The 2009-10 college basketball season witnessed one of the most ferocious renaissances of the blocked shot. You had Mississippi State center Jarvis Varnado finishing off his record setting, shot blocking career; Hassan Whiteside being a shot blocking phenom, and excellent shot blocking from players like Hamady N'Daiye and Patrick Sullivan. Even the Big 12 got in the act with Ekpe Udoh and Cole Aldrich. All of those players are now out of college basketball and a shot blocking vacuum was left. The Big 12 still has plenty of fantasy value on the other side of the ball, but it isn't like it was last season. Let's take a look at a few of the defenders who can help your team with their defense
Tristan Thompson, F, Texas
Texas as a team was more talented in 2009-10, but they fell apart in Big 12 play. They are a younger team this season, but the parts fit together much better. A big reason for that improvement is the arrival of Thompson, a 6-foot-8 Canadian, who is doing a lot of the dirty work for the Longhorns. The freshman is leading the Big 12 with 2.6 blocks and adds 1.0 steals to his statistical resume (which also includes 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds). Thompson has blocked at least one shot in all but two games and has not fouled out yet despite his aggressiveness. He is easily the most valuable freshman in the Big 12, but he may not be as flashy as Josh Selby.
Dogus Balbay, G, Texas
The Turkish point guard has struggled with knee injuries and finding a consistent role in his three years in Austin. This year, he has continued to start, but he is mostly being asked to provide excellent perimeter defense and not much else. Fortunately, Balbay has excelled in his role and has been a real pest to opposing point guards. For fantasy purposes, he is not very valuable. He only plays 18.0 minutes per game and his 4.6-point, 2.5-assists, and 1.0-steal averages are not going to help. However, it is worth paying attention to him if he is opposing your player because you might want to think twice about starting someone going against Balbay.
Missouri backcourt
Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon, Phil Pressey
For most fantasy purposes, Mike Anderson's Tigers are somewhat devalued. The minutes are spread around because they play such a hectic style (only Denmon plays more than 30 minutes) and the system has helped forwards more than guards in the past. This year, however, the team has three guards averaging more than 1 steals with Denmon and Dixon providing 2.0 thefts per game. Denmon, a 6-foot-3 junior, is the star of the squad. He averages 16.7 points and has 12 steals in his last four games. He has only been held to under ten points three times (most recently against Texas and Balbay). Dixon has not been as consistent as Denmon and missed a pair of games in December because of a suspension. In addition to his thievery, the 6-foot-1 sophomore leads the team with 4.2 assists and scores 10.3 points. Pressey, the freshman son of former NBA baller Paul, is averaging 1.7 steals despite being limited to 21.1 minutes. He missed four games around the turn of the calendar with a broken finger, but has shown the ability to lead the offense as well (4.0 assists).
A.J. Walton, G, Baylor
Walton has filled the void left by Tweety Carter, who ran out of eligibility after last year. Walton is not the offensive player that Carter was, but he leaves plenty of shots for his teammates. The 6-foot-1 sophomore leads the conference with 2.2 steals and sets up a team that has generally not been known for defense in the past. Walton not only leads the Bear defense, but sets up the offense with 5.4 assists and 8.7 points. The native of Little Rock needs to temper his aggressiveness a bit because he has fouled out of three games (including two of the last three). On the other hand, that assertiveness has led to four games of four steals or more (topping out at five in a Jan. 11 win over Oklahoma).
Jamie Vanderbeken, F, Iowa State
We started with a Canadian, so we might as well finish with one as well. The 6-foot-11 native of Ontario redshirted last season after just ten games, so he was able to gain one last year of eligibility. He is making the most of it with 1.9 blocks to go along with 11.1 points and 5.5 rebounds. While he is not from Europe, he certainly plays like a European big and has taken more than half of his shots from three-point land (converting 42.6% of them). His production on both ends of the court is inconsistent. He has had games of five and six blocks, but has provided just eight rejections in his last eight games (all against conference foes, only one of which the Cyclones won). He has also scored more than 20 points four times, but has been held to five points or fewer three times in his last four games. If you time his production just right, he can be a useful fantasy player.