This article is part of our Conference Preview series.
In some ways, there is a changing of the guard in the Big 12. Pretty much every team in the conference suffered great personnel losses. Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia lost primary pieces from successful teams. This change does not include the team on the top of the standings seemingly every year. Even Kansas had some turnover with Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden moving on, but the Jayhawks are once again prohibitive favorites to win the conference. They have experience in the backcourt with Frank Mason and Devonte' Graham and plenty of role players to put around perhaps the best player in the country.
TOP PLAYERS
Josh Jackson (F)
The last time Kansas did not at least win a share of the Big 12 regular season title was the 2003-04 season when Jackson was seven years old. The San Diego native has grown into a 6-foot-7, 200-pound specimen who should lead the team in scoring. He is a great all-around player and head coach Bill Self should have no problems inserting Jackson into the lineup. There may be some concern that Kansas has not always been the best landing place for one-and-done talent (with the Andrew Wiggins/Joel Embiid year as the exception), but Jackson is known as a team player, and fantasy owners should take him early with little need to worry about his production.
Monte Morris (G)
The Cyclones were expected to challenge Kansas in head coach Steve Prohm's first year in Ames, but they were
In some ways, there is a changing of the guard in the Big 12. Pretty much every team in the conference suffered great personnel losses. Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia lost primary pieces from successful teams. This change does not include the team on the top of the standings seemingly every year. Even Kansas had some turnover with Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden moving on, but the Jayhawks are once again prohibitive favorites to win the conference. They have experience in the backcourt with Frank Mason and Devonte' Graham and plenty of role players to put around perhaps the best player in the country.
TOP PLAYERS
Josh Jackson (F)
The last time Kansas did not at least win a share of the Big 12 regular season title was the 2003-04 season when Jackson was seven years old. The San Diego native has grown into a 6-foot-7, 200-pound specimen who should lead the team in scoring. He is a great all-around player and head coach Bill Self should have no problems inserting Jackson into the lineup. There may be some concern that Kansas has not always been the best landing place for one-and-done talent (with the Andrew Wiggins/Joel Embiid year as the exception), but Jackson is known as a team player, and fantasy owners should take him early with little need to worry about his production.
Monte Morris (G)
The Cyclones were expected to challenge Kansas in head coach Steve Prohm's first year in Ames, but they were unable to beat any of their conference rivals on the road. Morris is back for his senior season after averaging 13.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and a team-high 6.9 assists per game last season. The 6-2 Morris regressed from downtown and only hit 35.8 percent of his threes, but he only attempted more than five long-range shots in a game once. With Georges Niang and Abdel Nader gone, Morris may have to take more offensive responsibility. He will have the ball in his hands as much as any player in the conference and should make plenty of good things happen.
Jawun Evans (G)
Not much was written about Evans prior to his freshman season. He figured to back up Phil Forte and Jeff Newberry in the backcourt, but an elbow injury shelved Forte just three games into the season. Evans took advantage, leading the OSU attack with 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. Evans was knocked out for the season on Feb. 3 with a shoulder injury but should be ready to team with Forte in a solid backcourt for new head coach Brad Underwood. The 6-1 sophomore could lead the team to its first NCAA tournament victory since 2009.
TOP NEWCOMERS
Jarrett Allen (F)
If any team is going to challenge Kansas, I think it will be Texas in Year 2 of the Shaka Smart era. The Longhorns have had nearly a complete turnover in the frontcourt, which will allow freshmen like the 6-10 Allen a chance to shine. Allen stayed in Austin to play college ball and will get the chance to show off his all-around skills right away. The Longhorns also recruited 6-10 center James Banks and could feature two freshmen bigs by the end of the season. Andrew Jones, another freshman, could start at point guard, so Texas could be one of the best places to look for productive first-year players.
Anthony Livingston (F)
Perhaps it was fate that brought both Livingston and head coach Chris Beard from the Sun Belt to Texas Tech. Beard coached Arkansas-Little Rock last season to the NCAA tournament and an upset over Purdue. He was able to parlay that one season into the job at UNLV before the Texas Tech job opened. While the Red Raiders already have Zach Smith and Norense Odiase in the frontcourt, Livingston should get plenty of minutes. The 6-8 graduate transfer averaged 15.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for Arkansas State last season and put up 19.0 points and 16.0 rebounds per game in a season split against Beard's Trojans.
Manu Lecomte (G)
Lecomte spend two years in Miami before transferring to Baylor. We know that he can shoot. As a sophomore, he hit 45.6 percent of his three-pointers on his way to 7.9 points in 22.4 minutes per game. The 5-11 guard should take Lester Medford's place in the starting lineup and starting piling up three-pointers for the Bears. With Miami, he played sporadically in conference games after scoring in double digits in eight of his first 10. Perhaps that led him to transfer. Whatever the case, Lecomte could lead the Bears in scoring and assists.
A PAIR OF SLEEPERS
Christian James (G)
Picking sleepers is not that hard. You look for a team with a lot of opportunity and try to make an educated guess at who steps up. James played quality minutes for the Sooners during the NCAA tournament in their run to the Final Four and should be ready to take a leap in production as a sophomore. The 6-4 guard did not crack 20 minutes until the tournament, but he scored 12 points in the win over Texas A&M and hauled in 10 boards against Oregon in the Elite Eight. He only averaged 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game, but he should be ready to be Jordan Woodard's wing man.
Elijah Macon (F)
In his two years with the Mountaineers, Macon has provided size off the bench. With Devin Williams gone, Macon will need to be a key piece for head coach Bob Huggins. The 6-9 junior averaged only 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game last season, but he played in every contest and provided an early double-double in the blowout win over Bethune-Cookman. Fouls were a major problem for Macon, and he was disqualified in three games despite his limited role. Another issue is free throw shooting, as he made just 46.3 percent of shots from the line last year.
