Is this the school year in which a
university’s athletic program captures both an NCAA men’s Division I
championship in basketball and a BCS title in football?
It well could be but I don’t think
that’s the buzz at USC, Virginia Tech or Florida
State these days.
But it should be in
Austin, where the
University of
Texas sports a Vincent
Young-led football team and could also be the home of a basketball squad
potentially better than the Longhorns’ club that advanced to the Final Four in
New Orleans in 2003.
Coach Rick Barnes’ team was
eliminated by Nevada in the first
round of the NCAA tournament last March – in large part because of an injury (to
the hip of then-freshman LaMarcus Aldridge) and academic ineligibility
(that sidelined forward P.J. Tucker for the second semester).
But both are back in the fold and,
despite the loss of a 2005 McDonald’s All-America swingman (C.J. Miles)
to the NBA Draft, the Longhorns are a solid choice to win the Big 12’s regular
season championship and also have all of the ingredients in place to be play on
the final weekend of the season in Indianapolis.
A closer look at the Big
12
Projected
finish:
1.
TEXAS
Frank’s Spin: In Daniel Gibson, the Longhorns have a sophomore floor leader good enough to be a
consensus first-team All-America in March and a Top 10 NBA Draft selection in
June. He’s also got plenty of jump shooters (including returnee Kenton Paulino) to dish to and a frontcourt (Brad Buckman, P.J. Tucker and
LaMarcus Aldridge) that could be the best Rick Barnes has coached
in Austin.
Postseason possibilities:
Other than Duke, there isn’t a team in the country that, on paper, has a
noticeably better opportunity of getting to the Final
Four.
2.
OKLAHOMA
Frank’s Spin: Kelvin Sampson
has his usual collection of returnees and standout transfers, and the mix is
enough to make the Sooners the top threat to
Texas in the conference. Seniors
Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout (assuming he’s healthy) team up in the
post positions to offer a pretty nifty definition of “forceful”. Terrell Everett isn’t a flashy point guard and, as we should know by now, there’s
nothing wrong with that. He’s among the most underrated in the country at the
position. Six-five Nate Carter, a transfer from UC Riverside, will
challenge the Kansas and
Oklahoma
State guys for Big 12 Newcomer of the
Year.
Postseason possibilities: It
took the John R. Wooden Award winner (Andrew Bogut of
Utah) to eliminate the Sooners in
the second round of the NCAA tournament last March. They’ll be into the second
week of the tournament this time around.
3.
TEXAS
TECH
Frank’s Spin: Then-senior
guard Ronald Ross was a significant factor in the Red Raiders advancing
to the Sweet 16 last season, where they narrowly lost to
West Virginia. But there’s plenty
back from that club, including junior guard Jarrius Jackson and sophomore
wing Martin Zeno, both vastly under recruited out of
Louisiana, and post Darryl Dora, who should have a productive junior season.
Postseason possibilities: If
Knight’s freshman class is as good as some think it is, another Sweet 16 run
wouldn’t be startling.
4.
IOWA
STATE
Frank’s Spin: The Cyclones
have a group of perimeter players, led by juniors Curtis Stinson and
Will Blalock, that is as offensively creative as any in the country. But
can newcomers, led by Shawn Taggert, compensate for the loss of center
Jared Homan and power forward Damion Staple?
Postseason possibilities:
Back to the NCAA tournament but only if Coach Wayne Morgan gets
reasonable play out of the post.
5.
KANSAS
Frank’s Spin: There is no
doubting the talent in the sophomore and freshmen classes (especially the
latter) but it’s difficult to envision a smooth transition with the loss of
Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, Aaron Miles and Michael Lee.
The key: the play of sophomore posts C.J. Giles and Sasha Kaun,
who combined for about 5 ½ points and 4 ½ rebounds per game a year
ago.
Postseason possibilities:
The Jayhawks will get into the NCAA tournament and could stay a round longer
than a year ago if the frosh develop as quickly as most are assuming they
can.
6.
