The past always looks so good. Baby boomers talk of the days when you could see the Saturday picture show for only a nickel. Four TV channels plays old to be bigger than it is now.

For the Big 12 Conference, the past has never looked better. In 2002 and 2003, the conference got six teams in the NCAA tournament and two in the Final Four each season. Those two years seem further away than Model T’s and rotary telephones after this week of chaos.

With the departure of Bob Huggins at Kansas State and Billy Gillispie at Texas A&M, the Big 12 will struggle in the near future. Assuming Kevin Durant leaves Texas, only Kansas and Kansas State will likely make the NCAA tournament. The Longhorns have a chance if their players can develop without Durant.

The Wildcats aren’t a lock yet. Not with Frank Martin.

K-State’s new head coach has the experience of a bellboy. Oh wait, according to the official Web site of Kansas State Athletics, he did more than just carry suitcases and book travel plans last year as Huggins’ assistant coach. Martin was responsible for the “daily development of the program’s big men.” He did a great job too.

Martin turned freshman center Jason Bennett from a top-50 recruit into a stiff, whose successful games were ones in which he didn’t throw a temper tantrum. K-State’s other highly touted big guy, Luis Colon, averaged two points per game.

Martin does have head coaching experience at the high school level. He coached Miami High in the mid-1990s. Again, Kansas State praises his three state titles and especially his 1998 season. That year the Stingarees went 36-1 and finished No. 2 in USA Today’s national poll.

But they forgot to mention that Miami High had to forfeit its state title and that its record was changed to 0-37. Oops.

Martin allegedly gave fake addresses for players such as Steve Blake and Udonis Haslem, both who are now in the NBA, so they could play at Miami High.

“This is one of the most, if not the most, blatant violations of FHSAA rules,” said Ron Davis, head of the FHSAA, to the Miami New Times in 1998.

Huh, Martin bends the rules to win. Since when does K-State hire coaches with sketchy pasts?

But we know Martin didn’t get hired because of a great track record. He got hired because he can baby-sit Bill Walker and Michael Beasley for one year. They’ll be the ones calling the shots.

K-State might be good in spite of Martin next season, but success won’t last long. Assistants rarely make good coaches at major Division I programs.

Iowa State made assistant Wayne Morgan head coach after it forced out Larry Eustachy in 2003 so the Cyclones could hold onto talents Curtis Stinson and Will Blalock. Morgan made one NCAA tournament in three seasons.

Texas A&M could fall into the same trap as Kansas State and Iowa State. The Aggies are supposedly looking to name their new coach from within. It might not even matter who they hire. Gillispie gave the basketball program its first NCAA tournament appearances since the 1980s. Texas A&M will not be able to replicate that success in the near future unless John Wooden comes out of retirement.

None of the other Big 12 programs will rival Wooden’s UCLA teams either. Missouri coach Mike Anderson found it hard to win with full-court pressure in a major conference. Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel ended the Sooners’ 26-year postseason streak in his first year. Nebraska doesn’t appear close to making its seventh NCAA tournament berth in school history. Oklahoma State collapsed this season and won’t have Mario Boggan back for next year.

Colorado will surprise people. The Buffaloes couldn’t have hired a better coach in Jeff Bzdelik. Bzdelik led Air Force to an NIT semifinal and an NCAA tournament appearance in two seasons. Before that he coached the Denver Nuggets to the playoffs and only got fired because Carmelo Anthony clashed with him. Bzdelik will have Colorado in the top half of the conference in his second season.

The Big 12 will be down, but that won’t hurt Kansas. The Jayhawks, who could possibly be without sophomore stars Julian Wright and Brandon Rush, could be among the top 10 teams in the nation. It won’t matter that they’ll steamroll most of their conference foes. If Florida played Prairie View A&M for 16 games this season, it still would have won the NCAA tournament. The Gators were better than every other team. As long as the Jayhawks play a tough nonconference slate, they’ll be fine in the postseason.

They’ll also give the Big 12 its only shot at earning respect.

Dent is an Overland Park sophomore in journalism.

— Edited by Ryan Schneider