1. And the trainwreck continues in Stillwater. Oklahoma State point guard Reger Dowell has announced his decision to transfer, leaving the Cowboys with only one player to man the position. Remember, Fred Gulley already transferred earlier this month, so freshman Cezar Guerrero will now assume the reins. Senior Keiton Page has also apparently seen some time at the point in practice, and that’s part of the reason why Dowell may have left. His decision is interesting considering he said just last week that he would try to “stick things out” at OSU. That’s not going to happen, however, and Travis Ford better cross his fingers that nobody else leaves.
2. What do you know about Baylor’s Brady Heslip? Before a few weeks ago, even us sharp minds at the RTC Big 12 Microsite could have only told you a handful of things. He’s a guard who transferred from Boston College. And, well, that was about it. But Heslip is certainly on our radar now, as he won Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors by lighting up the scoreboard in Las Vegas in Bear wins over St. Mary’s and West Virginia. It wasn’t even apparent whether or not Heslip would get major minutes this season after his transfer from BC, but he’s already become an integral part of this Baylor backcourt.
3. Surprise, surprise: Frank Martin‘s Kansas State team is surging, and it most recently swept the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii during Christmas weekend. Without Jacob Pullen, it was easy for bonehead writers like us to write off the Wildcats, but at this point in his program, Martin has established a culture of winning in Manhattan. No matter who is on the roster, Martin finds a way to win, and he does so by pushing his team’s buttons to play hard and smart basketball. This year, Will Spradling has found his calling as the point guard position, Rodney McGruder has learned how to take over games, and Thomas Gipson and Angel Rodriguez have been immediate contributors as freshmen. This team still has work to do in Big 12 play, but Martin has to be in the running for Big 12 Coach of the Year at this point.
4. Lon Kruger may be a candidate for that honor as well, but that’s not what we’re talking about with OU basketball this morning. Instead, it’s James Fraschilla, an Oklahoma freshman and son of commentator Fran Fraschilla, making news with a bunch of cool trick shots. The video he created was so absurd that some believed it wasn’t real. However, Fraschilla says none of the video is fabricated, and the trick shots all did indeed occur. And the best part of the two-minute video? It’s also a ploy for charity, so everybody wins here.
5. The Realignment Apocalypse is over now, and it’s time to reflect on what could have been for Texas in particular. According to this article, had UT left for the “Pac-16,” it could have taken a major financial hit. Instead, the school will make almost $20 million dollars in the Big 12 this year, and it still has rights to the multi-million dollar Longhorn Network. There’s always a chance Texas — or any other school for the matter — could still bolt from the league, but the Longhorns seem to be in a pretty beneficial position here in the Big 12.

1. For the first time this season, Kansas State allowed its freshmen to talk to the media, and we uncovered a few interesting facts about Thomas Gipson and Angel Rodriguez in the process. One of the more intriguing comments made by coach Frank Martin regarded Rodriguez and a comparison to former Wildcat Denis Clemente. Clemente, the catalyst for an Elite Eight team under Martin, isn’t much like Rodriguez, according to Martin. But that’s also not a bad thing. Martin said Rodriguez lacks the speed of Clemente — but then again, he’s so fast that everybody is slow compared to him– but he also said he makes up for that by being more “crafty.”
2. When we heard Missouri players allude to the fact that Mike Anderson did not watch video of other teams as MU’s head coach, we laughed off the accusations. That’s crazy talk. Right? Well, maybe not entirely. According to this article in the Columbia Tribune, Anderson’s teams did in fact watch game tape, but they did not engage in the activity nearly to the extent that Frank Haith‘s staff does. Now, Anderson has done just fine as a head coach by qualifying for six NCAA Tournaments at both UAB and Missouri, so this is no knock on his style of coaching. But it is very eye-opening to get an inside look at Haith’s techniques as a head coach.
3. It’s not necessarily news, but here’s an interesting thought we hadn’t considered yet: Of the four new coaches in the Big 12, all of them have previously coached in the league before as head coaches or assistants. Again, this isn’t groundbreaking, and Missouri’s Frank Haith and Texas A&M’s Billy Kennedy will both be gone to the SEC next year anyway. Still, maybe this explains why the coaches have enjoyed modest success in their first seasons.
4. Like we mentioned yesterday, Oklahoma is off to a solid 7-1 start under new coach Lon Kruger. And more people are starting to take notice. Oklahoma will need to prove itself in Big 12 play, but this just simply looks like a different team. It’s more mature, more disciplined and more understanding of how to win at the Division I level. An NCAA Tournament bid could be right around the corner, and that would have sounded crazy just a few months ago.
5. In another part of the state, Oklahoma State’s LeBryan Nash has had to deal with all sorts of expectations thanks to his status as a highly-recruited freshman. The promising wing is finally learning how to win at this level, and it’s no surprise that it’s taken him a little while to get a hang of things. In the end, Nash will be OSU’s best player, by far. But like most freshmen, it’s hard for Nash to play at the college level because the game doesn’t come as easy as it it did in high school. Once that the adjustment period is over, though, we can’t wait to watch Nash in the Big 12.

