Depth chart by position

[SoonerNorm]

The only way Ellenburg does not start is if she is injured.

I agree. The only two players I'm sure will start are Morgan and Aaryn. I believe Sharane will start and I hope that Maddie does. I expect Griffin and Kaylon will compete for the starting job at center.

 

[sybarite]

I have never seen Sherri implement wholesale substitutions and I doubt she will do so this year either.

I don't know that Sherri has had the personnel. If anything, I think the incoming talent more approximates what Sherri wants for a style than it had been.

Assume that you start:
Griffin
Williams
Manning
Ellenberg
Hook

That team changes character if you substitute Kornet for Griffin, moving Williams to the post. Portia would have a similar result. If you pull Hook, Edwards or Manning would be more aggressive. You have a different team by subbing.

Where do you sub Sharane? What is the nature of the team if she is in for Maddie or Aaryn?

Then, you look at the incoming kids. Edwards is a defender. But, the rest are somewhat of gunners. Are they just going to sit for a year? I don't see Gioya, Shaya, or D'Ona sitting. Derica is too effective as a scorer to sit.

If you have seven, you play seven. What do you do if you do have thirteen? Thirteen players will not sit and wait for a year.

I think Sherri's favorite style kind of went by the wayside when we got Courtney. Sherri is more of a guard-oriented coach who likes to attack. She hasn't really had the numbers. I think she is putting together her type of team, and I think Felisha is what I would expect. She doesn't surprise me.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

I think the two spots we will see Maddie most at is point and the 4.

Why do I say that?

We need a proven back-up point guard. Maddie was playing that slot last season before her injury.

While she also played the 3, and while she is long and lean, I think Sherri may try her at the four because of her speed and quickness and because she's got a good shot from all over the court. She is tall enough to bang a bit inside. She can drive the ball.

My guess is Maddie will be able to rebound in that spot as good as anyone else we could have out there, with the probably exception of Kay-Kay. And we all would do well to remember that Kay-Kay is coming back from one of the worst injuries you can have as an athlete. I don't think she's going to see a whole lot of time until conference play.

I say it again, Maddie is the only player we have most like Hand.

There's is also no way I don't see Sharane in the starting 5. She will be. She has proven we can't afford to keep her off the court. While Sharane has played the 4, I think she's more suited to the 3 because of her size.

With Maddie at the 4, Sharane at the 3 and Kay-Kay and/or Nicole G. at 5, I think we have the best five players on the court as a unit.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Here are the players I think will be in the rotation during conference play:

Morgan
Aaryn
Kornet
Sharane
Maddie
Kaylon
Griffin
Durrett

Sherri has seldom played more than 8 players significant minutes when the games are close. I do expect the freshmen to play during the non-conference games but very little during close games. But, when the games are on the line, I expect Sherri to do what she has generally done in the past and that is to go with experience. Unless we have a really good freshman (I don't know who that might be), then I expect the upper-classmen to garner the majority of the available minutes. Of the freshmen, I would think Clark might get the most minutes but that's just a guess at this point.

 

[soonerstar]

I concur with your post, Norm. But who is Clark?

 

[SoonerNorm]

I concur with your post, Norm. But who is Clark?

Ooops, I meant Carter. I only say she might see some minutes because Rocjunkie has seen her play and was impressed. The problem is, she will be competing with players like Aaryn, Kornet, Sharane, and perhaps Maddie for playing time so it will be tough for her to get decent minutes in close games but if any of the freshmen get time in conference play, I think it might be her.

 

[Speedy17]

Here are the players I think will be in the rotation during conference play:

Morgan
Aaryn
Kornet
Sharane
Maddie
Kaylon
Griffin
Durrett

Sherri has seldom played more than 8 players significant minutes when the games are close. I do expect the freshmen to play during the non-conference games but very little during close games. But, when the games are on the line, I expect Sherri to do what she has generally done in the past and that is to go with experience. Unless we have a really good freshman (I don't know who that might be), then I expect the upper-classmen to garner the majority of the available minutes. Of the freshmen, I would think Clark might get the most minutes but that's just a guess at this point.

I agree with you Norm.

I don't think Maddie will be playing inside. She is way too thin which is why she played outside in high schoo. I fear her getting posted up by a 220 pound forward. I think they will rotate Kaylon, Griffin, and Durrett inside. If there is a fourth player inside, it most likely will be Kornet or Sharane (because she plays bigger than she is and loves contact).

The others will rotate at the 1, 2, and 3. Maddie has the ability to be a point forward which will assist in the ball handling.

I expect the following lineup but it is dependent on Kaylon being healthy.

C Griffin Bench - Durrett
PF Kaylon Bench - Durrett
SF Maddie or Sharane Bench-Kornet
SG Vegas Bench-Maddie or Kornet
PG Morgan Bench-Maddie

There are a lot of interchangeable parts here and Sherri could go small at any moment in the game with 4 guards and either Griffin or Kaylon. The big question is Kaylon's health.

