Through the Phog
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Kansas basketball fans can ignore Big-12’s NBA draft status

By Stan Unruh

Mar 11, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of the on court logo before a game between the Iowa State Cyclones and West Virginia Mountaineers during the Big 12 Championship Tournament at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of the on court logo before a game between the Iowa State Cyclones and West Virginia Mountaineers during the Big 12 Championship Tournament at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kansas basketball fans believe the Big 12 is the nation’s toughest conference. After the NBA draft, fans dispute the claim.

The Big 12 is the most competitive basketball conference in the nation, period. Kansas basketball fans know the round-robin schedule is the most difficult  test to navigate for any team. The NCAA tournament is a different test.

Fans elsewhere are now are using the NBA draft as way to measure the strength of their conference. It’s been a week and I’m tired of hearing TV talking heads and my Pac-12 friends ripping the Big-12 Conference or gloating over the draft.

Last Thursday was historic for the Pac-12 in the NBA Draft.  In addition to the number-one overall pick for the first time since Walton in 1974, NBA teams drafted fourteen Pac-12 players.  They had three lottery picks and six overall in the first round.

Teams drafted 14 Atlantic Coast Conference players including 10 in the first round. The Big-12 was a distant third. If you missed it, NBA teams drafted only 6 Big-12 players and just two in round one including Kansas basketball star Josh Jack at number 4 and Jarrett Allen of Texas at 22.

If Kansas basketball fans are disappointed, Kentucky fans are in shock. The Southeastern Conference was a distant fifth among the Power Five conferences.  NBA teams drafted just 4 SEC players.

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All of this does not surprise me.  Kansas basketball fans know Josh Jackson was the top talent in the draft.  The NBA decision makers do not value the college game. They draft by potential not results.

ESPN talking head Jalen Rose knows a few things about college basketball. During the draft, Rose said of Frank Mason as a second-round pick, “He represents how the NBA went from potential to production.“   I know Kansas basketball fans agree.

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