This team preview is part of the RTC Big 12 microsite’s preseason coverage.

Burning Question: Can this Kansas team put together a deep NCAA Tournament run? 

Very few teams in college basketball carry the weight of expectations that Kansas does each season. Since Bill Self took over the program in 2003-04, Kansas is one of only three schools (along with Duke and North Carolina) to have been ranked in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll 10 or more times. Of the three times the Jayhawks weren’t in the top 10, the Jayhawks had played in the National Championship Game the year before and had lost significant roster pieces to the NBA. With the Big 12 regular season title streak now at 11 and counting, Kansas winning the league has become about as certain as death and taxes. And yet, it somehow still feels as though the Jayhawks have underachieved during Self’s tenure.

Can Bill Self turn the tide in the NCAA Tournament? (Rich Sugg/The Kansas City Star)

Kansas has failed to make it past the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons, losing to Stanford and Wichita State in its second game of the event. This isn’t the first bout of postseason failure under Self, either, as the Jayhawks suffered opening round defeats to Bucknell (2005) and Bradley (2006) prior to his national title in 2008. Self’s teams tend to bounce back, but can this group rebound from these recent early NCAA exits with a deep run this coming March? Read the rest of this entry »

This team preview is part of the RTC Big 12 microsite’s preseason coverage.

Burning Question: Can the Mountaineers get back to the NCAA Tournament without Juwan Staten? 

West Virginia alumnus Bob Huggins returned to Morgantown in April 2007 to take over as head coach of the men’s basketball program. He made his presence immediately felt by getting the Mountaineers back into the NCAA Tournament during his first season. The school would go on to make five straight appearances in the Big Dance and produce one of my favorite tournament moments along the way. In the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, a Mountaineers squad led by Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks upset a Kentucky team keyed by John Wall and Demarcus Cousins, 73-66. The game itself wasn’t all that interesting, but I’m a sucker for a bit of showmanship combined with just the right amount of taunting. So when I later stumbled across video of West Virginia players celebrating the victory by doing the John Wall dance on the podium, the moment became forever etched in my mind. It was peak college basketball — young kids without much an NBA future enjoying their victory over a roster full of NBA talent on the sport’s biggest stage.

Daxter Miles Jr. and Jevon Carter will look to replace Juwan Staten in Morgantown. (Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports)

Unfortunately, West Virginia’s fall from that peak was rather precipitous. Sure, the Mountaineers made the NCAAs the next two seasons, but they failed both times to get past the first weekend. In 2013 and 2014, the school missed the NCAA Tournament altogether, and after a 2014 trip to the NIT, two of Huggins’ top three scorers transferred out of the program. Things in Morgantown appeared to be in a downward spiral, as the Mountaineers were picked to finish tied for sixth in the Big 12 going into last season. Last year’s team, though, would end up exceeding those expectations. Behind All-Big 12 point guard Juwan Staten, West Virginia stormed out of the gates to a 12-1 record in non-conference play before finishing 11-7 in the Big 12, good for a fourth place tie with Baylor. The catalyst to that run was a decision by Huggins to employ a fast-paced, high-pressure full-court press that forced opponents to make very difficult decisions. The change worked. The Mountaineers returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years and made the Sweet Sixteen where they ran into a Kentucky team stacked with NBA talent once again. Despite the successful season to that point, there was no celebratory John Wall dance this time as the Mountaineers were pummeled by 39 points.

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This team preview is part of the RTC Big 12 microsite’s preseason coverage.

Burning Question: Will Texas Tech’s rising sophomores get the Red Raiders out of the Big 12 cellar? 