 

[sybarite]

Although Sherri likes to go with veterans, there is the side to Sherri that tends to work freshmen into the lineup rather quickly. Of course, there was Courtney. But, there were also Jenna, Whitney, Danielle, and Maddie, each of whom started as freshmen, although maybe not in the first game.

If everyone were firmly established, I might have difficult seeing a lot of contribution from freshmen. But, I don't know if everyone is that established. I think Griffin, Aaryn, and Morgan are fixtures. But, let's look at some of the other positions and possibilities.

We really don't know if Kaylon is recovered. We also don't know whether she has developed any. Can we assume that she will start over Portia, who certainly didn't establish herself last year? If anything, Kornet may have flashed some talent and determination that might result in sufficient improvement to gain a starting role. How far has she come? If you saw Shaya against the Miami AAU team last year, she has demonstrated the ability to operate against people of size who have a good reputation. She may be more than some think. Right now, I don't know how I would rank these players since I don't know how far they have come, both in development and from injury. I think they will be "the power forward," when we do use a power forward this year.

Had Maddie played last year, I think she would be the best player on the team this year. She didn't, and I don't know how the injury has affected her yet, physically and mentally. If she is healthy, I think she starts at the wing or small forward.

From what I have read, Gioya seems to be Sharane with better handles, but maybe less power. I'm not going to underrate Gioya since Sherri seemed really happy with her.

I don't think we recruited D'Ona to sit on the bench a year. If anything, Sherri has seemed to have a propensity to use a freshman at the point if she has the capability. If she is what Sherri wants, I see her as getting quite a bit of time. She also seems to be quite different from Morgan, a vicious defender who likes pressure defense.

I think D'Ona, Gioya, and Shaya have the possibility of seeing a lot of time as freshmen. I disagree that Sherri doesn't use freshmen, and I just don't see that some of the players are as established in their roles yet. Some are really just that---role players who have been used to cover a situation.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I tend to think that when Sherri signed Edwards she was not planning on moving Maddie to the point but, of course, that could change if Edwards is not yet ready for D-1 action.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Right now, I would say we have one elite player in Aaryn. We really need one more. I think our best hope is that Sharane or Maddie will become that type of player. They both have good athleticism and both have proven they can score although Maddie has very limited experience. Sharane is our best defender, IMO. We just need for one of them to become very consistent offensively and at times be able to put the team on their back and dominate.

 

[61sooner]

With at least 3 Srs as starters, is this the last year before a major rebuilding of the team with the younger players on the squad?

 

[rocjunkie]

With at least 3 Srs as starters, is this the last year before a major rebuilding of the team with the younger players on the squad?

Not necessarily, We have a solid core in Maddie, Kaylon, Page, Kornet, and the potential freshmen coming in. Our biggest need will be to get a really good "Big" that can rebound and control the middle. We have the shooters, we just need a presence in the middle to help Kaylon and Shaya. JMHO

 

[sybarite]

We will have three seniors. But, they keys to this team will be how the others fit into the scheme this year. We aren't going anywhere this year unless we have some freshmen and sophomores come through. I don't think the real talent on this team will be among the seniors. They will be a foundation. But, this team will be built on what others develop, and we will only be as good as people like Maddie, Nicole Kornet, Kaylon, Sharane, and maybe Shaya and Gioya.

With Felisha, Kaylon, and Shaya, maybe Kornet, I'm not so sure that we will be super concerned about big players like the board wants. They are big enough if they play big enough, bigger than Notre Dame's interior. I will be very surprised if we have anyone averaging 35 minutes this year.

 

[SoonerNorm]

With at least 3 Srs as starters, is this the last year before a major rebuilding of the team with the younger players on the squad?

Whenever you lose Aaryn, Morgan, and Griffin, I believe the loss will certainly be felt. Aaryn is one of the best scorers in the league. Morgan is a very solid PG. Griffin isn't a great player but she has shown improvement every year. If Sherri doesn't sign a center this year, I think there is a real possibility she will have to go the juco route. If Sherri signs Ortiz, that should shore up the point for the next 4 years.

 

[j2d2]

It seems that all agree that our real key and question is , How well will KK and Maddie recover and how much will they improve? So much depends on those two guys.

 

[SoonerNorm]

It seems that all agree that our real key and question is , How well will KK and Maddie recover and how much will they improve? So much depends on those two guys.

I agree. We know that Maddie has been cleared to play but I haven't heard anything about Kaylon. Hopefully, we will get some good news about her soon.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

I actually wouldn't be surprised if Kay-Kay is not a factor until very late in the season, if at all. The achilles tear -- man that's asking a little much, IMO, for her to come back at full playing capability within a year.

We need her, so I hope I'm wrong, but I am not hopeful.

Maddie is a different story. She should be back 100 percent by conference.

 

[atlantasooner]

Some great depth chart breakdowns.
The real question in my mind is can Shaya Kellogg log any minutes at 4
which would allow OU to play a "bigs" lineup of
Kellogg with Griffin
or Kellogg with Kay-Kay.

If Shaya cannot get those minutes, then the "big" 4 guard lineup and the depth needed there becomes more relevant.