Expectations

[steverocks35]

What are everyone’s expectations for Sooner basketball moving forward? Are we okay with being outside the top 25, finishing in the middle of the pack and being on the Bubble? Are we okay with beating lots of bad/mediocre teams but not really having a chance against good teams like KU and occasionally being blown out by marginal teams like Iowa State? I’m personally not okay with it, and I don’t know if it will change any time soon. Next year, the year after? I don’t see a lot of evidence that it will change....

 

[thebigabd]

Mine are always consistent...

• First round bye in the Big 12 tournament
• Challenge for and/or win the Big 12 Tournament title
• Defeat rivals (Oklahoma State, Texas)
• Play ORU and Tulsa every year and complete the Oklahoma sweep
• See what happens in March

If you do those things, a lot of other things take care of themselves. You'll be in the top 25, you will get a lot of coverage, you will get "Big Monday" appearances, you will get a good seed in March, etc.

 

[daqman]

The current state of the program is not ok. I do not expect it to change until Lon is replaced.
My biggest concern is the continued decay of our fan base and what it will mean for the long term prognosis for the program.

 

[steverocks35]

Mine are always consistent...

• First round bye in the Big 12 tournament
• Challenge for and/or win the Big 12 Tournament title
• Defeat rivals (Oklahoma State, Texas)
• Play ORU and Tulsa every year and complete the Oklahoma sweep
• See what happens in March

If you do those things, a lot of other things take care of themselves. You'll be in the top 25, you will get a lot of coverage, you will get "Big Monday" appearances, you will get a good seed in March, etc.

These are all reasonable expectations

 

[thebigabd]

These are all reasonable expectations

I would also call into question what OU's record is since Sampson without NBA All-Stars on the team. What is the record in seasons with no Blake, Buddy, or Trae?

A coach at OU must be able to achieve program objectives consistently without outlier talent. OU will never have these types of players consistently.

 

[steverocks35]

I would also call into question what OU's record is since Sampson without NBA All-Stars on the team. What is the record in seasons with no Blake, Buddy, or Trae?

A coach at OU must be able to achieve program objectives consistently without outlier talent. OU will never have these types of players consistently.

Also reasonable to ask that question and hold the coaching staff to account for the answers.

 

[soonerjunky]

I think Lon has done an absolutely amazing job getting this team back on track after Capel left it in a mess. Lon has run a clean program and has shown the ability to recruit a few highly ranked players. However, I think he has maxed out what this team can be and it is probably time or close to time for OU and Kruger to look towards the future. Is Kellen Sampson an option? Hollis Price? I'd personally welcome Kelvin back.

Time to look for a long term fix, IMO.

 

[sanguinetti]

agree that Lon has been a strong positive for OU basketball and the situation he inherited. i am a fan of Lon as a human being, seems like a heckuva good guy. proud to have him representing OU. also agree that we seem to be stuck in on the bubble/bad conference performance neutral. and from there it's a lot easier to go down than up.

don't think a change needs to be made today but it's fair to be direct about where we are.

i am not in favor of a "back to the past glory" hire or an alum. get the best coach available, if a change is made. not a believer in homecoming hires. 4/5 fail miserably and school/team in a much worse situ than before.

 

[Soonerinkc]

all good....

I definitely think it's at the end of Lon's career. He was hired to do what he did...(add Coale as well)

I'd expect top 35 every year...
top 25 every couple years
top 15/10 once every 4/5 years

top half of big 12 most years
post season every year...hell, we had a 26? yr streak going...top in the country at one point

make elite 8 every 4/5 years..

maybe too much....for a football school

 

[Stikboy]

What are everyone’s expectations for Sooner basketball moving forward? Are we okay with being outside the top 25, finishing in the middle of the pack and being on the Bubble? Are we okay with beating lots of bad/mediocre teams but not really having a chance against good teams like KU and occasionally being blown out by marginal teams like Iowa State? I’m personally not okay with it, and I don’t know if it will change any time soon. Next year, the year after? I don’t see a lot of evidence that it will change....

