In the first full calendar decade of the Big 12 conference, one thing was apparent: there were two schools that produced a good majority of the talent. And while the best individual players may not have come from Kansas or Texas, a look at the Big12Hoops.com All Decade team reveals that a majority were either Jayhawks or Longhorns.
Don't see your favorite? The Honorable Mention list is after The Jump
First Team All Big 12
PG – Jamaal Tinsley, Iowa St
SG – Tony Allen, Oklahoma St
SF – Kevin Durant, Texas
PF – Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
C – Cole Aldrich, Kansas
Second Team All Big 12
PG – Kirk Hinrich, Kansas
SG – Acie Law, Texas A&M
SF – Michael Beasely, Kansas St
PF – Marcus Fizer, Iowa St
C – Chris Mihm, Texas
Third Team All Big 12
PG – TJ Ford, Texas
SG – Andre Emmett, Texas Tech
SF – PJ Tucker, Texas
PF – Drew Gooden, Kansas
C – Nick Collison, Kansas
[UPDATE: Lots of good suggestions and opinions in the comments section. Lemme give a little insight into how I compiled this list.
I started with a list of Big 12 Players of the Year. My rationale was that if someone was good enough to be the best in the league, even for one year, he warranted entry into this exclusive club. 9 of the 10 Big 12 Players of the Year made the top three teams. The only one who didn’t was Wayne Simien, and that is because he played a PF position that, if you look at the past decade, was just STACKED. Blake Griffin, Marcus Fizer, Drew Gooden. Really you could put Simien in there, but who gets bumped off?
As for PG, Tinsley over TJ Ford and Kirk Hinirich has also garnered a lot of attention. Tinsley’s place as the 2000-01 POY got him on the first team. But you really cant go wrong with any of them.
Lastly, there is this question on what to do with Durant and Beasley. Each only played one year, but they dominated the league (and the country). Durant was a Naismith winner as the best player in the country and Beasley was a finalist for the award. Both were league POYs. Because they didn’t play a full 4 years, they didn’t accumulate career stats that some others players did, but my list was based on selecting the best players, during their time in the Big 12, at each position.]
All Big 12 - Honorable Mention
Baylor Bears
LaceDarius Dunn
Lawrence Roberts
Colorado Buffaloes
Reggie Roby
David Harrison
Iowa St Cyclones
Craig Brackins
Kansas Jayhawks
Wayne Simien
Aaron Miles
Kansas St. Wildcats
Cartier Martin
Missouri Tigers
DeMarre Carroll
Clarence Gilbert
Arthur Johnson
Kareem Rush
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Aleks Maric
Oklahoma Sooners
Taj Gray
Hollis Price
Oklahoma St Cowboys
Byron Eaton
Joey Graham
Texas Longhorns
DJ Augustine
LaMarcus Aldridge
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Jarrius Jackson
Texas A&M Aggies
Bernard King
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