The early season talk in the Big 12 has been dominated by Kansas and Texas. Not that the top two teams in the conference and, more importantly, the country don’t deserve it. Kansas is as deep as any team in the history of college basketball and Texas has a couple of potential lottery picks in their line-up, but watch out for Kansas State if Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente have any say in the matter.
The preseason rankings have seen Oklahoma and Oklahoma State gain national respect. Willie Warren is one of the best guards in the country, but he is surrounded by freshmen who still have to learn the game at this level. After dropping a game at VCU (Caple’s old school. A clause in his contract said that he had to play a game in Richmond regardless of the school he moved on to. This was a smart move by that AD as he was and is a rising star in the coaching profession.) and two more at the Great Alaska Shootout the Sooners have finally come back to earth. Perhaps, their preseason ranking was a little over inflated. Oklahoma State has James Anderson and that gave them early season pub.
Lately, the media darling has been Texas Tech. Pat Knight is quickly escaping from the shadow of his father (Bob). He has the Red Raiders off to their best start since the Roaring 20’s. Currently, they are 9-0 with wins over Washington and at TCU. However, this pales in comparison to what Kansas State has accomplished already this season.
Coach Frank Martin was criticized a year ago for not having a tough enough non league schedule. The truth of the matter the Wildcats didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that were presented to them. This year they have taken care of business behind the stellar play of Clemente and Pullen.
The Wildcats have won six in row that includes a win over Xavier (who just beat a ranked Cincinnati team), UNLV and Washington State. Also, they have a win over a ranked Dayton team on a neutral court. For running their record to 9-1 they have finally cracked the top 20 for the first time this season.
The 17th ranked Wildcats will take a week off for finals and then travel to Mobile to take on Alabama. Another chance to build their post season resume. A closer look at the upcoming schedule shows that if they can win over Alabama that they have a clear chance to run the table in the non-con. The only tough contest will be at home versus Cleveland State.
The Wildcats resurgence into the top 20 is a product of great upperclassmen leadership and Coach Frank Martin’s ability to get his young guys to buy into the defensive and rebounding philosophy. The performance they turned in against Washington State in stifling the nations second leading scorer (Klay Thompson) was outstanding.
Curtis Kelly and Wally Judge have given them talent and depth inside they didn’t have a year ago, but this team will go as their guards play. Against a ranked UNLV team Pullen and Clemente showed why they maybe one of the best guard tandems in the country. They combined for 50 points on 16-28 shooting that included 10-18 from beyond the arc. Pullen was 7-10 from behind the line while Clemente was 7-8 from the free throw line. Another key was Kelly going 7-7 from the line. An Achilles heel for the Wildcats has been free throw shooting. However, if their inside players can improve they can make a run at the top of the league.
Clemente gives them the quickness to battle any team in the league and Pullen has become one of six players in Kansas State history to have over 100 assists in back to back seasons. They are the right combination of explosion and consistency.
With Kansas State developing into a challenger this is shaping up to be one tremendously exciting Big 12 season.
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