Big 12 Season Preview: TCU Horned Frogs
Posted by Kory Carpenter on October 23rd, 2014Throughout the preseason, the Big 12 microsite will preview each of the league’s 10 teams, from worst to first. Today: TCU.
TCU Horned Frogs
Strengths: For a team that ended last season on a 19-game losing streak that included an 0-18 mark in Big 12 play, TCU has a few things to look forward to heading into the 2013-14 season. Seniors Kyan Anderson (17.3 PPG last season) and Amric Fields (13.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG) will team with sophomore center and former four-star recruit Karviar Shepherd to dig this program out of the Big 12 cellar. Another year of that trio playing together along with a solid coach in Trent Johnson should do wonders for TCU as it continues the transition into a tough Big 12.
TCU head coach Trent Johnson returns four starters, but will it be enough to compete in the Big 12?
Weaknesses: Last season the Horned Frogs finished 291st nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, which was evident in their 0-18 league campaign. They scored 60 or fewer points in 11 conference games. They posted a 2-19 record against Power 5 conference teams. They had an effective field goal percentage of 44.6 percent, which placed TCU behind 339 other Division I teams. And while they have experience returning in Anderson, Fields and Shepherd, those players will have to produce because Johnson failed to sign another highly-ranked recruit.
Non-conference tests: TCU has a return game with Washington State scheduled after beating the Cougars on the road last season, 64-62. It plays in the Corpus Christi Classic in (you guessed it) Corpus Christi around Thankgsiving, where the Horned Frogs will play Bradley before a potential meeting with a St. Louis team that earned a No. 5 seed in last season’s NCAA Tournament. They received a good draw in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, when they travel to Ole Miss on December 4. In all, there are a whole bunch of winnable games in the non-conference slate. Teams like Mississippi State, Radford, New Orleans, Furman and McNeese State won’t necessarily prepare TCU for Big 12 play, but this schedule should at least help the Horned Frogs boost their resume for a potential postseason berth. Assuming the CBI is still around, that is.
Toughest Conference Stretch: How about a 12-day stretch from January 24 to February 4? The Horned Frogs will take the long trip to West Virginia, host Kansas, then travel to Iowa State and Baylor. The easiest game appears to be Baylor, which shows how much “fun” it can be playing in the Big 12 with a roster like TCU’s.
If everything goes right… Anderson, Fields and Shepherd become one of the better trios in the conference and the Horned Frogs finish their non-conference slate 11-2. They steal a few conference games at home and receive a postseason tournament bid to the CBI or CIT.
If nothing goes right… Washington State returns the favor and beats TCU in Fort Worth this season. They get swept in the Corpus Christi Classic and have a few hiccups with the various cupcakes on the schedule. Anderson, Fields and Shepherd don’t show their expected improvements and the Horned Frogs post another goose egg in the Big 12.
Projected starting lineup:
- G Kyan Anderson (Sr., 5’11”, 175 lbs., 17 PPG)
- G Hudson Price (So., 6’6″, 200 lbs., 15.4 MPG, 2.4 PPG)
- F Amric Fields (Sr., 6’9″, 220 lbs., 13.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG)
- F Brandon Parrish (So., 6’6″ 185 lbs., 8 PPG, 3.1 RPG)
- C Karviar Shepherd (So., 6’10”, 225 lbs., 9.1 PPG, 1.6 BPG)
That’s the core of last season’s starting lineup, with Fields the only newcomer. Fields is a senior, however, so inexperience in that role shouldn’t be a factor for him. Anderson, Shepherd and Parrish played at least 73 percent of the team’s minutes last season, so expect that to continue this season. That experience should help the latter two especially heading into their sophomore campaigns.
Key reserves:
- G Charles Hill, Jr. (Jr., 6’2″, 185 lbs.)
- G Christian Gore (Jr., 6″2″, 175 lbs.)
- G Michael Williams (So., 6’2″, 185 lbs.,
As a freshman a season ago, Williams had a usage percentage of 17.9 percent, the highest of likely players coming off the bench this season. It’s hard to imagine any of these three guys becoming significant contributors, but Williams would be the best bet. The freshman to sophomore jump can be huge for players, and he will have plenty of opportunities to prove himself to Trent Johnson. He’ll need to improve his 30.7 percent shooting, however.