During last season’s discussion about the best basketball conference in the country, there was always an elephant in the room regarding the Big 12 because league members played Texas Tech and TCU four times each during conference play (going 27-5 against them). And yet here we are ready to make the case that at least one of those two schools should make some progress this season. Still, let’s set realistic expectations. Texas Tech was a really bad basketball team last year. The Red Raiders pulled off an exhilarating upset victory over Iowa State in Lubbock when the Cyclones shot 6-of-31 from three, but Tubby Smith’s squad ultimately finished at the very bottom of the league with a brutal 3-15 record. The Red Raiders also couldn’t fall back on decent efficiency numbers like fellow cellar dweller TCU (which finished 4-14 in Big 12 play), which finished the season in KenPom’s top 70. Texas Tech,  on the other hand, ranked 168th of 351 teams, beating out just four other Power Five conference schools (Mississippi State, Washington State, Missouri and Rutgers) for the ignominious title of worst major college team in America. The team finished last in the Big 12 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, turned the ball over on 23 percent of its possessions, and failed to defend very well at all inside the three-point arc. This year, they were again picked to finish last by fellow conference coaches.

Norense Odiase will lead Texas Tech’s rising sophomore class. (Michael C. Johnson/USA Today Sports)

That is a lot of terribleness to overcome, so let’s start with what the Red Raiders lost. Senior Robert Turner is gone and that might be a good thing. The guard was an inefficient scorer — shooting 29 percent on 108 three-point attempts and just 42 percent on nearly 150 two-point attempts — who accounted for 26 percent of the Red Raiders’ shots while he was on the floor. Turner’s usage should get gobbled up by Tech’s returning senior guards and rising sophomores. Both Devaugntah Williams and Toddrick Gotcher were good three-point shooters last year, making 39 and 38 percent of their attempts, respectively. Neither is much for scoring inside nor distributing the ball particularly well, but three-point shooting is a valuable attribute since it can space the floor and open up the offense.

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This team preview is part of the RTC Big 12 microsite’s preseason coverage.

Burning Question: Can Shaka Smart turn Texas into a basketball school?

College basketball feels like it’s engaged in a constant search for the next big thing. The one-and-done rule has turned college hoops into a temporary pit stop for the next great NBA player, and in a similar fashion, athletic departments at power conference schools are often looking to find the next mid-major head coach who can transform a struggling program into an overnight success. While many highly touted coaches including Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall have resisted the calls from power five schools, Shaka Smart has finally taken the plunge, and the Big 12 is better for it.

Shaka Smart is poised to lead Texas’ turnaround. (Daulton Venglar/The Daily Texas)

After an impressive six-year tenure at VCU, Smart signed a six year, $22 million deal with Texas in April. The Longhorns’ athletics program has been in a bit of a rut lately. Although it made the NCAA Tournament in all but one year under former head coach Rick Barnes, Texas hasn’t played in the event’s second weekend since D.J. Augustin led the Longhorns to the Elite Eight in 2008. The school’s football program has experienced a similarly disappointing slide since losing to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game in 2010. Charlie Strong was brought in to inject life into the program, but in two years has been largely unsuccessful as rumors swirl regarding the team’s overall lack of talent. The cherry on top was the recent dismissal of athletic director Steve Patterson in September. Patterson lasted less than two years in Austin, during which time he alienated boosters and long-term employees alike.

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The Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watch List, an honor given annually to the nation’s top point guard, was released on Tuesday afternoon. While this year’s award seems destined for Providence’s Kris Dunn, both Kansas’ Frank Mason and Iowa State’s Monte Morris received recognition in this first iteration of the Watch List.

Isaiah Taylor was left off the Cousy Award Preseason Watch List (Associated Press)

Mason turned heads in Lawrence last season, his first at the helm of Bill Self’s offense. The Jayhawks came into the year with serious questions about their point guard position, but the sophomore answered them by providing the most consistent point guard play Kansas has seen since Sherron Collins was still on campus. Mason’s game actually shares many similarities to Collins’, particularly when it comes to overall approach. Both players possess a bulldog mentality, neither having ever shied away from attacking much bigger players. Mason also improved his outside shooting in 2014-15, knocking down 43 percent of his three-point attempts on the season (up from 33 percent the year prior). What’s more is that his assist rate rose and turnover percentage correspondingly dropped last season, despite playing more than twice the minutes he did as a freshman.

