Big 12 Notebook
Joshua Parrott, Big 12 Columnist
Missouri coach Frank Haith compared Iowa State forward Royce White to former Michigan State and Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson.
Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg likened the 6-foot-8, 270-pounder to his former NBA teammate Kevin Garnett.
Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said White’s game reminded him of his ex-Kentucky teammate and former NBA all-star forward Jamal Mashburn.
The comparisons differ, but the coaches agree on this fact: White has emerged as one of the nation’s top all-around players this season.
“Royce White is a player of the year candidate in the country for what he does,” Ford said. “Watching Iowa State – by March, they can be a Final Four team. That’s how good and talented they are.”
Despite his size, White is capable of handling the ball, creating for others and driving to the rim. The Minnesota transfer is second in the conference in rebounding (9.3 per game) and field-goal percentage (.545), sixth in assists (4.4), ninth in blocks (1.2) and 10th in scoring (13.6).
White is one of five transfers playing a significant role for Iowa State (13-5, 3-2 Big 12) as the program eyes its first NCAA tournament trip since 2005.
“Royce White is one of the tough matchups in our league in terms of his size and strength and the ball skills that he has,” Haith said. “He’s like Magic Johnson. He’s a point forward. He can do so many things.”
White has put his versatility on display all season.
First, he opened the season with monster performances against
Lehigh (25 points, 11 rebounds) and Drake (21 points, 14 rebounds).
White added 22 points and 13 rebounds in a Dec. 3 loss to then-No.
15 Michigan.
White has continued to stuff the stat sheet in conference play. On Jan. 7, he logged the sixth triple-double in Big 12 history with 18 rebounds, 10 points and 10 assists in a win over Texas A&M.
“He reminds me a lot of Jamal Mashburn,” Ford said. “Maybe he doesn’t shoot it as well as Jamal Mashburn, but Royce White’s ball-handling skills are as good as any point guard I have seen in the (Big 12).”
Ford pointed out various skills that make White such a special player.
“He has great vision with the ball, he understands angles and he understands drawing contact,” Ford said. “He makes the people better around him. There are a lot of great players who just make themselves good. He makes everybody else around him better.”
White racked up 18 points and 17 rebounds in a Jan. 14 loss to Kansas, a stat line that captured the attention of Jayhawks coach Bill Self.
“He probably handles it as well as anybody on their team,” Self said. “I know he can handle it as well as anybody on our team. He’s really a point guard playing (center).”
Amid the lofty praise, Iowa State assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger believes in his young star.
“I hope from this standpoint that he is focusing on his game and what we need to do to win the game,” Otzelberger said. “Those comparisons are dangerous. I think he’s fairly level-headed about it.”
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Required Reading
***More on the dunk heard all around Lawrence by Kansas F Thomas Robinson in Monday’s win over Baylor.
***Iowa State beat Oklahoma State on Wednesday thanks to Scott Christopherson’s buzzer-beater.
***Texas fell on the road to Kansas State after failing to contain Wildcats G Rodney McGruder.
***Missouri rolled past Texas A&M on Monday behind a strong night from G Michael Dixon.
What I knew …
I knew that Baylor would eventually stumble before the postseason.
The Bears suffered their first loss of the season Monday at Kansas
after Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn
Taylor put on a show for the Jayhawks. But teams are going
to have an off-night over the course of a 30-game season. Baylor
still has the talent to make a serious postseason run and
should remain in the thick of the Big 12 race.
What I Should Have Known …
I should have known Kansas still had what it took to win the Big 12. Baylor, Missouri and Texas A&M all appeared capable of being the class of the league, but the Jayhawks are obviously the best team in the conference right now. Their blowout win over Baylor proved that. All signs point to Kansas winning at least a share of the Big 12 title for the eighth straight year as long as the Jayhawks can stay healthy.
Stat of the Week
3: There are three Big 12 teams ranked in the top 10 this week – tied for the most of any conference. This is the 37th week in conference history three teams have been ranked in the top 10 nationally.
Who’s Hot
Hot: The Big 12 had three players on the John R. Wooden
Award Midseason Top 25 in Baylor F Perry Jones
III, Kansas F Thomas Robinson and
Missouri G Marcus Denmon … Jones (18
points, 10 rebounds in two games) and Kansas G Tyshawn
Taylor (21.5 points, 5.5 assists in two games) shared
reigning Big 12 Player of the Week honors … Baylor G
Pierre Jackson is the reigning Big 12 Rookie of
the Week (14 points, 8.5 assists, 3.5 steals in two games) …
Kansas won its eighth straight game Monday over Baylor behind big
efforts by F Thomas Robinson (27 points, 14
rebounds) and Taylor (28 points) … Kansas State G
Rodney McGruder scored a career-high 33 points in
Wednesday’s win over Texas. McGruder is averaging 25.5 points
in his past four games and 15.7 points overall this season …
Missouri F Ricardo Ratliffe leads the nation in
field-goal percentage (.771) this season and has made at least 70
percent of his shots in nine straight games … Oklahoma F
Romero Osby is averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds
in the last three games ... Iowa State G Scott
Christopherson banked in a 3 at the buzzer Wednesday to
beat Oklahoma State, 71-68. He had 17 points in the win …
Oklahoma State F LeBryan Nash tied his career-high
with 21 points in Wednesday’s loss to Iowa State.
Who’s Not
Not: Freshman F Jordan Tolbert is averaging 5.8 points in the last four games for Texas Tech, which has dropped five straight and remains winless in Big 12 play. Tolbert is averaging 13 points this season … Texas G J’Covan Brown shot 8-for-26 in Wednesday’s loss to Kansas State … Iowa State G Chris Allen shot 1-for-4 and had five points in Wednesday’s win over Oklahoma State. He was averaging nearly 13 points this season … Kansas G Connor Teahan is shooting 30 percent (6-of-20) from the floor in the past four games … Oklahoma G Steven Pledger is averaging 13.8 points in conference play but is shooting 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the floor in those five games … Kansas State C Jordan Henriquez has scored three total points in his last two contests … Texas A&M has lost six of its past eight games … Baylor G Brady Heslip is shooting 33.3 percent (4-of-12) in the past two games.
Games to Watch
Missouri (17-1, 4-1) at Baylor (17-1, 4-1), Saturday: This is a matchup of top-five teams. Missouri lost to Kansas State on Jan. 7, and Baylor fell to Kansas on Monday.
Oklahoma (12-5, 2-3) at Texas A&M (10-7, 1-4), Saturday: After opening Big 12 play 0-3, Oklahoma has won two in a row. Texas A&M is struggling and needs a win.
Kansas (15-3, 5-0) at Texas (12-6, 2-3), Saturday: Kansas just blasted Baylor and is unbeaten in the Big 12. Texas faces KU, Iowa State, Baylor and Missouri in the next few weeks.
Parrott’s Take
In case there was any doubt, Kansas F Thomas Robinson has now established that he’s the top player in the Big 12. The junior had 27 points and 14 rebounds in Monday’s win over Baylor. He’s averaging 17.8 points and 12.3 rebounds this season. Not only is he the leading contender for Big 12 Player of the Year honors, but he’s also the front-runner to be National Player of the Year.
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Travis Ford photo
courtesy Oklahoma State Marketing; McGruder photo courtesy K-State
Athletics Communications
