Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
Big time recruits go to big time schools nowadays in college basketball. So, could a team like the Oklahoma Sooners win the Big 12 in this day and age in college hoops?
No offense to Oklahoma, but it does not get the recruits that Kansas does. The Jayhawks could literally be a national championship contending team one season, lose their entire starting five and then be a national championship contending team in the very next season.
Sound familiar? Well, it should because that is the case with this year’s Kansas team.
Oklahoma has been a football school basically forever. Basketball has not been the school’s strong point, but the team still competes in the Big 12. Next year will be no different.
However, in college basketball the best teams are the ones with the best players. Seems like a pretty basic concept. Unfortunately, the big time programs usually get the best recruits, which are starting to be the best players.
That is not always the case, but it seems to at least be the case in the Big 12. Andrew Wiggins, who was the No. 1 recruit this year, did decide to play for the Jayhawks.
Kansas pretty much always wins the conference, but that may not be the case in the upcoming season. Oklahoma State could win the crown. The Cowboys landed one of the best recruits in the nation last year in Marcus Smart.
He will be returning for his second season, which is a big reason why Oklahoma State will be so good.
There is not a specific formula for winning a national title or a conference. However, it is becoming apparent that the winner of either one has the best recruits.
As a result, it would be very hard to see a team like Oklahoma win the Big 12 nowadays, unless if the Sooners start getting big time recruits. This is all just a theory, though. Now that I have said this, wouldn’t that be something if Oklahoma won the Big 12 this year.
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