I've said this all year to my friend and family and anyone else who will listen: at the end of the day, the 2015 Sooners were overachievers. Similar story in 2014.
I don't say that as a means to disparage the players OR absolve them or the coaches for all weaknesses, I simply believe it to be reality.
I look at it like this... Take the teams in the Elite 8. Then look at our roster. Then ask yourself how many Sooners would
A) start for those teams
Or
B) be in the rotation for those teams
We will go back to front here. We played 9 players this year... And two them pretty sparingly.
--Walker and Booker would not play at all for any of those teams
--Bennett wouldn't play for most of them. Maybe he gets a couple of minutes per game for the smaller teams, but I'd doubt it.
--Lattin would be similar to DJ. Maybe his athleticism gets him some PT, but he clearly wouldn't be in regular rotation for UK, Wisconsin, Duke, Zags, etc.
So of our shallow bench, none of them would be playing significant minutes (even off the bench) for really good teams.
Starters
--Woodard wouldn't start at the point for any of the elite 8 teams. He wouldn't play much at all for most of them.
--Cousins: see Woodard, although he might be used as a defensive stopper.
--Spangler: Limited minutes, maybe no minutes for the bigger teams.
--Thomas would be in rotation for most of these teams, likely wouldn't start for the majority.
--Hield would start for all of them with maybe 1-2 exceptions. Would play big minutes for all of them.
In summary, of our 9 rotation players, I only think 2 of them would appeal to the more elite teams in the country. And Thomas would be just another guy for most of them. And this would apply to many teams that didn't make the elite 8 as well.
LK has done a fantastic job of squeezing the orange here. Not leaving much juice behind. The parts fit well together. And I am not saying guys like Woodard, Cousins, or Spangler are scrubs. They are all solid players. And solid players surrounded by one above average one and one very good one can make for a good team. But we are short in terms of raw talent.
Cousins isn't a natural. I think he's a grinder. A worker. A good athlete, but nothing special. Not a natural shooter or ball handler. But he plays hard, has improved, and uses his size to become a really good defender. And he was smart, gnerally took only open shots and turned into an efficient shooter. But when the pressure and talent ratchets up in the tourney, some of his limitations get exposed. Spangler and Woodard are in this category as well.
What those guys need is simple: some help. We need another handful of guys that can make plays. We need to expand the rotation so that guys like Cousins can settle into more comfortable roles. So that Spangler can get more rest. So that Woodard isn't always the primary ball handler.
So even though we were only a few plays away from advancing, we were also only a few plays away from not being there at all. And that was the story of our season: a small margin for error. Eventually that catches up to you.
To me, next year shapes up as a great year for the Sooners if a few things fall the right way:
1. Buddy returns. Goes without saying. If he doesn't, the entire goal of next season changes.
2. Lattin improves. Maybe the most important potential development. He doesn't need to be as polished in the post as Thomas, but he does need to be a consistent contributor and a guy that is able to finish in the paint. He might be the most physically gifted player on the roster right now, so my hopes for him are high.
3. Woodard improves. He doesn't need to get a lot better, but he does need to play a bit better than he did this year.
4. Manyang contributes. As does at least one of the redshirt big men. Spangler needs more rest and Lattin isn't going to be able to carry the offense in the post. We will need a true big man rotation off the bench. Akolda can be raw, that's fine. But he needs to be reliable and he needs to be a rim protector. I don't knownas much about the redshirt guys as others do, but one of them stepping in would be nice.
5. James or Odomes is serviceable as a freshmen. Might need a boost from time to time on the wing. Overall, we need a stronger bench to help maximize the starters and help offset the loss of Thomas.
If Buddy returns, I see OU openinf ranked in the top 10 next year with legit hopes for the B12 Title and a very high seed in March. Potential would exist for it to be a special season.
I don't say that as a means to disparage the players OR absolve them or the coaches for all weaknesses, I simply believe it to be reality.
I look at it like this... Take the teams in the Elite 8. Then look at our roster. Then ask yourself how many Sooners would
A) start for those teams
Or
B) be in the rotation for those teams
We will go back to front here. We played 9 players this year... And two them pretty sparingly.
--Walker and Booker would not play at all for any of those teams
--Bennett wouldn't play for most of them. Maybe he gets a couple of minutes per game for the smaller teams, but I'd doubt it.
--Lattin would be similar to DJ. Maybe his athleticism gets him some PT, but he clearly wouldn't be in regular rotation for UK, Wisconsin, Duke, Zags, etc.
So of our shallow bench, none of them would be playing significant minutes (even off the bench) for really good teams.
Starters
--Woodard wouldn't start at the point for any of the elite 8 teams. He wouldn't play much at all for most of them.
--Cousins: see Woodard, although he might be used as a defensive stopper.
--Spangler: Limited minutes, maybe no minutes for the bigger teams.
--Thomas would be in rotation for most of these teams, likely wouldn't start for the majority.
--Hield would start for all of them with maybe 1-2 exceptions. Would play big minutes for all of them.
In summary, of our 9 rotation players, I only think 2 of them would appeal to the more elite teams in the country. And Thomas would be just another guy for most of them. And this would apply to many teams that didn't make the elite 8 as well.
LK has done a fantastic job of squeezing the orange here. Not leaving much juice behind. The parts fit well together. And I am not saying guys like Woodard, Cousins, or Spangler are scrubs. They are all solid players. And solid players surrounded by one above average one and one very good one can make for a good team. But we are short in terms of raw talent.
Cousins isn't a natural. I think he's a grinder. A worker. A good athlete, but nothing special. Not a natural shooter or ball handler. But he plays hard, has improved, and uses his size to become a really good defender. And he was smart, gnerally took only open shots and turned into an efficient shooter. But when the pressure and talent ratchets up in the tourney, some of his limitations get exposed. Spangler and Woodard are in this category as well.
What those guys need is simple: some help. We need another handful of guys that can make plays. We need to expand the rotation so that guys like Cousins can settle into more comfortable roles. So that Spangler can get more rest. So that Woodard isn't always the primary ball handler.
So even though we were only a few plays away from advancing, we were also only a few plays away from not being there at all. And that was the story of our season: a small margin for error. Eventually that catches up to you.
To me, next year shapes up as a great year for the Sooners if a few things fall the right way:
1. Buddy returns. Goes without saying. If he doesn't, the entire goal of next season changes.
2. Lattin improves. Maybe the most important potential development. He doesn't need to be as polished in the post as Thomas, but he does need to be a consistent contributor and a guy that is able to finish in the paint. He might be the most physically gifted player on the roster right now, so my hopes for him are high.
3. Woodard improves. He doesn't need to get a lot better, but he does need to play a bit better than he did this year.
4. Manyang contributes. As does at least one of the redshirt big men. Spangler needs more rest and Lattin isn't going to be able to carry the offense in the post. We will need a true big man rotation off the bench. Akolda can be raw, that's fine. But he needs to be reliable and he needs to be a rim protector. I don't knownas much about the redshirt guys as others do, but one of them stepping in would be nice.
5. James or Odomes is serviceable as a freshmen. Might need a boost from time to time on the wing. Overall, we need a stronger bench to help maximize the starters and help offset the loss of Thomas.
If Buddy returns, I see OU openinf ranked in the top 10 next year with legit hopes for the B12 Title and a very high seed in March. Potential would exist for it to be a special season.
