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Big 12 Basketball: Dedric Lawson and Jarrett Culver lead POY race

By Bryan Mauro

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 23: Jarrett Culver #23, Keenan Evans #12 and Zach Smith #11 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate their lead over the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 23: Jarrett Culver #23, Keenan Evans #12 and Zach Smith #11 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders celebrate their lead over the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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LAWRENCE, KANSAS – JANUARY 02: Christian James #0 of the Oklahoma Sooners dunks as Quentin Grimes #5 of the Kansas Jayhawks looks on during the game at Allen Fieldhouse on January 02, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS – JANUARY 02: Christian James #0 of the Oklahoma Sooners dunks as Quentin Grimes #5 of the Kansas Jayhawks looks on during the game at Allen Fieldhouse on January 02, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

5. Christian James – Oklahoma

Oklahoma entered conference play as one of the most surprising teams in the country. After last season in which they lost superstar Trae Young to the NBA, the expectations for the Sooners were not extremely high. Many projections had them near the bottom of the conference. Coach Lon Kruger, who should be considered at this point among some of the elite headmen in the sport, has guided his team to a top 25 ranking and the Sooners look every bit the part of an NCAA tournament team.

Losing star guard Trae Young may have helped Oklahoma this year. The Sooners are led by a senior who was on the team a season ago but is currently experiencing a breakout season. Christian James, a guard has shown the Big 12 that Oklahoma was more than just Young last year. James has always been a great shooter, but this year he has taken his overall game to a whole new level.

The senior is a great rebounder for his size and has a couple of double-digit rebounding games already this season. The guard is a great ball handler and uses his dribbles to gain ground to get into the paint for easy baskets. James does not get fouled nearly enough, especially for a player with his skill set. If teams do try to shut off the driving lanes for James he is a deadly jump shooter and will make you pay from deep. The 16.7 points per game that the senior is currently averaging is five points better than his previous season-best average.

The Sooners have played one of the harder schedules in the entire country and James is at his best when the lights are the brightest. Oklahoma is going to find their way into the NCAA tournament and have the ability behind James to beat anyone. Watch out for the Sooners in March.

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