Which
conference is the best in America? It is a question often posed and a
question that gets a different response, depending on who is asked.
If you ask Mike Krzyzewski, he will probably tell you it's the Atlantic
Coast Conference. Arizona's Lute Olson would respond with the Pac-10.
Tubby Smith will say it's the Southeastern Conference and -- right on
down the line -- coaches will more likely than not boast their own
leagues.
And I am no different.
In my opinion, over the past two seasons the Big 12 Conference has been
the strongest in America. And right now I cannot imagine their being a
better league than ours.
The strength of a conference is usually determined by which league has
the better crop of upper-classman. Given the changing face of our game
-- with players opting early for the professional ranks -- no one
particular conference has been able to hold the distinction of being the
best for any substantial period of time.
But in each of the past two seasons, the Big 12 has had two
representatives in the Final Four, which speak volumes as to the quality
at the top. And if you want to divide any league into two tiers, I think
you will find that the Big 12's second tier is very good.
And despite Texas' loss to Arizona, I think our conference has already
had an impressive start to the non-league schedule.
Oklahoma has posted two nice wins over Michigan State and Purdue.
Missouri winning at Indiana.
Texas Tech had a great run in the pre-season NIT.
Colorado had a great win over California.
Nebraska and Kansas State have both looked very good through the first
few weeks.
And the list goes on and on.
Having spent time in the Big Ten, I have found that the Big 12 is a
league with more possessions, on average per game. And in my opinion,
the Big 12 is a more athletic league.
Now keep in mind that the difference between a Big 12 and Big Ten or a
Pac-10 and SEC is not all that great.
Some people may look at things on the surface and believe that one
particular conference is so much superior to another, but that is not
the case. The separation between two high profile conferences or two
mid-major leagues is much less than many may think.
Ultimately, it is still much too early to determine exactly which league
is the best in America, but from what I have see thus far, I cannot
imagine a stronger conference -- from top to bottom -- than the Big 12.
Keeping in the tradition of CollegeInsider.com's ' coach column format,
"Rants & Raves" is a forum for coaches to sound off on any topic.
