THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY. NOVEMBER 3. 2014
PAGE 8B
PREVIEWING THE BIG 12
KANSAS
BRIAN HILLIX
@DoubleHillix
TEXAS
PAIGE STINGLEY
@PageStingley
AT-A-GLANCE:
LAST SEASON:
25-10 (14-4)
OKLAHOMA
LIZ KUHLMANN
@LizKuhlmann
KANSAS STATE
CONNOR OBERKROM
@coberkro
Tabbed as the preseason favorite to claim the conference title by Big 12 coaches — what would be their 11th straight — the layhawks can be found in the top 10 of most experts' preseason national team rankings. While they lose their leading scorer (Andrew Wiggins) and rebounder (Joel Embiid) from last season, Bill Self has replaced them with the No. 3 and No. 11 recruits from
IOWA STATE
G.J MELIA
@GJMelia
BAYLOR
SAM DAVIS
@Davis_Samuel
the class of 2014, according to ESPN. Cliff Alexander will bring much-needed toughness that Kansas lacked last season, while Kelly Oubre, Jr. will give the Jayhawks an outside shooting threat for a team that ranked seventh in the league last season in 3-point field goals made.
The team hasn't had a reliable point guard since Tyshawn Taylor led the team to the national championship in 2012. The only true point guard on the roster is incoming freshman Devonte' Graham, who committed to Kansas
Kelly Oubre, Jr., forward did not play last season
PLAYER TO WATCH:
Cliff Alexander, forward did not play last season
Perry Ellis — Named to the preseason All-Big 12 Team, the junior forward is the most experienced Jayhawk remaining on the roster. He ranked second on the team
Perry Ellis, forward — 13.5 points, 6.7 rebounds
last season in points and rebounds and will need to be more consistent than he was last season, when he would occasionally disappear in stretches.
Cliff Alexander (power forward), Kelly Oubre, Jr. (small forward), Devonte Graham (point guard), Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (shooting guard)
BURNING QUESTION:
What's the situation at point guard?
Wayne Selden, guard — 9.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists
KEY LOSSES:
Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, Tarik Black
in May after being released from his letter of intent from Appalachian State. Frank Mason, who is one of the best on-ball defenders on the team, will also get a close look.
KEY ADDITIONS:
PROJECTED STARTERS/
2013-14 STATS:
Devonte Graham, guard did not play last season
Edited by Ashley Peralta
LAST SEASON:
24-11 (11-7)
AT A GLANCE:
The Texas Longhorns have a young team of returners. They lost no seniors at the end of last season and gained only two freshmen this season. The Longhorns surprised everyone with their success last season, finishing fourth in the Big 12 conference. Texas struggled with consistent shooting and turnovers last season, something they will need to fix if they want another successful season. Isaiah Taylor is
expected to be a dominant shooter, along with Myles Turner and Jonathan Holmes. Texas needs a dominant player, like Taylor, to take over the team. The addition of Turner and Jordan Barnett give Texas a strong post under the basket making the Texas defence a serious threat to its opponents.
Myles Turner — Turner is a five-star recruit from Bedford, Texas, and was the No. 2 recruit overall. His 7-foot stature makes him a threat underneath the basket, but
PLAYER TO WATCH:
Where will coach Rick Barnes start Turner, and what does that mean for Jonathan Holmes?
he's also a dominant shooter. During his senior year, Turner averaged 18.1 points per game, 12.1 rebounds per game and 6.8 blocks per game. Texas already has a tall team, but Turner is just what the Longhorns needed to cap it off.
BURNING QUESTION:
Myles Turner joins Cameron Ridley as the only other center on the Longhorns roster. Last season, Ridley and forward
Jonathan Holmes were posted underneath the basket, but with Turner's addition, Holmes could move to a small forward position. Texas has struggled for several years with consistently shooting the perimeter, but Turner's ability to shoot threes may change that.