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The Big 12’s season ended in disappointing fashion in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. No team from the conference made the Elite Eight, and only two, Oklahoma and West Virginia, earned a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. The league lost a pair of its highest-seeded teams, Baylor and Iowa State, to massive upsets in the Round of 64 while regular season champion Kansas fell to intrastate foe Wichita State shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, this type of performance has become a somewhat common occurrence for the league. The Big 12 hasn’t produced a single Elite Eight team since 2012, and Kansas was the last Big 12 team to make the Final Four. Even more disturbing, the Jayhawks are also the only program in the league to make the Final Four since 2004 when Oklahoma State pushed through to the final weekend.

Daxter Miles Jr. became the face of the Big 12’s failure after his guarantee to beat Kentucky. (Getty)

The string of failures has become a key talking point among the media. Sam Mellinger of The Kansas City Star called this season “a colossal failure,” while noting that, “if [the Big 12] happens to be first or second or even third in the RPI rankings next year it will be greeted with more mockery than respect.” Meanwhile, David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest argued, “the Big 12 can say goodbye to its reputation as college basketball’s best league this season.” This is the problem college basketball runs into when using March Madness to determine its champion. The ACC opened the NCAA Tournament with an 11-1 record during the first weekend, but it was just a few possessions away from losing two of its top teams, North Carolina and Notre Dame, in the Round of 64. There is a lot of randomness to the tourney — which is what makes the spectacle so exciting — but it also makes it difficult to draw broad season-long conclusions about who the best teams (and leagues) in the country actually are.

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Tonight the 38th Annual McDonald’s All-American Game will take place at the United Center in Chicago. Twenty-four of the top high school players in the country will showcase their skills in front of a national audience in what is one of the few opportunities for fans to catch a glimpse of next year’s class of recruits. Over the past few days, the players have been competing in practices against one another ahead of tonight’s showdown. With a number of players either committed to or still considering Big 12 schools, we felt that it would be a good idea to quickly profile those players to keep an eye on tonight as you tune into the game. All rankings from Scout.com.

Committed Players

Carlton Bragg has committed to Kansas. (Brian Spurlock, USA Today Sports)

This year’s class of All-Americans includes two players who have already committed to Big 12 schools.

• No. 16 Carlton Bragg (Kansas). Bragg, a 6’9″ power forward from Cleveland, committed to Kansas in the fall. Despite his size, he was the only player to compete in the skills competition, the three-point contest and the dunk contest at Monday night’s Powerade Jam Fest. Bragg’s a versatile frontcourt player who can handle the ball and can reasonably step out beyond the three-point line. His skill set should make him a great fit in Bill Self’s high-low offense, but he’ll need to improve on the defensive end where he sometimes lacks the consistent effort that Self will require.
• No. 26 Jawun Evans (Oklahoma State). Jawun Evans has had a busy week dealing with rumors that his chosen school was considering a buyout of head coach Travis Ford, but the Oklahoma State athletic director appeared to put that speculation to rest on Tuesday. Evans, a 6’0″ point guard, committed to the Cowboys back in October, and with the departure of senior Anthony Hickey, he figures to immediately compete for a starting spot in Stillwater. He possesses an outstanding ability to penetrate the lane against opposing defenses, which should open up space for shooters like Phil Forte next season.

Uncommitted Players

Jaylen Brown Has Kansas on His Short List (FreeP.com)

The 2015 McDonald’s All-American Game also features a number of uncommitted prospects who plan to sign with schools in the coming weeks. Many of these players are considering Big 12 institutions, with Kansas on the lists of just about all of them. Here is a quick rundown of each McDonald’s All-American prospect who is still considering a Big 12 school next season.

