Harkless

thewez

thewez

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I'm sure this is buried in a couple threads, but what is the word on Harkless? Are we trying to get him eligible? Seems like we are pretty deep, so I don't know if he'd get any playing time.
 
thewez said:
I'm sure this is buried in a couple threads, but what is the word on Harkless? Are we trying to get him eligible? Seems like we are pretty deep, so I don't know if he'd get any playing time.
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I don't have any inside info, but I feel like he is a better basketball player than Williams and would challenge Williams and Gibson for their guard minutes. Phipps is the best shooter of the bunch, so I don't think he'll lose minutes to Harkless. The other two might.

Having said that, if I'm Harkless, I'm redshirting ... Reaves, Harmon, Manek are going to take up so many minutes this year, and Kuath, Hill, and Vic are going to play big minutes too because of their size and versatility (and rebounding).

Not a lot of minutes left to split between Williams, Gibson, Phipps, and Harkless. Next year he'll have a chance to start or be the 6th man.
 
pnkranger said:
I don't have any inside info, but I feel like he is a better basketball player than Williams and would challenge Williams and Gibson for their guard minutes. Phipps is the best shooter of the bunch, so I don't think he'll lose minutes to Harkless. The other two might.

Having said that, if I'm Harkless, I'm redshirting ... Reaves, Harmon, Manek are going to take up so many minutes this year, and Kuath, Hill, and Vic are going to play big minutes too because of their size and versatility (and rebounding).

Not a lot of minutes left to split between Williams, Gibson, Phipps, and Harkless. Next year he'll have a chance to start or be the 6th man.
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Everyone can come back for an extra year if they want. No need to redshirt. I dont think hes as good as Williams. Bunch of depth for sure.

Here is the thing, Reaves, Manek, arent coming off the floor much, Harmon is almost to that point. SO 6-7 guys fighting for 2 or 3 spots.

Dont be surprised if several seniors come back.
 
He is waiting on NCAA approval. His previous school is fighting it.
 
CoachTalk said:
Everyone can come back for an extra year if they want. No need to redshirt. I dont think hes as good as Williams. Bunch of depth for sure.

Here is the thing, Reaves, Manek, arent coming off the floor much, Harmon is almost to that point. SO 6-7 guys fighting for 2 or 3 spots.

Dont be surprised if several seniors come back.
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I totally forgot about that. If Kuath comes back, he could probably make himself some money with the extra development time and time in the weight room.
 
skyvue said:
Music to my ears.
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We've only got 4 seniors, and several sounds like more than two. I expect Williams and Kuath to hang around because both can improve their post-graduate opportunities that way ... but Reaves or Manek?
 
pnkranger said:
I totally forgot about that. If Kuath comes back, he could probably make himself some money with the extra development time and time in the weight room.
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Agreed. I was especially pleased with Kur’s performance in last night’s game. He is light years ahead of where he was last season when he looked lost most of the time.

You are correct in saying Williams could also benefit from coming back next year. Manek and Reaves may be a different story. Even if the NBA is not in their future, they could make some money overseas. Doesn’t mean we can’t dream about their return, though.
 
pnkranger said:
We've only got 4 seniors, and several sounds like more than two. I expect Williams and Kuath to hang around because both can improve their post-graduate opportunities that way ... but Reaves or Manek?
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In a way I think those two are perfect candidates to benefit from an additional year. Right now, if I had to guess I would say right now Manek is a fringe NBA prospect... MAYBE get a glance in second round if he has a big year. Maybe get a G League opportunity. For sure could get paid overseas. Reaves less so because he doesn’t have the size and I don’t think he’s a point guard— certainly not at the NBA level. He really does have some talent, so you never know if he could battle his way into the radar, but I think we’d all agree that overseas is probably his best shot after college as well.

So for me, assuming that neither of them are in dire straits financially, playing an extra year has a lot of potential benefits— feel it could only enhance whatever chances they have at the NBA and certainly won’t stop them from going overseas one year later than they would have. Plus the huge bonus is getting to play D1 hoops at a high level for another year— I bet if they came back, OU would be well positioned to make a big run next year— and that in itself has appeal— especially if you aren’t putting an NBA career on hold to do it.

You’d have to know them personally of course to understand their situations and desires, but if either were my son, I’d likely to steer them towards staying if it’s something they really enjoyed. You can’t ever replicate that college experience again in your life.
 
