Going out on a limb..... this is a Sweet 16 team

[thebigabd]

Shooters? Check. (Reeves, Manek, Doolittle, Bienemy)
Slashers? Check. (Williams, Bienemy, Harmon)
Athletes? Check. (Harmon, Bienemy, Kuath, Williams, Reeves, etc)
Good point guards? Check. (Bienemy and Harmon)

The weakness is rebounding... but every team has a weakness. They will lose games due to rebounding, and of course in basketball you will lose because the shots just don't go in sometimes, etc... But this looks like a Sweet 16 caliber team.

The stats compared to other Big 12 teams are misleading right now.... The sample size is small and OU has played two legitimate Power 5 teams. Minnesota and Oregon State are both NIT quality teams, which means they are solid wins. Neither was at home.

For example... OU ranks last in assists and steals. They rank near the bottom in a few rebounding categories. But WVU has only played one game, others two, etc. And the quality of competition matters.

Oklahoma does rank #1 in defensive rebounds, total and per game.

 

[Soonerinkc]

It would be great to have Wednesday off this yr in the B12. Retired and I plan on being downtown for the whole thing

 

[WichitaSooner]

It would be great to have Wednesday off this yr in the B12. Retired and I plan on being downtown for the whole thing

And NOT having Friday and Saturday off.

 

[SoonerJK12]

Add Reeves to your good point guards list. We actually had him running the point several times even when Bienemy was in the game. He knows how to dish it to the post players.

 

[Darwin]

This is only November and you've gone from pessimist to optimist. They clearly would beat last years team easily but that team barely squeezed in.

Here are some summer opinions on this team http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43030

 

[BCSooners]

Off to a good start, talent level is up, still have to get better at the end of the season.

 

[Stikboy]

As excited as I am about the team so far, I’m gonna reserve any Sweet 16 prognostications until we beat good Big 12 teams.

 

[red recluse]

Add Reeves to your good point guards list. We actually had him running the point several times even when Bienemy was in the game. He knows how to dish it to the post players.

and slasher. hard to notice that from a box score though.

 

[inoref]

As excited as I am about the team so far, I’m gonna reserve any Sweet 16 prognostications until we beat good Big 12 teams.

Yeah, think I'll wait too

 

[skyvue]

Yeah, think I'll wait too

Me too. I just want to enjoy the ride. No need to get ahead of ourselves.

 

[tmeyer3307]

This is only November and you've gone from pessimist to optimist. They clearly would beat last years team easily but that team barely squeezed in.

Here are some summer opinions on this team http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43030

Wow. I was aggressive with my predictions lol.. A 6 seed with a top 4-5 finish in the big 12 and a Sweet 16 appearance.... I'll stick with it though!

 

[AdaSooner]

Wow. I was aggressive with my predictions lol.. A 6 seed with a top 4-5 finish in the big 12 and a Sweet 16 appearance.... I'll stick with it though!

If you were overly aggressive, so was I. This was my response to your post:

About right in my usually unusually optimistic opinion!

Seriously, I think OU could be the surprise of the Big 12 Conference this season. There is just too much depth and too many quality players to believe this team will fall short of a very respectable season. I haven’t been this excited since the summer before our Final Four run.

I’ll stick with my prediction, too.

 

[thebigabd]

OU and TCU are going to be the surprise teams I think.

 

[stormspencer]

OU and TCU are going to be the surprise teams I think.

I would tap the brake on TCU. Not that they won't end up being good, but their non-con SOS on Kenpom is 328. They haven't played a team with a pulse yet.

They still have to play USC and Xavier in December.....that will give us a little better indication of what they are this year.

 

[Darwin]

This is only November and you've gone from pessimist to optimist. They clearly would beat last years team easily but that team barely squeezed in.

Here are some summer opinions on this team http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43030

This was aimed squarely at the OP who went 180 after 3 games :ez-roll:

We on the optimistic side are looking good but its about the whole season.

 

[thebigabd]

This was aimed squarely at the OP who went 180 after 3 games :ez-roll:

We on the optimistic side are looking good but its about the whole season.

With 2 of those games being against P5 teams... You can see the talent here. If OU had played little sisters of the poor, would be different. This is a good basketball team with significant upgrades over last year.

 

[BCSooners]

With 2 of those games being against P5 teams... You can see the talent here. If OU had played little sisters of the poor, would be different. This is a good basketball team with significant upgrades over last year.

Last year's team did the same thing though.

 

[AdaSooner]

As Boulder suggested on the game thread, William & Mary could be a legitimate test. One of the Tribe’s big men, 6’ 10 253 Nathan Knight, will be quite a challenge:

Knight has established himself as one of the top big men in college basketball. Earlier in the preseason, he was named one of the most exciting players in the country by nationally-respected journalist Andy Katz. Last season, Knight was named one of five national finalists for the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and is one of only two returning finalists this season. He was named a Lou Henson Mid-Major All-American for the second-straight season and took home NABC All-District 10 and All-CAA First Team honors as well.

Knight turned in a historic campaign in 2018-19, averaging 21 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. He is the first college basketball player since Tim Duncan at Wake Forest in 1996-97 to average 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots per game. Knight's scoring average was the highest for a Tribe player since 1968 and his 651 points ranked fourth in program history. He enters his senior season 11th on the Tribe's career scoring list (1478) and is only 700 points shy of the Tribe's career mark of 2178 held by Marcus Thornton '15. Knight is second on the program's career blocked shots list with 172, trailing the record holder David Cully '96 (248) by 76 rejections.

 

[thebigabd]

Last year's team did the same thing though.

Yep... and the talent wasn't there. As soon as conference play hit Calixte and Reynolds were basically unplayable. That seems impossible for Reaves and Williams.... I mean, Reynolds hit 1 three pointer in 18 conference games. 0% chance that happens with Reaves.

And Harmon has more ability than Calixte by a mile....

 

[Stikboy]

Yep... and the talent wasn't there. As soon as conference play hit Calixte and Reynolds were basically unplayable. That seems impossible for Reaves and Williams.... I mean, Reynolds hit 1 three pointer in 18 conference games. 0% chance that happens with Reaves.

And Harmon has more ability than Calixte by a mile....

Good comparisons. My question is will Hill>Odomes, Iwuakor>Freeman, and Kuath>Muni? I know the Victor/Matt comparison is a little off, but they are bench guys. Who would Alondes be compared to last year?