4-17-2018: Update Roster Sorted by Class

[SoonerTraveler]

OU MEN’S BASKETBALL / PROJECTED 2018-19 ROSTER
13 Scholarship Players (Allowed 13)
As of May 19, 2018

Seniors (6 Scholarship Player)
> Jamuni McNeace (6-10, 222, C) … Allen, Texas / Kankakee, Illinois
> Christian James (6-4, 211, G) … Houston, TX / Bellaire HS
> Rashard Odomes (6-6, 217, G) … Copperas Cove, TX
> Aaron Calixte (5-11, 187, G) ... Stoughton, Mass / Univ. of Maine
> Miles Reynolds (6-2, 170, G) ... Chicago / St. Louis Univ. / Pacific
> Ty Lazenby (6-5, 209, G) … Northern Oklahoma Juco / Glencoe, Oklahoma

Juniors (3)
> Kristian Doolittle (6-7, 236, F) ... Edmond, OK (Memorial High School)
> Matt Freeman (6-10, 229, F) … Auckland, New Zealand
> Kur Kuath (6-9; 173; F) … Salt Lake City CC / Kearns, Utah

Redshirt/Transfer (1)
> Austin Reaves (6-5, 175, G) ... Newark, Arkansas / Wichita State

Sophomores (2)
> Brady Manek (6-9, 210, F) … Harrah, Oklahoma
> Hannes Pöllä (6-11, 271, C) … Lahti, Finland (Helsinki Basketball Academy)

Freshmen (1)
> Jamal Bieniemy (6-3; 170; G) … Katy, Texas

Maturity and Experience: Five of the six guards on the roster are seniors. Nine of the scholarship players are upperclassmen.

 

[BoulderSooner]

thanks traveler i am going to pin this pending a change

 

[oudna]

Quickly going from one of youngest teams in conference to one of oldest

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

Quickly going from one of youngest teams in conference to one of oldest

I actually like this quite a lot.

And I like that the team will have 7 scholarships to give in 2019.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Interesting take from the Tulsa World
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsext...cle_525a24be-367d-5e8e-8a6c-6b5390670fa3.html

From Tulsa World / Position Outlook

Point guard: Calixte is likely to assume the reins, and he will bring experience and poise to the position. He isn’t likely to be as dynamic as Young, but Calixte is a solid shooter who can continue to run OU’s offense at a fast pace. Calixte is also known as a scrappy defender. Beyond Calixte, Pacific grad transfer Miles Reynolds and incoming freshman Jamal Bienemy are capable combo guards who could contend to spent time playing on the ball. Walk-on Chris Giles has even shown some promise in practice.

Shooting guard: Christian James will return next year, and though OU has many pieces who will need to improve, the fate of the 2018-19 Sooners could be in James’ hands. James scored 11.9 points per game last season, but can he blossom into a scoring star? Can he become more than a spot-up shooter? James has a chance to have a big year, but he’ll need to mirror the improvements he made last offseason. Reynolds and Bieniemy are both likely to see playing time, as Reynolds is a capable shooter and slashing guard. Bieneimy appears to be a well-rounded player with a high ceiling. That means Ty Lazenby will have to improve from a limited first year at OU in order to crack the rotation.

Small forward: Rashard Odomes is OU’s best (only?) reliable on-ball defender. He has experience, and he’s shown scoring potential. But Odomes needs to become a better shooter and more consistent scorer. He’s the only OU player truly built in the mold of a 3, so it will be interesting to see how Lon Kruger slots his rotation. Could Kristian Doolittle, Brady Manek, or even James and Bienemy also see time at small forward? Or can Matt Freeman reemerge as a 3-point specialist?

Power forward: This is perhaps OU’s most interesting position. Brady Manek averaged 10.2 points as a freshman, but wasn’t the same player in the second half of the season. Doolittle has the potential to be a premium defender and rebounder, but was suspended for the first half of 2017-18 and never truly looked comfortable. Manek and Doolitte will likely battle for a starting spot, but both have key roles, and it’s possible Manek’s shooting could be better served coming off the bench. Junior college forward Kur Kuath is also a rangy rim protector who could play the 4, but it’s hard to know how quickly he will adjust to the Division I game.

Center: OU will lean on Jamuni McNeace to finally reach his potential, and if he does, the Sooners are suddenly in much better shape than you might think. McNeace is one of the most athletic big men in the country and looked the part at times late in the season. Can he perform at a consistent level and maybe even be an all-conference type player next year? We’ll see, but the bigger question is likely behind McNeace. Hannes Polla is a massive body who often dominated the glass in OU practices. He had six rebounds in four minutes against Kansas. Polla also has unique potential, but his basketball IQ and overall coordination need big improvements for him to see reliable minutes. Kuath could also seize time off the bench, but OU needs one of these players to become a reliable post option.

 

[CoachTalk]

I actually like this quite a lot.

And I like that the team will have 7 scholarships to give in 2019.

1. Harmon
2. Wilson
3. McCullar
4. Timme
5. Harvey (ku) likely
6. williamson (ku) likely
7. Germany from Kingston similar to Manek.

I know getting all these guys would be nearly impossible and you'd need a couple grad transfers to throw some maturity in there.

 

[Swans]

ONE returning experienced backcourt player for 2019-20!!!!!

 

[dsuits]

1. Harmon
2. Wilson
3. McCullar
4. Timme
5. Harvey (ku) likely
6. williamson (ku) likely
7. Germany from Kingston similar to Manek.

I know getting all these guys would be nearly impossible and you'd need a couple grad transfers to throw some maturity in there.

Hey CoachTalk, what's your thoughts on Timme? A top 150 player with some quality offers (247sports shows no OU offer). His film looks pretty good to me. Kinda reminded me of K-state Wade skill wise on offense. I couldn't get a good read on how physical he is down low based off the clips i saw but looks like a guy that can score and pass at all levels. Fair to say at this stage more of a versatile face up post?

Potentially this could be a monster class if we can get some chips to fall. It'd be nice if Wilson would jump on board with Harmon early to give this class a turbo boost of momentum. If we can get/keep those two on board it can make it much easier to close on some other quality players IMO.

1. C-Will Baker
2. F-Timme
3. F-Wilson
4. G-McCullar
5. G-Harmon
6. Multi year/Grad Transfer
7. Transfer/Juco/HS sleeper
8. The to be announced Texas A&M National Champs plaque switched to OU Basketball and all is right in the world. Make it happen CoachTalk!

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

1. Harmon
2. Wilson
3. McCullar
4. Timme
5. Harvey (ku) likely
6. williamson (ku) likely
7. Germany from Kingston similar to Manek.

I know getting all these guys would be nearly impossible and you'd need a couple grad transfers to throw some maturity in there.

If we could grab of those and throw in a grad transfer and maybe a regular transfer...it would be a great haul.

 

[MercedeSooner]

next year better be a big year recruiting wise.

 

[918sooner]

I think we could have a better record than last year when it’s all said and done. Maybe not as high of a ceiling but last years ceiling didn’t work. I think Doolittle could dominate.

 

[lexusooner]

We’ll have 6 SRs this year and we’ll put perform expectations- we also need a HUGE recruiting class

 

[lexusooner]

We will win 16 to 18 games next year. I predict we play well at home and Pull at least 1 big upset. Have a breakout performer make All B12
We have 6 seniors with lots of minutes played.. Experience counts. I’ve got OU with 17 wins in an NIT performance in 2018.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

next year better be a big year recruiting wise.

So far; so good.