PAGE 8
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS
BIG 12 PREVIEW
HOME: 8 P.M. SATURDAY, FEB. 16
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The Texas Longhorns are a very young but promising group. They have few prominent upperclassmen and the starting lineup will likely feature three sophomores and two freshmen. The sophomores, however, have a lot of experience having played big minutes last season as Texas finished 6th in the Big 12 with a 20-14 overall record and made it to the NCAA Tournament.
With J'covan Brown gone for the NBA, the Longhorns will need to fill a big scoring void. Look for sophomore guard Sheldon McClellan to lead the way for Texas as he was the second leading scorer behind Brown last season. The shooting guard averaged 11.3 points per game and those numbers should rise as he becomes the primary scorer for Texas.
While there will likely be growing pains in Austin, look for Texas to finish near the top of the Big 12 and to challenge the unanimous coaches poll that picked them to finish ninth.
Drew Harms
KEY DEPARTURES:
J'Covan Brown Sterling Gibbs Alexis Wangneme Clint Chapman
KEY PLAYER ACQUISITIONS:
Cameron Ridley
Prince Ibeh
HOME: 6 P.M. MONDAY, MAR. 4
AWAY: 3 P.M. SATURDAY, JAN.12
KANSAS
The 2012 offseason was a tumultuous one for the Red Raiders. The team lost five players to transfer (including Lewandowski, Willis and Petteway) and head coach Billy Gillispie resigned from the program amid accusations of mistreatment of his players.
Interim head coach Chris Walker has the difficult task of getting the Red Raiders out of the Big 12 cellar, where the team finished last season. Despite the transfers, there is some returning talent at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders return with their top three scorers in Jordan Tolbert, Ty Nurse and Jay Crockett.
Texas Tech also adds six newcomers this season, three freshmen and three junior college transfers. One of the freshmen to watch this season is Josh Gray, a 6-1 guard who was rated by ESPN as the 18th-best point guard prospect in the country.
KEY DEPARTURES:
Robert Lewandowski
Javarez Willis
Terran Petteway
Although the Red Raiders return their top three scorers and add six newcomers for this team it won't high. Texas Tech won one Big 12
KEY NEWCOMERS:
Josh Gray
Aaron Ross
Wannah Bail
Although the red raiders return to top position, they are not able to reach the team, the ceiling for this team isn't very high. Texas Tech only won one Big 12 game last season and it will be challenge for Chris Walker and the Red Raiders to improve on that number for the 2012-2013 season.
Christopher Schaefer
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HOME: 3 P.M. SATURDAY, JAN.26 AWAY: 8 P.M. SATURDAY, FEB.9
The Oklahoma Sooners finished last year with a 5-13 Big 12 record. That's about the end of the bad news. Sooners guard Steven Pledger is the highest scoring returner in the Big 12. Romero Osby is the Big 12's top returning rebounder. Transfer Amath M'Baye is the Big 12 Presseason Newcomer of the Year.
OKLAHOMA
KANSAS
Osby and Pledger were the only Sooners to earn any mentions or accolades in the previous year; both sliding in for a Big 12 honorable mention bid. Oklahoma's returning point guard Sam Grooms had the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big 12 at 2.8, finishing in 2nd place in the Big 12 with 185 assists.
KEY DEPARTURES:
None
KEY NEWCOMERS:
Amath M'Baye
Buddy Hield
D.J. Bennett
To with that, the seniors Oklahoma graduated accounted for a grand
to go with that, the seniors ordinarily graded accounts for a game total of 3.1 points per game last year. All returning players accounted for 96.2 percent of last year's scoring. Vast improvement is very much a reality for this team.
Widely respected coach Lon Kruger returns for his second year leading the Sooners, and is already in good position to have his team dancing in March. Kruger is still trying to piece together a puzzle shattered by recruiting violations under the Jeff Capel tenure, but with high-profile talent returning to the floor for the Sooners, Kruger and the Oklahoma program are sure to be on the rise.
— Chris Hybl
HOME: 8 P.M. MONDAY, JAN. 14
AWAY: 5 P.M. SATURDAY, MAR. 9
Any analysis of the Baylor Bears this season begins with preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Pierre Jackson.
KEY DEPARTURES:
The point guard from Las Vegas, Nev. was selected as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and as an All-Big 12 team member at the end of last season. Jackson led the Bears in assists for 30 of the team's 38 games last season, including all three games of the Big 12 tournament and for three NCAA tournament games.
This year Jackson will need to score as well. He averaged 13.8 points per game last season, but with the Bears missing Perry Jones, Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller, teams will focus their defensive game plans around stopping Jackson this season. Jackson said last season nobody knew who he was, this season it will be a completely different feeling.
Quincy Acy
Perry Jones III
Quincy Miller
Baylor coach Scott Drew has one of the best freshmen in the nation this season: McDonald's All-American Isaiah Austin. Austin's game will probably surprise people the first time they see him play. Both Drew and Austin insist that he is a good shooter and will be relied upon for 3-point shooting as a freshman, but the surprising part is that *Austin* is listed in the Baylor media guide at 7-foot-1.
KEY NEWCOMERS:
Baylor was 30-8 last season (12-6 in the Big 12) and ended its season in the Elite Eight with a loss to eventual national champion Kentucky. This season, Baylor is among the most talented teams in the Big 12. They were selected second, behind Kansas, in the preseason Big 12 coaches' poll and if there is one team that thinks they are better than Kansas this year it is Baylor.
Max Goodwin
HOME: 8 P.M. MONDAY, FEB. 11
AWAY: 7 P.M. TUESDAY JAN. 22
VS
KANSAS
For Kansas State this basketball season brings with it a new head coach. Bruce Weber will begin his tenure in Manhattan with help from senior shooting guard Rodney McGruder who averaged 15 points and five rebounds a game.
The Wildcats also return Will Spradling, Angel Rodrigues and Jordan Henriquez, meaning K-State will have four season's top five scorers on the court. Jamar Samuels was second in that category but graduated. Other departures from 2011-2012 season are Victor Dielwele, James Watson and Jeremy Jones
Only two freshmen will suit up for K-State this season: D. J. Johnson, who averaged 16 points 11.9 rebounds and five blocks a game last year at Park way North High School in St. Louis, and Michael Orris, who averaged 11 points and 4 assists a game for Crete-Monee High School in Crete, Ill. Ryan Schultz transferred from Hutchison Community College and looks to see some time on the floor.
Last year ended for the Wildcats when Syracuse took their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen, but with most of last season's starting lineup returning K-State is poised to make a run to its fifth Final Four.
KEY DEPARTURES:
Jamar Samuels
KEY NEWCOMERS:
D.J. Johnson
C Sta
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Tyler Conover
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