By: David Kay
The most in-depth college basketball preview on the net, outside of anything written by Jay Bilas, Andy Katz, or Fran Fraschilla that is, continues. Week five of The Sports Bank’s college basketball preview takes us to the Big 12.
Known more as a college football conference, the Big XII is ready to turn some heads this season, having two teams that will likely end up in my pre-season Final Four. However, with those extremely talented squads comes football schools that attempt to put together a Division One basketball program, but are failing miserably.
Colorado, Nebraska, and Texas Tech are going to be bad this year. I’m talking as bad as basketball as “Couples Retreat” was to major motion pictures. But we have to start our preview somewhere so why not work from the bottom up?
10. Colorado (12th in B12, 1-15 in B12, 9-22 overall)
2009-2010 Outlook:
This is a program that has struggled for the past decade, having only made the NCAA Tournament once since 1998. 2008-2009 wasn’t much different as the Buffs finished with the worst record in the Big 12. I doubt there will be a repeat performance of that terrible a season, but it won’t be much better. There is a lot of returning talent, but Jeff Bzdelik still has his work cut out for him in turning Colorado into a competitive college basketball team.
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Casey Crawford (Jr)/Trey Eckloff (So)/Shane Harris-Tunks (Fr)
F: Austin Dufault (So)/Trent Buckley (Jr)/Marcus Relphorde (Jr)
G/F: Cory Higgins (Jr)/Levi Knutson (Jr)/Keegan Hornbuckle (Fr)
G: Nate Tomlinson (So)/Alec Burks (Fr)/Javon Coney (Jr)
PG: Dwight Thorne II (Sr)/ Shannon Sharpe (Fr)
Gone: F-Jermyl Jackson-Wilson, F-Toby Veal (transfer), G-Ryan Kelley (transfer)
Player to Watch: Higgins- The son of former NBA’er Rod Higgins, Cory is a big-time scorer who could potentially be a second round draft pick when the time comes for him. He doubled his scoring last season and will be the go-to guy for the Buffs this season.
11. Texas Tech (11th, 3-13, 14-19)
2009-2010 Outlook:
The Red Raiders scored 167 points in a 40-minute game last season against some school called, “East Central.” That still amazes me. What haunted Tech was their pathetic defense which was constantly lit up by Big 12 teams. Their roster has improved talent and there’s a slight chance Pat Knight’s team could surprise some.
Projected Depth Chart
C: Robert Lewandowski (So)/Trevor Cook (Sr)
PF: Darko Cohadarevic (Sr)/D’Walyn Roberts (Jr)/Corbin Ray (So)
SF: Mike Singletary (Jr)/Brad Reese (Jr)/Theron Jenkins (Jr)
SG: Nick Okorie (Sr)/David Tairu (Jr)/Jaye Crockett (Fr)/Wally Dunn (Jr)
PG: John Roberson (Jr)/Mike Davis (Fr)
Gone: SG-Alan Voskuil, C-Esmir Rizvic, PF-Damir Suljagic, F-Michael Prince, F-Rodgrick Craig
Player to Watch: Singletary- No, not the Mike Singletary who takes his pants off to motivate his team. In just 23 minutes a game last season, Singletary averaged about 12 and 6 a night. With more minutes expected, the 6-6 junior should form a nice 1-2 scoring punch with John Roberson.
12. Nebraska (8th, 8-8, 18-12, NIT)
2009-2010 Outlook:
The Huskers held their own in the Big 12 last season, but loses four of their top five scorers from a year ago. On a roster primarily consisting of underclassmen, this will definitely be a re-loading season for Nebraska. They will once again boast a guard heavy line-up which will be a big handicap in a conference that has a lot of talented big men.
Projected Depth Chart
F: Brandon Ubel (Fr)/ Brian Diaz (Fr)/Quincy Hankins-Cole (Jr)/Christian Standhardinger (Fr)/Christopher Niemann (So-torn ACL)
G/F: Tony McCray (So)/Myles Holley (So)
G: Ryan Anderson (Sr)/Eshaunte Jones (Fr)/Adrien Coleman (Fr)
G: Sek Henry (Sr)/Matt Karn (Sr)/Ray Gallegos (Fr)
PG: Brandon Richardson (So)/Lance Jeter (Jr)
Gone: G-Ade Dagunduro, PG-Steve Harley, PG-Cookie Miller (transfer-Miami, OH), G-Paul Verlander, PF-Chris Balham, F-Alonzo Edwards (transfer-juco)
Player to Watch: Henry- The only returning starter from last season, Henry will be counted on both on and off the court to lead this team. He only averaged eight points per game in a complimentary role and must become a more reliable scorer or else the Huskers could struggle even worse than they likely will.
The Sports Bank Big 12 Preview Continues:
Wednesday: Teams 7-9
Thursday: Teams 4-6
Friday: Teams 1-3
The Sports Bank ACC Previews/Power Rankings:
Monday: Teams 10-12 (Virginia Tech, Virginia, N.C. State)
Tuesday: Teams 7-9 (Wake Forest, Miami FL, Boston College)
Wednesday: Teams 4-6 (Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech)
Thursday: Teams 1-3 (UNC, Duke, Maryland)
The Sports Bank SEC Previews/Power Rankings:
SEC East Teams 4-6 (Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Georgia)
SEC East Teams 1-3 (Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida)
SEC West Teams 4-6 (Arkansas, Auburn, LSU)
SEC West Teams 1-3 (Mississippi State, Mississippi, Alabama)
The Sports Bank Pac-10 Preview/Power Rankings:
Teams 8-10 (Washingon State, Arizona State, Stanford)
Teams 5-7 (Arizona, USC, Oregon)
Teams 1-4 (Oregon State, UCLA, Washington, Cal)
The Sports Bank Big East Previews/Power Rankings
Teams 13-16 (Rutgers, South Florida, Providence, DePaul)
Teams 9-12 (Notre Dame, Pitt, Marquette, St. John’s)
Teams 5-8 (Syracuse, Louisville, Cincinnati, Seton Hall)
Teams 1-4 (Villanova, West Virginia, UConn, Georgetown)
Post-Season Award Predictions
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