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Tough duty: Picking All-Big 12 team.
Published: 3/4/2010 1:25 PM
Last Modified: 3/4/2010 1:29 PM

Media ballots are due for the All-Big 12 basketball team. I plopped in a chair at Gallagher-Iba Arena and dug through a lot of stats Thursday before sending in my first- and second-team selections.

This is what I discovered: Oklahoma State's James Anderson should be a lock for player of the year, but you're splitting hairs when picking the other nine players on the ballot. I wouldn't be surprised if there is more variation on ballots than any previous year in Big 12 history (not that anybody keeps track of that sort of thing).

This is who I picked for the first team:

--Anderson. He leads the league in scoring and cemented POY when he dropped 27 points in an upset of No. 1 Kansas.

--Damion James, Texas. In league play, James ranks seventh or better in the following categories: points, rebounds, field goal percentage, steals and blocks.

--Denis Clemente, Kansas State. Someone from K-State deserves to be on the first team. But is it Clemente or teammate Jacob Pullen? In league games, Clemente ranks slightly better than Pullen in points and assists. Pullen shoots a higher percentage and ranks second in steals.

--Sherron Collins, Kansas. League champion KU should be represented on the first team and, in many years, a Jayhawk would be a favorite for player of the year. But who is Kansas' best player? Collins? Cole Aldrich? Xavier Henry? Marcus Morris? Collins hasn't been great lately, but putting him on the first team is sort of a nod to career achievement.

--Epke Udoh, Baylor. The Bears have three legitimate all-league candidates. I completely disregarded stats and chose Udoh because he changed the culture in Waco. Baylor used to be all about offense. Now the Bears take defense and rebounding seriously because of the man in the middle.

I won't bore you with my second team, but it's worth noting that Missouri may not get an all-league player because the Tigers are so balanced and individuals who are having great seasons (or great reputations) at other schools may be penalized because their teams (Colorado, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Nebraska, Oklahoma) are victory-impaired.



Reader Comments 1 Total
Kilgore.Trout (3 years ago)
Sherron Collins
Cole Aldrich
James Anderson
Xavier Henry
Damion James

I would take my chances with that team against any team you could throw at us. Inside, outside, scoring, defense,rebounding, shooting, and ball handling, steals, and shot blocking. Three seniors, a junior, and a freshman.
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Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

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