The case for Kansas State Wildcats guard Nijel Pack as a first-team All-Big 12 player
When the college basketball season began, most viewed Nijel Pack as little more than a promising young guard.
His perception is much different now.
As we reach the midway point of conference play across the country, Pack has rapidly evolved into Kansas State’s best all-around player and one of the top scorers in the Big 12. He is making a push for All-Big 12 honors, and if he keeps draining shots at his current rate he may end up on the first team.
The Wildcats haven’t produced a first-team honoree since Barry Brown and Dean Wade were seniors in 2019. That could change as early as this year with Pack.
“He has quietly become one of the best players in the league,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said this week on his radio show. “The problem is last year he didn’t make the all newcomer team, but I always tell the kids, ‘if you don’t win you don’t get the acknowledgment.’ Hopefully we can keep winning some games and he can get the recognition that he deserves.”
Let’s make the case for the sophomore guard from Indianapolis.
Pack has been on a scoring tear lately and currently ranks fourth in the Big 12 at 16.8 points per game. By comparison, neither Brown nor Wade averaged more than 16.2 points in any of their seasons with the Wildcats.
But that number is based on the entire season. If you go strictly by conference games, Pack ranks second in the league at 18.7 points per game behind only KU senior Ochai Ogbaji.
When those two players went head to head in the Sunflower Showdown earlier this season at Bramlage Coliseum, Pack out-dueled him by scoring a whopping 35 points. No Big 12 player has scored more in a game this year that ended in regulation.
Scoring isn’t the only highlight of Pack’s game, though.
He also leads the Big 12 in three-pointers made per game (3.3), ranks third in three-point shooting percentage (43.2%) and fifth in field-goal shooting percentage (45%).
One more thing: Pack had a signature moment in his last game when he made a deep three-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift K-State past Oklahoma State 71-68. That play went viral on social media as soon the final buzzer sounded.
So what are the odds he actually ends up on the All-Big 12 first team? That depends on how he closes out the season.
The Wildcats have nine games to play before the conference tournament, and Pack will need to perform at a higher level than some strong competition.
College basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy currently lists Izaiah Brockington, Christian Braun, James Akinjo, Taz Sherman and Agbaji as the top five players in the Big 12.
Most would probably still rank Pack in a group just below that, partially because he plays for a team that has been at or near the bottom of the Big 12 standings most of the season.
But Pack can change that narrative starting on Saturday when K-State plays at TCU. The Wildcats (11-10, 3-6 Big 12) entered the day in a four-way tie for sixth in the conference standings along with Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The more K-State wins down the stretch, the more attention will come Pack’s way.
And the better his All-Big 12 chances will become.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 3:06 PM with the headline "The case for Kansas State Wildcats guard Nijel Pack as a first-team All-Big 12 player."