By: David Kay

Part three of The Sports Bank’s Big 12 preview features three teams that tied for fourth place in the conference last season and who should all be dancing come March.  Teams 4-6 are still a level below the top three in the conference, but could possibly catch a Blake Griffin-less Oklahoma team for the third spot.

Kansas State returns their talented backcourt and adds some talented players up-front and could be one of the sleepers not only in the conference, but in the country.  Oklahoma State has one of the top scorers in the Big 12 while Texas A&M looks for their school record fifth straight invitation to the Dance.

4. Kansas State (T-4th, 9-7, 21-12, NIT)

2009-2010 Outlook:
K-State might have one of the most underrated backcourts in the country in Dionte Clemente and Jacob Pullen.  Clemente stepped onto the national scene with his 44-point outburst against Texas last season.  Talented freshman Wally Judge and UConn transfer Curtis Kelly will give the Wildcats some nice depth inside to compliment their talented guard play.

Projected Depth Chart
C: Luis Colon (Sr)/Jordan Henriquez-Roberts (Fr)
PF: Wally Judge (Fr)/Curtis Kelly (Jr)/Jamar Samuels (Sr)
SF: Dominique Sutton (Jr)/Rodney McGruder (Fr)
G: Dionte Clemente (Sr)/Chris Merrieweather (Sr)/Nick Russell (Fr)
G: Jacob Pullen (Jr)/Martavious Irving (Fr)

Gone: PF-Darren Kent, PG-Fred Brown (transfer-Louisiana-Monroe), SF-Ron Anderson Jr. (transfer-South Florida), SG-Buchi Awaji

Player to Watch: Judge- He’s not Michael Beasley, but Judge is a big-time recruit who should make a serious impact for the Wildcats.  At 6-9, he is a high-flying, athletic combo forward who can handle the ball on the perimeter.  His stay at K-State will likely be short, but very impacting.

5. Oklahoma State (T-4th, 9-7, 23-12, NCAA Second Round)

2009-2010 Outlook:
OSU used their four guard attack to put together a solid 2008-2009 season.  In losing seniors Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris, the Cowboys will have to replace their second and third leading scorers, but returning starters James Anderson and Keiton Page, along with last year’s sixth man Obi Muonelo should pick up their slack.  The addition of Kentucky transfer Matt Pilgrim and a pair of talented big man should mean OSU won’t have to rely solely on their backcourt play this season.

Projected Depth Chart
F/C:  Marshall Moses(Jr)/Torin Walker (Fr)/Teeng Akol (So)
PF: Matt Pilgrim (Jr)/Jarred Shaw (Fr)
G/F: Obi Muonelo (Sr)/Roger Franklin (Fr)
G: James Anderson (Jr)/Nick Sidorakis (Jr)
PG: Keiton Page (So)/Ray Penn (Fr)/Fred Gulley (Fr)/Reger Dowell (Fr)

Gone: PG-Byron Eaton, SG-Terrel Harris, F-Anthony Brown

Player to Watch: Anderson- A big-time scorer, Anderson can stroke it from deep with nearly half of his field goal attempts last season coming from beyond the arc.  There is definitely NBA potential in Anderson who could average 20+ points a game this season.  The Cowboys may need that type of scoring from Anderson to help offset the losses of Eaton and Harris.

6. Texas A&M (T-4th, 9-7, 24-10, NCAA Second Round)

2009-2010 Outlook:
The Aggies received surprising news when big man Chinemelu Elonu decided to stay in the draft, but got good news when Bryan Davis and David Sloan chose to return to school.  There is other solid talent returning to A&M in guards B.J. Holmes and Derrick Roland.  The Aggies won’t have a true go-to player this season but have options within their starting five.  The bench has a lot of question marks with several new faces joining the roster.

Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Bryan Davis (Sr)/James Blasczyk (Fr)
PF: David Loubeau (So)/Nathan Walkup (Jr)/Ray Turner (Fr)
G: Derrick Roland (Sr)/Khris Middleton (Fr)/Derrek Lewis (Jr)
G: David Sloan (Sr)/Naji Hibbert (Fr)/Jeremy Adams (Fr)
PG: B.J Homes (Jr)/Dash Harris (So)

Gone: G/F-Josh Carter, F/C-Chinemelu Elonu

Player to Watch: Davis- At 6-9, 240 pounds, Davis is the only established low post presence the Aggies have.  He throws his body around in the paint, but too often found himself in foul trouble last season.  Davis cannot afford to commit early fouls this season due to inexperience up-front on the Aggies’ roster and will need to boost his averages of 26.7 minutes, 10.8 points, and 6.5 rebounds per game.

The Sports Bank Big 12 Preview Continues:
Tuesday: Teams 10-12 (Colorado, Texas Tech, Nebraska)
Wednesday: Teams 7-9 (Missouri, Baylor, Iowa State)
Friday: Teams 1-3

The Sports Bank ACC Previews/Power Rankings:
Teams 10-12 (Virginia Tech, Virginia, N.C. State)
Teams 7-9 (Wake Forest, Miami FL, Boston College)
Teams 4-6 (Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech)
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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