2012-2013 OU Men's Basketball Roster

[WTSooner]

I definitely do know where M'Baye is going to play this year and the development of other players at the 4 and the 3 will be a big determinant of where he will play.

What I do know is that I attended a dozen or so practices last season and in scrimmages M'Baye played the 3 75%+ of the time. It seems to me that Kruger would know have spent an entire redshirt season having M'Baye develop a perimeter game unless he expected to utilize him there. There is not question Fitz, Osby and M'Baye will be on the court together a bunch.

Also M'Baye is definitely more than an inch taller than either Osby or Fitz. Of course, Fitz and Osby could be closer tom 6'71/2" and not 6'8" as listed.

It's funny how people can interpret the same "act" a bunch of different ways.

Kruger said he had M'Baye working at the 3 to improve his perimeter skills. That is easier to do if you are on the perimeter the ENTIRE practice, rather than just at times, as he would as the 4.

We also know that our "non-starters" last year consisted of Blair, Neal, M'Baye, Aren't, and Washington. See anything unusual there? Yep, Blair is the only true guard on the bench, so in order to be able to practice against a decent scout team, M'Baye on the wing was a must.

I'm in the camp that Kruger wants M'Baye to be a 4 that can spread the floor a bit, by stepping outside. No better way to prepare him for that then to put him outside during most of practice. He can play the 4, and still get the ball outside of 15 feet, and be expected to score it. M'Baye is probably going to be the best or second best rebounder on the team next year. Why in the world would we want him standing 20 feet from the rim on both ends of the court, when a shot is taken? Put that man inside.

JMO of course. And Gary, don't bother "correcting" me, I know you disagree.

 

[garyeb2]

WT, I don't know where M'Baye is going to play. All I know is that he spent the entire year practicing outside and that he would make the team better if that is where he played and Cam sat down.

At the same time I'm aware that he played the #4 at Wyoming. And that if he played there he would make the team better. I think that he is better than either Fitz or Cam at their positions.

You had it right when you said that his role will to a large part be influenced by how others developed. And I agreed with that.

 

[AdaSooner]

Thanks for putting this together, what jumps out at me immediately is that we have a lot more height on the roster than we did last year with eight players listed at 6'6" or taller. Not that it is the be all end all, but it is of some value.

That jumped out at me as well, Mr.B!!! That's especially true in our front court where six of seven players are 6' 4" or better. It's not as easy to shoot over tall, lanky guards and wings who are also athletic and quick enough to defend the lane as well as shots from the perimeter.

Coach Kruger has done a commendable job of creating competition for playing time at every position this fall. And I do mean, every position. I honestly do not believe that any player on the team can afford to rest on his accomplishments of the past or the fact that he was a starter last year or the year before. This will be a new season under a coach who will have a lot more options to draw from than he did last year.

I'm not suggesting that the starting lineup up, except for M'Baye of course, will be dramatically different when the season tips off in November. But, I will be very surprised if we don't see some dramatic changes in the seven to nine man rotation as the season progresses. In other words, I believe that every player on the team will have to work his tail off for minutes, regardless of class.

I see that as a very good thing!