Last month, we started our Sales Pitch series by ranking the schools in the ACC based on the quality of their enticements for men’s basketball recruits and then moved on to the Big East, where we examined whether anyone in the league can close the recruiting gap on Villanova. We followed that up with the Big Ten, and the biggest first tier we’ve seen of any conference so far, and the Pac-12, where UCLA and Arizona are keeping the rest of the league at arm’s length. Last week we continued with the SEC, where everyone continues to chase Kentucky on the recruiting trail, and then looked at the Memphis vs. Houston battle at the top of the American.
This week, we continue our exercise with the Big 12. The league is home to one of the true bluebloods in college basketball history, but also has the reigning national champions and several deep-pocketed programs. Within the past six seasons, seven of the 10 teams in the Big 12 have been to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, and of the three to miss out, one is about to have the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft (Oklahoma State) and another just hired one of the best coaches in the sport (Texas).
As a reminder, ESPN spoke with a wide variety of anonymous coaches across college basketball’s top seven leagues (as rated by KenPom and other relevant metrics systems), as well as nationally relevant programs beyond those conferences, for our Sales Pitch feature. Over an eight-week period, we’ll rank the programs in order of which have the best sales pitches for recruits and transfers.
Tier 1
Unsurprisingly, Kansas was No. 1 for every coach polled, leaving the Jayhawks in their own tier atop the conference.
“Kansas is by itself,” one coach said. “Their biggest selling point is tradition. But the second thing is Bill Self. He’s proven, he’s just elite at what he does. And their players go on to the NBA. Joel Embiid, Ben McLemore, Andrew Wiggins. He’s just a phenomenal basketball coach and gets the most out of his talent.”
Kansas has as much tradition as any program in college basketball — James Naismith started the Jayhawks’ program and was their first coach — and they have won three national championships and made 15 Final Four appearances. The Jayhawks also had a streak of 14 consecutive Big 12 regular-season titles, which was snapped in 2019.
They also have one of, if not the best atmospheres in the country at Allen Fieldhouse.
“You always felt like you were a part of history every time you went into Allen Fieldhouse,” one opposing coach said. “You’d be lying if you said it wasn’t a really cool place.”
Much like fellow blueblood Kentucky, Kansas isn’t exactly in a fertile recruiting area — but it doesn’t matter too much because the Jayhawks consistently recruit nationally.
“You’ve got Kansas City, so they can get an in-state kid like [Ochai] Agbaji, like [Christian] Braun,” a longtime Big 12 coach said. “But because it’s a national brand, the guys that they’ve gotten are from everywhere. [Devon] Dotson came from North Carolina, [Marcus] Garrett came from Texas, Doke [Udoka Azubuike] was a Florida kid. The national brand really helps those guys.”
It’s worth noting Kansas isn’t quite recruiting at the same level it was several years ago. After landing 14 five-star prospects between 2007 and 2018, the Jayhawks have signed only one five-star prospect in the past three classes — Bryce Thompson, who transferred to Oklahoma State after one season in Lawrence. Coaches in the league attribute much of that to the FBI and NCAA cloud hanging over the program since 2017.
“I think other people use it against them,” one coach said. “I know for a fact that so many people did that. I think that did hurt them [in 2020-21]. They didn’t have the same level of talent they’ve had in the past. This past group was not a Bill Self type of group. Nobody that could go get their own shot. Everything was side to side, motion. There was player movement and ball movement, but nobody to beat you. They didn’t have a Frank Mason, Devonte’ Graham, Devon Dotson.”
“I think it hurt them,” another coach agreed. “That relationship with Adidas helped them a lot. They’re recruiting differently. Their 13th guy is no longer a five-star guy. They’ve gone more regional, more local.”
Tier 2
Texas was the No. 2 recruiting job for every coach polled, while Baylor was third for all but one coach. That coach had the Bears fourth. As a result, the Longhorns and Bears make up the tier below Kansas.