Jordan Barnett (small forward), Myles Turner (center)
KEY ADDITIONS
KEY LOSSES:
Did not lose any seniors
PROJECTED STARTERS/ 2013-14 STATS:
Myles Turner, forward — did not play last season
Isaiah Taylor, guard — 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4 assists Jonathan Holmes, forward
Jonathan Holmes, forward 12.8 points. 7.2 rebounds
— 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds Cameron Ridley, center — 11.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks
Edited by Casey Hutchins
Demarcus Holland, guard — 7.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists
LAST SEASON:
23-10 (12-6)
AT-A-GLANCE:
A team riddled with experience, Oklahoma returns the majority of its production in every statistical category from last year's team. Four of five starters return to the floor, all either sophomores or juniors who are more than familiar with playing at the collegiate level after starting all 33 games last year. Oklahoma looks to improve on their second-place finish in the Big 12, and have added a
stellar recruiting class on top of well-seasoned vets to help them achieve this goal.
PLAYER TO WATCH:
Buddy Hield — Hield is a well-recognized leader on the Sooner roster. The junior guard made a severe impact for Oklahoma as a second-team All-Big 12 pick last season, averaging the highest number of points per game in Oklahoma history since Blake Griffin five years ago.
BURNING QUESTION:
the 6-8,242-pound senior University of Houston transfer looks to be Cameron Clark's replacement. Big shoes to fill, but he's up to the task. Thomas led the Cougars in scoring, rebounding and blocks his junior season. The only thing holding him back this year, however, is the NCAA Division I transfer rule that requires transfers to sit out a year before competing at the new institution. Oklahoma intends to file an appeal in an attempt to make Thomas eligible for this upcoming season.
Will TaShawn Thomas play?
KEY ADDITIONS:
TaShawn Thomas (forward),
Dinjiyl Walker (guard), Dante
Buford (guard/forward),
Khadeem Lattin (forward).
KEY LOSSES:
Senior forward Cameron Clark was a third-team All-Big 12 selection after ranking second on the team in scoring (15.6 points per game) and rebounding (5.5 rebounds per game). He finished his career ranked No. 19 on the Sooners' all-time scoring list with 1,284 points and seventh in games played at 128.
PROJECTED STARTERS/
2013-14 STATS:
Buddy Hield, guard — 16.5 points,4.4 rebounds
Isaiah Cousins, guard — 10.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists
Jordan Woodard, guard — 10.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists
Ryan Spangler, forward 9.6 points, 9.3 rebounds
TaShawn Thomas, forward — 15.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 blocks
Edited by Ben Carroll
AT A GLANCE:
LAST SEASON:
28-8 (11-7)
In year 3 under coach Bruce Weber the Wildcats are poised to be much more competitive after enduring some growing pains last season. Weber finally has more of his fingerprints on the roster with senior Thomas Gipson being one of the few remaining pieces of the Frank Martin regime. Marcus Foster, who dazzled as one of the most talented freshman in the country, will look to lead KSU once again in points and be more of a facilitator. Weber
lured in two transfers in Justin Edwards (Maine) and Brandon Bolden (Georgetown) to fortify its depth. He will have to display his coaching prowess as this has the potential to be Weber's most talented team since arriving in Manhattan.
PLAYER TO WATCH:
No. 15 at the time. He will need to maintain his shooting efficiency and patrol the offense with a relatively fresh K-State roster.
Marcus Foster — The sophomore will try to build off his remarkable freshmen campaign in which he led upsets over Kansas and Texas. His 34-point outburst was officially his coming out party to the country in dismantling the Longhorns who were ranked
BURNING QUESTION-
Can Kansas State be a more productive three-point shooting team?
KSU were hitting just 33.1 percent of its shots from the perimeter, which placed them at 221nd in the country. Marcus Foster, who made his threes at a clip of 39.5 percent, is the only player on K-State's roster that was above-average last year taking more than 30
KEY ADDITIONS:
attempts. Nigel Johnson had 62 attempts last season but that just garnered a 27.4 percent rate from deep. If KSU wants to improve its middling offense from last season, it will have to get other contributions than just Foster from three-point range.
