Arent

[j2d2]

I wonder what Kruger saw in Arent? Whatever it was, I have so far missed it. He reminds me of Nick Thompson.

 

[pnkranger]

At the point Kruger took over, we had just completed two awful seasons, fired a young, cool coach, and had NCAA hanging over our heads.

We needed big bodies -- for practice and, potentially, games. Our options were Arent, the Green Giant, and Grimace of McDonald's fame.

 

[DenverSooner]

what is cool about losing, not controlling your team, and blaming the players?

To me Cool was Billy Tubbs not Jeff Capel. Cool was Barry Switzer not John Blake, Captain Kangaroo or Gary Gibbs.

 

[Stikboy]

what is cool about losing, not controlling your team, and blaming the players?

To me Cool was Billy Tubbs not Jeff Capel. Cool was Barry Switzer not John Blake, Captain Kangaroo or Gary Gibbs.

:clap

Why would anybody think Capel was cool? Because he is black? Because he went to JayZ concerts? "Dookie pedigree"? Because he made friends with the top recruits but had nary a snowball's chance to sign them? As Foghorn Leghorn would say Boy I say Boy that's just dumb!

 

[Mr.B!!!]

I wonder what Kruger saw in Arent? Whatever it was, I have so far missed it. He reminds me of Nick Thompson.

I think one of the things people tend to forget is that Arent himself said that he felt like he needed to redshirt this last season to improve his game when he signed with OU. Instead of getting what he wanted, he was asked to play right away and did so to try and help this team win games.

You see a guy who hasn't lived up to expectations that he himself had concerns about being able to meet when he signed, I see a guy who put the team goals in front of his own and did his best when he knew that his best might not be good enough this season. I'd be applauding Arent, not bashing him.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I think one of the things people tend to forget is that Arent himself said that he felt like he needed to redshirt this last season to improve his game when he signed with OU. Instead of getting what he wanted, he was asked to play right away and did so to try and help this team win games.

You see a guy who hasn't lived up to expectations that he himself had concerns about being able to meet when he signed, I see a guy who put the team goals in front of his own and did his best when he knew that his best might not be good enough this season. I'd be applauding Arent, not bashing him.

:clap

 

[j2d2]

I didnt know he wanted to redshirt - missed that. Good for him.

 

[pnkranger]

Just to set the record straight, I should have included quotes around "Cool." My intention was to imply that young recruits did think Capel was a cool coach, not that I thought his tenure here was particularly cool from a fan's standpoint.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

I didnt know he wanted to redshirt - missed that. Good for him.

I'm sorry if I was a little harsh. I just see two guys in Arent and Neal that are taking a bunch of grief on here lately. Arent wanted to redshirt because he didn't feel like he was ready to compete at this level and Neal probably should redshirt as he came to OU and was playing while he was still 17. I'd like to see them both get some time to grow next year, as I think both have talent, it may just take some time.

 

[Ham]

I think Arent and Neal do get too much grief around here.
They have been asked to play above their 'pay grade' so far. We'll see if they improve next year, but I can't blame Kruger for finding a big man that isn't awful. No, he hasn't been all that great either but he has potential to be a decent contributor.

The player that has vastly underwhelmed was a D1 starter before transferring here and has been nothing short of below average. And if Lon currently had a lot of options in recruiting, I'd suggest cutting him. But we don't.

As far as I can tell, we have about 4? offers out (not including players like Woodard that might switch) and would do good to get one of those guys.

 

[WTSooner]

Aren't could redshirt for 5 years and he wouldn't get much better. His problems/issues aren't something an extra year of practice will help. That seems pretty obvious to me.

 

[AdaSooner]

I think one of the things people tend to forget is that Arent himself said that he felt like he needed to redshirt this last season to improve his game when he signed with OU. Instead of getting what he wanted, he was asked to play right away and did so to try and help this team win games.

You see a guy who hasn't lived up to expectations that he himself had concerns about being able to meet when he signed, I see a guy who put the team goals in front of his own and did his best when he knew that his best might not be good enough this season. I'd be applauding Arent, not bashing him.

Exactly! Assuming what James Hale reported is accurate, Arent did indeed say he would like to redshirt his first season at OU. Kruger talked him into playing, and the rest is history. As you said, it's hard to blame a kid for putting the needs of the team ahead of what he wanted to do.

I'll also add that maybe Coach Kruger should have listened to Casey? It should be obvious to everyone by now that he was not ready to play at the D-1 level this year. I say that with the advantage of hindsight, of course. But it's a valid point nevertheless.

 

[thegreyghost]

Teams don't consist of 12 all-Americans that score 20ppg, need role players and players that practice hard

 

[scrybe]

I don't understand why anyone would compare Arent's one season at OU to Nick Thompson and his short-lived tenure at Norman. I never bashed Thompson because I thought he was a good kid and deserved better than he was getting from some of my ouhoops brethren. But he's gone now, so it's okay if we call a spade a spade. Poor Nick was playing above his pay grade and should have never been asked to try to contribute at a high major program like OU.

Arent, on the other hand, always played hard and never minded getting his hands dirty around the basket. The kid didn't overwhelm anyone with his talent, but you'd have to be blind not to recognize that he has at least some potential.

I hope he stays; heck, I hope Kruger WANTS him to stay. With another year to mature, to learn more about Lon's system and get schooled (don't mean that in a negative way) by players like Osby and M'Baye, I'd be willing to bet we'll see a much improved version of Casey next season.

 

[hoopsaustin]

ya i hope we use him for a graduation stat improvement. but honestly i would rather have thompson than arent.. arent is BAD... Puma is better than arent