Rush The Court

This year’s Big 12 Conference will go down as one of the most memorable seasons in recent memory. Kansas held on to the championship belt despite fielding what most of its fans would admit was not Bill Self’s most talented team. The Jayhawks withstood challenges from a revolving door of contenders who were capable of outstanding performances at their best and mind-numbing displays at their worst. Over the course of the next couple of days, we’ll look back on the league’s best efforts, both on the floor and on the sidelines. Today: our RTC All-Big 12 Team followed by our POY and COY.

All-Big 12 First Team

Player of the Year

• Brian Goodman: Perry Ellis, Kansas – Somewhere along the line it became popular to criticize Perry Ellis for what he wasn’t than to accept him for what he was (I’m not afraid to admit that I was equally guilty of it). Ellis’ pro potential at age 21 is still a big question mark and his lack of any real back-to-the-basket game makes him very different than many of the terrific big men who preceded him in Lawrence, but none of that matters here. Ellis was the best all-around player in the Big 12 this season due to his craftiness inside, his range out to the three-point line (where he shot 37.5 percent in 40 attempts) and his very good rebounding. The junior also had to shoulder a bigger workload due to the inconsistent play of frontcourt teammates Cliff Alexander, Jamari Traylor and Landen Lucas.

• Nate Kotisso: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma – If you were in a lab and your goal was to come up with the perfect basketball player, you’d have a laundry list of things to consider. He would have to be someone who can shoot the lights out, can get to the rim, will lead by example and become the classic “first to practice, last to leave” guy. Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield has been the most machine-like player in the Big 12 this season. He’s scored in double figures in all but three games on the season, and more often than not, you’ll get a premium effort from the junior wing.
• Chris Stone: Perry Ellis, Kansas – Ellis is the most important player on the best team in the conference. While Buddy Hield has been a more impressive scorer in conference play, the gap between Hield (22.1 PPG) and Ellis (20.6 PPG) isn’t large when adjusted for efficiency. Ellis also ranks among the Big 12’s top 10 in defensive rebounding and top 20 in block percentage. While Kansas played well against Oklahoma on Saturday, it’s tough to imagine the Jayhawks making any sort of deep run in March without their star big man in the lineup.

Coach of the Year

• BG: Scott Drew, Baylor – The Big 12 is littered with fantastic coaches but the best job of the season this year was engineered by Scott Drew. After Isaiah Austin, Cory Jefferson and Brady Heslip left Waco, Drew led a team filled with a bunch of unheralded recruits and low-level transfers to a top-three finish in the toughest conference in America. The Bears wouldn’t be where they are without top-40 recruit Rico Gathers, but Kenny Chery, Lester Medford, and Johnathan Motley as well as Denver transfer Royce O’Neale hail from far more humble beginnings. If it weren’t for a few small breaks (the Bears were 0-3 in games decided by two points or fewer), Baylor could have been the team to end The Streak, but even without that tough luck, Drew clearly got the most out of what he had available.
• NK: Scott Drew, Baylor – I worked on the Baylor preview back in October and I wasn’t expecting much from the Bears, projecting Scott Drew’s club to finish at 18-13 overall with a 7-11 Big 12 record. The fact that they won 10 games more than I thought they would and won 11 conference games instead of losing them convinces me that Drew is the Coach of the Year. Yes, a compelling argument can also be made for West Virginia’s Bob Huggins, but truthfully, I didn’t take the Mountaineers all that seriously until they beat Kansas three weeks ago.
• CS: Lon Kruger, Oklahoma – Scott Drew and Bob Huggins have been the most frequently mentioned names in the Big 12 Coach of the Year discussion, with Bill Self right behind them. I understand the arguments for all three but also happen to think that Kruger deserves a look here. He picked up a graduate transfer in TaShawn Thomas who solidified the Sooners’ frontcourt and he also turned a team that poor defensive team (91st in adjusted defensive efficiency last season) into the Big 12’s best defense this time around (ranking in the top five nationally). Drew and Huggins have great stories behind their Coach of the Year pushes, but Kruger has quietly made his case by looking like a team poised to do some damage later this month.