Five years in... OU remains a player in the juco market.

[thebigabd]

Goff, Thompson, and Washington will all be juco players in OU's primary rotation (2 probably starters)...

It is clear that OU will always rely to some degree on junior college talent, and I am glad that Capel is doing so.

 

[BoulderSooner]

very very unlikely that 2 of them will be starters

 

[AdaSooner]

very very unlikely that 2 of them will be starters

Agreed. If there are no drastic changes on OU's roster in 2011, I think Goff, Fitzgerald and Carter will start in our front court, though I wouldn't rule Osby out. He can play the three and the four. Fitz will be tough to beat out with his experience, and assuming he continues to improve. Carter will start this year, so I don't see him being bumped to the bench in 2011. Goff's size and toughness gives him a leg up on the other JUCO players.

But with those four on our roster, plus Thompson, Neal and Ahmed, competition will be keen for the three front court spots a year from now. That's a good thing to have on any team.

As for bigabd's point that OU is still a player in the JUCO ranks, I don't believe that ever changed. I have said many times that I like to see a juco player or two on our roster, especially when we have a lot of young players. The sudden influx of JUCOs this year is an anomaly brought on by a number of circumstances that forced the staff to dig deep into the Juco ranks. I have no problem at all with what Coach Capel had to do to fill those roster spots. He and his staff did a remarkable job in signing those players on relatively short notice. But when you analyze the list of recruits we're in on in 2011, 2012 and beyond, it's obvious there is a renewed focus on recruiting high school players. Goff is the only JUCO I can think of on our recruiting lists for the next three years. That could change, of course, if we strike out on some of the high school kids.

 

[Max Power]

Its way ot early to tell, but one has to think Osby will start next year

 

[JBaker]

Agreed. If there are no drastic changes on OU's roster in 2011, I think Goff, Fitzgerald and Carter will start in our front court, though I wouldn't rule Osby out. He can play the three and the four. Fitz will be tough to beat out with his experience, and assuming he continues to improve. Carter will start this year, so I don't see him being bumped to the bench in 2011. Goff's size and toughness gives him a leg up on the other JUCO players.

But with those four on our roster, plus Thompson, Neal and Ahmed, competition will be keen for the three front court spots a year from now. That's a good thing to have on any team.

Umm... who is Carter?

 

[seniorsooner]

I was trying to figure that out myself. By process of elimination I think I have determined that Carter = C.J. Washington.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Juco players are for filling holes and the biggest hole in OU's roster is no true center. Goff seems like the best viable option of a guy who can rebound, block shots, and defend on the level of a center. However, if there were someone in the prep ranks that OU saw that could do those things that was still available, then they would be after him. Facts are that Goff liked OU, has been to OU alot and the coaches like him, that's all that mattered. But if you want to judge the true philosphy of the coaching staff, look at what they're trying to do in 2012. They have 2 to 3 pg targets out of Texas, a couple of SG targets, one from OK and one from TX, two small forward targets from GA and MD, 2 PF targets from Wichita, and a center target in Shaquille Cleare out of Houston.

 

[AdaSooner]

Umm... who is Carter?

Sorry, I meant Cameron Clark.

 

[Sam]

Juco players are for filling holes and the biggest hole in OU's roster is no true center. Goff seems like the best viable option of a guy who can rebound, block shots, and defend on the level of a center. However, if there were someone in the prep ranks that OU saw that could do those things that was still available, then they would be after him. Facts are that Goff liked OU, has been to OU alot and the coaches like him, that's all that mattered. But if you want to judge the true philosphy of the coaching staff, look at what they're trying to do in 2012. They have 2 to 3 pg targets out of Texas, a couple of SG targets, one from OK and one from TX, two small forward targets from GA and MD, 2 PF targets from Wichita, and a center target in Shaquille Cleare out of Houston.

Don't forget about Richy Peters for 2012.

 

[TINY]

Osby will be an instant starter next season. Check him out in the practice highlights if you haven't already.

Looks like the best shooter and the best athlete on the team already.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

With all of the great JUCO talent around this region, I'd like to see us have 2-3 JUCO's on our roster at all times.

 

[AdaSooner]

Osby will be an instant starter next season. Check him out in the practice highlights if you haven't already.

Looks like the best shooter and the best athlete on the team already.

Osby is a stud! OU recruited him out of high school when Barnes was an assistant. I was really disappointed when he decided to go in another direction. I expect big things out of him in 2011 and 2012. As I said before, I definitely do not count Romero out in the battle for a starting position next year.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

Osby is a stud! OU recruited him out of high school when Barnes was an assistant. I was really disappointed when he decided to go in another direction. I expect big things out of him in 2011 and 2012. As I said before, I definitely do not count Romero out in the battle for a starting position next year.

I've all but penciled him in, that said, nothing wrong with actually having to compete for playing time every day because I know a guy like Washington isn't just going to hand it to him.

 

[Max Power]

I've all but penciled him in, that said, nothing wrong with actually having to compete for playing time every day because I know a guy like Washington isn't just going to hand it to him.

I'm ok with that

 

[Seymore Cox]

With all of the great JUCO talent around this region, I'd like to see us have 2-3 JUCO's on our roster at all times.

Great is a bit overstated. For instance, if you look at some of the talent in this area last year, not one Juco player in the State of Oklahoma received a high major offer outside of CJ Washington. The next best signings were Manhattan, WSU, and SFU. Now Kansas is different, they have slightly better juco players, but even with them being one of the better Juco leagues, they only had 4 or 5 players receive high major offers. However, I'm a strong believer that there is not much difference in the average guard play of a mid-major prospect and high major prospect.

The other aspect of it is who is the juco guy. Last year someone bragged about Butter Hobson and how great a juco player he was, but the fact was he was a top 100 prospect and even higher all of his life. His ratings probably would have been top 50 if he was a qualifier. So alot of these guys may play a year or two of juco ball, but in some cases they've tranferred out from another D1 school or have been to several prep schools like Hobson and the kid that played with Nick Thompson last year, until they've had to go the juco route. Juco ball now is really a bunch of undersized guards who are good player, that coaches are giving looks to, and a mix of international big men, undersized big and underdeveloped big men.