The Big 12 Conference named their all-Big 12 teams and handed out their awards. Not a lot to disagree, but I still feel compelled to offer my own version.
All-Big 12 team:
- Aleks Maric, Nebraska, C
- Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F
- Michael Beasley, Kansas State, F
- D.J. Augustin, Texas, G
- Mario Chalmers, Kansas, G
- Darrell Arthur, Kansas, F
As for the individual awards.
Player of the Year:
Michael Beasley, Kansas State
D.J. Augustin, Texas
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Not really much of a doubt on this one.
Most Valuable Player:
D.J. Augustin, Texas
Aleks, Maric, Nebraska, Michael Beasley, Kansas State
Cliche, but Augustin makes the whole Longhorn team better. The Longhorns would be good team, but not tied for the Big 12 regular season title.
Rookie of the Year:
Michael Beasley, Kansas State
Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
Again, a no-brainer.
Coach of the Year:
Rick Barnes, Texas
Scott Drew, Baylor
Everyone piled on Barnes last year. Saying he didn't know how to use a talent like Kevin Durant. Contra that, a college coach is much more limited by NCAA rules in how much he can have team practices, and he only had one season to work him into the team. It isn't the NBA. Not to mention it is a team and there was other talent that had to be involved.
This season, he showed how much he can coach and gameplan as Texas wasn't necessarily better without Durant. They were, however, a more mature team and had a better feel for what they could do and the gameplan.
Worst Coach:
Sean Sutton, Oklahoma St.
Frank Martin, Kansas State
Martin was put in an impossible situation. He got the job solely to preserve the recruiting class. Sean Sutton may have been put in an even worse situation since he was handed the job as the son of the guy who's name is on the court in Stillwater.
Sutton, though, has had more time to show that he is overmatched. His teams can't win on the road. He looks visibly panicked on the sidelines at points. In the long-term it seems a matter of when he is removed from his job, not if.