OUSKINS said:
In a way I think those two are perfect candidates to benefit from an additional year. Right now, if I had to guess I would say right now Manek is a fringe NBA prospect... MAYBE get a glance in second round if he has a big year. Maybe get a G League opportunity. For sure could get paid overseas. Reaves less so because he doesn’t have the size and I don’t think he’s a point guard— certainly not at the NBA level. He really does have some talent, so you never know if he could battle his way into the radar, but I think we’d all agree that overseas is probably his best shot after college as well.

So for me, assuming that neither of them are in dire straits financially, playing an extra year has a lot of potential benefits— feel it could only enhance whatever chances they have at the NBA and certainly won’t stop them from going overseas one year later than they would have. Plus the huge bonus is getting to play D1 hoops at a high level for another year— I bet if they came back, OU would be well positioned to make a big run next year— and that in itself has appeal— especially if you aren’t putting an NBA career on hold to do it.

You’d have to know them personally of course to understand their situations and desires, but if either were my son, I’d likely to steer them towards staying if it’s something they really enjoyed. You can’t ever replicate that college experience again in your life.
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I agree and I was thinking yesterday that the guy with the most NBA potential on the team is Kur Kuath because you just can't teach that kind of length and athleticism. Plus he's developing a nice little soft jump shot. One more year might be huge for him.
 
OUSKINS said:
Reaves less so because he doesn’t have the size and I don’t think he’s a point guard— certainly not at the NBA level. He really does have some talent, so you never know if he could battle his way into the radar, but I think we’d all agree that overseas is probably his best shot after college as well.
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Reaves is probably not a long-term NBA prospect unless his catch and shoot proficiency really improves, but he's got good size. 6'4 - 6'5", 205, big wingspan. He's more athletic than you think. Not a leaper, but good quickness.

He defends all 3 guard positions well (he's honestly maybe our best guard at keeping the ball in front of him), has good size, handles it well, and can create his own shot or set up his teammates. He'll get a shot at an NBA roster, especially if his offensive efficiency remains at this level. Will probably end up making a bunch of money in Europe, but he'll get a shot.

He's also older and will not have the level of "investment in potential" that the NBA attaches to a lot of young guys, so the chance of an NBA team investing in him is lower.
 
steverocks35 said:
I agree and I was thinking yesterday that the guy with the most NBA potential on the team is Kur Kuath because you just can't teach that kind of length and athleticism. Plus he's developing a nice little soft jump shot. One more year might be huge for him.
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No doubt about it. Kur’s length, athleticism and raw talent makes him the ideal candidate to benefit from another season in OU’s strength and conditioning program. If he made another jump in his ability to score, rebound and defend, NBA scouts couldn’t possibly ignore his size and potential.
 
AdaSooner said:
No doubt about it. Kur’s length, athleticism and raw talent makes him the ideal candidate to benefit from another season in OU’s strength and conditioning program. If he made another jump in his ability to score, rebound and defend, NBA scouts couldn’t possibly ignore his size and potential.
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To me, Kur's NBA comparison is maybe a poor mans Al-Farouq Aminu if he continues to improve. Not 8th overall pick like Aminu, but maybe a second rounder who makes his money coming off the bench and rebounding, playing solid D and finishing around the rim with the ability to step out to 3 from time to time.
 
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The same things facing Manek, Reaves and Kur in their efforts to be an NBA player are the very same things facing players at practically every program in the country and there's a reason and it's called having an exceptional talent. Some do and some don't, but the one's who do are clearly the exception to the law of numbers.
 
Seems like he’s good to go now. Lon said it will take some time to get him up to speed game-wise. Should be real interdicting to see the rotation once we hit the meat of the schedule
 
I predict Harkless could bump Williams down the depth chart.
 
Will be nice to have him eligible and able to provide some more depth to an already good backcourt.

I do think it’s interesting that people always tend to be more upbeat about newcomers than returning players. So many people were high on Mo but pessimistic about Harmon and Williams and even Reaves. I expect Harkless will need time to adjust to Big 12 competition and hope people don’t get down on him if he doesn’t make a huge impact his first few games.
 
I don’t think he gets many minutes this year, maybe Phipps if he hits a wall. If he does bump a starter that’s an amazing find.
 
Manek is going to make some really nice money in Europe, worst case scenario.
 
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