Texas separates itself when it comes to money and resources for the program. The Longhorns have the richest athletic department in the country, per USA Today, with the budget and brand cachet that comes along with that status. Since late December, the school paid more than $15 million to fire football coach Tom Herman, hired Steve Sarkisian to replace him at more than $5 million per year, then hired Chris Beard to replace Shaka Smart and will pay him more than $5 million per year. In other words, money isn’t an issue in Austin.
“They can buy out football coaches with years on their contracts, same thing in basketball, then go out and get whoever they want,” one coach said. “They have the top salary in the country when it comes to basketball staff. They put resources and money into the facilities and programs as they need to. It’s the only team in our league with their own television network. It’s just resources. And what they’re selling is in Austin, one of the most desirable cities in the country.”
Access to talent is another plus for the Longhorns. Texas is the biggest program in arguably the most talent-rich state in the country, and the Longhorns have consistently produced players at the next level.
“They are it in Texas. In a big-time state with talent, they’re the brand school,” one Big 12 coach said. “The marketing, publicity, marquee game slots for games, the prime-time TV spots. They have a history of professional players, and not just players, great professional players. Kevin Durant. And they’re one of two Big 12 schools located in a major metropolitan area. The rest are in college towns. That helps.”
So why isn’t Texas in Tier 1? With all the Longhorns have going, some coaches around the league sounded somewhat disappointed to put them in a different tier than Kansas.
“The fan base doesn’t help them,” one coach said. “And they’ve been to only one Final Four [since 1947]. A place like that has, quite frankly, underachieved in their history. The only Final Four in the last 80 years was when they had T.J. Ford. There’s no reason why a place like that, with everything they have, should ever be in that position. They should be near blueblood status, they should be up there with Kansas.”
“They’re not in Tier 1, but with their budget and notoriety, they should be in Tier 1,” another coach added. “Being a football school drops them down to Tier 2. They’re moving into a new arena, though, which should increase their fan base right away. But they’ll have to hold on long term.”
It’s fair to wonder whether Baylor would be in Tier 2 had the Bears not won the national championship two months ago. When it comes to tradition, resources, facilities and recruiting turf, Baylor isn’t close to Texas and might not be ahead of the teams in Tier 3, either. But what Scott Drew has done in Waco since he arrived in 2003 is nothing short of remarkable.
“The last two years, they’ve been elite. Obviously the national championship, and they might’ve been in the Final Four two years ago as well,” one coach in the league said. “Baylor has really shown they can be in that next tier of Big 12 programs. I think a lot has to do with the continuity of their staff, the level of talent they’ve gotten — they’ve done a great job getting transfers. Drew has done a great job, and they have the best assistant coach in the Big 12 in Jerome Tang.”
One of the keys to Baylor’s recent success over the past decade has been a noticeable change on the recruiting trail. The Bears landed one five-star prospect in three straight classes, from 2010 to ’12 — and then didn’t sign any until the class of 2021. Drew and his staff prioritized a different type of player on the high school circuit while also hitting the transfer portal. Of the five players to see more than 20 minutes in the national title game, four were transfers.
“They’ve gotten smarter with their recruiting, they’ve gotten smarter with how they’ve marketed the program,” one coach said. “They find the right mix of kids. For a while there they were getting really high-level kids. And that was good for them, but they were making first-round exits. What’s really helped is they’ve done a good job finding the right fits through transfers. They’re not a traditional blueblood, but they’ve elevated themselves. Scott has done a great job evolving as a head coach. I’m amazed at what they’ve done.”
There are areas where Baylor will need to improve to stay in the rarefied air near the top of the league, though. The Bears had little relevant tradition before the past decade or so, and their facilities and fan base aren’t close to that of Texas or Kansas — although they’re scheduled to build a new basketball arena in the next few years.
“The atmosphere and facilities are the biggest [obstacle] for them,” one coach said. “The Ferrell Center is old and outdated. It’s not a good place to move forward in order to keep Baylor at that level. The visitors locker room is terrible. The amenities are outdated. That definitely hurts them. Being a private school in a league filled with state schools, I think that hurts them.”
