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Newcomers dont take long to impact college basketball -- not in this world of one-and-dones and transfers. Over the next two weeks, we will look at the top five newcomers in each of the 10 biggest conferences. Next up is the Big 12.A year ago, the national college basketball landscape was dominated by seniors -- and nowhere more so than in the Big 12.Buddy Hield, Isaiah Cousins and Ryan Spangler started approximately a gazillion games together, then led Oklahoma all the way to the Final Four. At Kansas, Perry Ellis closed out his quietly spectacular four-year career. In Ames, Iowa, Cyclones fans waved farewell to Georges Niang and the winningest senior class in school history. With the departures of Taurean Prince and Rico Gathers at Baylor, Jaysean Paige and Jonathan Holton at West Virginia, (nearly) everyone at Texas -- if ever there was a league that collectively needed a few impact newcomers, its the Big 12 in 2016-17.Fortunately, help is on the way. (For Kansas and Texas, anyway.)Josh Jackson, Kansas Jayhawks Last week, ESPN draftnik Chad Ford released his first 2017 Big Board, and if you thought Duke freshman Harry Giles -- the No. 1 player in the class of 2016, and one of the main reasons Duke is a lock to begin 2016-17 ranked No. 1 -- would be Fords top-ranked player, well, you (OK, we) thought wrong. This may change in the months to come; NBA scouts seem to be withholding the No. 1 spot from Giles until he proves that two torn ACLs in four years havent hampered his long-term potential. But they also might just like Jackson better. One scout referred to him as a higher energy Andrew Wiggins, while another went with a more offensively polished Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Ford wrote.Its super-high praise. Perhaps Jackson will live up to it, perhaps not, but in the meantime, heres a safe rule of thumb: No matter what your NBA future holds, if youre being referred to in the same breath as Wiggins and Kidd-Gilchrist -- or if youre in a tight perceptual heat as the best player in a high school class as good as 2016s -- youre probably going to be a pretty awesome college basketball player. Call it a hunch.Jarrett?Allen, Texas Longhorns Shaka Smarts first year at Texas presented a tricky test: How would the coach, so famous for a very specific fast-paced pressing style at VCU, adapt to the much bigger, more plodding roster bequeathed to him by Rick Barnes?Smart passed that test with relative ease. Now comes another. The vast majority of Texas 2015-16 starts and minutes went to players who are no longer there. Most of them (Javan Felix, Prince Ibeh, Connor Lammert, Demarcus Holland, Cameron Ridley) were seniors. The Longhorns best player, Isaiah Thomas, was a junior, but he jumped to the NBA draft. Those losses could have left UT in a daunting position, and in some ways they have. Mostly, though, its just exciting.The main reason for the positive outlook comes by way of Jarrett Allen, ESPN Recruiting Nations No. 1 center in the class of 2016. The hometown Austin, Texas, kid is 6-foot-11, runs the floor at pace, and can score with his back to the rim or facing up away from it. At the absolute worst, Allen will be an athletic rim-protector on Texas back line, allowing Smarts guards to pressure in the half court with relative impunity. At best, hell be much, much more.Andrew Jones, Texas Longhorns Despite his programs turnover, Smart has no shortage of athletic wings at his disposal next season. (Not least of which Kerwin Roach, who might be the most athletic dude in the country.) And even so, Andrew Jones could demand significant time -- and maybe even a spot in the starting lineup -- if his current developmental trajectory holds firm.Jones began his prep career as a 5-foot-8 freshman, and flew well below the scouting radar in the years that followed. Then last summer, Jones catapulted himself into the recruiting elite; soon enough, the Irving, Texas, native was fielding offers from Arizona, Louisville, Baylor, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas A&M, Virginia and (naturally) Texas. By his senior season, he was putting up 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists per game -- not far off Lonzo Balls famed triple-double high school average -- as scouts struggled to find a serious weakness of any kind in his game.Perhaps the challenges Jones faced as a boy -- when his father was paralyzed in a car accident -- make him work harder. Maybe, as Daniel Plainview might say, theres a whole ocean of talent under his feet, and hes just now realizing it. Either way, its hard not to have a good feeling about Jones.Jaylen Fisher, TCU Horned Frogs The No. 33-ranked player in the class of 2016 is the first truly crucial player of the Jamie Dixon TCU era. Both Fisher and Dixon are joining a team that went 12-21 last season and a program with a meager history of basketball success, not least of which since it joined the modern Big 12 in 2012-13.What makes Fisher especially important is that -- unlike the player ranked just below him on this list -- he is essentially guaranteed to be thrust into crucial minutes from