The Usual Suspects
Iowa State Cyclones
Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Coach: Greg McDermott (4th Season) 2008–2009 Record: 15–17 (4–12 Big 12) Like Colorado, the Iowa State Cyclones have one fantastic player in forward Craig Brackins. He is kind of a ball hog, though—he took shots on 36.5% of the ’Clones’ possessions last season, good enough for eighth in the country. He is deadly from 15 feet and in, and can pop out and hit a three on occasion. He’s also one of the best defensive rebounders in the entire country, which is always valuable. And what’s really scary is he still has a bunch of untapped potential. Most of his support comes from Diante Garrett, a drive-first point guard who is an assist machine, and long-range bomber Lucca Staiger, who shot 38.5% from three last season. Then you have shooters number two and three in Jamie Vanderbeken and Wes Eikmeier, and two super rebounders in guard Charles Boozer and center Justin Hamilton. That’s about it. Chris Colvin is clearly the star of the incoming class, an uber-athletic shooting guard who can drive, shoot, play defense—just about everything. The other three incoming newbies are just role players: athletic Antwon Oliver, longrange bomber Marquis Gilstrap, and rebounder LaRon Dendy. The Cyclones should not be overlooked, due to Brackins alone, but they don’t have enough talent to seriously compete.
three-point acumen (along with a solid midrange game), and forward Kourtney Robertson with his aggressive rebounding. Then there is pure scorer (and not much else) Jeremy Adams and the extremely athletic forward, Ray Turner. A&M has the pieces to make the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year, with a much better shot of making the second weekend than in the past couple of years.
Texas A&M Aggies
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Coach: Mark Turgeon (3rd Season) 2008-2009 Record: 24–10 (9–7 Big 12) NCAA #9 Seed, Round of 32
Coach: Doc Sadler (4th Season) 2008–2009 Record: 18–13 (8–8 Big 12)
The Aggies figure to take a step forward in 2010, with a bonanza of returning players combining with some talented new faces. Guard Donald Sloan headlines the returnees, an awesome defender who takes good care of the ball on offense, as well, with really good assist and turnover rates. Down low, Bryan Davis is a fabulous rebounder, particularly on offense, and a force defensively, with some decent range. Departed forward Chinemelu Elonu was better at all of those things, though, leaving a gap. That space will be partially filled by David Loubeau, a perfectly fine player who isn’t particularly good or bad at anything. The most underrated player on the team, maybe in the entire Big 12, is guard B.J. Holmes—he never turns it over (second best in the country last season in turnover rate) and is lights-out from three, shooting 41.5% in 2009. He should get a starting gig. Other returnees include defensive stopper Derrick Roland, bland forward Nathan Walkup, and raw, offensivelychallenged point guard Dash Harris. Of the incomers, three stand out: guard Naji Hibbert and his exceptional midrange game, Khris Middleton and his
Former Jayhawk player Mark Turgeon has learned that you never take sides against the family during his years in College Station.
In 2009, Nebraska was feisty, short, played outstanding defense (first in the country at forcing turnovers), and hit treys. Basically, they were a mid-major squad in the Big 12. Sek Henry is the returning star from the team, an extremely versatile player who can play both outside (34.2% from three) and inside. Also returning is Ryan Anderson, the 6'4" guy often assigned the task of guarding the other team’s power forward. He’s a good player on defense, while on offense he’s essentially just a three-point shooter. Toney McCray is a really good defensive rebounder, and just about perfectly average at everything else. The team will have to replace Cookie Miller, the five-foot-nothing point guard who transferred to West Virginia. Two players who barely saw any action last season, 6'11" centers Christopher Niemann and Brian Diaz, figure to play a big role in providing some much-needed height to the Cornhuskers. As good as the team was in the turnover battle—and they were one of the best in the country—they were just as poor in the rebounding department. Just brutally awful, particularly on offense. Besides Niemann and Diaz, some other low-post help is on its way through the recruiting class of 2009. There is the
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