J.R. Raymond possibly the best player Kelvin ever coached?

[Sam]

Heard Kellen Sampson say during an interview recently that if Raymond had stay out of trouble that Raymond would've been the best player his father had coached at OU. Called him the most complete guard.

Does that mean if Raymond stays out of trouble does that 2002 win it all going away?

 

[WaymanFan]

Does that mean if Raymond stays out of trouble does that 2002 win it all going away?

I'm going to have to answer it with another question. If J.R. Raymond is on the team, does OU land Quannas White? Keep in mind we didn't get White or Dietrick until the spring semester, after J.R. was booted. With J.R., Hollis and Ebi (I believe he was already signed) penciled in as the starters at the 1, 2 and 3 positions, I'm not sure Quannas would have come aboard.

Even if we had both Quannas and J.R., winning it all wouldn't have been a slam-dunk. Even though we did crush Maryland in December, it should be noted they sent four of those players to the NBA. They were easily the most "talented" team from that Final Four group.

Here is one way J.R. definitely would have made a difference. There is NO WAY OU loses to Indiana State in Round One if he was in the game.

 

[WTSooner]

Heard Kellen Sampson say during an interview recently that if Raymond had stay out of trouble that Raymond would've been the best player his father had coached at OU. Called him the most complete guard.

Does that mean if Raymond stays out of trouble does that 2002 win it all going away?

Interesting. I don't see any way he'd have been better than a few of the studs Kelvin had, but I could see him moving up the chart. That dude was an amazing shooter, and he didn't even finish his sophmore year (I think). Not sure I saw his ceiling as being higher than Hollis or Ace though.

 

[One More Rebound]

That's a whole lotta horse hockey...

 

[DenverSooner]

That's a whole lotta horse hockey...

Why do you say this? J.R. was pretty good and I think Kellen knows more about basketball and the OU players during the Sampson era than the vast majority of us (if not all of us).

I don't know if OU wins it all in 2002 but I will pretty much guaranty OU beats Indiana State and few other teams in 2001 instead of losing to Indiana State in OT.

It sure would have been nice to see. Just imagine Hollis and White both only playing 27 minutes a game with J.R. playing 26 minutes a game. Those guys would have been able to get after people defensively and not have any drop off in scoring. Had it happened, OU would have had three starters of equal abilities and all at an All-Conference level.

 

[One More Rebound]

Why do you say this? J.R. was pretty good and I think Kellen knows more about basketball and the OU players during the Sampson era than the vast majority of us (if not all of us).

I don't know if OU wins it all in 2002 but I will pretty much guaranty OU beats Indiana State and few other teams in 2001 instead of losing to Indiana State in OT.

It sure would have been nice to see. Just imagine Hollis and White both only playing 27 minutes a game with J.R. playing 26 minutes a game. Those guys would have been able to get after people defensively and not have any drop off in scoring. Had it happened, OU would have had three starters of equal abilities and all at an All-Conference level.

It was a joke....:woot

 

[TheGimper]

J.R. was one of my favorite Sooners to watch. I've had conversations talking about how I believed he could have been one of OU's all time greats.

 

[stoops4pres]

I'm going to have to answer it with another question. If J.R. Raymond is on the team, does OU land Quannas White? Keep in mind we didn't get White or Dietrick until the spring semester, after J.R. was booted. With J.R., Hollis and Ebi (I believe he was already signed) penciled in as the starters at the 1, 2 and 3 positions, I'm not sure Quannas would have come aboard.

Even if we had both Quannas and J.R., winning it all wouldn't have been a slam-dunk. Even though we did crush Maryland in December, it should be noted they sent four of those players to the NBA. They were easily the most "talented" team from that Final Four group.

Here is one way J.R. definitely would have made a difference. There is NO WAY OU loses to Indiana State in Round One if he was in the game.

That's a good counterpoint. Plus, had White not gone we likely wouldn't have had as much success the following season; White was a huge reason OU did so well their Elite 8 season.

 

[DenverSooner]

So here is an intersting question for older fans:

Who would have been better had they returned or otherwise been able to complete their careers?

A. Jackie Jones
B. J.R. Raymon
C. Andelo Hamilton
D. Smokey McCovery
E. Bobby Joe Evans

Personally, I say Jackie Jones but I was in school then and attended all of the games. I did not get see as much of J.R. Raymond.

Bonus question, which would have had the biggest impace on the program?

It may have been Bobby Joe Evans although it this is very tough to say given it is really nothing more than pure speculation as to what might have happened in all cases.

 

[TheGimper]

So here is an intersting question for older fans:

Who would have been better had they returned or otherwise been able to complete their careers?

A. Jackie Jones
B. J.R. Raymon
C. Andelo Hamilton
D. Smokey McCovery
E. Bobby Joe Evans

Personally, I say Jackie Jones but I was in school then and attended all of the games. I did not get see as much of J.R. Raymond.

Bonus question, which would have had the biggest impace on the program?

It may have been Bobby Joe Evans although it this is very tough to say given it is really nothing more than pure speculation as to what might have happened in all cases.

F. Nick Thompson

 

[vbdad]

Jackie Jones. He was an absolute star. Of course he wasn't the only one on that team who didn't get to finish here.

JR had a bunch of talent but he smoked too much weed to have ever come close to finishing his career in Norman.