the very first game of his career. And why not? Fisher is a gifted young point guard with a renowned feel for the game; hes an excellent ball handler, passer and attacking scorer. Theres no reason not to give him the ball from day one, to throw him into the fire, to allow him to figure it out. Whatever struggles arise from that strategic calculation are merely part of the rebuilding process, and likely to pay dividends down the line. There are worse freshmen to build around.Udoka Azubuike, Kansas Jayhawks As noted above, Azubuike almost certainly has a higher long-term upside than Fisher. The problem, at least for 2016-17, is opportunity.Heres the thing: Bill Selfs roster is loaded. The dual-point-guard setup of Frank Mason and Devonte Graham in the backcourt, which proved so effective last season, remains gloriously intact. Josh Jackson will step in to Wayne Seldens spot on the wing with aplomb; 6-foot-8 longtime NBA fascination Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (now a 19-year-old junior!) will take over Brannen Greenes sporadic (but effective) role as a floor-stretching perimeter threat. Up front, Self expects much of sophomore power forward Carlton Bragg, whose main problems as a freshman were (A) defense and (B) not being Perry Ellis. And senior Landen Lucas is the stalwart around which Self teams have always been built.Azubuike may get minutes off the bench, but its hard to envision him cracking that lineup all that often. Whats more, the coach of the past 12 Big 12 regular-season champs has absolutely zero tolerance for guys whose defensive missteps may or may not outweigh their offensive contributions (see Bragg and/or Cliff Alexander).Azubuikes sheer force makes him one to watch, but whether he emerges as a freshman or needs more time, the Jayhawks will be just fine. Sekou Doumbouya Pistons Jersey .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. 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OMAHA, Neb. -- Longtime rivals Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps set up their lone showdown at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials by qualifying first and second in the 200-meter individual medley Thursday.Lochte had the top time of 1 minute, 58.05 seconds in the preliminaries. He emerged from the pool limping as a result of the groin injury he suffered Sunday on the first day of trials. It has hampered his performances throughout the week. He has been getting treatment and tweaking the way he swims to compensate.I felt it on the first kick of breaststroke, Lochte said. Ive just got to get a massage, rub it out and hopefully Ill be better.Phelps was second fastest in 1:58.95 on his 31st birthday. His 7-week-old son, Boomer, sat on his mothers lap in the stands during his heat.I feel older, he said. My muscles arent the same. They hurt a lot worse this morning.Lochte and Phelps advanced to the 16-man evening semifinals, along with Austin Surhoff, the son of former major league baseball player B.J. Surhoff. He was fifth fastest in 2:00.26. Also moving on was Michael Andrew, a 17-year-old who has already turned pro. He finished third in Phelps heat and ninth overall.Lochte is already on the team as a relay swimmer based on his fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle. He wants to swim an individual event in Rio, and the 200 IM represents his last -- and best -- chance after he was third in the 400 IM, one spot out of a berth.The 31-year-old dropped out of the 200 backstroke on Thursday to focus on the 200 IM.It was kind of hard watching it just because I love that event, but I did whats best for me, Lochte said.Phelps made his rrecord fifth Olympic team by winning the 200 butterfly Wednesday.dddddddddddd didnt really sleep last night. I was wide awake at like 5 (a.m.), he said. I knew (coach) Bob (Bowman) was awake, so I started firing texts off to him, asking him questions. He pretty much just said, `Shut up and get ready for this morning, so I went back to sleep for a few hours.Four years ago in London, Phelps won gold and Lochte took silver in the 200 IM. Lochte won the event at last years world championships in Russia, where Phelps couldnt compete while serving a suspension from USA Swimming after his second drunken driving arrest.In other preliminaries, Jacob Pebley and defending Olympic champion Tyler Clary had the two fastest times in the 200 backstroke heats. Pebley was timed in 1:56.29 and Clary went 1:56.85 to make the evening semifinals. Ryan Murphy, the 100 back winner at trials, was third quickest in 1:57.35.On the womens side, teenager Abbey Weitzeil and 30-year-old Olympic veteran Amanda Weir were the two fastest in the 100 freestyle featuring a loaded field. Weitzeil qualified first in 53.58 seconds and Weir was second in 53.76.Dana Vollmer was third quickest in 53.80 and Simone Manuel was fourth in 53.84.Also advancing to the semifinals were Kelsi Worrell, Katie Ledecky, Lia Neal, Missy Franklin, Olivia Smoliga, Natalie Coughlin and Allison Schmitt.In the 200 breaststroke, Micah Lawrence had the fastest time of 2:26.27. Breeja Larson was sixth quickest in pursuit of her second straight Olympic team. ' ' '