Big 12 Media Day Recap and Response

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BIG 12 MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Kansas
  2. Houston
  3. Iowa State
  4. Baylor
  5. Arizona
  6. Cincinnati
  7. Texas Tech
  8. Kansas State
  9. BYU
  10. TCU
  11. UCF
  12. Arizona State
  13. West Virginia
  14. Oklahoma State
  15. Colorado
  16. Utah

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 1ST TEAM:

-Caleb Love – Arizona
-LJ Cryer – Houston
-J’wan Roberts – Houston
-Tamin Lipsey – Iowa State
-Hunter Dickinson – Kansas (Preseason Player of the Year)

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 2ND TEAM:

-Norchad Omier – Baylor
-Jeremy Roach – Baylor
-Keshon Gilbert – Iowa State
-Dajuan Harris Jr. – Kansas
-Coleman Hawkins – Kansas State

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

Simply put, the top of the Big 12 is stacked. It is half of the preseason top-10, and it looks like as many as five teams could end up as protected seeds.

-Kansas will begin the season ranked #1, and when you look at how stacked with talent they are it makes sense. They only made it as far as the Round of 32 a year ago, but three starters are back. Zeke Mayo, who is a very-high-caliber player, transfers in from South Dakota State and Hunter Dickinson returns as a 2-time All-American. If I were allowed to pick one team in the preseason to win it all…well…it would not be Kansas. Having said that, if I were allowed to pick up to four teams, Kansas would definitely be on the list of four. They are stacked, and they absolutely can go all the way this year. Now having said that

-I like Houston more. They won 32 games a year ago, and while they will need to replace Jamal Shead at the PG position, pretty much everyone else is back. Milos Uzan will take over at the point, and he will have LJ Cryer around him for a very strong backcourt. But what really makes this team tough is their defense. They are also just so tough in general: they can go into tough road environments and win. I said that if I had four picks to win it all this year, Kansas would be one of my four picks. If I had just ONE pick to win it all this year…that pick would be the Houston Cougars. They’re not starting off ranked #1, and I understand why they are not, but they would be the team I would vote as #1.

-Iowa State is another preseason top 10 team. They are having to replace two solid starting forwards, but Tamin Lipsey is back at the point, and Curtis Jones, Milan Momcilovic, and Dishon Jackson are all double-digit scorers who make up a very strong frontcourt. Another thing that makes this team so dangerous is their depth. They have eight guys that can score. There is also the “Hilton Magic” to contend with!! It is as hard to win at Iowa State as it is pretty much anywhere in the country.

-Baylor has some reloading to do as just one starter returns, but when Jeremey Roach transfers in from Duke, VJ Edgecombe (who is a probable lottery pick) comes in as a freshman, and Norchad Omier (who was one of the top players in the portal) comes in from Miami FL, it is safe to say that the Bears have reloaded. They have high-caliber players, and Coach Scott Drew has shown that he can get talent to gel together.

-It is Arizona’s first year in the Big 12, and it is crazy to see them to only picked 5th in the league when we are so used to seeing them ranked in the top-10 of the nation. Here is the thing: while they are picked to finish 5th, they are STILL ranked in the top-10 in the nation! Like Baylor, they had to reload, but also like Baylor, they absolutely have reloaded. Jaden Bradley returns at the PG position, and Caleb Love will join him in the backcourt: that is one hell of a backcourt!! Trey Townsend (who was a star at Oakland and who the country fell in love with after their big NCAA tourney win over Kentucky) also transfers in, so this team is loaded with talent.

-I was actually a little surprised to see Cincinnati ranked in the preseason top-25. I thought the Bearcats would be good this year, and would have pegged them as a likely NCAA Tournament team, and I think Wes Miller is a great coach who has them going in the right direction. I just did not think they were so good that they would be a top-25 team. But…maybe I am wrong. Three starters are back from a year ago, and Dillon Mitchell also joins the squad as he transfers in from Texas. There is a lot to like here!! I just do not think they are quite a top-25 caliber team, and I certainly do not think they are on the same level as any of the top-five teams in the league.

-Texas Tech made the NCAA Tournament in Grant McCasland’s first year, which was a pretty nice improvement from the previous year. Like a lot of teams they are having to reload their roster. Two starters return, JT Toppin is transferring in from New Mexico as both a good scorer/rebounder, and they have some promising-looking freshmen coming in that should be able to improve over time. If they can make it back to the NCAA Tournament this year, I think it would be a hell of an accomplishment.

