I just looked around the Big 12.....

[thebigabd]

I just looked around the Big 12, doing research on other teams... I really believe this years OU squad is going to be competitive. Top 4 seems very likely.

Texas is kind of the X-Factor in the league now that they have Chris Beard.

 

[pnkranger]

I just looked around the Big 12, doing research on other teams... I really believe this years OU squad is going to be competitive. Top 4 seems very likely.

Texas is kind of the X-Factor in the league now that they have Chris Beard.

UT's got an incredible front court, but I'm not certain they have guards to win it all. But this year or next year they're going to make an impressive run. Then Beard's personality will rub everyone the wrong way, and they'll be back to wishing and hoping every year.

 

[WTSooner]

We should definitely be able to contend for a top 4 finish. Hopefully we can use the OOC schedule to adjust with the new staff and so many new players, but we have top 4 talent (IMO).

 

[MJSooner]

UT's got an incredible front court, but I'm not certain they have guards to win it all. But this year or next year they're going to make an impressive run. Then Beard's personality will rub everyone the wrong way, and they'll be back to wishing and hoping every year.

I agree.

Chris Beard is made out to be a basketball coaching genius approaching god status, but his record doesn't support the hype and elite status he gets. Yes, I know, he had a GREAT year that followed a really, really good year, and he deserves a ton of credit to get Jarrett Culver and those guys to Lubbock and have the kind of year they did making the championship. But he also followed those years with two 6th place finishes and only 18 wins. As a matter of fact, in three of his five years at Tech, he had 18 wins and a losing record in the Big XII. And the belief "he turned Tech around" is a misnomer. Tubby won more games his last year at Tech than Beard did his last two years. And as the ranger said, Beard will also rub some the wrong way, so it could be a transition year of sorts too. Don't get me wrong, he is a really good coach and will be a challenge at Texass, but probably not deserving of the fear or hype he gets by most.

With that said, the talent has always been at Texass so they are always a team that can finish in the top 4. I also believe Kansas may get back the top spot in the conference, although Baylor will be right there. OSU is still really talented and I think they will compete with WVa for the 3-5 spot with Texass.

I think it is more than likely we are that 5-6 spot with Tech, and realistically, finishing 7th wouldn't be a shocker either. But if things come together and we blend well, we could slide in the 4 spot. Overall, while we much more talented than last year, IMO, have a tremendously better frontcourt, and have good depth and great balance on the roster, we still don't have the same talent level as some of the other teams in the league. Other teams in the top half of the league won in the transfer portal too.

But I think Moser can steal a couple of games with his coaching and energy and maybe we surprise some folks.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

i'm not ready to say top 4. we lost a lot and have a lot of new pieces. I think some are overvaluing the new pieces as well

 

[Stikboy]

I feel like Moser will be able to squeeze more out of what we have...

 

[WTSooner]

I feel like Moser will be able to squeeze more out of what we have...

And I feel like we have a better overall team/roster than last year. Maybe not the pure scoring, but that is where tough defense and a system on offense should help.

 

[Stikboy]

And I feel like we have a better overall team/roster than last year. Maybe not the pure scoring, but that is where tough defense and a system on offense should help.

You took the words.....

 

[WichitaSooner]

And I feel like we have a better overall team/roster than last year. Maybe not the pure scoring, but that is where tough defense and a system on offense should help.

Lol

 

[Eielson]

And I feel like we have a better overall team/roster than last year. Maybe not the pure scoring, but that is where tough defense and a system on offense should help.

Outside of our late-season collapse, I think last year's team embodies a lot of what we hope for/expect from Moser.

 

[NickZepp]

We have no idea how the team will gel together at this point and where the scoring is going to come from particularly from the guards. Not going to say the team will be terrible either but the Big 12 is usually pretty tough up top.

 

[MJSooner]

We have no idea how the team will gel together at this point and where the scoring is going to come from particularly from the guards. Not going to say the team will be terrible either but the Big 12 is usually pretty tough up top.

This.

While we are excited about what we got out of the portal, our roster is certainly more balanced (offense/defense, inside/outside) than we have been in the last few years, and the energy Moser brings will make a difference, let's not forget the other schools improved in the portal too. If you look at the rosters on Baylor, KU, Texass, even OSU and WVa, hard to say we will be better than any of those schools. There are some serious upgrades there too.

At least in the past few years, we knew we would probably go around 10-2 heading into conference. I am not sure that will be a given in OOC this year. With 9-10 new players, along with a new staff and system, easy to predict there will be some growing pains in conference and OOC. K State and ISU are still probably going to struggle. But realistically, we are probably playing for the 6th spot (maybe 5th) this year, and anything higher than that would be a plus.

Being realistic and hoping for better this year, but feel really positive about where we will be headed.

 

[WTSooner]

Outside of our late-season collapse, I think last year's team embodies a lot of what we hope for/expect from Moser.

I obviously disagree, but you are entitled to your opinion. I've been quite vocal about not loving the way Lon has went about things in recent years. I think Moser is going to do a lot of things differently, especially at the micro level.

 

[Darwin]

We can be much better but that doesn't always get you top 4 . I believe there is much more talent plus experience , hopefully the chemistry by mid season. I usually shy away from the hype because we had a hole in the middle, not now. I will be surprised if we are not well inside the top 20 most of 2nd semester.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I think a lot of people are discounting the talent of Harmon, Manek, and Reeves and putting a lot of stock in young players

I don't see us as being more talented than last year's team. I still think we could be a better team than last year by the time the season is over but saying we will be more talented is jumping the gun big time

 

[inoref]

Top four would be heck of a year