Big 12 basketball looks as tough as ever

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Heading into its ninth season, the Big 12 has at least seven schools whose chances of striking NCAA tournament gold range from not bad to can't miss.

In every part of the nation's youngest megaconference, interesting subplots abound.

There's a new coach at Texas A&M, the only school that's never played a postseason game as a Big 12 member.

A beautiful new arena has been unveiled at Missouri. But so have NCAA penalties. Will the Tigers' $75 million facility lessen the damage from a one-year recruiting ban?

On a more positive note, the Big 12 has a preseason All-American (Wayne Simien), a preseason national champion (Kansas) and Oklahoma State point guard John Lucas, last season's conference player of the year.

Long of tooth but savvy as ever are Texas Tech's Bob Knight and Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton, two of the winningest coaches since James Naismith first reached for a peach basket.

Incoming is an intriguing class of newcomers, some of the most sought-after junior college and high school stars in the nation.

These include Daniel Gibson, a point guard Texas thinks might be the next T.J. Ford; Colorado's versatile 6-foot-6 Richard Roby, half brother of Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin; and Iowa State freshman Aaron Agnew, who packs 365 pounds onto a 6-10 frame.

So much talent flowing into the Big 12 comes as no surprise to Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan.

''When you go in and tell kids that we have the toughest league in the country, and you can play against the best competition in the country, kids look forward to that,'' Morgan said.

''There are players who just want to play in the Big 12.''

A rare blend of ability and experience has made Kansas No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason poll.

Bill Self, in his second year, has four seniors who have played in the Final Four. The best is the 6-foot-9 Simien, the Big 12's leading returning scorer at 17.8 points per game and the only Big 12 player on the AP preseason All-America team.

Simien, along with several teammates, battled injuries all last season, but seems OK now.

''Even if the numbers don't increase, a healthy Wayne Simien could be a much better player than he was last year,'' Self said.

And if that's not enough, the Jayhawks also have one of the country's most talented freshman groups.

''We have recruited some guys I think will make us better,'' said Self.

Sutton's Oklahoma State returns four starters from the team that went 31-4 last season and lost to Georgia Tech in the NCAA semifinals. Lucas is back for a senior season after helping his esteemed old coach raise his overall record to 325-128.

Gone, though, is Tony Allen, and that might hurt.

''Sometimes you take for granted what Tony Allen did for us a year ago at both ends of the court,'' said assistant coach Sean Sutton.

Scoring-wise, the biggest departure hit Texas Tech, where Knight said goodbye to Andre Emmett, the Big 12's career points leader.

Knight, who's taken the Red Raiders to three consecutive postseason tournaments, needs just 48 wins to overtake Dean Smith (879) for the most in Division I history.

''The players we have coming back, each guy's got to score three or four points more than he did a year ago,'' Knight said. ''If that can be done, you have basically made up for what you've lost.''

Another top recruiting class belongs to bottom-feeding Baylor. The Bears surprised everybody by going 8-21 in Scott Drew's first year as coach and now are free of their self-imposed exile from the Big 12 tournament.

''What I think most coaches will tell you is that experience wins you a lot of games,'' said Drew. ''And right now we don't have the experience. What we do have is the youth and excitement.''

Facing an even bigger hurdle is first-year head coach Bill Gillespie at Texas A&M. The Aggies, who went 0-16 in the conference a year ago, will build around 6-7 junior Antoine Wright who averaged almost 14 points.

''We are taking baby steps right now, working extremely hard,'' said Gillespie.

Altogether, six Big 12 players were listed among the top 50 for the Preseason Wooden Award -- Simien and Lucas and P.J. Tucker of Texas, Keith Langford of Kansas, Kevin Bookout of Oklahoma and Joey Graham of Oklahoma State.

Kansas State returns Jeremiah Massey, its leading scorer and rebounder and last year's Big 12 newcomer of the year.

While debate continues as to whose team is best, there is little doubt that Missouri's new home outshines them all.

The Mizzou Arena, previously named the Paige Sports Arena for a Wal-Mart heiress who didn't even attend Missouri but whose parents wrote a check for $25 million, has a skylighted roof arch. Its concourses feel as wide as boulevards. It even offers a 24-hour practice gym.

Its name was changed Friday after nationally televised allegations that Paige Laurie paid another student to complete her assignments at the University of Southern California.

Well-heeled fans will watch the Tigers from private suites while enjoying catered food and drink.

Because Missouri got caught breaking rules, however, the NCAA is not going to let Quin Snyder and his staff make any off-campus recruiting visits for one year.

But there should be plenty of opportunity for kids to see the new arena on television. The league this year will enjoy its greatest TV exposure and money.

''There are some great basketball leagues in this country, but the Big 12 is a horse of a different color,'' said Nebraska coach Barry Collier.