Big 12: Beasley is the Big 12's best

So Kevin Durant put together the greatest season a freshman has ever had in Big 12 Conference history, that is until Michael Beasley outdid just about every one of his accomplishments.

The question is, “Who’s coming next?”

No, seriously, who? Is there anyone out there in the prep ranks that will be able to come in next season and making a bigger impact than Beasley did in his one — and how couldn’t it be only? — season in Manhattan, Kan.?

It seems unlikely, more so even than one-upping Durant, that someone could step in and be more dominant than Beasley has been since first donning a Kansas State uniform. He began his career with 32 points and a Big 12-record 24 rebounds against Sacramento State and went for at least 30 points in four of his first five games, proving early on that he was far too good for the college game.

Beasley has gone on to average 26.5 points and 12.5 rebounds, both marks that, should they hold up through the postseason, will be Big 12 single-season records. He also set an NCAA freshman record with 26 double-doubles while leading the freshman-laden Wildcats to a 20-10 record, including a 10-6 mark in conference play. That bought them the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and has them on the verge of playing in the school’s first NCAA Tournament since 1996.

For all of those reasons, Beasley is the only choice to win the Big 12 player of the award.

“I’m extremely happy, and I’m proud for him because I know how hard he’s committed himself to working to become a very good player, to represent our university the way he has and continue to improve,” Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. “I know how hard he worked, once we lost David Hoskins, to lead our basketball team with a bunch of first-year guys, to compete at a high level in what I thought, and still do, is the hardest league in the country.”

Let’s hand out a few other awards:

Freshman of the Year: Michael Beasley, F, Kansas State

Did I mention Beasley was a freshman? The presumptive top pick in June’s NBA Draft took away Mitch Richmond’s Kansas State single-season scoring record. He had 13 games with 30 or more points and hit at least 40 three times, including a Big 12-record 44 in a loss to Baylor.

Defensive Player of the Year: Mario Chalmers, G, Kansas

Chalmers led the Big 12 in steals for the third straight season (3.4 per game) and was a key part of the league’s best defensive team. The Jayhawks led the Big 12 in both points allowed and field-goal percentage defense.

Newcomer of the Year: DeMarre Carroll, F, Missouri

The season was something of disappointment for Carroll and the Tigers. Carroll, a transfer from Vanderbilt, was limited by a high ankle sprain for most of the last three months, while the team fell to 10th in the Big 12 standings after being projected fifth in a preseason poll of the league’s coaches. But even with the injury, Carroll still managed to average 13.1 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds to rank in the top 15 in the Big 12 in both categories.

Coach of the Year: Rick Barnes, Texas

Most everyone assumed the Longhorns would be playing for second place after losing Durant to the professional ranks. But under Barnes’ direction, they tied for first — for the second time in the past three years — and claimed the top seed in the Big 12 Tournament by virtue of their head-to-head victory over Kansas. Barnes oversaw the development of two of the most improved players in the conference in sophomore Damion James and junior Connor Atchley, who helped lighten the blow of Durant’s departure.

All-Conference — First team

Michael Beasley, Kansas State — Probably will lose out on most of the national player of the year awards to Tyler Hansbrough but put up better numbers than the North Carolina sophomore with significantly less talent and experience around him.

D.J. Augustin, Texas — Arguably the nation’s best point guard, finished second in the Big 12 in scoring (19.8 ppg) and first in assists (5.7 apg) while logging heavy minutes for the depth-deprived Longhorns. Sophomore should join Beasley as a first-team All-American.

Curtis Jerrells, Baylor — Big 12’s best guard outside of Austin averaged 14.8 ppg. Junior has Bears on verge of playing in their first NCAA Tournament in 20 years. Made 20 of 24 free throws and scored 36 points on Jan. 23 in quintuple overtime victory against Texas A&M that was the league’s game of the year.

Aleks Maric, Nebraska — One of three Big 12 players to average a double-double (16 ppg, 10.2 rpg). Australian-born senior center helped Cornhuskers finish in a tie for seventh in the conference standings after starting league play 0-4.

Brandon Rush, Kansas — Jayhawks best player the second half of the season as his knee continued to get stronger after offseason surgery. KU’s balance hurt his numbers, but junior guard averaged a team-high 13.5 points during league play and shot league-best 43.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Second team

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma — In most years would have been a runaway winner of the freshman of the year award. Prototypical NBA power forward averaged team-leading 15.2 points and 9.2 rebounds for NCAA Tournament-bound Sooners. Would have been a first-team selection but missed two Big 12 games and parts of one other with knee injuries.

Bill Walker, Kansas State — Athletic freshman forward averaged 16.6 points to rank third in the league in scoring in conference play. Inconsistency kept him from being on the first team.

Damion James, Texas — Arguably the Big 12’s most improved player, sophomore forward finished second in the conference in rebounding (10.7 rpg) and also contributed 12.9 points for the first-place Longhorns. Provided Texas with inside-outside threat it lost with Durant’s departure.

A.J. Abrams, Texas — Junior guard averaged 16.2 points and made nearly three 3-pointers per game to lead the Big 12. Got hot in the second half against Kansas State as Longhorns handed Wildcats their first and only Big 12 home loss.

Darrell Arthur, Kansas — Future NBA lottery pick didn’t dominate the way many expected with Julian Wright off to the professional ranks, but sophomore forward still averaged 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 53.5 percent from the field.

Third team

Mario Chalmers, Kansas — Big 12’s best defensive guard also averaged 12.1 points and shot 46.8 percent from 3-point range for Jayhawks, who tied for regular-season title.

Kevin Rogers, Baylor — Provided inside presence for guard dominated Bears. Junior forward averaged 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds and had 12 double-doubles.

