Conference Preview: Big 12

Each season the Big 12 season begins with the question: will this be the year that Kansas is upended? There were some excellent challengers last year and the Jayhawks won again. It appears that coach Bill Self's team is once again the clear class of the conference. Dedric Lawson should lead an army of new players to help the team win its 14th straight Big 12 regular season championship. The Jayhawks are so stacked that Lawson's stats from his 2016-17 campaign at Memphis – 19.2 points, 9.9 rebounds. 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 blocks – may dip a bit. He should still be among the first players taken in any fantasy draft.

If there is any team that is going to challenge the Jayhawks, it is going to be their intrastate rival Kansas State. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight last season and the majority of the roster returns. We can only wonder what coach Bruce Weber's team would have done last year if they had not been stung by injuries to forward Dean Wade (in March, no less) and Kamau Stokes. Kansas State should be deep and powerful. There are plenty of fantasy stars in the Big 12 and we'll highlight the best of the best.

Center: Udoka Azubuike, Kansas Jayhawks

Depending how your league configures center, there are not many solid options in the Big 12 for players at the pivot. Along with their incoming talent, the Jayhawks have the best big man in the league in Azubuike, who nearly doubled his production as a sophomore. When Kansas got the ball to him in the paint, he converted. Azubuike led the nation at 77.0 percent from the field and provided 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. He missed the Big 12 tournament with a knee injury but played in the NCAA Tournament. Self will be tempted to use Lawson as a small-ball center, but Azubuike should continue to get minutes in the 20s because he is also a solid anchor on defense. He probably won't play in crunch time because the 7-footer only converted 41.3 percent of his free throws.

Also considered: Norense Odiase, Texas Tech; Kevin Samuel, TCU; Jamuni McNeace, Oklahoma

Freshman: Khavon Moore, Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Kansas backcourt freshmen, Grimes and Dotson, are bigger names, but they are going to get caught in the Jayhawk rotational crunch. Moore has a much clearer path to playing time and offensive opportunities. The Red Raiders have a deep squad, but coach Chris Beard showed that he could show off one-and-done talent with Zhaire Smith last year. The 6-8 Moore should fit nicely into Smith's slot and could be more of a playmaker than the current Philadelphia 76er rookie. Moore is very thin (187) and may not be able to handle much time in the paint, but his length should an asset on the defensive perimeter. He can penetrate and has the ability to hit shots in traffic and find open teammates.

Also considered: Quintin Grimes, guard, Kansas; Devin Doston, guard, Kansas; Kentrevious Jones, center, Oklahoma State; Gerald Liddell, Texas

Scoring: Michael Weathers, Oklahoma State Cowboys

There is some danger in converting a transfer's stats when coming from a smaller school. Weathers was a fantasy dominant player at Miami (Ohio) as a freshman in 2016-17 with 16.7 points, 4.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He only played against one Tier 1 team and fouled out after 21 minutes in a blowout loss to Missouri. Weathers sat out last season and joins a Cowboys team that lost its top three scorers from coach Mike Boynton's first team. The 6-2 guard should be given the opportunity to dominate again and has a year's worth of practice to rely upon. Look for Weathers to put up gaudy numbers, particularly in November and December.

Also considered: Dedric Lawson, Kansas; Lindell Wigginton, Iowa State; Dean Wade, Kansas State; Dylan Osetkowski, Texas

Rebounding: Sagaba Konate, West Virginia Mountaineers

Things are going to be very different in Morgantown. After being led by guards Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles, West Virginia will lean on its talented frontcourt next season. Konate, Lamont West and Esa Ahmad will be one of the best forward trios in the country. The 6-8 junior was third in the country in blocks (3.3 per game) and added 10.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in a breakout season. He had five consecutive double-digit rebounding games in January and should be ready to clean the glass. It will be interesting to see if coach Bob Huggins continues to press, despite the loss of his guards. The frontcourt power of the Mountaineers could lead the team to play bully ball in the halfcourt, which might lead to more shots for Konate.

Also considered: Cameron Lard, Iowa State; Jamuni McNeace, Oklahoma; Dedric Lawson, Kansas; Cameron McGriff, Oklahoma State

Assists: Nick Weiler-Babb, Iowa State Cyclones

The Cyclones opened the 2017-18 season with consecutive losses as Weiler-Babb played off the ball. Coach Steve Prohm moved the Arkansas transfer to point guard and the Cyclones won nine consecutive games with the 6-5 guard averaging 8.4 assists in the streak. Iowa State was subsequently hit by the reality of Big 12 play and the Cyclone winds were quieted when Weiler-Babb hurt his knee at the end of January. He only played in two games for the rest of the season and Iowa State lost seven of nine without him. He should be installed as the point guard from the opening tip and is a prime candidate to get an elusive triple-double or two.

Also considered: Jaylen Fisher, TCU; Alex Robinson, TCU; Matt Coleman, Texas; Makai Mason, Baylor

Sleepers

Jericho Sims, center, Texas Longhorns

In the sleeper section of the Big 12, we have a pair of big men who stepped up in March for injured teammates. Sims spent the majority of his freshman season as a backup to Mo Bamba, but was brought on for bigger minutes in late March. Bamba was felled by a toe injury and the 6-9 Sims provided 17 points and eight boards in an overtime win against West Virginia as well as eight points and 15 rebounds in a Big 12 tournament win against Iowa State. He has outstanding hops and should lead the Longhorns in rebounding. Fouls could curb his playing time, so he will have to be aware of his tendency toward over-aggressiveness.

Makol Mawien, forward, Kansas State Wildcats

In the Big 12 tournament championship game, Mawien was the only Wildcat to play well. He exposed the soft underbelly of the Jayhawk defense for a career-high 29 points on 13 of 19 from the field. The 6-9 junior played well in the tournament while Dean Wade (foot) was out. As noted above, the Wildcat roster has not changed much, but Weber can take better advantage of Mawien in 2017-18. Wade and Mawien can complement each other with Wade stretching opposing defenses. Like Sims, Mawien had foul issues and fouled out five times despite a limited role. Look for more consistency and defensive awareness from the forward.

Also considered: Brandon Knapper, West Virginia; Mario Kegler, Baylor; Tariq Owens, Texas Tech; Mike Cunningham, Oklahoma State

Top-10
1. Dedric Lawson, F, Kansas
2. Sagaba Konate, C, West Virginia
3. Michael Weathers, G, Oklahoma State
4. Nick Weiler-Babb, G, Iowa State
5. Dylan Osetkowski, C, Texas
6. Barry Brown, G, Kansas State
7. Udoka Azubuike, C, Kansas
8a. Dean Wade, F, Kansas State
8b. Lindell Wigginton, G, Iowa State
9. Brady Manek, F, Oklahoma
10. Matt Mooney, G, Texas Tech