Written by Joseph Nardone at Bloguin
The Kansas Jayhawks have dominated the Big 12 longer than the Roman Empire dominated large parts of Earth back before we had smartphones — or at least it feels that way.
However, there was a very recent time when some folks — myself included — felt their run was coming to an end. Then, sadly, Fred Hoiberg left for the NBA.
As a new season beckons, everyone continues to expect Bill Self and Kansas to take yet another Big 12 crown and store it in their overflowing chest of awards. Insert that cliched “death, taxes, and whatever” line here.
Here’s where the plot thickens, however: For all the talk of Kansas’s continued dominance, the Big 12 should be a far different type of league going forward.
Yes, Iowa State may have lost Fred Hoiberg, but the Cyclones have replaced him with a very good coach in Steve Prohm. Couple that with Texas moving on from Rick Barnes to everyone’s favorite new power-conference coach, Shaka Smart, and there are reasons to think Kansas’ reign atop the mountain may be winding down.
The issue with Texas will be the adjustment time needed for the program after dismissing Barnes. No matter how strongly you feel about Smart, some time must be given to him; he needs room to develop a brand new system, which will also include a recruiting period or two before the Longhorns end up looking like a Smart team and not bunch of Barnes-burners. In time, Smart will either prove himself or fall short. For the record, some of us aren’t as sold on Smart as others.
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