Big 12 Basketball: Top 5 rising juniors for 2018-19

By Brian Rauf | Jul 17, 2018

OMAHA, NE - MARCH 25: Udoka Azubuike #35 of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts after fouling out against the Duke Blue Devils during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 18: Xavier Sneed #20 of the Kansas State Wildcats reacts against the UMBC Retrievers during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 18, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

3. Xavier Sneed, Kansas State

One of the stars of Kansas State’s Elite Eight run, Sneed demonstrated the athleticism and versatility that makes him one of the Big 12’s most intriguing players.

Already one of the better defenders in the conference, Sneed showed flashes of his offensive potential during the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, leading the Wildcats with 22 points in their Sweet 16 win over Kentucky and a team-high 16 points in the Elite Eight loss to Loyola.

The 6-5, 212-pounder showed those flashes during the regular season as well, but consistency seems to escape him – to K-State’s detriment. Sneed only recorded double-digit points in 22 games last season, which is part of why the Wildcats struggled to score at times.

Sneed’s performance during the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament showed that he’s capable of putting forth dominant performances against quality competition. If he manages to do that on a consistent basis, K-State will have one of the country’s best trios (along with seniors Dean Wade and Barry Brown Jr.) and could make another long tournament run.

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