Big 8 Conference

The Kansas Jayhawks have long dominated the Big 8.  To call them a Blue Blood is almost not quite giving them their due as this program truly is basketball royalty.  The inventor of the game actually taught and coached here and one of his players became the legend that is Phog Allen.  How legendary?  Well the arena the team plays in is called Allen Fieldhouse! Allen has been a part of quite a few changes in the game and was a huge advocate of getting basketball into the Olympics.  He just turned 70 however and the guys who make the rules want him to step down due to an antiquated ageist rule. He will not have to after cooler heads prevailed (and of course after a certain player threatened to go play for the Harlem Globetrotters) and he will get to see his prize pupil, the Big Dipper himself, try to get him that one thing missing from his resume.  A national title!  Leading the way once again after a summer stint with the Harlem Globetrotters will be the incomparable Wilt Chamberlain.  The Big Dipper is without question the most dominating physical specimen playing basketball today.  At seven one and a chiseled 275 pounds and the ability to high jump over seven feet no one can match up with the Stilt physically.  He was not only picked first team preseason All-American but most basketball insiders think he is the favorite to win player of the year.  With Chamberlain changing his mind over the summer and deciding to come back for his senior year (after the Allen situation was resolved of course) this is the team to beat here and maybe in the whole kit and caboodle and everybody knows it!  Allen has surrounded his Philly prized pupil with some talented players such as Frankenstein looking especially in the shoulders senior Clyde Lovelette and sophomore prodigy Danny Manning up front and senior Jo Jo White and sophomore Darnell Valentine in the backcourt . Both are strong players as Kansas might be the most physically intimidating team in the country from 1 to 5. White has had a solid career in Lawrence learning at first from the legendary backcourt of Paul Endacott and Charlie Black before taking over as lead dog last season.  White is not a pure point guard or two guard but is arguably as good of a one on one player as there is.  His after practice showdowns with Chamberlain have become must see for their teammates and White has supposedly taken a few bones from the Dipper.    On paper his Jayhawks have as good of a chance as anybody especially with their mighty giant ‘manning’ the middle.  Allen has a few minor weaknesses on his roster, perimeter shooting being the main one, but the up-front strength of Chamberlain, Lovelette and Manning matches up with any other program in the country.  The back court has two muscle bound studs who use their strength to manhandle smaller players as these Jayhawks take no prisoners.  Just a little more quickness and the aforementioned long-range shooting deficiency are the only two things holding this team from fulfilling their coaches wishes and the way this blue blood always replenishes its ranks I am sure the old Phog Horn will be able to find somebody who will fill these needs.  If they do the sky is the limit and most preseason prognosticators agree rankings the Jayhawks 3rd in the country in the preseason polls.  Of course it does not hurt that boys from Kansas play in a conference that has no other team in the top 25 preseason but Allen loaded up on his out of conference schedule to try and make up for that.  Games versus other blue bloods UCLA, Indiana, Kentucky and brothers from another mother North Carolina are on the ledger but the Jayhawks will also battle other Big Men U such as Georgetown and either Houston or LSU in a tipoff classic in Louisiana that Goliath should have been invited to.  DePaul (Mikan vs Wilt) and San Francsico (Russell vs Wilt) are sure to be must watch games and the final non-conference game will give the Stilt a chance to return home to Philly to play the Temple Owls.  Kansas could have the best out of conference schedule in the country this year and they will no doubt make the tourney but how high they will be seeded will still depend on how well they do against their Big 8 rivals. 