Projected finish:6th

2010-2011 record: 23-11, 10-6 (3rd, Big 12)

Head coach: Frank Martin, 5th season

Key losses: Jacob Pullen (20.2 PPG), Curtis Kelly (10.5 PPG)

The 2010-11 campaign started off with extremely high expectations for the Kansas State Wildcats. Many pundits chose them to win the Big 12, and I personally had them going to the Final Four. Unfortunately, K-State began the season with more of a thud than a bang. They recovered somewhat and turned their season into a decent one, but ultimately fell in the Second Round of the NCAA tournament. This year the Wildcats will see what life is like without the spotlight, as they are not high on anybody’s list for anything. Gone is superstar Jacob Pullen and reliable inside force Curtis Kelly. But if the right players step into their proper roles, I wouldn’t write the fiery Frank Martin’s squad off just yet.

Rodney McGruder Moves Into a Starring Role at K-State This Season

The Stars: Last season, Rodney McGruder was a third team all-Big 12 choice after averaging 11.1 PPG. All eyes will be on McGruder during his junior season, as he is expected to led this Wildcats team into the fray. Luckily for him, he will have the help of Jamar Samuels back for his senior season. Samuels has been deemed one of the more frustrating basketball players to watch by Wildcat fans. He has had games where he looks like he’s NBA-bound, and he’s had games where he looks just confused. He gets one more shot to live up to his potential this season, and I think he’ll take full advantage of that opportunity.

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Brian Goodman is an RTC editor and contributor.

Year In Review

Before the start of the season, pollsters bought into Kansas State as the sexy pick to take the Big 12 in 2011 on the heels of an Elite Eight appearance in 2010. The Big 12 was not overly impressive in non-conference play, as the Wildcats fell hard to Duke in a de facto home game in Kansas City, and Missouri did the same against Georgetown in one of the more thrilling matchups of the early season.

As league play began, the preseason #3 Wildcats disappointed, starting 2-5, and the usual stalwarts of the Big 12, Kansas and Texas, rose to the top. After topping the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse in January, the Longhorns looked to be in the driver’s seat, especially after Kansas was blindsided at Bramlage Coliseum to give Texas a two-game lead. However, Rick Barnes‘ team suffered another late-season collapse, going 2-3 to finish the regular season while the Jayhawks dusted off the competition to pull ahead to take their seventh straight conference crown.

Elsewhere in the conference, the Wildcats bounced back to end the season in third place. The middle of the conference wasn’t settled until the latter stages of the season with Missouri falling lat and Texas A&M, Colorado and Nebraska treading water. Baylor underachieved, given the talented personnel in Waco, and Oklahoma State never really looked in sync. Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Iowa State all had awful seasons to finish at the bottom of the standings.

In the conference tournament final, Kansas played its best basketball of the season, topping Texas to gain some revenge entering the Big Dance. Colorado was snubbed on Selection Sunday despite beating Kansas State three times, but the Big 12 still managed to get five teams into the NCAA Tournament. However, only the Jayhawks made it out of opening weekend alive, and they fell short of expectations as they lost to Shaka Smart and the Rams’ reign of BCS destruction.

KU's front line of Thomas Robinson (left) and the Morris twins evolved into a strength, and the Jayhawks struggled most when they weren't utilized on offense. (AP/Jamie Squire)

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