The Big 12 conference will once again be one loaded with depth and talent. It’s a complete toss-up as to who will come away with the conference title and trying to put an exact number on how many teams the Big 12 will send dancing is just as tall of a task. But there’s a question that has just as many options and a notably easier answer, which is who will be crowned as the king of scoring in the Big 12.
Of course, you’re going to have the guys who creep their way up into the conversation and make it interesting as the season rolls on, but as for who the realistic contenders for this title are, it comes down to a small handful on some familiar faces from last season’s elite scorers.
Let me start with the guy I feel is the least likely to rack up the most points on the season with Oklahoma’s junior shooting guard, Buddy Hield. As a sophomore, Hield led the Sooners in scoring at 16.5 per game. He did so in a multitude of ways with his craftiness around the rim and ability to shoot from nearly anywhere on the court, although it would hurt to improve from beyond the arc a bit and find himself at the free throw line more than hit lowly 2.5 attempts per game.
There’s no question that Hield has the ability to score in shocking fashion and dominate offensively, but he does have some noteworthy help with guys like Isaiah Cousins and Jordan Woodard, which will ultimately hinder how stuffed his stat sheet will become.
Next up is a guy who has an instinctive knack for scoring and a fluidity to his game that allows him to have his way with nearly any defense, but for the same reasons as Hield, Iowa State’s Georges Niang will be one of the premier Big 12 scorers, but just not the absolute best. Niang has the versatility to score in just about any fashion he pleases and will flourish during the upcoming season after finally becoming the primary option offensively, but has some explosive scorers around him to compliment his abilities so as far as the point per game category goes, Niang will fall just short of the scoring crown.
This leaves two guys who are going to have to single handedly carry their teams to what little success they might have and their scoring numbers are going to spike as a result.
Kyan Anderson is a guy I previously raved about for his ability to do any and everything offensively, as well as throw as spice of flash in there as a defender as well. Anderson put up some extravagant numbers last season with 17 points per game on 47 percent shooting, including an impressive 85 percent from the charity stripe. He knocked down greater than 40 percent of his threes as well and should continue to improve in each category as a senior. Unfortunately for Anderson, he doesn’t have the scenario of complete desperation that the guy who will soon become the Big 12’s leading scorer for the second straight season, which is why he too will fall short of the scoring title.
For those who don’t know who led the conference in scoring last season, it’s the same star point guard who will do it yet again; West Virginia’s Juwan Staten. At 18.1 points per game last season, Staten was second to none in the scoring category in 2013-14 and will look to repeat that this upcoming season. During this offensive showcase during his junior season, Staten shared the ball with another explosive weapon in Eron Harris and his 17.2 per game along with Terry Henderson’s 11.7 per night. Both have now left the program and the weight upon Staten’s shoulders will drastically increase. Luckily for Staten, he’s a fearless competitor and elite scorer who will relish this opportunity and put up something in the ballpark of 22 points per game.
There’s no doubt that each of these guys are tremendous scorers and it’s going to be a scoring race that will likely come down to the final games, but due to circumstances that surround each of these college stars, this is how the conference scoring leader standings should pan out.