We all know that recycling is a good idea in our everyday lives so I decided to recycle a story idea that I had done previously.
Before last season I made up two rosters of players, one from the Big 12 "South" and the other from the Big 12 "North" division as I thought it would be fun to see which school would win in a mythical 7 game series. I took some flack for including Marcus Relphorde on that team over some other players such as Markieff Morris who I mistakenly did not have listed at all. Some other big whiffs I made were including Wally Judge on the bench and putting Matt Pilgrim into the starting lineup for the South squad. Hopefully when I look back on this down the road I won't have made such big swing and misses.
Well everyone knows that Nebraska & Colorado have left the conference so that in theory should give the "South" a distinct advantage when it comes to working up teams.
Once again this isn't an All-Star roster exactly but one in which try to field a team made up of the traditional positions of PG, SG, SF, PF & C.
One caveat is I am not including any player that has declared for the NBA Draft no matter if they 100% should come back to school (Kim English!!), so no Laurence Bowers or Cory Joseph either.
After the jump are my teams as well as whom I think would win in a 7 game series. Also if I made any gross oversights of a player please let me know as whenever you try to make a list you always seem to forget someone or something.
NORTH SOUTH
PG: Tyshawn Taylor - Kansas Jayhawks Keiton Page - Oklahoma State Cowboys
SG: Marcus Denmon - Missouri Tigers J'Covan Brown - Texas Longhorns
SF: Rodney McGruder - Kansas State Wildcats Khris Middleton - Texas A&M Aggies
PF: Ricardo Ratliffe - Missouri Tigers Quincy Acy - Baylor Bears
C: Thomas Robinson - Kansas Jayhawks Perry Jones - Baylor Bears
Coach: Bill Self Coach: Rick Barnes
BENCH
Scott Christopherson - Iowa State Cyclones Dash Harris - Texas A&M Aggies
Chris Allen - Iowa State Cyclones J.P. Olukemi - OSU Cowboys
Jamar Samuels - Kansas State Wildcats LeBryan Nash - OSU Cowboys
Jordan Henriquez-Roberts - K-State Wildcats Andrew Fitzgerald - Oklahoma Sooners
Melvin Ejim - Iowa State Cyclones David Loubeau - Texas A&M Aggies
TEAM BREAKDOWNS
The South roster was the easiest to construct when it came to big men as Perry Jones was an obvious selection and gives that squad maybe the best player in the Big 12. Quincy Acy was a tough call for me to start over David Loubeau of A&M but I like Acy's ability to rebound a little bit more and Loubeau would give a nice scoring option coming off the bench. Middleton provides a nice mixture of size as well as outside shooting ability for this team that isn't the best from shooting from behind the arc. The guard positions I felt were a little thin in the South with a large portion of outside shooting now gone from the conference in players like Cade Davis, Lace Dunn & Jordan Hamilton. Keiton Page would be a good fit for this team as he could distribute the ball and be the beneficiary of open looks from downtown. I included another senior point guard in Dash Harris as his stats are not eye popping but he could come in and give solid minutes and not turn the ball over or do anything stupid. Two x-factor players on the bench for the South are Nash & Olukemi as Nash is a Top 5 SF recruit who could come into this squad and add some athleticism and strength. In Olukemi you have another player who occasionally can get warm from deep but has the ability to drive to the basket and draw fouls. I like the rotation of big men on this team and versatility of guys like Nash, Middleton & Olukemi but there isn't a ton of solid outside shooting so that would be a concern.
As for the North squad it is somewhat the opposite of the South squad with it's grouping of solid three point shooters in guys like Denmon, McGruder & Christopherson. The starting big men for the North are solid with Thomas Robinson & Ratliffe down low with Robinson maybe giving up some height to Perry Jones but definitely beating him in regards to brute strength. The only thing on this team is Robinson would have to stay out of foul trouble as the interior is quite thin on this squad. With only the four teams in the "North" now there is a lack of proven big men which is why I was forced to include Jordan Henriquz-Roberts & Jamar Samuels onto the bench. Henriquez-Roberts would be needed for this team solely for his size and to give some minutes while Samuels can occasionally ride a hot streak and would be needed to match up athletically with guys like Olukemi & to some extent LeBryan Nash from the South squad. As previously stated Denmon & McGruder both give good outside shooting in the starting lineup as well as being willing defenders and rebounders. Tyshawn Taylor is the best option at PG as he is athletic enough to give the South squad problems and he can drive the ball on offense and collapse the defense. On the bench also is Chris Allen who was included due to his experience playing in big games at Michigan State as well as Christopherson who could be a bomber off the bench. Another Iowa State Cyclones made the squad in Ejim as he provides nice size at 6'6" with nice athleticism and the ability to score the ball.
MY PREDICTION:
I think this series would definitely go 7 games and I would have to give just a slight nod to the South squad as I think their big men are the difference. The outside shooting of the North squad gives them a good chance but I think their lack of depth in the post hurts them too much to overcome.
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