K-Stated

Random musings from Monday’s Big 12 coaches’ teleconference call:

SHOCKING — Mike Beasley is the Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year. Well deserved. Beasley and Texas point guard D.J. Augustin were also the only unanimous First Team selections, which, by the way, were decided by the coaches.

IF the NCAA Tournament was today — and we know it’s not — Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon believes his Aggies would be in. “I feel where we are because the league’s so good…,” he said. That said, he said A&M is gunning for the Big 12 Tournament crown.

SCOTT Drew is still upbeat. The Baylor coach was asked if the adage that guard play carries a team in March, he said, “I hope so — that’s good for us!” Note — I never, ever use exclamation points, but with Drew, you can’t help it. He wouldn’t address directly if he felt the Bears were in the field of 65, but he did mention that “our body of work speaks for itself.”

THANKS to my pal Dave Curtis in Orlando, Missouri coach Mike Anderson was allowed to wax poetic about his days at Arkansas when the Razorbacks won four games in four days to improbably advance to the SEC Tournament. Man, anything’s better than talking about his current team.

MY new favorite coach is Colorado’s Jeff Bzdelik. This man is the Big 12 de facto expert on all things NBA, and he was bombarded by questions Monday about The League. Unbelievable. In order, he thinks Bill Walker should go, but he needs to strive for consistency from the perimeter and with his driving and posting up. “He needs to polish all of those areas up,” Bzdelik said. He still maintains Beasley can be as good as he needs to be. He believes Nebraska’s Aleks Maric will make a NBA roster. “He has a chance to be a solid player,” he said. “He’s fundamentally sound, he can shoot the ball and he’s an excellent passer.” He considers Maric more of an Eastern Conference type. He loves Augustin, whom he says is “such a talented gifted player… He’s going to be in the league a long time.” He puts Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin on the same level as Mike, and just when it couldn’t get any better, he more or less slammed his own guy, Richard Roby. After a lengthy pause, Bzdelik said, “I don’t think Richard is in the same light as those players I just mentioned. He’s probably considered in the next tier.” Another pause. “Well, let’s just leave it at that…”

NOT much new from Frank Martin. He’s happy for and proud of Mike. He’s been tough on Jake because the Wildcats need him to be quality point guard, not a lead guard who shoots a ton. And balance, especially on the road, is good.

JEFF Capel is feeling the Big 12 right now. Dude took a healthy, enormous swig of the Kool-Aid be-fore his go on Monday’s call. He was giving props to all of the league’s coaches — mentioning Frank three times for the job he’s done with such a young team, in his first season, etc. — and he said with Mike as the best player in the country, D.J. Augustin as the best point in the country, and with Texas and Kansas as two of the best teams in the country, the Oklahoma coach believes the Big 12 Tournament is going to be off the hook. OK, those were my words at the end.

NEBRASKA coach Doc Sadler, another of the good guys, was asked his center, Aleks Maric, being chosen for the All-Big 12 Second Team and whether he was deserving of First Team mention. His response? “When you’re considered one of the top 10 players in the league, that says a lot,” Sadler said. Classy guy.

GO figure — he’s got the best point guard in the country on his side, and Texas coach Rick Barnes thinks the point guard position, and guard play in general, is so vital. That said, he was asked what he hopes to see improve this weekend in K.C. “I’d like to see A.J. (Abrams) shoot it better than he did yesterday,” Barnes said.