Tier 3
West Virginia Mountaineers
Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma State Cowboys
This tier featured the consensus middle-of-the-pack trio in all but one ranking. West Virginia received one vote for being in Tier 2 as a top-three recruiting program, flipped with Baylor. But every other coach polled had these three in the 4-5-6 spots, in some order.
West Virginia’s biggest advantages come from its facilities, fan base and recent success under Bob Huggins. The Mountaineers generally don’t make huge statements on the recruiting trail, instead preferring to find under-the-radar prospects that fit Huggins’ system while mixing in one or two back-end ESPN 100 prospects every year or two.
Under Huggins and predecessor John Beilein, the Mountaineers have consistently been in the national conversation, advancing past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament seven times since 2005.
“If you look at the overall history of the program, they’ve had some really good years under Huggins. It’s a really good basketball program,” one coach said. “Their fan base is one of the best. Iowa State has the second-best fan base behind Kansas, but West Virginia is third. They pack it every night. They care about basketball. They love the Mountaineers. Every game was packed when we went there. Even when they’re not great, it’s still packed.”
West Virginia’s unique location within the Big 12 was seen by some as a disadvantage — the Mountaineers don’t often recruit within the league’s footprint. But for others, it was an advantage, as they recruit areas the rest of the league’s teams rarely pursue.
When they were really good, they had guys from New Jersey and Maryland and Ohio. That’s always going to be their niche,” one coach said. “At the end of the day, they have to win battles against teams in the Big Ten and the ACC. They’re not competing against us. We’re not recruiting guys West Virginia is recruiting. They’re in a different geographic area, so they’re unique in that regard. They can get kids from the East Coast we would never have an opportunity for … Deuce McBride, Derek Culver. We couldn’t get those kids.”
In-state rivals Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were back-to-back for every coach polled, with the Sooners ahead due to their recent success, their name-brand players and their preferable location within the state.
“Norman is just more appealing to guys than Stillwater,” one coach said. “They can recruit Oklahoma City, Dallas, they’re more appealing a draw for those guys. They’ve had more recent success. Trae Young, the amount of tournament success they’ve had, going to NCAA tournaments. It’s more of a regional draw than Oklahoma State right now.”
Oklahoma went to the NCAA tournament in seven of 10 seasons under Lon Kruger, and also had success under Jeff Capel, Kelvin Sampson and Billy Tubbs. The Sooners have made five Final Four appearances and reached the national title game on two occasions.
“I think Oklahoma is just a really good program, a really good brand. They have a really good administration. Good, not great, resources,” one coach said. “It starts with football, but when you look at the things they have going for them, in regards to Jordan Brand, the number of championships in the athletic department. Blake Griffin, Trae Young, Buddy Hield, Wayman Tisdale, that’s just a few of the guys. Lon sold the program well, Porter [Moser] will do the same. They have one of the top athletic directors in the country [Joe Castiglione]. There’s just been stability and continuity over the years.”
On the negative side, atmosphere and fan base were pointed to as the program’s biggest drawbacks.
“I remember times they were ranked, playing against another ranked team, but instead of being packed and sold out, it’s only 4,000 people in there,” a Big 12 coach said. “And the Lloyd Noble Center is one of the worst, if not the worst, facility in the conference.”
Oklahoma State won a pair of national championships in the 1940s and made Final Four appearances in the 1990s and the early 2000s. But there have been some down stretches for the Cowboys in the 15 years since Eddie Sutton departed in 2006. OSU has gone to the NCAA tournament seven times over that stretch and hasn’t advanced past the first weekend since 2005.
“The thing that makes Stillwater a tough spot is the locale,” one coach said. “I hate going there.”
The Cowboys do have at least one major thing going for them that could change this ranking moving forward, however: They’re about to produce the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft in Cade Cunningham.
“Their fan base is great, Gallagher-Iba Arena is a fun place to play, they’re right on top of you,” a Big 12 coach said. “They have good history, too. They’ve got pros as well. And they’re going to have the No. 1 pick this year.”
