The high-browed and smugtastic Andy Katz of ESPN (seriously, check out his "chats" with users; such a dismissive boo) posted his list of his final 30 candidates for the Wooden Award. At this point, there's no way J.J. Redick isn't going to win the thing, but three Texas players (Tucker, Aldridge, and Gibson) were among his thirty finalists. I bring this up to illustrate the point we've been debating in these three posts.
Five other schools have two players on the list (Michigan State, Memphis, Villanova, Duke, and West Virginia), but only Texas has three. And really, if Buckman had been healthy all year, you might have found him on this list as well. Along with illustrating the unmatched depth of elite talent that Texas has in its starting five, it's also noteworthy that the Horns have played four of the other five teams on the list with two Wooden candidates. The next time that you hear people crowing about how the Big 12 isn't what it usually is, relax and rest assured that the Horns have played an elite nonconference schedule. We'll be battle tested for March.
--PB--