Now that the calendar has been turned to January, we can put away the footballs and concentrate on that sport James Naismith perfected so many years ago.January in these parts can only mean one thing...basketball and even better, college basketball. They're ready to wave some wheat at the Phog and do some head-bobbing to the Wabash Cannonball at the Bram.
Today I call upon six of my friends to tell you why their team wins the Big XII championship. Nicholas Caldwell, Bren Fisher and Patrick Spellman give their top three reasons why the Jayhawks bring home more conference championship hardware . To tell you why Kansas State knocks off Kansas for the top spot are Derek Bledsoe, Alex Reinecke and Paden Town.
A little about our ESPN roundtable. Caldwell is a student at KU and hails from Shawnee Mission Northwest High where he was a medalist in the 6A state wrestling tournament a year ago. Fisher is on the Pittsburg State golf team and competed in the Kansas Amateur last summer. Spellman attends Hutchinson Community College where he hopes to walk on the baseball team.
Bledsoe played football at Kansas Wesleyan this fall and knows something about championships...he's a Silver Lake High grad. Reinecke attends K-State and graduated from Greensburg High in 2007 - three weeks after the Greensburg Tornado. Town is a December K-State graduate in Music. He and his sousaphone were in Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City last March during K-State's Elite Eight run.
Conference action gets going Saturday with five conference games: K-State at Oklahoma State, Missouri at Colorado, Baylor at Texas Tech, A&M at Oklahoma and Iowa State at Nebraska. KU and Texas have nonconference tilts this weekend with KU-Michigan and UConn-UT on tap.
The Boyz in Bristol are ready. Lights, Camera, Action guys. We're only 10 weeks from hearing the CBS Orchestra that preludes each NCAA Tournament game which leads us to the Road to the Final Four which is in Houston.
Roundtable, the floor is yours!
Derek Bledsoe: #1 K-State's Bench. Frank Martin's deep and productive bench is sure to outlast anything KU can throw at em. K-State has 10 players that average over 10 minutes, allowing the Wildcats to keep fresh bodies on the floor at all times. #2 Frank Martin: Frank Martin is simply a better coach than Bill Self. As last year's Big XII Coach of the Year and impressive tournament play, Frank Martin looks to simply out-coach the Jayhawks. #3 Fan Base: Everybody knows us purple-blooded Wildcat fans are better than those Chickenhawks and we travel well too. K-State has a few impressive wins on the road that can be attributed in part by an excellent fan base. EMAW!
Nicholas Caldwell: #1 Tradition. When you are a school that prides yourself on being the best, being the best comes natural. It's like shooting a free throw, how good you are is directly related to how much time you spend working on it. We have spent so much time at the top it has become who we are, it is in our blood. #2 Chemistry. We as a team work together and have presence on the court. Without that we wouldn't be a team. We don't have to have just one player either to be good. We can still win without Morris or any other player for that matter. We don't rely solely on one person to be a playmaker, because everyone on the team solo or as a collective group is a playmaker. #3 Selby. He is the next best thing. Pullen is thought to be the best in the Big XII, well check again. Selby could and will be the best. He not only can make a shot, but he is developing as a leader, something Spradling should take some notes on. Selby is going to be the face of KU as he develops in his time here.
Bren Fisher: #1 Depth. They can win the Big XII, they have a lot of size and can go just as deep if not deeper than most teams. #2 Experience. The starting five, with exception of Selby, have all won a title and know how to do it! #3 Bill Self. The best coach in my opinion, and he knows how to win with whatever kids he has!
Alex Reinecke: #1 Athletic. K-State is as athletic as anyone in the Big XII and their ceiling is virtually limitless. With players such as Wally Judge and Rodney McGruder, who have shown just recently how high their potential really goes, along with Jamar Samuels adding some very impressive minutes, the Cats are very capable of living up to pre-season expectations. #2 Jacob Pullen. After floating through several preseason games like some fairy in la-la land, Jake decides to throw his leadership role aside, and along with Curtis Kelly, violate NCAA rules. IF Jake can get his act together and become the player he once was, K-State will have every chance in the world to win the Big XII this season. #3 Defense Never Rests. If K-State learns how to play that same tenacious, swarming defense they played throughout conference play last season, they will win the Big XII. Frank Martin teams never win pretty. They are always rough, tough and scrappy ballgames that throw other teams out of rhythm. It all starts on the defensive end with the deny, deny, deny mentality that makes teams nervous, frustrated and angry. If this team can learn how to play that type of defense again and cut out the lax weakside help defense that Frank's teams rely on, K-State will win the Big XII.
Patrick Spellman: #1 Morris Twins. They bring a big size down low but are quicker than most big men in the nation. The thing that makes them even deadlier is that they have the ability to step back and take the mid-range jumper, slam it to the middle or pop the three. Marcus leads the team in scoring at just over 15 PPG shooting an incredible 60.5% from the field with his Markeiff leading the team in rebounding. #2 Good looks/good shots. The one thing that I believe KU does better than the ENTIRE nation is passing, when you're good at passing you get good looks at the basket. As of right now the Jayhawks are ranked 3rd in the country averaging 18.9 assists per game, but passing leads to scoring which the Hawks average 84.5 points a game putting them 6th in the nation. #3 Selby Nation Baby! This kid as some amazing talent! I think there is some more meshing that needs to occur in order for him to reach his full potential. The nice thing is that he has only played 5 games, so only look for the offense to get stronger when they get more playing time with him. As of now, Selby leads the team in 3-point shots and is right behind Tyrel Reed from the line. Look for this kid to get better as the season continues!
Paden Town: #1 Jacob Pullen. Jacob is the anchor to this team. Our senior leadership is in place and the rest of this young team has a good leader to follow. The Cats hit a road bump with the brief suspension of Pullen and senior Curtis Kelly. However, this mishap is turning into a blessing for the Wildcats forcing the underclassmen to step up and play to their potential. #2 Frank Martin. The Wildcat Nation has come to LOVE our head coach. The rest of college basketball sees him as a hot-tempered loose cannon. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Frank has the passion, discipline and the ability to see a player's true potential. Frank has a passion for the game of basketball, which is necessary in today's day and age. His players see this passion and take it as their own. #3 The Fans. Announcers from all over the country have called Bramlage Coliseum (Octagon of Doom) one of the loudest places to play basketball. Almost rivaling that of Allen Fieldhouse. Beware the Phog but also beware the Angriest Fans in America.
Thanks guys! Now I'll tell you who may be the most valuable player to each team that has barely been mentioned by our experts. Tyrel Reed, Mr. Kansas Basketball from 2007 as a Burlington Wildcat, may be the man who carries KU to a Final Four in Houston. I've seen this kid since his days in Eureka and he has been able to post up and knock home the 3 with the best of them. And for K-State, it's Will Spradling. I saw highlights of Spradling's days at Shawnee Mission South last night during halftime of the K-State game. If Spradling can continue to take over as the man at point guard, great things do await the Wildcats! .
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