Tier 4
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Iowa State Cyclones
Both Texas Tech and Iowa State received one vote for being in Tier 3, while the two teams in Tier 5 were consistently in the bottom three for every coach polled. That provides some separation in the bottom half of the league.
Texas Tech is an interesting one. The Red Raiders have been one of the most successful programs in the league over the past four years, reaching the national championship game in 2019 and the Elite Eight in 2018. Chris Beard took the program to unprecedented heights, both on the court and on the recruiting trail. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, he signed the highest-ranked recruit in program history since ESPN’s recruiting database began in 2007 — including the program’s first five-star in Nimari Burnett.
“Historically, it’s the same as TCU and Kansas State,” one coach said. “But Beard injected an enthusiasm and excitement into that program. He increased their fan base. I had been there before, even when Bob Knight was there, it wasn’t like it is today. It will be interesting to see if they can stay close to [Tier 3]. If not, they’re back near the bottom. Beard’s recent success, the draft picks, has elevated that program.”
Mark Adams has a huge task ahead of him as Beard’s replacement. A Texas Tech alum and an assistant under Beard the past six years, Adams has plenty of experience as a head coach at lower-level schools in Texas. But will he be able to continue Beard’s recruiting success?
“It’s still a tough job. Lubbock is really hard to get to. It might be worse off than West Virginia in the sense of where they get their kids from. They’ve had to make it more of a national thing,” one coach said. “Before Beard got there, most of the kids were from Dallas, but not top-tier Dallas kids. It was three-star kids. And before Beard got there, I would say Texas Tech was the ninth-best job in the league. So give them credit for what they’ve done recently.
“But you’re always going to have an uphill battle. As great as they have been, and I hated playing against his teams, they couldn’t keep their coach from leaving for a Tier 2 school in the same league. And if you’re a recruit, if you have your choice, you’re probably going to choose another Big 12 school over Texas Tech.”
Iowa State has had success under several different coaches, dating back to Johnny Orr, Tim Floyd and Larry Eustachy. The Cyclones also went to the NCAA tournament in each of Fred Hoiberg’s final four seasons in Ames. There’s not a history of high-level winning, with the program’s lone Final Four appearance coming in 1944, but they have gone to four Sweet 16s in the past 25 years — including as recently as 2016.
The biggest advantage for the Cyclones is their fan base and atmosphere at Hilton Coliseum.
“It’s impossible to win there when their fans are cooking. The environment, the fans they have, the passion for their program,” one coach said. “They have a little bit of history of winning. And before last year, either Iowa State or Kansas won the Big 12 tournament for a long time. A lot of that has to do with their fan base and the way they travel. Plus, they’ve had some really good players.”
“They’re gonna pack [Hilton]. That’s the good thing for them,” another coach added. “It’s just a tough place to play. Doesn’t matter if they’re first place, last place, they’re gonna have 14,000, 15,000 fans in there.”
Location is the biggest challenge for Iowa State, and it’s the main thing new head coach T.J. Otzelberger will have to overcome. But he has experience with the Cyclones from his days as an assistant under Hoiberg — and that could be the model he follows in trying to rebuild the program.
“Look at the kids they’ve gotten. They’ve gotten Canadian kids, they’ve had to do some funky recruiting. When Hoiberg was there, they got prep school kids, transfers, junior college kids,” a Big 12 coach said. “They’re not gonna get the same kids that Iowa gets. They’re obviously not getting the same kids Kansas gets. Even these last few years. They won the Big 12 tournament, they did it with transfers. There’s not a lot of hometown products, just not that many in that state. And it’s not an easy place to get to.”
Tier 5
Kansas State Wildcats
TCU Horned Frogs
Only one coach didn’t have Kansas State and TCU in the bottom two of their rankings, with that coach lifting Kansas State up a tier. But the Wildcats and Horned Frogs were a clear notch below the rest of the league.
