It's the elephant in the room no one really wants to discuss, but there's no escaping the question: Will Oklahoma State continue to be successful now that star point guard Andrea Riley is gone?
In her four seasons, Riley took a program that had gone 0-16 in Big 12 play the season before she arrived to three NCAA tournament berths, reaching the round of 16 in 2008. She finished her career as the conference's leading career scorer with 2,835 points.
Riley also brought a level of expectation to Oklahoma State's program, so much so that league coaches picked the Cowgirls to finish eighth in the power-packed conference even though they have as many freshmen on the roster (six) as they do returning letter-winners.
Seven teams from the Big 12 made the NCAA tournament last season, so even without Riley, league foes don't think Oklahoma State - which was 24-11 last season and fell to Georgia in the second round of the NCAAs - is too far from another trip to the tournament.
Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke is hopeful, but wonders if his team will be that good again this season.
''It is a true rebuilding year,'' Budke said. ''Let's not kid ourselves. It is. ... I don't think anybody in our league had someone that we ran everything through like we did. We ran everything through Andrea, so we have to make a total change. But as I say that, as a coaching staff, we're having a lot of fun.
''This league does not feel sorry for you because you have a lot of freshmen so we're going to have to find a way to get it done with the group we have.''
The job of taking over for Riley at point guard will fall to two freshmen, Tiffany Bias and Carissa Crutchfield. Bias was one of Kansas' top high school players last season and led Andover Central to undefeated seasons as a sophomore and senior. Crutchfield, from Fort Gibson, led her team to four straight state tournament berths.
Bias knew the question about Riley was coming and had a ready answer.
''Andrea, she's a great player. You can't replace her,'' Bias said. ''No one can replace her. All I can do is sub in and play my game, make good plays and make everyone better on the floor.''
Added Crutchfield: ''Riley did a lot for this program. ... We have to come in and keep it going.''
Not only did the Cowgirls lose Riley's 26.7 points per game, they also lost their second-leading scorer, Tegan Cunningham, who averaged 16.7 points per game. Senior forward Precious Robinson is Oklahoma State's top returning scorer at 7.9 points per game.
Replacing those lost points must be a community effort, Budke said, and the freshmen will be asked to provide some offense.
''You're going to look up, I promise you, at some point in time, there will be five freshmen on the floor. It's going to happen,'' Budke said. ''They've got to play. ... We told them they had to come in ready to play right away.''
One reassuring thing for Budke and the returning players is that they know they can win without Riley, who was suspended and sat out the first NCAA tournament game last season against Chattanooga. The Cowgirls won 70-63 behind a season-high 22 points from forward Toni Young, who figures to have an expanded role this season as a sophomore.
''A lot more will be expected out of me,'' Young said. ''This season will be pretty much like that game. It showed that we didn't have to rely on (Riley) every game. We know that other people on the team can score.''
Oklahoma State opens the season Nov. 13, hosting Texas Southern.