Justin Edwards (shooting guard), Malek Harris (power forward), Stephen Hunt (power forward) Brandon Bolden (power forward)
Key Losses:
Will Spradling, Shane Southwell, Nino Williams,
Jevon Thomas, point guard Did not play last season
PROJECTED STARTERS/
2013-14 STATS:
Marcus Foster, shooting guard — 15.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists
Wesley Iwundu, shooting forward 6.7 points, 4.2 rebounds
Thomas Gipson, power forward, — 11.7 points, 6.5 rebounds
D. J Johnson, center - 3.5 points, 3.5 rebounds
LAST SEASON:
28-8 (11-7)
AT-A-GLANCE:
- Edited Brian Hillix
Picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 this year, Iowa State will again look to compete with the best in the conference in the 2014-2015 season. Following the departures of Big 12 Player of the Year, forward Melvin Ejim, and first team all Big 12 guard DeAndre Kane, the Cyclones will look to junior Georges Niang and senior Dustin Hogue to lead the team. The team will also look to continue to shoot the
Georges Niang — Niang was named to the All-Big 12 third team in 2014, averaging 16.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Niang has been one of the best 3-point shooters in the Big 12 in his two years in Ames, shooting 35.9 percent from behind the arc. Niang broke his fifth metatarsal in his right foot during the Cyclones' first game of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, but is expected to be healthy going into the
The graduation of Ejim and Kane will be a huge blow to this Cyclone team. Combined, the two accounted for 35.1 points per game for Iowa State throughout the season. They were the vocal leaders of the team, both on the offensive and defensive end. Sophomore and junior guards Monte Morris and Naz Long will have to pick up the slack of the backcourt.
ball well from 3-point range averaging 35.8 percent in 2014.
PLAYER TO WATCH:
team's opener against Oakland.
BURNING QUESTION:
How will this team respond after losing its top two scorers?
and juniors Niang and Jameel McKay will have to do the same in the frontcourt. McKay is a formidable replacement for Ejim, standing at 6-foot-9 and a playing style similar to that of Ejim.
KEY ADDITIONS:
Clayton Custer (guard),
Georgios Tsalmpouris
(center), Jameel McKay
(foward), Daniel Stensland
(guard)
KEY LOSSES:
Melvin Ejim, DeAndre Kane
Georges Niang, forward 16.7 points,4.5 rebounds
PROJECTED STARTERS/
2013-14 STATS:
Dustin Hogue, forward
Dustin Hogue, forward 11.6 points, 8.4 rebounds
Jameel McKay, forward did not play last season
TH
Naz Long, guard — 7.1 points, 1.1 assists
Monte Morris, guard — 6.8 points, 3.7 assists
LAST SEASON:
26-12 (9-9)
AT-A GLANCE:
Baylor will look to prove the critics wrong this season as they are projected to fall somewhere into the lower half of the Big 12 standings this year, after working their way to the Sweet Sixteen in the last season's NCAA Tournament. Baylor was one of two Big 12 teams, the other being Iowa state, to appear in the Sweet Sixteen in the 2014 tournament. The Bears will miss the 3-point shooting talents of guard Brady Heslip as well as the defensive
mindsets and size of forwards Cory Jefferson and Isaiah Austin. However, the team is bringing in some interesting additions like Deng Deng that could speed up the rebuilding process.
0
— Edited by Yu Kyung Lee
PLAYER TO WATCH:
Kenny Chery - Player's success this season could lie in large part upon the performance and leadership ability of point guard Kenny Chery. Chery averaged 11.7 points per contest last season but failed to significantly fill
Kenny Chery - Baylor's
the stat books in any other category. Expect Chery's shot
W
After losing 7-foot-1 center Austin to medical complications and 6-foot-9 power forward Jefferson to the NBA Draft, the Bears will certainly be at a loss for talented big men. Currently, the tallest player on the roster is a 6-foot-9 freshman and Baylor's size quickly drops off from there. The team's paint presence will be subpar and
numbers to increase this season in an effort to make up for Heslin's absence.
BURNING QUESTION.
Will Baylor be able to make up for its lack of size?
BURNING QUESTION:
KEY LOSSES:
KEY ADDITIONS:
their lethal ability to shoot from the perimeter seriously declines after losing star guard Heslip to graduation. In order to overcome their lack of size and make something of their season the Bears will have to play small ball and be sure to spread the floor under the leadership of point guard Chery.
Deng Deng (forward), Lester Medford (guard), Kobe Eubanks (guard)
Cory Jefferson, Brady Heslip.
Gary Franklin, Isaiah Austin
PROJECTED STARTERS/
2013-14 STATS:
5.4 rpg, 2.9 apg
Taurean Prince — 6.2 ppg,
Kenny Chery — 11.7 ppg
Royce O'Neale - 7.1 ppg, 5.4 rng, 2.9 ang
Taurean Prince — 6.2 ppg,
2.8 rpg
Deng Deng - did not play last season
Rico Gathers — 6.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg
— Edited by Alex Lamb
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