-Kansas State lost most of their starters from a team that only made it as far as the NIT. I like Jerome Tang as a coach, but it is hard to keep up with the rest of the league when it is as strong as it is. The Wildcats did hit the transfer portal and got Coleman Hawkins from Illinois and Dug McDaniel from Michigan. They are also adding a few guys who were standout players from Under the Radar schools, so I think K State has plenty of talent, and may be undervalued a little bit.

-Welcome to Year #2 in the Big 12 BYU! One thing I will say about the Cougars is that while I think conference realignment has damaged more than it has improved, it is a lot of fun watching some of these Big 12 blueblood schools play at BYU. It is one of the more rabid fanbases in the country. The Marriott Center is huge, it is always packed, and the student turnout is incredible. They fit right in with Iowa State, and Kansas, and K State, and the likes of this league. Kevin Young takes over as head coach after Mark Pope departed for Kentucky. Just two starters are back, but several other players who saw key minutes and were able to contribute off the bench return, so the cupboard is not entirely bare. Keba Keita transfers in from Utah (I was not even sure that was allowed given the rivalry those two have!), and Mawot Mag comes in from Rutgers, so BYU has some pieces. Can a first-year coach step into this position and start winning in a conference that is 1 of the best in the nation?

-TCU is also having to replace several key players after an NCAA Tournament appearance a year ago. Vasean Allette had a fantastic 19 games at Old Dominion last year before being dismissed due to “misconduct unbecoming of a Monarch” and transfers in to TCU this year. Frankie Collins also put up some good numbers at Arizona State, Trazarien White was a big-time scorer for UNC Wilmington, and Noah Reynolds was a standout player at Green Bay. So TCU has reloaded with some pretty good talent. I also like Jamie Dixon as a coach: this will not be an easy team to beat this year.

-UCF was a respectable 7-11 in their first season of Big 12 play a year ago. With Jordan Ivy-Curry transferring in from UTSA, they should at least have a solid backcourt. “‘Solid'” probably is not good enough to compete with the majority of teams in this conference, and certainly not good enough to compete with the five teams that are starting off ranked in the top-10. I do not see them finishing any higher than where they have been picked.

-Arizona State has failed to post a winning record in 3 of the last 4 years. Coach Bobby Hurley has certainly had some successful teams, but in recent years they have fallen off. They struggled in the Pac-12. They are likely to struggle much more in the Big 12 because the league is, quite frankly, much better overall. Two starters return, and Adam Miller was a fairly solid player for them a year ago. Basheer Jihad put up amazing numbers at Ball State and should be able to help them as well…but once again I think Arizona State will likely lose more than they will win.

-Darian DeVries, who is an outstanding head coach, takes over at West Virginia. Having said that, “outstanding” is not the word I would use to describe the team they will probably have this year. Basically no one is back. Darian’s son Tucker follows his dad over from Drake, and Javon Small comes in from Oklahoma State. Both are solid players, and just having those two will probably make the Mountaineers a little better than they were a year ago. Jayden Stone, who put up ridiculous numbers for an otherwise awful Detroit Mercy team, joins the roster as well. I know this may be foolish, but given how much I like Coach DeVries, and given how their talent actually appears to be a little better than it was last year, I think West Virginia finishes higher in the standings than this. I do not think they will make the NCAA’s, but I could see them finishing as high as 9th or 10th in the Big 12.

-Oklahoma State is also rebuilding with a new coach and a mostly new roster. Steve Lutz takes over after being at Western Kentucky…and he may end up wishing he had stayed where he was. They did go into the portal to pick up some guys who were standout players on some less-than-outstanding teams, but I just do not think they have the kind of guys who can play with most of the teams in this conference.

-I have been very supportive of Colorado over the years, and think Tad Boyle is largely underappreciated as a coach. Colorado has had some fantastic years. They have actually won 20+ games in five of the last six years, made the NCAA Round of 32 twice, and were ranked in the top-20 for part of last season…but for whatever reason no one ever seems to think of them as being good at basketball. When I tell people, “They won 26 games and made the Round of 32 last year,” the typical response is “They did?? I had forgotten that.” Having said all that, Colorado has nobody left from last year’s team, and much of their roster is made up of freshmen and guys who were standout players at non-D-1 schools. As much as I like this program, and as chronically overlooked as I think it normally is, even I cannot say that I expect them to do much better than next-to-last this year.

-I do not expect Utah to be good, but I am a little surprised they are being picked to finish last. Two starters are back from a team that won 22 total games and went to the NIT. That is not bad: hell, some would even say that is decent. I know they have to replace a lot, but I do not think they will finish dead last.

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