Heck no! Do not be ashamed to have high expectations... I have them too. In my lifetime i've seen OU go to 4 Final Fours, be favored in a National Championship game, win the conference and tournament. Why shouldn't we have those same expectations? Texas freaking Tech made the natty last year. Of course OU could/should be able to do all those things. You may be surprised, when OU starts to do some of these things AGAIN, how many people might show up! SMH

 

[Sooner Season]

agree that Lon has been a strong positive for OU basketball and the situation he inherited. i am a fan of Lon as a human being, seems like a heckuva good guy. proud to have him representing OU. also agree that we seem to be stuck in on the bubble/bad conference performance neutral. and from there it's a lot easier to go down than up.

don't think a change needs to be made today but it's fair to be direct about where we are.

i am not in favor of a "back to the past glory" hire or an alum. get the best coach available, if a change is made. not a believer in homecoming hires. 4/5 fail miserably and school/team in a much worse situ than before.

Completely agree with these points.

Well said!!

 

[thebigabd]

agree that Lon has been a strong positive for OU basketball and the situation he inherited. i am a fan of Lon as a human being, seems like a heckuva good guy. proud to have him representing OU. also agree that we seem to be stuck in on the bubble/bad conference performance neutral. and from there it's a lot easier to go down than up.

don't think a change needs to be made today but it's fair to be direct about where we are.

i am not in favor of a "back to the past glory" hire or an alum. get the best coach available, if a change is made. not a believer in homecoming hires. 4/5 fail miserably and school/team in a much worse situ than before.

So you aren't in favor of:

Head Coach: Eduardo Najera
Assistant Coach: Bob Hoffman
Assistant Coach: Quannas White
Assistant Coach: Hollis Price
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Yo Yo Szendrei (forgiven for handing out cash to players)

 

[Max Power]

Not really, but there is a certain coach 25 miles from campus with a contract that expires after the season...

 

[BCSooners]

So you aren't in favor of:

Head Coach: Eduardo Najera
Assistant Coach: Bob Hoffman
Assistant Coach: Quannas White
Assistant Coach: Hollis Price
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Yo Yo Szendrei (forgiven for handing out cash to players)

Hell no

 

[steverocks35]

Not really, but there is a certain coach 25 miles from campus with a contract that expires after the season...

Terry Evans?

 

[thebigabd]

Hell no

lol

 

[Sooner04]

Top half of the conference.
White jerseys in the Round of 64.

 

[BCSooners]

lol

What's funny? The guy got let go because he broke the rules. Why would you want him back?

 

[WaymanFan]

I would also call into question what OU's record is since Sampson without NBA All-Stars on the team. What is the record in seasons with no Blake, Buddy, or Trae?

First off, I'm reading a lot of posts with reasonable expectations. That makes this a good thread. My expectation are in line with most of the others who posted here.

As for the post I quoted, it's not really a relevant stat. Since the start of the Billy Tubbs era, OU has only won only 9 NCAA Tournament games without a future NBA player, and 7 of those were in 2002 and 2003. Another was in 1990 when we were ranked #1 in the country heading to the Dance. These are clearly anomalies, so it's unreasonable to have expectations based on the exception instead of the rule.

I posted this in the NBA thread, but no Big XII team has had more NBA All-Stars in the last 45 years than OU (including Kansas). I see no reason why we still can't continue to recruit at least some NBA talent.

 

[steverocks35]

First off, I'm reading a lot of posts with reasonable expectations. That makes this a good thread. My expectation are in line with most of the others who posted here.

As for the post I quoted, it's not really a relevant stat. Since the start of the Billy Tubbs era, OU has only won only 9 NCAA Tournament games without a future NBA player, and 7 of those were in 2002 and 2003. Another was in 1990 when we were ranked #1 in the country heading to the Dance. These are clearly anomalies, so it's unreasonable to have expectations based on the exception instead of the rule.

I posted this in the NBA thread, but no Big XII team has had more NBA All-Stars in the last 45 years than OU (including Kansas). I see no reason why we still can't continue to recruit at least some NBA talent.

That criteria is extremely narrow. "NBA all-stars from the Big 12 in the last 45 years." You're narrowing the results to 1) NBA All-stars 2) the Big 12 3) The last 45 years.

How about NBA players that lasted at least 3 years in the league? How do we stack up to the Big 12 in that area and the rest of the NCAA? The fact that a large proportion of our players that have gone on to the NBA became all-stars doesn't mean we get more NBA-type players than other teams.

(I don't know the answer to the question, I just think it would be a more telling representation of potential NBA talent)