Kansas State guard P.J. Haggerty (4) shoots during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Utah, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

MORGANTOWN — On a leaderboard filled with names who will likely be selected in future NBA drafts, Kansas State’s P.J. Haggerty looks down on them all.

He’s the No. 1 scorer in a Big 12 that is suddenly filled with offensive firepower.

“I think he’s the best point guard in America,” K-State coach Jerome Tang said earlier this season. “And he might be the best player in America. I don’t get to vote on that, but I wouldn’t want anybody else.”

The 6-foot-4 guard averages 23.4 points per game. Also in the Big 12, there are future lottery picks in BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa (23.2) and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson (21.6), not to mention last season’s conference Player of the Year in Texas Tech’s J.T. Toppin (22.1), as well as Baylor’s Cameron Carr (20.4) and Utah’s Terrence Brown (22.2).

Yet, Haggerty’s climb to becoming the Big 12’s top scorer did not come with hype, hoopla and recruiting stars attached to his name coming out of Crosby (Texas) High School.

He was a mildly-recruited kid back then, signing first with TCU, but entered the transfer portal after playing in just six games as a freshman. There were stops along the way at Tulsa and then Memphis. That’s where Haggerty’s scoring began to soar and it made him the No. 1-ranked transfer this season when he again entered the portal.

And WVU head coach Ross Hodge knows Haggerty well, having coached against him for two seasons when both player and coach were competing in the American Conference.

“He’s an incredible individual talent and does such a good job of drawing fouls,” Hodge said. “They do a good job of putting the ball in his hands in space and he’s got shooters around him. He’s an extremely tough cover.”

That seems to be the case more and more in the Big 12 this season. Once defined by elite defense when the league was at just 10 teams, the expanded Big 12 has also seemed to expand its offensive mindset, in that there are 10 players in the conference currently averaging at least 18 points per game, Arizona averages 90 points as a team and 11 teams in the Big 12 average at least 80 points per game.

The top defensive team in the league – Houston – made it to the national title game last season on the back of its defense. The Cougars just allowed 90 points against Texas Tech on Saturday, something it hasn’t done since an overtime victory against Texas A&M in the 2024 NCAA tournament, a string of 60 games.

“The skill level of players today and the ability to shoot the ball from multiple positions is challenging to defenses,” said Hodge, whose Mountaineers are second in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing just 64.3 points. “The other side of it, is if you look at the top teams in the Big 12; Arizona is ranked third in adjusted defense. Iowa State is right up there. Houston is right up there, so some of it remains that the best defensive teams have the best chance to win this league.”

With Haggerty, Kansas State (10-10, 1-6 Big 12) is one of those Big 12 teams averaging more than 80 points per game, but the Wildcats are also one of three teams in the conference allowing at least 80 per game, as well.

Two seasons ago, Haggerty went for 20 points in a loss against Hodge’s North Texas team when Haggerty was at Tulsa. Last season at Memphis, he scored 27 in a victory against the Mean Green.

And it leaves Hodge with a major decision when WVU hosts the Wildcats on Tuesday, one that he also faced against Kansas with Peterson and will face in the days to come against BYU and Dybantsa and Texas Tech and Toppin: Do the Mountaineers focus on the player with the big-points potential or on holding down the other four players on the court?

“That’s the question you have to decide going into it,” Hodge said. “Haggerty is such a good passer and he’s got one of the best assist rates in the country. Do you give him all your attention and then that opens up the game for all the other guys or do you say, ‘Hey, let’s see if this one player has the ability to beat us?’ He certainly has the capability of doing that.

“Like so many great players out there, they put you in a better or worse, as far as game planning against them. There’s not one simple answer. Great players don’t allow for simple answers.”

If the game does turn into a track meet, WVU will need its leading scorer in Honor Huff to get back to form. Huff hasn’t scored 20 or more since Jan. 10 against Kansas. He’s shooting a combined 32% from the field over his last four games.

“We keep telling him to make the simple play, don’t press and let the game come to you,” Hodge said. “We don’t want him to feel like he’s got to force the issue. It’s a long game and the game always opens up for good players. He’s just got to stay aggressive. It can be frustrating at times when you’re getting face-guarded all over the floor, but that’s when trust in your teammates and allowing that to open up other things for other guys has been a big part of our growth as a team.”