Big 12 coaches put UT second

Five of the top 6 are in the south. I wonder what Kansas's SOS will look like at the end of the year.
 
That's been the prediction of every major magazine. I think it's probable that at least one other North team will wedge its way into the top six just because of scheduling.... probably Missouri.
 
What did I miss on Oklahoma- do they have a monster recruiting class coming in or something.

The team they had last year sucked donkey balls, what's up with that prediction?
 
They have the best player in the conference in Blake Griffin. They have 4 starters returning, with no real key losses. They have the best incoming freshman in Willie Warren. That said, I'd still pick them 2nd or 3rd.

I'm a little surprised Texas wasn't a clear favorite to win the conference.
 
Barely. Must have been sour grapes from that one coach who ranked us last.

You know who I'm talking about.
 
I saw the headline and my initial thought was "are they talking about chick ball?" I too am very surprised texas is not the consensus pick to win the conference. We, like OU, have 4 starters coming back and all the depth in the bench. Two differences:
1) we lost our best player from last year, they retained theirs
2) We were really freaking good last year and they sucked donkey balls.

I would have thought 2 would have been more important than 1 (especially after how texas was better the year after losing Durant showing we can replace a great player- better but not b/c of losing him so I don't get jumped on). That's why I was asking if they had a monster class or something.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if we're ranked 4-5 spots ahead of OU in the Top 25. I'm still puzzled at the Big 12 preseason ranking, especially that KU is low.
 
None of the KU players are star talents, if that's what you mean. Releford is a guy who'll give you double figures his first year, but he's nobody to build a team around...of course, this has never been KU's MO.
 
The class coming in at KU is going to surprise a lot of you who doubt that KU will be very good.

The twins play mean defense and rebound with anyone in the Big 12. Releford is good a notch or two below Willie Warren but awful good. The other guard they picked up the name escapes me right now will be better then Releford by midseason. He is fast and handles the ball well. The JC guard plays great defense and shots well, but needs work on his release, he will play some minutes this year for KU.
Its a top 5 class in a lot of mags and basketball sites. The bunch is better then anyone alone in the class , they are solid BB players.
I also see Texas on top of the pile but OU and KU will be very close and the schedule is in KU pocket.
 
The Big 12 south is stacked.

I agree with Bob that Missouri might actually make some noise in the North. They'd finish no better than say 5th in the Big 12 South, but since NEB lost Maric (sp?) and ISU lost well, their entire team, who is going to contend? KSU will be in heavy rebuilding mode this year, so I don't see them doing much.

I'd say the north will go something like:

1. Kansas
2. Missouri
3. Kansas State
4. Nebraska (tie)
4. Iowa State (tie)
6. Colorado
 
Boy the north is incredibly weak looking this year vis a vis the south. It's like UT plays in the toughest conference in the nation and Kansas plays in a mid major conference.

10 games against those dregs and they should be 9-1 at a minimum, and that's even if they are not particularly good.

But seen from another perspective how would you like to be Texas Tech this year? They have 8 games in the south alone they should be favored to lose, and it would be that way even if they were decent.
 
Griffin is a scary beast, but I'm optimistic we'll be able to contain him somewhat since we're loaded with bigs that can D up. Connor is a shot blocking monster, Wangmene is athletic, Pittman is an intimidating presence, and Hill should be productive this year if Barnes is telling the truth. Not to mention Chapman and Johnson's strength.
 
Preseason ranking is all but useless. We will see who is ending up where come close to the Touranment.
 
The problem I have with OU is that they have peaked too early the last two seasons with Capel as coach. Is that due to Capel's inexperience as a coach, injuries to studs like Griffin, or what. Until I see them carry it The verdict is still out on whether they make a run thru the postseason.
 
Nah, it's been more of a combination of things. There's been every bit of our share of injuries for sure, but some of the shorthanded-ness has also been due to disciplinary action too (Maze & Clark come to mind off the top of my head). Throw in the loss of Sampson's last recruiting class sans Crocker, with the coaching changes, plus the actual timing of said change which left JC with very little time to do anything about it as far as any potential new recruits go, & you've got a recipe for being set back for a while.

I do have to say however, that since he's gotten his roots established, I can't recall having seen the level of pure talent that he's been able to get in on since the Tubbs days.
 
The thing I'm most pleased about is that he's finally bringing in a top notch, Big 12 quality point guard in Tommy Mason-Griffin. You're going to absolutely love that kid, SCS.

If OU had TMG this year, I'd for sure make them the conference favorite. As it is, I just don't see anyone on that roster I like a whole lot as the primary ball handler --- and Willie Warren certainly isn't that guy, although he'll be a heck of a weapon as a 2 or 3.

One of the things that concerned me about Capel last year vis a vis Texas is the absolute stupidity he showed in terms of guarding --- or the lack thereof --- AJ Abrams. That wasn't the players' fault. That was a systemic failure in terms of game plan going into the two contests.

With DJ Augustin gone AJ's role on offense should change some, so maybe he won't be the same factor this year, but it was a disappointment for me this past season.

On the other hand, I really liked some of the things Capel was able to accomplish with Longar Longar. LL was never a college basketball superstar, but given how far he had to go to even being a productive player, I thought Capel showed quite a bit in terms of an ability to develop a player over the last two years. And Capel is nearly always extremely impressive in interview situations.

It's still too early to tell what he's going to be in the long term --- and given Billy Tubbs and Kelvin Sampson's track record of on the court success, he does have some big shoes to fill --- but I've seen positive signs. Now we have to see how well he builds on it.

Thanks for posting, SCS. If you get the time, I'd love to see some kind of breakdown from you regarding what you're expecting in terms of personnel from your Sooners this year. I feel like you've always gone out of your way to be realistic --- if on the optimistic side, which I like as well.

Anyway, no pressure. Just know you'd have an appreciative audience if you chose to take the time to do so.
 
Sorry about the delay SL, I've been & am still pretty busy. How dare they interfere w/ my CPU time.
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As far as the picks go, IMO, the 2 best teams are OU & UT at 1 & 1a,, & to be honest, I'd have had no problem with you guys being picked first (personally, I think that with, if you'll pardon the bluntness, the overall suckitude of the north, KU will make a very strong run, if not win the league, despite their personnel losses). I see us as a bit of an "upside" pick, which as a certain coach said, that means you ain't done it yet. As far as a team rundown, I'll defer to the horses' mouth. Here's a good Capel interview w/ one of the locals on his evaluation of the guys so far:
The Link

Have a good one.
 
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