Another legendary Coach Hank Iba leads the Cowboys of Oklahoma State into another season but things have not been going near as well as they did a few years back.  Iba still leans on defense and on the superb play of seven footer Bob Kurland but the supporting cast is falling behind the more athletic teams in this league.  Sure, Kurland is a basketball God who they actually invented goaltending rules for when he broke into college due to the ease of which he swatted away any opposing shot whether it was on the cylinder or not and grabbed his own team’s misses and put them back in.  In those days the Cowboys were King of the Land but it has slipped as Iba’s has not recruited a stud in years. That could all change this year as his new assistant (and former player) Eddie Sutton is a genius at bringing in talent (he built a powerhouse JC in all the places Twin Falls Idaho and he set the stage for what Nolan Richardson has got going in Arkansas though his recent stint as Adolf Rupp’s third in command did not go so well). Now with the ample support of super donor T. Boone Pickens he will be guiding those kids to Stillwater.  Whether or not he keeps it above board is another question but if he does here what he has done in other places the Cowboys will be back competing nationally this year.  Of course overcoming the Jayhawks is an entirely different matter but the prognosticators like what they see and have picked them to finish in the top 25 this year.  They do have an easier schedule than most of the teams in this league but do have some classic games with Houston, Arkansas (Sutton has circled that one I am sure) and especially San Francisco in the long awaited Russell versus Kurland matchup.  They are almost a shoein to make the BD with Kurland around and Iba teaching slow down offense but how far they get is on that superb freshman class and the vaunted defense.  The ‘experts’ have suggested that the team most likely to finish with the runner up prize in the Big 8 will be the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  Legendary Coach Hank Iba’s team has taken a bit of a downturn the last two years but the boys from Stillwater hit the recruiting road and brought in William Miller er Eddie Sutton to finally get some talent around their historic big man.  Bob Kurland might not get the hype of Chamberlain and heck he might not even be a real seven footer but ‘Foothills’ changed the game of basketball forever and has already led the Cowboys to one national title.  This supposed seven footer (Iba was a master hype man) was the first player to dunk regularly and they came up with the goaltending rule after he blocked 17 shots in a game.  Of course that was when you could pull the ball out of or from above the cylinder so yes things have changed quite a bit.  Having Kurland alone should be enough to get the Cowboys into the Big Dance and with Iba’s slow motion style of offense and OSU’s great defense this team will be there.  How far they move up the polls (23rd to start the year) will depend on how good of athletes that Sutton has brought into town to complement Kurland and the old style brand of basketball.  Their better be a mashup of styles because these kids are not coming in to play 52-50 games. Some of them are coming directly from JC’s where they were allowed to run and gun and fire away from behind the arc but Sutton also knows he is next in line so most of these kids are here for the long haul.  But can these kids meld with the old timers well enough and can Iba bend a little to the new style of play while maintaining what has made him such a great coach?  In the words of John Wetton Only time will tell!  2

The Cowboys hated intrastate rivals from Norman are trending in the right direction.  Second year Coach Billy Tubbs has brought in his up tempo style and the talent to match and the Sooners are going to try and outscore teams.  The upcoming schedule represents an opportunity for the Sooners to showcase this high scoring style against similar teams including the program he just left and built in the Lamar Cardinals as they start the season by traveling to Beaumont Texas.  That should be fun for Tubbs but the rest of the schedule is much tougher with the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona State, Red River rival Texas, Oral Roberts and Loyola of California.  The latter two are perhaps the top two scoring teams in the land this so those games are almost guaranteed triple figure outputs and these Sooners are looking to be one of the top five scoring teams in the country themselves. Games against the two runnin’ western teams the Utes and the Rebels were changed but man we would love to see those two too.  Might have to wait for the BD for that though?  Tubbs might not have a Kurland but he has got his own building block in the phenomenal power forward Wayman Tisdale.  The sophomore to be was the first player Tubbs recruited from down the road in Tulsa.  He wanted him so bad that he changed the team’s practice schedule from Sunday mornings to evenings so Tisdale, a tremendous bass player, could continue to play in his Church group.  Tisdale is one of the greatest power forwards in the country and took Norman by storm becoming the first freshman ever to make first team All Big 8 and almost single-handedly dragging the football crazed Sooner fans into the modern basketball world.  With Tisdale around Oklahoma will be a national player and Tubbs has brought in some other studs who should make this team not just good but damn fun to watch.  The cupboard was not completely empty when Tubbs got here and he did leave some of the veterans in the rotation last year.  Foremost of these was Junior Alvan Adams, a six nine center who can flat move.  Adams should have been recruited by Tubbs as he fits almost perfectly in their up tempo offense and is the perfect complement to Tisdale.  He can play on the block as he did early on his career but he is much more effective from the high post with a nice mid-range jumper, great passing skills and the ability to get to the hoop from anywhere on the court.  He might run as well as any center in the country and though he is not a defensive minded guy the Sooners have a slew of big man who excel at that part of the game.  Senior Garfield Heard and Junior Clifford Ray are two of the most physical players in a man’s league and have accepted their roles as muscle off the bench.  Heard is an undersized power forward who can score a little, sets a mean screen and is a monster on the boards and banging in the paint.  He lost his starting role to Tisdale but could be the best backup in the league and has a penchant for hitting big shots.  Ray is a true rim protector and one of the best low post defenders in the midwest and is even a better board man than Heard.  And that doesn’t even included price Tubbs recruit Stacey King who barely played his first season in Norman but Tubbs will find a way to utilize his tremendous skills.  The front court is in good hands but the question for this year is whether the back court and wings can keep up with their stellar big men.  Tubbs has incumbent Senior Lester Lane at point who is as gritty as they come but nowhere near talented enough to take this team to the next level.  His teammates at the World Games might disagree though as he started next to West, Robertson, Lucas and Bellamy and set the table for these studs on a team that dominated the competition.  He might not have that kind of talent around him here but Lane fits well in Tubbs style as he loves to run and is as good of a team leader as there is in the country.  There is an open battle for the last two spots as incumbent senior Allie Paine and junior John McCullough battle for playing time with second year players Tim McCalister and Chucky Barnett.  Grant, who’s twin brother Horace plays the 4 at Clemson, is perfect for the small forward slot on the runnn’ Sooners.  These are solid players but Tubbs needs a bit more in the tank if this car is going to get to the level of the big two teams in the Big 8.  You can have the greatest engine in the world but if you don’t have a driver and some great tires your car is going to get nowhere and Tubbs knows this and is beating the bushes (JC included) to find some talent that can complement that phenomenal front line. Their Oklahoma brethren (or hated rival, depending on where you are from) are next in line on the Big 8 hierarchy.  The Sooners (yeah they get the State moniker) are more known for their prowess on the gridiron but have in the past flung their heads up out of the sand long enough to realize they can get some good athletes to Norman.  This team finally has a coach that can match legendary Barry Switzer in charisma and chutzpah.  Billy Tubbs brings energy and a high scoring offense that recruits the kind of players this program needs to compete with the mighty Jayhawks and the hated Cowboys.   

