Jacob Pullen vs. Kim English should thrill
November, 8, 2010Nov 89:08AM ETEmailPrintComments11By Fran Fraschilla
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Kim English is ready to become a star this season, and will be tested in battles with KSU.A new season is upon us. Here are some matchups I'm most excited to see as I travel the country calling games for our family of networks.
Kansas State Wildcats vs. Missouri Tigers
Monday, Jan. 17 (ESPN) and Saturday, Feb. 26 (TBD)
Although the Kansas Jayhawks have been the Big 12's top dog since the inception of the conference in 1996, its two historic rivals in the North Division have had only marginal success until recently. The hiring of two dynamic and intense coaches, Missouri's Mike Anderson and Kansas State's Frank Martin, have given both programs a great shot of energy. Both have gotten their teams to an Elite Eight in the past two years and each has his team ranked highly in preseason polls.
While both Kansas State and Missouri can play physical basketball in the paint, it is guard play where both teams hang their hats. The Wildcats' Jacob Pullen, who is on most All-America lists, will need to nurture some talented but young backcourt mates, while the Tigers have a wave of backcourt talent that may be the most underrated in college basketball.
Mizzou 6-foot-6 junior Kim English is a burgeoning star and 6-1 Michael Dixon and 6-3 Marcus Denmon can score in bunches. But the catalyst will be 5-10 freshman Phil Pressey, who is the closest thing the conference has seen to former Longhorn T.J. Ford. The Tigers' "40 Minutes of Hell" is in very capable hands this year.
It hasn't happened often, but both of these teams can challenge Kansas for the Big 12 title. The team that does likely will have to win this battle first.
Also, Fran hates us
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/powerrankings/_/show/first
