Still, West Virginia will probably start four seniors and will field one of the deeper teams in the conference, as usual. Miles McBride and Derek Culver are gone, which are catastrophic losses for the Mountaineers. The true potential of this team lies in whether it has the shot-makers necessary to make it out of the first couple of rounds of the NCAA Tournament. And who knows what to expect from 7’0 Arizona transfer Daniel Batcho? Ultimately, Tech’s defense-first mentality should keep the Red Raiders in every game of the gritty Big 12 season, regardless of opponent. He’s the team leader (yes I just plugged my own article for another outlet), and what a lineup to lead: Marcus Santos-Silva and Kevin Obanor in the frontcourt, Terrence Shannon Jr., Bryson Williams, and Davion Warren holding down the guard and wing spots. Kevin McCullar is the definition of a Big 12 guard, which is to say he’s tough, defensive minded and disciplined. Objectively, this is a really good basketball team. If Beard can get these kids to play as a team rather than a bunch of super-skilled individuals, he’ll have a chance to bring the Horns back to the Final Four for the first time since the T.J. Can he win with almost exclusively star players? There’s a reason the vast majority of national champions are upper-classmen-heavy with a couple of go-to guys leading quality role players. Beard won with a bunch of gritty role players sprinkled with one or two stars in Lubbock. But Shaka Smart and Rick Barnes recruited at equally high levels, and never had much to show for it. Chris Beard did a great job of recruiting a bit of young talent (Jaylon Tyson) and plethora of established veterans (Dylan Disu, Marcus Carr, Timmy Allen, Devin Askew, Tre Mitchell) to go along with Longhorn mainstays Andrew Jones, Courtney Ramey and Jase Febres. And, on the national stage, things just seem to fall apart. Tons of talent, more preseason hype than you could ever ask for, and almost always the hottest coach on the market. The parallels between Texas football and Texas basketball are extensive. That’s why this team will be good, but not great - at least in the early going. Baylor’s freshman class may have all the ability in the world, but experience doesn’t come overnight. It’s one thing to have young, raw talent, and another to have proven veteran leadership and tremendous talent. And MaCio Teague was an All-American who would’ve been the best player on 99 percent of NCAA teams. Davion Mitchell was the best defender in the country and he’s already on his way to becoming the best defender in the NBA. Jared Butler was the best overall point guard in the country. 2 BaylorĮveryone’s talking about Baylor’s star-studded recruiting class, but there is no replacing the Bears’ outstanding backcourt from last year. The road to a Big 12 title once more runs through Lawrence. That just goes to show how talented this group is, and that doesn’t even mention the gifted Jalen Wilson, sharpshooting Christian Braun, or high-scoring Ochai Agbaji. I thought the award could’ve just as easily gone to his teammate, David McCormack. Jayhawks senior guard Remy Martin, a transfer from Arizona State, was named Preseason Conference Player of the Year.
Viva the Matadors Big 12 Preseason Poll RK
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