OKLAHOMA
STATE
Frank’s Spin: Like the
Jayhawks, the Cowboys will lean heavily on their newcomers to maintain the lofty
status, within the conference and nationally, that they’ve become accustomed. JC
transfers Jamaal Brown and Torre Johnson will have to be instant
producers to keep sophomore guard JamesOn Curry from having to score
20-plus per game to keep his team competitive in most
outings.
Postseason possibilities:
It’s difficult to envision an Eddie Sutton team slipping too far,
even with its heavy losses.
7.
TEXAS
A&M
Frank’s Spin: The Aggies
lost Antoine Wright to the NBA but return a couple of players (center
Joseph Jones and guard Acie Law IV) who played as well as he did
most of last season.
Postseason possibilities:
The NIT* (*or whatever it’s being called in March). But Billy
Gillispie will have his 2006-07 team in the NCAA tournament. That guy is a
keeper.
8.
NEBRASKA
Frank’s Spin: Here’s the
nomination for the team that I might be most underrating in this conference.
Wing Joe McCray and center Aleks Maric are very well known outside
the conference but make up a high caliber set of
sophomores.
Postseason possibilities:
The NIT* is do-able, if the Huskers win a hefty number of non-conference
games.
9.
COLORADO
Frank’s Spin: Sophomore
Richard Roby is the best of five returning starters from a team that won
only four games in conference.
Postseason possibilities:
The NIT*, with a strong non-conference performance in the equation. The
Buffs might be better than this but who drops below them?
10.
MISSOURI
Frank’s Spin: The Tigers are
capable of finishing several notches higher than this but only if perimeter
veterans Jimmy McKinney, Thomas Gardner and Jason Horton have much
stronger seasons, and Quin Snyder can get reasonable play from the post
positions.
Postseason possibilities:
Will the postseason find the Tigers searching for a new coach if Snyder’s
team doesn’t show considerable improvement from last season’s 16-17
finish?
11.
KANSAS
STATE
Frank’s Spin: Junior forward
Cartier Martin, who turned down Oklahoma State to sign with the Wildcats
a few years ago, will have to continue the kind of improvement he demonstrated
last season to elevate the team much higher than this in the
standings.
Postseason possibilities:
The non-conference schedule (nine of 11 games in
Manhattan) was built for an NIT*
bid.
12.
BAYLOR
Frank’s Spin: The NCAA
hammer stamped out the team’s non-conference schedule so we won’t see the
sophomore debut of a marvelous guard, Aaron Bruce, until the Bears’ Big
12 opener on Jan. 11 in Lubbock,
Texas.
Postseason possibilities: In
three words – not very good.
PROJECTED ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST
TEAM
- Daniel Gibson (6-2, So.,
Texas)
- Aaron Bruce (6-2, So.,
Baylor)
- Taj Gray (6-8, Sr.,
Oklahoma)
- JamesOn Curry (6-3,
So.,
Oklahoma
State)
- Curtis Stinson (6-3, Jr.,
Iowa
State)
PROJECTED ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND
TEAM
- Jarrius Jackson (6-1, Jr.,
Texas
Tech)
- P.J. Tucker (6-5, Jr.,
Texas)
- Terrell Everett (6-4, Sr.,
Oklahoma)
- Richard Roby (6-6, So.,
Colorado)
- Brad Buckman (6-8, Sr.,
Texas)
MOST INFLUENTIAL
NEWCOMERS
- Jamaal Brown (6-0, Jr.,
Oklahoma
State)
- Julian Wright (6-7, Fr.,
Kansas)
- Mario Chalmers (6-2, Fr.,
Kansas)
- Nate Carter (6-5, Jr.,
Oklahoma)
- Brandon Rush (6-5 ½, Fr.,
Kansas)
MOST UNDERRATED
PLAYER
- Jarrius Jackson (6-1, Jr.,
Texas
Tech)
TOP PRO
PROSPECT
- Daniel Gibson (6-2, So.,
Texas)
An April inductee into the USBWA
Hall of Fame, Frank Burlison is Scout.com’s National Basketball Expert
and is also a columnist for the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram. He can be
reached at frank.burlison@presstelegram.com. Read more of Burlison’s pieces at
www.FrankHoops.com