Building a roster is one of the most important jobs coaching staff have in this new age of college basketball. Finding a balance between fit and talent is a skill many haven't mastered just yet. In the Big 12, however, there is an abundance of near-roster perfection, helping it remain one of the sport's most esteemed conferences.
With teams like UA, Houston and Iowa State, it's hard to find coaches who did better jobs constructing a culture. Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson has built one of the best in the country.
Sampson has been exceptional at retaining his guys. They have been so successful over roughly the past decade because his team wants to stay and play for him. Three of their top five scorers have been a part of the program their entire career, which in this era is extremely hard to accomplish.
The transfer portal gives and it takes, but for the Cougars, it only gives. And even then, they rarely use it. This past off-season, they grabbed only junior Oklahoma transfer guard Milos Uzan, who has stepped up in a major way over the last couple of months, now averaging just under 11 points a game. The year prior, while only losing one player to the portal, they got senior Baylor guard L.J. Cryer, who is a Big 12 vet and now leads the team in scoring.
But it's never a perfect recipe. Kansas and Baylor came into this season ranked No. 1 and No. 8, respectively, with what looked like some of the most well-made rosters in the country. Kansas' overuse of the transfer portal seems like their letdown, as they now sit unranked for the first time since 2021. While they were able to retain senior star center Hunter Dickinson, they added six transfers, three of whom were some of the highest-rated on the market.
However, only one of those transfers has panned out well, while the others have completely backfired. Even senior forward KJ Adams Jr. and senior guard Dajuan Harris Jr., who have spent their entire careers as Jayhawks, haven't been as prolific as hoped.
"We need to regroup, get away from each other for a day," Kansas head coach Bill Self said per KSL Sports after losing by 34 to BYU.
Baylor, on the other hand, is similarly constructed as Houston, but they still haven't had the season they hoped for. The Bears brought in two standout transfers, senior Duke guard Jeremy Roach and fifth-year senior University of Miami forward Norchad Omier. They retained most of their role players and brought in two of the best freshmen in the country, VJ Edgecombe and Robert Wright III. However, the Bears have struggled, falling into the NCAA Tournament Bubble.
For ASU's sake, their issues are a lot clearer. The Sun Devils had so little retention in their roster, only bringing back two scholarship players in junior center Shawn Phillips Jr. and redshirt senior guard Adam Miller. Head coach Bobby Hurley did a great job on the recruiting trail, grabbing two five-star freshmen who've both produced well for the team this year. But because of so much roster turnover, the Sun Devils had to turn to the transfer portal to fill the rest of the roster.
As seven Sun Devils left via the portal, five came in. Their three highest-rated transfers all hailed from the mid-major level. Of course, it's never a bad thing to take producers from that level, but when other Big 12 teams are grabbing high-tier power conference guys, it puts the Sun Devils at a disadvantage.
Roster construction is not an exact science, but finding the right fit can make the difference between a championship contender and a bottom feeder.
Edited by Henry Smardo, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at jkmccar2@asu.edu and follow @jackmccarthyasu on X.
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Jack is a junior studying sports journalism with a minor in business. This is his first semester with The State Press. He has also worked at his high school paper.
