Volume 126 Issue 35
kansan.com
Thursday, October 24, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY GANSAN
COMMENTARY
Oklahoma State Smart unlikely to be a threat
Pardon me for not getting wrapped up in the narrative that Oklahoma State is capable of high stepping Kansas in the Big 12 standings this season, ending the run of nine straight regular season championships by Bill Self and his teams.
Sophomore guard Marcus Smart is undoubtedly great. But don't forget that he still couldn't lead his Cowboys to anything but a third place conference finish last season behind Kansas State.
Now, a year later, that same team is supposed to win the Big 12, or at least give the Jayhawks a serious fight. It doesn't sound preposterous at first. Marcus Smart is a legitimate top-five pick in next summer's NBA draft, and last season's top five scorers all return for the Cowboys.
But we have seen this before.
Missouri was supposed to give Kansas fits a few years ago before falling in line behind the Jayhawks in the final conference standings just like Kansas State, Texas and Oklahoma State before them. Blindly picking Self and Kansas is boring and doesn't make for a good preseason storyline.
Even more so, the last few Jayhawk teams weren't the most intimidating Self has trotted out in his career. There were plenty of question marks heading into the last three seasons, yet they always ended the regular season ahead of everyone else before grabbing a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, with an experienced point guard like Naadir Tharpe, two potential top-10 NBA draft picks in Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid, as well as the clear-cut No. 1 draft pick in Andrew Wiggins, we are supposed to believe last year's third place team is a worthy competitor?
"It is all potential," Marcus Smart recently told CBSSports.com of the Andrew Wiggins hype heading into this season. "I am not saying he can't do it. But he has not done it yet."
Smart is right. Wiggins, Selden, Embiid and the rest of the Kansas recruiting class haven't accomplished any of the things Smart has at the college level.
But after winning the Big 12 with players like Kevin Young and Conner Teahan in the rotation, excuse me for dismissing the Oklahoma State hype. I am not saying Smart and the Cowboys can't dethrone Kansas this season. But they haven't done it yet.
Edited by Duncan McHenry
BLOCK CHALK JARMOC
Senior middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc becomes all-time block leader
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