If the Sooners have lived in the shadow of the Cowboys in basketball then Kansas State is living in the black hole of what is Kansas basketball.  The boys from Manhattan have been in their own right a solid program making the BD almost ritualistically and have thrown in a few deep runs but when your intrastate rival is a top five program year in and year out you pale in comparison.  Of course when you are keeping up with the Joneses you tend to make changes and the trigger happy Wildcats have went through more coaches than Carter has liver pills.  None of these have been able to get K State the national recognition it craves and last year they actually took a step backwards and another change had to come.  Triangle King Tex Winter is here now and he will not be the problem especially when he is loading up with players to fit his scheme on the wings.  The problem of course is talent and the Wildcats just do not matchup with the Jayhawks let alone the Oklahoma schools. That does not mean there is not some gifted players here led by senior stalwart Bob Boozer who has been the vanguard for this program since he arrived in Manhattan.  A solid inside/outside player Boozer will be handling the four where he is a bit overmatched with the likes of Tisdale and Lovelette defensively but he more than holds his own offensively by taking them out to the perimeter and taking advantage of his mid-range game.  He will be the cornerstone and Winter has sharpshooting senior Ernie Barrett and Sophomore Rolando Blackman at the wings which is the key position in the triangle offense and the pressure defense this team wants to throw at other teams.  The problem is you need a rim protector and though Jack (tonight show) Parr is nowhere near the elite in this league at center.  Then again who is as both Kurland and Chamberlain are preseason All-Americans.  The 6’9 Parr does keep up fairly well in straight man to man defense down low and will get a few buckets but he is not the defensive presence this team needs for their schemes to work.  The Wildcats have a definitive lack of size and Winter needs a sidekick for Blackman at the wing defensively (Barrett is not a great defender and fellow senior Willie Murrill is a combo forward and nowhere near quick enough to trap on the perimeter).  The Wildcats do have some gifted perimeter gunners including point guard Mike Evans who is actually a better shooter than he is passer.   Winter will be beating the JC bushes (the Wildcats are now afraid to go this route) and have a terrific schedule though nowhere near the national opponents and exposure their Sunflower state brethren will be getting.  These TV games are so important to building a program as they can showcase a program and builds the brand.   Kansas State’s second fiddle mentality has affected them immensely here as they have not been able to compete with not just the Jayhawks but most of the rest of the league.  That supposedly has changed this year as Winter has some diaper dandy’s headed for the big lights of Manhattan.  But unless he brings in about three studs, two of them being seven footers, they are not going to catch their nemesis from Lawrence!   This year could definitely go either way especially with a schedule that features many teams in the same boat as the Wildcats which basically means great offensive minded small teams that are on the BD bubble! 

The Missouri Tigers under long time coach Norm Stewart might finally have put together a team that can compete with the Big Dogs of the Big 8.  Led by a great sophomore class including barley fed big man Steve Stipanovich, Jon Sunvold in the backcourt and Derrick Chievous at wing the perennial bridesmaids and some terrific upperclassmen the Tigers look to improve dramatically this season.  Stipo is the key as he has the skills to be able to match up with Chamberlain and Kurland and this Missouri bred kid will not back down from anyone.  In this league to get to the top you got at least be able to compete at the five or you are going to get knocked off the court literally.  Sundvold and Stipo have connected and are perfect complements (Balki and Larry anyone) to each other with Sunny’s gift for hitting long-range bombs and his ability to set up his sidekick.  Chievous might have been more important than his buddies as he was the first kid Stewart went out of the Midwest (and almost entirely Missouri kids) to get.  A New York kid Chievous brings that kind of attitude to a team for way too long has relied on toughness and discipline to win games.  Oh and the Band-Aid can flat score.  Stewart has been loyal to the upperclassmen (he actually played here a few years back) but with the success of these three he has finally decided to recruit far outside the show me state and is hitting Michigan hard.  If this year’s class is as good as last year’s (and rumors are they went after athletic wings) then the Tigers will be in business.  A tough schedule will set the tone with games with many top 25 or close to teams but the Tigers finally going dancing will depend on winning at least a few games against the top teams in the Big 8 which has never been easy to do.  Of course their border war with the Jayhawks dates back to almost civil war days (John Brown is a Tiger after all) and they have pulled off the occasional upset of the Kansans and will almost for sure need one of these to get to the BD. 