Byron Eaton, Oklahoma State — Led Cowboys’ second-half surge by reaching double figures in last seven games. Junior guard, who finished with better than two steals per game, averaged 20.6 points during OSU’s five-game winning streak.

Jiri Hubalek, Iowa State — Senior center was bright spot in otherwise forgettable season for Cyclones, who finished 11th in the Big 12 with only four league wins. Averaged 13.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference play.

Martin Zeno, Texas Tech — Frustrated Red Raiders coaches a lot of the season but still averaged a team-best 16.3 points, which ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference, and helped Tech tie for seventh with seven league victories. Senior guard enters Big 12 Tournament 12th on Big 12’s all-time scoring list with 1,909 career points.

And now a few specialty teams:

All-Rookie Team

Michael Beasley, fr., forward, Kansas State
Blake Griffin, fr., forward, Oklahoma
Bill Walker, fr., forward, Kansas State
LaceDarius Dunn, fr., guard, Baylor
John Roberson, fr., guard, Texas Tech

All-Defensive Team

Mario Chalmers, jr., guard, Kansas
Marcus Dove, sr., forward, Oklahoma State
Byron Eaton, jr., guard, Oklahoma State
Russell Robinson, sr., guard, Kansas
Michael Beasley, fr., forward, Kansas State

All-Improved Team

Damion James, soph., forward, Texas
Connor Atchley, jr., forward, Texas
Leo Lyons, jr., forward, Missouri
Darnell Jackson, sr., forward, Kansas
Alan Voskuil, jr., guard, Texas Tech

All-Bench Team

Sherron Collins, soph., guard, Kansas
LaceDarius Dunn, fr., guard, Baylor
DeAndre Jordan, fr., center, Texas A&M
Mike Singletary, fr., forward, Texas Tech
Taylor Griffin, jr., forward, Oklahoma

All-Shooters Team

A.J. Abrams, jr., guard, Texas
LaceDarius Dunn, fr., guard, Baylor
Brandon Rush, jr., guard, Kansas
Mario Chalmers, jr., guard, Kansas
Alan Voskuil, jr., guard, Texas Tech

All-Dismissed Team (four-man)

Stefhon Hannah, sr., guard, Missouri
Xavier Silas, soph., guard, Colorado
Mike Taylor, sr., guard, Iowa State*
Kalen Grimes, sr., forward, Missouri*
*dismissed last summer

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT BACK IN KANSAS CITY

For the eighth time in its 12 years, the Big 12 Tournament will be back in Kansas City, only it will have a new home in the Sprint Center, which opened in October in downtown.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as play begins Thursday:

* No team enters the conference tournament with more at stake than Texas A&M, who could find themselves left out of the NCAA Tournament if it can’t find a way to beat Iowa State in its first-round game. The Aggies overall record is a solid 22-9, but Mark Turgeon’s team played a fairly pedestrian nonconference schedule with its best win coming against NCAA bubble team Ohio State. A&M also only finished 8-8 in league play after losing five of its last seven games.

“I have a feeling, if the tournament was today, we’re in,” Turgeon said earlier this week. “But it’s not today. … Some things are going to happen this week. It’s going to shrink the field a little bit as far as BCS schools. We’ll see.

“I feel good about where we are because the league’s so darn good. … But we’ve got to try to get as much as we can done in Kansas City this weekend.”

* Baylor, which enters the tournament seeded fifth, is the best bet to blow up the bracket and make a run to the final without the benefit of a first-round bye. The Bears are a difficult matchup because of their loaded backcourt and ability to score. They led the Big 12 in points per game in league play.

Scott Drew’s team shouldn’t have any trouble getting past 12th-seeded Colorado, a team they beat on the road during the regular season. Then Baylor will face Oklahoma, a team that swept it in the regular season. But the first of those victories came with the Bears still trying to catch their breath three days after a quintuple-overtime affair against Texas A&M. OU needed a four-point play and two missed free throws from Curtis Jerrells in the last 10 seconds of overtime to edge the Bears 92-91 in overtime on Feb. 19.

If Baylor can avoid a third loss to Oklahoma, it should run into top-seeded Texas in the semifinals. The Longhorns have won 22 straight in the series between the two teams, but they had to overcome a 14-point deficit to win this season in Austin and nearly blew a 14-point lead in the final three minutes in Waco. Texas and Baylor played a memorable game in last season’s quarterfinals with the Longhorns, led by Kevin Durant, rallying from a 20-point second-half deficit to win.

* The dream scenario for tournament organizers and local fans should start with a Missouri victory over Nebraska on Thursday night to set up a Friday night that includes the Tigers playing archrival Kansas at 6 p.m., followed by Kansas State’s game against the winner of Texas A&M and Iowa State.

Saturday afternoon would bring more local intrigue if Kansas and Kansas State both advance. Those two teams split the regular-season series. The Wildcats snapped a 24-game home losing streak against the Jayhawks and handing them their first loss of the season on Jan. 30. KU got revenge on March 1, beating K-State 88-74 despite a 39-point effort from Michael Beasley. A third meeting might be the tournament’s most anticipated game.

* The final figures to pit Kansas against Texas for the third consecutive season. It would be appropriate because those have been the league’s two best and most consistent teams all season long. The winner should have a strong case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Longhorns scored a 72-69 victory the only time the two teams met in the regular season, but that game, played Feb. 11, was in Austin.

This one would be in the Jayhawks’ backyard, only 43 miles from their home in Allen Fieldhouse, which is why Kansas will be the team cutting down the nets after winning its third straight conference tournament title and sixth since the Big 12’s inception.

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