Jay Bilas Preview

[Laxtothemax12]

Always have liked Jay, and continue to love his analysis and tweets. But in his second tier of teams (Final Four Caliber Teams) he had 15 or so after Kentucky, Duke, Wisconsin, and Arizona), none of which were Oklahoma. That's fine, overlook us. But then he had teams under "Don't be surprised to see them in the 2nd weekend" with the likes of Miami and some other power schools, no OU. We, as a team did not get any love from him, only Buddy as the 10th best stroke shooter on his list. Am I missing something that he knows and we don't? I would've thought we would be a "sleeper" team by now, if we can call it that, since a lot of people keep saying we are 'under the radar'. Oh well, I hope the guys come out and shock the world! The state needs something after the football team pooped its pants

 

[Max Power]

Always have liked Jay, and continue to love his analysis and tweets. But in his second tier of teams (Final Four Caliber Teams) he had 15 or so after Kentucky, Duke, Wisconsin, and Arizona), none of which were Oklahoma. That's fine, overlook us. But then he had teams under "Don't be surprised to see them in the 2nd weekend" with the likes of Miami and some other power schools, no OU. We, as a team did not get any love from him, only Buddy as the 10th best stroke shooter on his list. Am I missing something that he knows and we don't? I would've thought we would be a "sleeper" team by now, if we can call it that, since a lot of people keep saying we are 'under the radar'. Oh well, I hope the guys come out and shock the world! The state needs something after the football team pooped its pants

He knows that if Thomas isn't eligible that means him and Buford redshirt and we are thin in the post

 

[TINY]

Jay Bilas is a hack just like all the other "espn personalities with no personality", as Daniel tosh would say.

Ou should be the big 12 favorite with what they returned and added in Lattin from a second place team. Ku lost their best players by a wide margin, and we went toe to toe with them.

 

[Laxtothemax12]

Jay Bilas is a hack just like all the other "espn personalities with no personality", as Daniel tosh would say.

Ou should be the big 12 favorite with what they returned and added in Lattin from a second place team. Ku lost their best players by a wide margin, and we went toe to toe with them.

Well, they have won like 10 straight Big 12 reg. season titles, and added a top5 player

 

[Stikboy]

I think I agree with Bilas. Again, all comes back to Thomas. Trying not to be too knee-jerk as two exhibition games probably isn't a good enough sample, and the team will no doubt improve... But I think OU is a little overrated. As opposed to the last two years when we were underrated. So far, even though Cam was undersized I think OU will really miss him at the 4. Not sure what DJ's deal is but OU has gotten nothing from him and Spangler can only do so much inside. I was optimistic about Bennett's improvement but when he gets the basketball inside, it sometimes looks like he's never played the game. As good as our coaches are at teaching.. Can you not get a kid with reasonable coordination in there and teach him post moves? It appears the staff has improved many of our other guys... Lattin everyone is very excited about but so far we have played two midget teams and I worry that teams like UT and KU will eat him alive inside with his tiny frame. I love our guards. Hield, Cousins, and Woodard are very good players. Also like Booker and am pleasantly surprised with Walker. But without any inside presence to speak of... Spangler has proved he's a warrior and played great last year, but he is a scrapper and not a true inside threat. Our post D may be a wash or a tad improved from last year but so far I don't see how we will get any post scoring against good teams. This is all again, assuming Thomas isn't cleared. Just the way I see it. I hope our inside guys prove me wrong!

 

[ArdmoreSooner]

Preseason analysis is great for water cooler talk, but doesn't mean much. With so many young kids coming and playing early basketball is a crap shoot. It is almost who gels better than numbers signed, OSU ring a bell. This is a tourney team without Thomas and major threat with him. No matter what any talking head says. Two other ESPN guys had us as darkhorses and threats.

 

[boksooner]

It's not like Bilas completely ignored OU. He mentioned Hield as one of his top 10 "The Bilastrator's top net-snapping shooters" and one of his top 5 "Bilastrator's Selections to Make the Last Shot ("Jimmy Chitwood Award")". He lists Spangler as one of his "Best Glass-Eating Rebounders" and Cousins as one of his "The Bilastrator's Sweet 16 defenders you hate to go up against".

The fact that he doesn't list Thomas as one of his impact transfers tells me that he doesn't expect him to get approved and picked accordingly.

For those with insider access...
http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-col...on-college-basketball-opus-college-basketball

 

[DenverSooner]

Jay Bilas is a hack just like all the other "espn personalities with no personality", as Daniel tosh would say.

Ou should be the big 12 favorite with what they returned and added in Lattin from a second place team. Ku lost their best players by a wide margin, and we went toe to toe with them.

I am no fan of KU but nobody should be the preseason favorite in the Big XII until someone beats KU. If OU doesn't get Thomas and everyone comes back next year, maybe OU is the preseason favorite but I would still vote for KU and I have no clue who they will have. That may sound silly but I respect the heck out of what they have done. They have consistently won this conference for many years with two coaches and multiple several really good teams in the conference over those years.

 

[TINY]

I am no fan of KU but nobody should be the preseason favorite in the Big XII until someone beats KU. If OU doesn't get Thomas and everyone comes back next year, maybe OU is the preseason favorite but I would still vote for KU and I have no clue who they will have. That may sound silly but I respect the heck out of what they have done. They have consistently won this conference for many years with two coaches and multiple several really good teams in the conference over those years.

Agreed. They have at least earned the benefit of the doubt until someone else wins it.

Having said that, OU football beat baylor 20 times in a row and have now lost 3 of the last 4. You can learn a tremendous amount from the past but it is just one of many variables for predicting the future. When you lose 2 top-3 draft picks your team is not going to be as good as they were before. I believe Ou and texas took steps forward while ku took a step or two back. If given ku or the field, I'm taking the field this season.

 

[sperry]

Like others, I think Thomas is the key. This team will finish in the 4-5 seed range if Thomas isn't eligible, and could make a sweet 16 run if we get decent matchups in the tourney. I dont' think we are legitimate contenders for the conference title without Thomas, unless Kansas is way down and Texas disappionts big time.


With Thomas, we're looking at legit conference title contenders, a 2 or 3 seed in teh NCAA tournament, with a deep tournament run very much in play. Big men that provide elite production, especially on the offensive end, are incredibly rare in college basketball. Thomas proved he is exactly tthat last year, playing in one of the toughest conferences in basketball.