Big 12 Basketball: Breaking down every 2017 recruiting class

The last 13 years, the Big 12 has been a race for second place as Kansas has utterly dominated the conference.

Year after year teams try to dethrone the Kansas Jayhawks, and year after year Kansas sits atop the Big 12 regular season standings. Being the national basketball powerhouse that they are, it’s not a surprise that the Jayhawks are able to reload year after year. That will not change this year as Kansas looks to win its 14^th straight Big 12 regular season title.

One thing that can be said about the rest of the teams in the Big 12 is that, in a normal year, there is not much separation between the second place team and the last place team. Iowa State, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, and Baylor are annual tournament teams who no one wants to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Big 12 is full of tough matchups and great basketball games.

Here is a brief breakdown of every team and its top recruit:

Baylor Bears

Scott Drew has always been one of the most underrated coaches in the NCAA. The narrative that Drew cannot coach is simply not true. He always has one of the toughest teams in the Big 12. They play a tough schedule every year and are consistently an NCAA Tournament team. One thing that may be questioned could be what appears to be the effort of his teams in bigger games, but they always seem to have some of the better talent in this league.

Tristan Clark: Tristan and his game were made for the way Baylor likes to play basketball. Tristan is a big strong kid who likes to finish at the rim. He is a presence inside with his big frame. He has an arsenal of highlight reel dunks. He is a great rebounder and is good at protecting the rim. He also is a decent passer for an interior player. Once he shows he can finish inside, his passing will become an asset. Tristan is a Findlay Prep product so he has been groomed to be successful in College at a prolific prep school, and a team known for their Division 1 basketball recruits.