If you were coach, would you cut anyone

[Zimwillett]

I sincerely hope he proves me wrong next season, but to me the easy answer is Lazenby.

At least with Freeman, we've seen occasional flashes. Admittedly the flashes are few and far between, but at least there have been flashes. Put it this way: Freeman scored as many points in 1 game last season (15) as Lazenby did this entire season.

There's just nothing about Lazenby that indicates to me that he might develop into a contributor. Again, I hope I'm proven wrong, but I still think it was a mistake to offer him a last-ditch scholarship. It would be SOOO much better to have that scholarship open for this class.

 

[Northbase]

"If you were coach, would you cut anyone" well, Top Dog kinda sucked, so.....

 

[sperry]

The more I look at our roster, the more I think that the situation will take care of itself soon enough. Assuming we get a grad transfer for next season, we will graduate 5 guys (4 guards and 1 center) after the season. So fast forwarding to 2019, our roster would look like this (assuming no transfers):

Kristian Doolittle . SR . F
Matt Freeman . SR . F
Brady Manek . JR . F
Kam McGusty . SR . G
Hannes Polla . JR . C
Jordan Shepherd . SR . G
Jamal Bieniemy . SO . G
Kur Kuath . SR . F
De'Vion Harmon . FR . G
?
?
?
?

We would add 3-4 unknowns to that list to fill out the roster, then replace Doolittle, Freeman, McGusty, Shepherd and Kuath with the next recruiting class. By the time the next 2 seasons are over, only Manek, Polla, Bieniemy and Harmon will be left, along with whoever is added to the roster, so the opportunity to get better relatively soon exists, because the roster will
naturally turnover the next 2 years with heavy graduation.

That's 3 years out, and the next 2 years look to be really abysmal on the court. I just don't see how Kruger is going to survive this, unless he brings in an absolutely monster recruiting class in 2019 that convinces the administration that this thing will get turned around in a hurry.

 

[psk2080]

I don't disagree. 2019's recruiting class needs to be a monster. It's too late for 2018. Even if we had (have?) schollies to give, it's too late to get many of the kids that would help the team. Losing 4-5 guys after next season will help. Lon and Crutch need to start hitting the 2019 trail extra hard.

 

[Boomer!Sooner!]

If you aren't following we have hit the recruiting trail hard. We have already signed ESPN 60 in Harmon and I am really confident we are going to get Jalen Wilson (need to beat out Kansas again, family is huge OU people). These are program changing guys.

Also, recruiting involves alot of luck. Every program goes through waves of it. Cousins and Buddy were not good Freshman. Buddy shot around 20% from 3. It takes time and some players develop others don't. The mistake is to cut or push out players too early (ie jelon hornbeak and frank booker.)

Our program and team is fine.

 

[AdaSooner]

If you aren't following we have hit the recruiting trail hard. We have already signed ESPN 60 in Harmon and I am really confident we are going to get Jalen Wilson (need to beat out Kansas again, family is huge OU people). These are program changing guys.

Agree with everything you said about the Denton Guyer players, who are now in the top 50 nationally, except they will have to wait until November to sign a LOI.

They will be difference makers, that’s for sure!

 

[vbdad]

I bet we have one or two maybe even three spots open before next season.

Jelon Hornbeak wasn't pushed out. He had trouble with the athletic department. He also wanted to be the star not one of three guys.

 

[CoachTalk]

I bet we have one or two maybe even three spots open before next season.

Jelon Hornbeak wasn't pushed out. He had trouble with the athletic department. He also wanted to be the star not one of three guys.

+1

 

[OUBig12Champs]

Maybe Kruger? At the end of the day it starts with leadership...

 

[sybarite]

Let me know when we begin cutting people. I can forget basketball and move on to sports that remember that it is a university team with the responisibilities of a university.

 

[Eielson]

I need to set the record straight on the timeframe I was talking about. I should have said our 2018 and 2019 recruiting classes.

Except for the lack of development you referenced, I don’t have a problem with any of the players on your “power five” list. They were all committed or signed during or just after our final four run. Freeman was too. The two assistants (Hartman and Kevin Kruger) I have criticized the past few weeks had nothing to do with recruiting those players. Since Polla’s coach in Finland played for Lon in the NBA, I think it’s safe to assume he was the key to signing Hannes. Lazenby was a Crutchfield recruit, as were most of the players on your power five list, including Trae Young. Coach Crutch was also the primary recruiter with Jamal Bieniemy, a player in our 2018 class I really like.

That brings me to the two new assistants on our staff. I have asked this question a number of times, and I still don’t have an answer. What have they done since joining our staff two years ago? If one or both were responsible for getting a commitment from Kur Kauth, his juco stats (11 and 7, while shooting 17% from three and 57% from the free throw line) have been a real head scratcher for me.

I realize young Coach Kruger and Coach Hartman haven’t had much time to develop a relationship with coaches and recruits, so my criticism may be premature and even unfair at this point. If they hit a home run or two in our 2019 class, I will be happy to apologize for questioning their accomplishments. Nothing would please me more than to be wrong about them.

I agree with the majority of that statement. I agree with the majority on here that Henson and Hill have not been properly replaced.

 

[Leroy]

Cut Freeman and Polla. Neither could play on any team in the Big 12

 

[mict085]

Lazenby isn’t a D1 player and never should’ve been offered a scholarship. He should be cut and replaced immediately.

 

[oudna]

Cut Freeman and Polla. Neither could play on any team in the Big 12

No chance in hell you cut Polla

He’s the only muscle on the team

Sampson would’ve loved him for a few minutes a game

 

[NMSooner'80]

I might cut anyone who won't promise to never pull a no-show like they did against OSU in the tournament. That helped make it possible to STILL hear various Aggies in the work place speak the untruth about how it was "unfair" that OU got into the NCAA tournament and they didn't (I call it an untruth because OU wasn't even one of the last four "in" and OSU wasn't one of the "first four out.")

 

[mict085]

I might cut anyone who won't promise to never pull a no-show like they did against OSU in the tournament. That helped make it possible to STILL hear various Aggies in the work place speak the untruth about how it was "unfair" that OU got into the NCAA tournament and they didn't (I call it an untruth because OU wasn't even one of the last four "in" and OSU wasn't one of the "first four out.")

First of all, aggies will say that no matter what because they’re aggies. Second, it doesn’t matter this year because both teams sucked and weren’t going anywhere anyway.

I mean, what if osu gets in the tourney? They lose first round just like OU did. They didn’t get in so, of course, their idiot fans will say they would’ve made the final four if not for OU stealing their spot.