'Possession Arrow': Badgley->Razook

From: John Razook
To: Shawn Badgley
Time: 9:52pm, Jan. 9


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jhr

Dear Shawn:

In the interest of fan interest, I hereby submit to you and our faithful readers my picks for some major (and perhaps minor) awards. I will warn you that the picks may not be popular. They might not even make sense. They will, however, generate discussion among hoopheads, who should really begin to crank up the chatter now that the joke that is the BCS is finally behind us.

So, without further ado (and if anyone could kindly tell me what, exactly, “ado” is, I’d appreciate it), I offer for your consideration John H. Razook’s Picks for Postseason Honors:

Player of the Year: This is a tough one. Kevin Durant is a monster, no doubt about it. As of now, he’s leading the league in scoring and rebounding – as a freshman! It’s unheard of. And it truly is astounding. Can he keep it up for the remainder of conference play, during which coaches will often have repeat opportunities to watch tape and scheme him out of games? We’ll see. Personally, I doubt the league coaches and media folk who vote for this award will vote for a freshman. That said, I’m giving the award to Oklahoma State power forward Mario Boggan. He is second in the league in both scoring and rebounding, and shoots an astonishing 64% from the field. With an assassinlike JamesOn Curry in the Cowboys backcourt, teams can ill afford to double team Boggan, who transferred from Florida (where he battled weight problems, tipping the scales at more than 300 pounds) to OSU, where he is now a lean and mean scoring machine, the very definition of efficiency.

But perhaps I’m a bit jaded?

Coach of the Year: Yes, I’m jaded. Severely. It won’t stop me, however, from tabbing first-year Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton here. Nobody, not anyone, predicted the Pokes would be 15-1 at this point in the season. [Ed. note: 15-2] If the Cowboys can survive their scary depth problem – and the phase-in of dominating wide receiver Adarius Bowman from the gridiron to the court could help – then OSU can challenge Kansas for the league crown. We’ll know a lot more about the Cowboys after Wednesday night’s game in Lawrence. [Ed. note: See above and below]

Freshman of the Year: Durant. No explanation necessary. Go to a game, or see one on TV. Catch him while you can, though. He’s gone after this season.

Newcomer of the Year: This award goes to transfers who make an immediate impact. I don’t really have a solid pick for this one. Fill in the blank yourselves, basketball fans.

All Big XII First Team: There are a good many great players in the league this year. It’s tough to pick five for the first team. Still, as a member of the sporting press, it is my responsibility.

G: Brandon Rush, Soph., Kansas
G: Acie Law IV, Sr. Texas A&M
F: Kevin Durant, Fr., Texas
F: Mario Boggan, Sr., Oklahoma State
F: Julian Wright, Soph., Kansas

All Big XII Second Team:

G: JamesOn Curry, Jr., Oklahoma State
G: Jarrius Jackson, Sr., Texas Tech
G: Richard Roby, Jr., Colorado
F: Joseph Jones, Jr., Texas A&M
F: Cartier Martin, Sr., Kansas State

Holy hell, I left off Mario Chalmers, KU’s super-sophomore guard. No offense, Mario, but there are simply too many Jayhawks (and there’s only room for one Mario on my list). How do they always seem to have 10 or 11 kids that could play for any team in the country, and then always fall short in the Big Dance? It doesn’t matter if it’s Roy Williams or Bill Self coaching this team, the Jayhawks consistently underachieve come March. Expect nothing different this year. They’ll win the league, and dominate the All Big XII teams. And then they’ll lose to Panhandle State.

Coach Most Likely to Recruit a Known Felon: This one’s a no-brainer, now that Kelvin Sampson has left the league under a cloud of scandal. With Mr. Cheat now pacing (and whining) up and down the court at Indiana, new Kansas State coach Bob Huggins will no doubt do his part to bring a thug or two to campus, offering taxpayer-funded scholarships to gentlemen who should in all likelihood be making license plates in some penal institution.

Coach Most Likely to Get T’d Up Most Often: A tough one. We’ve got Bob Knight on the one hand, and Huggins on the other. Both seem to enjoy screaming. I, too, enjoy a good scream from time to time, a primal yell from deep in the gut. It purifies the spirit. Strangely enough, however, there never seems to be any referees to be found when I let loose with a tirade – only my terrified roommate. For the sake of argument, I’ll go with Knight. He needs an award, too. Lord knows all-time wins as a Div. I coach isn’t enough.