By Wendell Barnhouse | wendell@big12sports.com
Big12Sports.com Correspondent

The last month has exposed nerves, injured feelings and created a boxcar-full of angst around the Big 12 Conference.

The announced departures of Nebraska to the Big Ten Conference and Colorado to the Pacific-10 Conference along with intense and inaccurate speculation about the Big 12's future has created nearly 30 days of high to low to high anxiety. Given what has transpired and what likely will happen over the coming weeks and months, it will take time to heal the wounds and repair the relationships.

Against that backdrop, it's well worth remembering a tragedy that occurred nearly two months ago. Tobi Oyedeji, a high school senior in Houston who had signed to play basketball at Texas A&M, died in a car accident on May 16. The accident also claimed a victim driving the other car. Oyedeji, an only child, was on his way home after attending his high school prom.

By all accounts, Oyedeji was not only a special basketball player but a special person. An Academic All-American at Bellaire High School, he planned on becoming an engineer. Aggies coach Mark Turgeon said he started smiling whenever he encountered Oyedeji. That A&M lost a promising student-athlete is a misfortune far below what the pain inflicted on Oyedeji's parents, who lost their only son days before his 18th birthday.

Stop reading. Close your eyes. Think about that. Hope it never happens to you or your loved ones.

Why rehash a news story that happened two months ago, a news story that, while heart wrenching, touches just one athletic program at one Big 12 school? Your Humble Correspondent, despite his advanced age and considerable experience, still nurtures naive beliefs and hopes. The death of Tobi Oyedeji can help with the Big 12's healing process.

In honor and remembrance of Oyedeji, the A&M basketball program has established the Tobi Oyedeji endowed scholarship through the 12th Man Foundation.

"It is my hope that this scholarship fund will continually honor Tobi's charismatic personality and his endearing spirit," Turgeon said. Click here to see more and gain an understanding of why Turgeon's eyes mist over when he talks about Oyedeji.

Your Humble Correspondent hopes for this: That if you're a fan of any Big 12 school, you'll contribute to the scholarship fund. Skip a couple of trips to Starbucks and kick in $10. Flip on HBO and pass on the movies to send in $20. Here's the address:
Tobi Oyedeji Endowed Scholarship
12th Man Foundation
Attn: Tobi O Scholarship Endowment
Box 2800
College Station, TX77841-2800
Online contributions

Not only is it a worthwhile cause, it's the kind of goodwill gesture that can help brush away all the nasty feelings that have surfaced during the past four weeks. Yeah, that's a naïve thought, but Your Humble Correspondent says we could all use a little naivety.

Polling places
One of the joys of summer are the college football preview magazines. In this day of instant information, the magazines that have deadlines in April, are published in July and preview a season that starts around Labor Day would seem obsolete. But they're an excellent source of protein for college football fans.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com compiled the preseason top 25 rankings from four preview magazines - The Sporting News, Phil Steele, Lindy's, Athlon - plus his post-spring top 25 posted on CBSSports.com. From those sources, he put together a preseason top 25 list.

Just three Big 12 teams made the compiled top 25 but they were in the top eight teams. Oklahoma was No. 6 while Texas and Nebraska tied for No. 7. The Sooners and the Longhorns play in Dallas on Oct. 2 and two weeks later Texas plays at Nebraska.

Etched in Steele
The most detailed and information-packed college football preview magazine is put together by Phil Steele, who is footballing 24-7-365. On his blog he is listing his teams of the decade in each conference.

In a close race, Steele picked Oklahoma over Texas. Here's his explanation:

Oklahoma gets my vote for No. 1 despite having one less win than Texas in conference play. The Sooners' six Big 12 titles dominated the conference and they enjoyed seven Associated Press Top 10 finishes and won a national title in 2000. While the Sooners have lost four of the last five to the Longhorns, they did win five straight from 2000-04 by an average margin of 38-11.

Texas is a clear No. 2 here as they had the best winning percentage and won two titles along with five outright or shared division titles. The Horns won a national title in 2005 and had 7 Associated Press Top 10 finishes and three Bowl Championship Series victories.

Road trippin'
July is a busy and challenging month for college basketball coaches. Per NCAA rules, the month contains evaluation periods allowing coaches to watch high school players compete in tournaments specifically designed to showcase as many players as possible.

For coaches, that can mean a trip of seven to 10 days that involves half a dozen locations and hundreds of games viewed from the "comfort" of bleacher seats.

Baylor coach Scott Drew posted two Tweets Thursday that gives some insight into what coaches have to endure during July. The first: "3 ways u know u got up too early. 1. Your phone is not fully charged 2. The USA Today is not delivered yet 3. Starbucks is not open yet." The second: "What is the only thing worse than a 5:55am flight???? A canceled one!!!"