• No. 1 Jaylen Brown, Wheeler High School (GA). Brown is a 6’7″ small forward who has spent the week speaking highly of Kentucky’s program while also saying that academics will help guide his decision. Despite having the skill set to make the jump, Brown may not be a typical one-and-done prospect. He’s got NBA size and athleticism but needs to spend time working on his jump shot to truly become an effective player at the next level. Kansas is the lone Big 12 school that remains on this prospect’s list.
• No. 5 Ivan Rabb, Bishop O’Dowd High School (CA). It would be a big surprise to see Ivan Rabb in the Big 12 next season. Kansas is currently the only Big 12 school that remains on his list, but Rabb appears headed to California. He’s another versatile big man who showed off his shooting touch recently by hitting the game-winning free throws in overtime of California’s state championship game.
• No. 8 Malik Newman, Callaway High School (MS). Newman has made his plan clear that he intends to spend as little time in college as possible. He’s considering six schools, including Kansas. Newman is a combo guard who has spent quite a bit of time running the point during practices this week, so keep an eye on how much he plays the position during tonight’s game.
• No. 9 Stephen Zimmerman, Bishop Gorman High School (NV). Zimmerman is an almost seven-footer from Las Vegas who has also been open about his desire to get to the NBA as soon as possible. Hometown school UNLV appears to be the favorite over Kansas and some other bluebloods like Kentucky and UCLA. Zimmerman obviously has the size to develop into an impressive post presence over time. He’ll get a chance to show off some of that development this evening.
• No. 10 Cheick Diallo, Our Savior New American School (NY). Diallo is perhaps one of the more interesting players on the uncommitted list. He’s being recruited by both Kansas and Iowa State but the Cyclones’ lead recruiter on Diallo is headed to St. John’s next season. He is a high energy big man who impressed observers during Tuesday’s practice, according to Rivals’ Eric Bossi, by showcasing his ability to block shots and collect rebounds on the defensive end while hustling to finish dunks on the other.
• No. 13 Brandon Ingram, Kinston High School (NC). Ingram is another Kansas prospect. The 6’8″ forward spent most of Tuesday’s practice engaged in trash talk with Jaylen Brown. He backed it up with an impressive scoring ability that has Rivals‘ Eric Bossi calling him the “biggest revelation” of this week.
• No. 33 Thomas Bryant, Huntington Prep (WV). Bryant is also considering Kansas but he hasn’t yet visited the school. He is a physical 6’10” center who has impressed with his play on the block during practices this week.

While obviously not all of these players will end up in the Big 12 next season, it is likely that one or more will choose a school in the conference. Tonight’s McDonald’s All-American Game should give fans a chance to see what each of them has to offer.

For the second straight season, Kansas was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the Third Round. The early exits have begun to wear on one of the nation’s most passionate fan bases as the Jayhawks have been eliminated prior to the Sweet Sixteen in five of Self’s 12 seasons in Lawrence. The most recent, vocal criticism of Self relates to his recruitment of potential one-and-done players. Self’s two best teams did not feature the standard-bearers for the elite in college basketball these days. The 2008 Jayhawks won the national championship with only one freshman, Cole Aldrich, playing in more than 20 percent of the team’s minutes. The 2012 team that lost to Kentucky in the championship game had only one freshman, Naadir Tharpe, who played in more than 10 percent of the team’s available minutes. That narrative, though, paints an incomplete picture of Self’s experience with one-and-done talent.

