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

[WichitaSooner]

I think there are a couple of things that we can safely say. One -- there are probably 40 teams that can make somewhat legitimate claims to having Sweet 16 potential this early in this season. Even mediocre/bad teams can look good for two or three games. Two -- I don't think there is any question that our ceiling is higher this year than last. Our best players are more experienced and (presumably) better than they were last season, and our new guys are far more talented than the guys we lost from last year. But I think it is definitely too early to know whether we will play well enough for the entire season to be a legit, second-weekend-of-the-tourney type team.

I think the Oregon State game was impressive. The jury remains out on Minnesota -- they are picked 11th in their league and haven't exactly had good results so far. That was a win that will help our resume, but we'll have to beat much better teams than the Gophers to be a top 20-ish team.

Regardless, as Sky noted, right now I am just enjoying watching this team and not thinking much, if at all, about March.

 

[stormspencer]

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?

It's early, but Alondes is better than anyone we had coming off the bench last year.....it ain't even close.

 

[jaymOU]

I think there are a couple of things that we can safely say. One -- there are probably 40 teams that can make somewhat legitimate claims to having Sweet 16 potential this early in this season. Even mediocre/bad teams can look good for two or three games. Two -- I don't think there is any question that our ceiling is higher this year than last. Our best players are more experienced and (presumably) better than they were last season, and our new guys are far more talented than the guys we lost from last year. But I think it is definitely too early to know whether we will play well enough for the entire season to be a legit, second-weekend-of-the-tourney type team.

I think the Oregon State game was impressive. The jury remains out on Minnesota -- they are picked 11th in their league and haven't exactly had good results so far. That was a win that will help our resume, but we'll have to beat much better teams than the Gophers to be a top 20-ish team.

Regardless, as Sky noted, right now I am just enjoying watching this team and not thinking much, if at all, about March.

Amen to this. Let's just enjoy the basketball ride! Love all the new kids and speculation is always fun, but I am excited to watch this team every time they take the court. Could not always say that last year

 

[BCSooners]

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....

This team is way more talented, but you still have to produce & keep getting better. I've said I was excited about this team & predicted a 5th place finish (I think). I'm just not one to make crazy predictions after a few wins, just like I'm not one to make crazy demands (fire Kruger) after a few losses.

 

[thebigabd]

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?

Team Lost (Contributors Only):
Christian James
Aaron Calixte
Miles Reynolds
Rashard Odomes
Matt Freeman
Jamuni McNease

Team Gained:
Austin Reaves - Upgrade over Christian James
Devion Harmon - Upgrade over Aaron Calixte
Alondes Williams - Upgrade over Miles Reynolds and Rashard Odomes (he will take those minutes)
Kur Kuath - Upgrade over Matt Freeman
Victor Iwuakor - Slight downgrade currently to Muni, but will eventually be better. Muni never significantly developed at OU.

So you have 5 upgrades over players lost, in both ability and athletic ability.

Add to that Bienemy getting better... Manek and Doolittle having another year on them... A better coaching staff in place... And you've got yourself a much better team. And they are practicing against Ricky Izzansa, Anyang Garang, etc instead of Hannes Polla and Ty Lazenby.

You can already see it.

 

[Stikboy]

Team Lost (Contributors Only):
Christian James
Aaron Calixte
Miles Reynolds
Rashard Odomes
Matt Freeman
Jamuni McNease

Team Gained:
Austin Reaves - Upgrade over Christian James
Devion Harmon - Upgrade over Aaron Calixte
Alondes Williams - Upgrade over Miles Reynolds and Rashard Odomes (he will take those minutes)
Kur Kuath - Upgrade over Matt Freeman
Victor Iwuakor - Slight downgrade currently to Muni, but will eventually be better. Muni never significantly developed at OU.

So you have 5 upgrades over players lost, in both ability and athletic ability.

Add to that Bienemy getting better... Manek and Doolittle having another year on them... A better coaching staff in place... And you've got yourself a much better team. And they are practicing against Ricky Izzansa, Anyang Garang, etc instead of Hannes Polla and Ty Lazenby.

You can already see it.

Good points. While I will won't argue about Muni, and I too was frustrated with his inconsistency related to his potential, I think Victor's upside is off the charts and that includes more of an outside/mid-range scoring threat that quite frankly I didn't know he would bring. Dude has a mid-range shot. If he also can score in the paint along with all his other tools watch out.

 

[thebigabd]

Never a doubt

 

[MrAnderson]

I would be pleasantly surprised if this teams makes the 2nd weekend in March, especially considering they would likely draw a 1 or 2 seed in the second round (per current projections).

 

[WTSooner]

I would bet money this team can't win 2 games in 3 days at a neutral site, against "quality" teams. We'll see. Anything can happen, but that is true of just about EVERY team that makes the Dance. Make 3-5 threes that you don't normally make, and boom, teams have a chance. But this team hasn't shown me enough away from Norman.