TCU basketball picked to finish last. That’s surprising to Big 12 coaches, players
Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton didn’t need long to think about his answer.
Yes, of course he’s surprised a Jamie Dixon-led TCU team is picked to finish last in the Big 12 this season.
“Jamie Dixon is a tremendous coach and has had success over decades coaching college basketball,” Boynton said from Big 12 Media Day on Wednesday. “Whoever is picked last in this league is going to be a pretty good team. It’s probably exposed higher when it’s Jamie Dixon.”
Boynton and his program were in the same situation last season. The Cowboys were picked to finish last, although “exceeded expectations” with a ninth-place finish.
West Virginia, led by a coach who has Hall of Fame credentials in Bob Huggins, finished last.
“I’m going to tell you this,” Boynton said. “The team that finishes last will be a pretty good team with a really good coach. West Virginia was the last place team last year and that surprises people more than Jamie Dixon being picked last.
“You fill out a bracket, you’re going to think about Kansas and how good they are. Who’s next? Who’s been playing well? You’re going to get to ninth, 10th and, man, this league is really good. It shows the depth and the strength of the league from top to bottom.”
Dixon has no visions of finishing last. This is a guy who has been to the NCAA Tournament 12 times in his 16 years as head coach and is on the cusp of 400 career wins (396-164).
Dixon understands why TCU is picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 with just two significant returners in senior guard Desmond Bane and sophomore center Kevin Samuel. But he sees upside with the group too.
“I’m excited about our guys,” Dixon said. “We’ve had a great summer, best summer I’ve ever had at TCU as far as practice, working out, growth, development, improvement. We’re excited about the new guys. Nine new players, which is a lot even in today’s game.
“But at the same time the league is wide open. So many teams are bringing in about the same amount of new players. It’s just the way of college basketball. I’m excited about what we can become.”
Nobody in the conference is counting the Frogs out, either. They ranked among the biggest snubs from last year’s NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 23-14 record and a run to the NIT semifinals.
That included a season sweep of Iowa State, which reached the Big Dance. Cyclones standout guard Tyrese Haliburton understands the talent TCU has as well as anyone.
“One through 10 in this league could be anybody,” Haliburton said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they picked us last, you know what I’m saying? At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. You’ve got to go out there and perform. I’m sure they don’t care. It doesn’t mean anything to them. They can compete with anybody in this conference.”
That’s the mindset TCU is taking into the season.
Just look at Baylor, which was picked to finish ninth last season and ended up finishing fourth and winning a game in the NCAA Tournament. Now the Bears are picked to finish second.
Baylor coach Scott Drew chuckled when asked if he went from being a bad coach with bad players to a good coach with good players.
“Whoever was going to be picked ninth or 10th, every coach will tell you they could finish first or second in the league,” Drew said. “Top to bottom the best league in the country. It doesn’t mean much difference no matter where you’re picked, what people think you’re going to do.
“Everyone is going to be in close games. Whoever wins those close games will finish towards the top, whoever loses those close games will be closer to the bottom. There’s a lot of transition this year with a lot of teams having new faces. How quickly and how they adjust, how successful they are will show where those teams finish.”
Bane, the Big 12’s leading returning scorer and the Frogs’ best player, agreed. Preseason rankings don’t dictate too much other than the early season chatter.
He thinks TCU has as good of a chance as anyone.
“I think it’s a pretty open league,” Bane said. “We have a chance to finish wherever we want to if we can stay together and keep working hard like we have been.”
