing -- the programs best in a game since 1988 -- against Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Shockers face LSU (3-0) on Wednesday.BIG NAMES: Theres a couple of Naismith Hall of Fame coaches roaming the sideline with Izzo and Louisvilles Rick Pitino, two men with approaching 1,300 career wins and three NCAA championships. And there will be a third Hall of Famer arriving after the tournament in Kentucky coach John Calipari, whose top-ranked Wildcats appear in the separate Atlantis Showcase game against Arizona State on Monday night to wrap up a big week at the Atlantis resort.---AP Basketball Writer Stephen Hawkins in Dallas; AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Kansas City, Kansas; and AP freelancer Tim Robinson in East Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '