Juco Center Emmanuel Ugboh being recruited by OU

[WTSooner]

manek is going to play the 4 in the NBA so just keep him as a 4 ok

I do not see the NBA in his future.

Being big and able to shoot it isn't enough. No way he can defend in the league IMO.

I see him having a long overseas career though if that is what he wants.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Toby rowland brought up some thoughts...

Think Doolittle can for Conf POY next year?

He will at least be in the mix for first team all conference. All five guys on the first team will be gone, unless Lawson comes back. I think Dotson will be a strong contender for POY, and there are a couple guys who made second or third team who will be back, too. But given how well he played the last several weeks, he will have a lot of momentum going into the season.

 

[thebigabd]

Manek is not playing in the NBA... to be clear, over the years, I have heard on this forum from different people that Rashard Odomes, Christian James, Brady Manek, Kristian Doolittle, Jamuni McNease, Khadeem Lattin, and many others that had absolutely no chance of making the NBA will play in the NBA.

 

[WTSooner]

Manek is not playing in the NBA... to be clear, over the years, I have heard on this forum from different people that Rashard Odomes, Christian James, Brady Manek, Kristian Doolittle, Jamuni McNease, Khadeem Lattin, and many others that had absolutely no chance of making the NBA will play in the NBA.

Yep. Add Taylor Griffin to the list as well. I think some even said Spangler with his toughness.

It is dang tough to make and stick in the NBA, even as a reserve.

 

[OU92Grad]

Taylor Griffin played in the NBA. Not long but he played

 

[Eielson]

If the incoming players next year live up to their current expectations we'll have about 7 or 8 starter caliber players. I'm as guilty as anyone about getting caught up in the incoming hype, not saying you are, and I want to pencil Reaves in as the starting 3. I tend to not want to tag incoming Freshman or JUCO's as starters before we ever see them play but the hype surrounding Harmon, Williams and Reaves is hard to overlook. Reaves has the upper hand because he has been practicing with the team and some on this board have seen him in practice and report him as the real deal. So removing McNeace from the equation, I see 2 scenarios for next years starters at this point in time:

#1 We don't bring in another big. Starter are:

Harmon
Bieniemy
Reaves
Manek
Doolittle

#2 We bring in a Grad Xfer/JUCO big. Starters are:

Bieniemy
Reaves
Manek
Doolittle
Unknown Big

I should state since I'm in favor of bringing in another big that it should only be a player that is going to help next year. Not another project player to eat up a scholarship space for a few years. If Ugboh replaces Polla I feel that's a win and somebody who can play meaningful minutes as a rim protector/rebounder and trash bucket getter.

There's always some uncertainty with incoming players, but as you said, there's far less uncertainty with a guy like Reaves that's been here a year. There are no certainties about returning players, tough. As we saw with McGusty and Doolittle, great freshman years can be followed up with bad sophomore seasons. I also feel fairly confident about Harmon. He hasn't stepped foot on campus, but it's my understanding that he's played well with and against the level of competition he'll play against next year through AAU and Team USA. It's likely that there are more 2020 NBA First round picks in AAU this year than returning to the NCAA.

If we can get somebody that will produce better than Doolittle at the 5, then I'm all for it. It's just going to be tough. Guys like Jaxon Hayes don't transfer; they go pro. Every once in a while, you can get very lucky and find a TaShawn Thomas, but those guys tend to be undersized, below the rim kinda players. If you get a 6-10, athletic big man with a 7'4 wingspan, he's going to be a project. If he was a skilled basketball player, he'd be going pro. Getting a Thomas or a Spangler would improve the team, but I don't think it would improve our starting 5 much, if at all, and again -- that's best case scenario. It just gives us more depth down low, which we didn't have last year, but hopefully we do have an extra body in Iwuakor, Merritt, or Kuath.

 

[Eielson]

Toby rowland brought up some thoughts...

Think Doolittle can for Conf POY next year?

No. I love him, but he's not that caliber of a player. The Big XII once had a 3 year stretch where the winners were Durant, Beasley, and Blake. Of course, there have also been years where guys like Melvin Ejim won, but Ejim is about the ceiling for Doolittle next year, while Ejim is pretty close the floor for a Big XII POY.

 

[WTSooner]

Taylor Griffin played in the NBA. Not long but he played

lol

 

[thebigabd]

Highly doubtful on Doolittle.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Highly doubtful on Doolittle.

It's hard to understand the lack of love for Doo on this board. His numbers the last half of conference play were outstanding. The only thing holding him back before then was that he wasn't as aggressive as he should have been. Once he got over that hump, he was clearly one of the best players in the league. Dean Wade was the preseason POY pick. If Doo adds a respectable three point threat to his game, how would he not be in the same class?

 

[thebigabd]

It's hard to understand the lack of love for Doo on this board. His numbers the last half of conference play were outstanding. The only thing holding him back before then was that he wasn't as aggressive as he should have been. Once he got over that hump, he was clearly one of the best players in the league. Dean Wade was the preseason POY pick. If Doo adds a respectable three point threat to his game, how would he not be in the same class?

Doo is awesome.... I think he is the best player on the team. I just don't see him being the #1 player in the conference.

I don't think thats a lack of love.

 

[CoachTalk]

Culver was 19 and 9 almost 20/10 guy....
Lawson was 20/10 guy...

Doo was 11 and 7.... overall and 14/8 in big 12 play...

I think its not too much to get 3-4 more points and 1/2 rebounds a game more.

 

[WTSooner]

Culver was 19 and 9 almost 20/10 guy....
Lawson was 20/10 guy...

Doo was 11 and 7.... overall and 14/8 in big 12 play...

I think its not too much to get 3-4 more points and 1/2 rebounds a game more.

OU would also likely have to jump to what, top 2-3 in the conference? Otherwise, if there is a similar player on a better team, that dude is likely to win.

Anybody ready to predict top 2-3 in the Big 12 for OU next year?

With better players around him, Doolittle probably isn't going to see a huge uptick in usage next year. And undersized 4/5 guy that with a somewhat limited offensive game that isn't a great defender is a long shot for POY. Impossible? Probably not. Improbable? I'd guess so.

 

[OU92Grad]

Culver was 19 and 9 almost 20/10 guy....
Lawson was 20/10 guy...

Doo was 11 and 7.... overall and 14/8 in big 12 play...

I think its not too much to get 3-4 more points and 1/2 rebounds a game more.

Coach,

Do you think Doo can put up those numbers if he doesn't play the 5 next year. Most people on the board are calling for a true 5 man next year. If we play a true 5 will that hurt his numbers? Doo was effective as a 4 his freshmen year but since then his only real production has been as a small ball 5 man.

 

[Darwin]

Culver was 19 and 9 almost 20/10 guy....
Lawson was 20/10 guy...

Doo was 11 and 7.... overall and 14/8 in big 12 play...

I think its not too much to get 3-4 more points and 1/2 rebounds a game more.

POY likely will come from the top teams so there are more things than KD's numbers that have to work out.

 

[WichitaSooner]

OU would also likely have to jump to what, top 2-3 in the conference? Otherwise, if there is a similar player on a better team, that dude is likely to win.

Anybody ready to predict top 2-3 in the Big 12 for OU next year?

With better players around him, Doolittle probably isn't going to see a huge uptick in usage next year. And undersized 4/5 guy that with a somewhat limited offensive game that isn't a great defender is a long shot for POY. Impossible? Probably not. Improbable? I'd guess so.

Who are you even talking about? Doo is one of the best/most versatile defenders in the conference. Do you even watch games, or are you so predisposed to finding the negative in every OU player that you can't acknowledge the obvious? As far as limited offensively, he can handle, score down low against smaller defenders, and torch traditional big man by taking them away from the basket and then blowing by them. What is limited about that?

 

[Sooner04]

Doolittle's teammates will have to make one heck of a jump if he wants to sniff Conf POY. The award isn't usually given to a player from the middle of the standings.

This I like:

Harmon
Bieniemy
Reaves
Manek
Doolittle

Play small. Don't waste a scholarship on a project in hopes of protecting the rim. Give me an undersized basketball player any day over a tall project. Guards, guards, guards!

 

[WichitaSooner]

POY likely will come from the top teams so there are more things than KD's numbers that have to work out.

I don't think anyone is predicting that he WILL win POY. The question is if he will be in the mix. Obviously team success plays a role in that, you are right about that.

 

[thebigabd]

Culver was 19 and 9 almost 20/10 guy....
Lawson was 20/10 guy...

Doo was 11 and 7.... overall and 14/8 in big 12 play...

I think its not too much to get 3-4 more points and 1/2 rebounds a game more.

The difference between 11ppg and 15ppg is gigantic, in terms of talent and role on the team. I know it doesn't sound like it, but it is. If you look at the stats nationally tons of players fall of the list each time you add a ppg.

Its easy to think, "surely Doo can put the ball in the basket 2-3 more times per game".... and that sounds very easy. But it isnt.

 

[CoachTalk]

Coach,

Do you think Doo can put up those numbers if he doesn't play the 5 next year. Most people on the board are calling for a true 5 man next year. If we play a true 5 will that hurt his numbers? Doo was effective as a 4 his freshmen year but since then his only real production has been as a small ball 5 man.

I think he can but will he I don’t know.

He was much better the last 15 games than the first 15.

I know it’s not easy getting 18/10 each night.