Bill Self is Wondering What Went Wrong After Another Early Exit (AP)

Talent is indispensable in college basketball and one-and-done players are the epitome of talent. They have program-changing potential and their inclusion in a rotation certainly doesn’t hurt teams seeking deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. This year’s Sweet Sixteen provides great support to that notion. Most notably, Arizona (Stanley Johnson), Duke (Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow), Kentucky (Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, and Trey Lyles) and Utah (Jakob Poeltl) all have at least one freshman likely to be in June’s NBA Draft playing a significant role for their team. Read the rest of this entry »

Kansas State announced in a statement last night that the program will undergo several roster changes that will impact the 2015-16 season. Specifically, the Wildcats dismissed sophomore Marcus Foster and freshman Tre Harris from the team. Head coach Bruce Weber was succinct when he said, “Marcus and Tre have been unable to live up to the standards that we expect of our players.” Foster had already been suspended by Weber in February for violating team rules, and even though he had expressed a strong desire to return to Manhattan next season, his head coach obviously had different plans. In addition to the dismissals of Foster and Harris, Kansas State also announced the transfer of freshman point guard Jevon Thomas. Thomas too missed the Wildcats’ regular season finale against Texas for disciplinary reasons, and even though the freshman returned for the Big 12 Tournament, he was clearly displeased with Weber after finding out about his suspension via social media.

Marcus Foster was dismissed from the Kansas State program on Tuesday evening. (AP)

These roster changes will have an immediate effect on the Kansas State program as it attempts to improve upon a rather disappointing 2014-15 campaign. The losses of Foster, Harris and Thomas in combination with the graduations of Thomas Gipson and Nino Williams create a massive hole on the team’s depth chart. Kansas State will lose its top four players in minutes played from this season, and Foster, Gipson and Williams were the team’s leading scorers. To put that into perspective, Kansas State, a team that averaged just 63.0 points per contest this season, stands to lose 43.5 points per game with these departures. And Foster, despite a disappointing sophomore season, proved during his freshman year that he has star power. These are substantial losses, but despite all of that lost productivity, Weber’s house-cleaning could provide Kansas State with an opportunity to grow as a program. It is clear that the head coach struggled to get through to his players this season, ultimately resulting in a frustrated plea from him after a loss to TCU. “I just want guys that care,” he said. “That is all I want, guys that care and want to play for K-State and want to play to win and will play hard.”

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Iowa State won its second straight Big 12 tournament title on Saturday night with an exciting 70-66 victory over regular season champion Kansas. The Cyclones trailed by 14 at halftime but used a furious second half comeback to snatch the trophy away from the top-seeded Jayhawks. In Fred Hoiberg‘s interview with ESPN‘s Holly Rowe just before the beginning of the half, Hoiberg said his team would look to space the floor in order to open up driving lanes to penetrate the Kansas defense. Those halftime adjustments helped the Cyclones create numerous easy scoring opportunities as Iowa State outscored Kansas 47-29 in the final 20 minutes.

Iowa State Won Its Second Straight Big 12 Championship With an Impressive Second Half (USA Today Images)

The strategy can be seen on Iowa State’s first possession of the second half. The Cyclones ran action that was meant to take advantage of Kansas’s aggressive hedging against pick-and-rolls. In the following clip, watch Iowa State point guard Monte Morris (#11) begin the pick-and-roll with Georges Niang (#31). The Jayhawks’ Landen Lucas (#33) hedges the screen while Iowa State’s Jameel McKay (#1) screens Morris’ defender, Frank Mason (#1). The result is an easy roll to the basket for McKay as Niang hits him in stride for the slam; the Kansas defenders can only turn and watch.

Hoiberg has been regaled within coaching circles for several years in large part because of his reliance on NBA-enhanced concepts like spacing the floor in the clip above. The Mayor played 10 years in the league and spent the next four in the front office of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has honed his offensive philosophy at Iowa State around ideas like spacing, isolations and mismatches. With the versatile Niang, Hoiberg has one of the biggest mismatches in all of college basketball. A 6’7″ forward, Niang has both the ability to take his defender off the dribble and shoot from the perimeter (where he’s knocked down 40.2 percent of his attempts this season). That versatility allows the junior to take advantage of opponents that make mistakes against the Cyclones’ spacing. In the following clip, Iowa State runs action similar to the video above, except this time, Niang knocks down a three-pointer as Lucas defends against McKay’s roll to the rim instead of stepping out to contest the shot.

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