Kansas State has had underrated success over the past 15 seasons or so, making two Elite Eight appearances and reaching the NCAA tournament in nine of the past 14 seasons. The Wildcats also snapped Kansas’ 14-year Big 12 title streak in 2019, sharing the regular-season championship with Texas Tech. They also have more tradition and history than people think, making four Final Four appearances.
But perception is king in recruiting, and that tradition and history has flown under the radar in recent years.
“I don’t think they really have a brand or anything to hang their hat on, unless you’re a basketball aficionado,” one coach said. “It’s a solid program, they’ve had success over the years. But nobody knows that. It’s in Manhattan, not a great place. But the fan base is pretty good, Bramlage [Coliseum] is awesome. It’s perfectly set up. Beautiful arena.”
Aside from perception of the program, the biggest challenge for the Wildcats is location. The state of Kansas doesn’t produce a ton of high-major prospects, and the Wildcats are rarely first-choice for those players.
“If Kansas wants someone in the state, they’re getting them. You’re just not going to get the best kids in Kansas,” a Big 12 coach said. “Manhattan, Kansas is a very difficult draw for kids. There’s not a lot of regional recruiting for them. Kansas can recruit nationally and internationally, Kansas State can’t. Kansas only produces three or four kids every year that can play in the Big 12.”
Bruce Weber has had to get creative in constructing his roster, and one opposing coach pointed out Weber is at his best with an older team.
“When they won the league, they built it over a four-year period with [Barry] Brown and [Dean] Wade and the other kid [Kamau] Stokes,” he said. “The foundation was those three kids, with the right pieces around them. But that’s once every four or five years in terms of continuity. Wade was a kid that had a lot of ties to the area. He turned down a lot of schools to play for Kansas State. But there’s not a lot of Dean Wades that come from there. He changed the whole trajectory.”
TCU didn’t receive a single vote above the bottom tier. It’s easy to see why the Horned Frogs consistently face an uphill battle when it comes to pitching recruits. They have been to the NCAA tournament once since 1998, they haven’t been out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament since 1968 and they’ve never made a Final Four appearance.
They have also been in five different conferences since joining the WAC from the embers of the Southwest Conference in 1996. That lack of success and continuity puts them behind the rest of the Big 12.
“They’re battling a lack of success historically, they’re battling a lack of league identity historically, they’re battling a lot of competition that has a two-decade, three-decade head start on you,” one coach said.
“They have zero tradition. Nothing to hang their hat on,” another coach said. “They’re a Big 12 school and that’s great, but when you’re going against other people that have tradition the Tier 1, 2, 3 schools have, they’re fighting an uphill battle. As much money as they have, I don’t know if they can get over the hump. They just have to hire great staffs that can get guys there.”
While being near one of the most fertile recruiting areas in the country is a plus, TCU’s lack of selling points leave it far back in the queue for the talent coming out of Dallas.
“All of these places have a huge presence in Dallas-Fort Worth,” one coach said. “Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Baylor — huge presence in Dallas-Fort Worth. There’s Texas. So you’re already starting at seventh or eighth for prospects, and then you have to go beat Texas A&M, Houston and SMU.”
“If you’re a Texas kid, even in the league, you have Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech, you’re probably going to those places. You’re probably going to SMU, you’re 100% going to Houston before TCU,” another coach added. “And then there’s Texas A&M. Oklahoma. It’s a lot of different places to jump over before you get to TCU.”
Coaches around the Big 12 believe TCU does have potential, however. The school has money and resources, and it also has the aforementioned Dallas-Fort Worth recruiting turf. That hasn’t translated to much success yet, but there’s at least some hope.
“The locale is there, the resources and money are there,” one coach said. “They should be a lot better than they have been, quite honestly. I don’t know if it’s one particular thing I can point to and say, this is why they struggle. Even though it’s a private school, I think they can get mostly anyone into the school. Is it a sleeping giant? It should be.”
“Great resources, great location — eventually they’ll make it happen because it’s capable of that,” another Big 12 coach added.