The Buffaloes of Colorado have always been an afterthought in this Midwestern conference primarily being the western most representative. Attempting to rein in as many fans as they could from an area that does not have many other major programs ala Nebraska is not easy.   This region has made the Big Red their favorite team from the Canadian border down to Oklahoma in the Midwest.  Of course that is football but that template does work except for the fact the Buffaloes are tired of being outsiders and are definitely tired of not getting the respect they deserve.  Charismatic Coach Sox Walseth has had some good teams over the years but always gets overshadowed by the other schools here and this year looks to be no different.  A solid, veteran lineup led by Senior Burdette Haldorson (Burdy had his nickname way before that other guy), Juniors Cliff Meely and Scott Wedman which make up a solid front line that fits together well.  Walseth has some good guards as well with junior Chuck Williams and solid soph Jay Humphries but this team needs and infusion of athleticism and shooting (Wedman can’t do it all from the perimeter) to get to the next level here.  The Buffs schedule shows where they stand as most of their out of conference games are against West Coast teams plus a few from Texas but they should end up with a solid record since only a few of these are real national contenders. 

The aforementioned Huskers are not exactly a laughingstock but with no BD appearancess and no conference titles they are not exactly the Jayhawks either.  They are one team who can match the Kansas big boys in size though most of Nebraska’s huge front line is green as they come and fit the project moniker well.  Coach Danny Nee does not have supreme talent in the back court or wings either.  Senior Stu Lantz is solid and Junior Jerry Fort had a solid second year but neither is a point guard and trying to fix square pegs in round holes only goes so far.  Sophomore Dave Hoppen would be nice additions to any program as he has size at 6’11 and a nice touch but is not the most physical player in the league.  Of course for the Sooners or even Cowboys any of these guys would be at best 8th or 9th men and might not even make the Jayhawks roster.  Of course this trio will get huge minutes in Lincoln unless the new class coming in is reminiscent of the kids KU brings in every year.  Nee better be a Dean Smith like recruiter if the Huskers are going to move out of the bottom tier of the Big 8 especially with a schedule that features the likes of Michigan, Minnesota, Wyoming, Bowling Green and their in state rival Creighton!  Speaking of Michigan Nee has hyped a group of kids he has brought in to improve on the wings and the team’s athleticism (by far the team’s biggest weakness) the Fab Four as a response to that hyped five for the Wolverines or those moptops from Liverpool.  It doesn’t really matter either way because no one outside of Lincoln knows about them (and perhaps not even in Lincoln).  And unless these guys play basketball the way John, Paul, George and Ringo played musical instruments the Cornhuskers are destined for a long, cold winter in prairie with their fans only going to the Devaney Center to stay warm and dream about spring football. 

The Cyclones of Iowa State will battle the Huskers to stay out of the basement of the Big 8 and have about the same type of talent base.  Senior Gary Thompson has been the man in Ames since he got here and can play but at 5’11 is not big enough to play against the physical beasts of this league (yes even the guards are big and tough).  Fellow senior Don Smith is a force down low that can bang with anybody though his offense is not exactly Big Dipperish. The backcourt of Sophomores Jeff Hornacek (not a true point but man can he shoot) and Jeff Grayer show much promise but would only play together if Thompson went to the bench which might start a riot in Ames. Coach Johnny Orr has a tough task blending some of the old with the new and like OSU and K State the Cyclones are a second fiddle program in their state to the Big Ten’s Hawkeyes.  Heck, those scoundrels from Iowa City even shanghaied the Cyclones idea of recruiting studs from the Big Apple to come west.  The Hawkeyes appropriately stole the Hawk (and not from St. Joe’s) from Rucker Park getting the best player in NYC (though that has not exactly turned out that well) after the Cyclones started bringing in kids from that basketball goldmine.  That railroad had not exactly ran dry but other programs have jumped aboard (Georgia Tech anyone) so the Cyclones need to look elsewhere for talent thus bringing in Orr.  This fiery coach better get some of the same kids he got at Michigan to come to Ames or this team will be in trouble.  There is some upside here as this team will take chances on kids other teams won’t and the schedule is fairly weak which means their win total could be surprisingly good.  At least outside the battle zone that is the Big 8!