I consider Nelson a miss. I would imagine he wouldn't see the floor at OU or would be a limited role player
Nelson in Big East play:
10 points, 6 rebounds against Xavier
15 points, 3 rebounds against Seton Hall
24 points, 8 rebounds against Villanova
14 points, 6 rebounds against Butler
17 points, 7 rebounds against Providence
6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists against Georgetown
9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists against Creighton
13 points, 9 rebounds against St Johns
13.1 points and 6 rebounds per game in Big East play and you are going to stick to your guns that Moser was right to go after Benny Schroeder and some of these other dudes on what most people, even on this forum, consider to be the least athletic and least talented team in our conference. The dude was right down the street and you are going to stick to your guns on that? Come on man, that's totally insane.
This is EXACTLY the kind of guy that fills a hole, plays a role... He'd probably average 9-10 points a game right now at OU... OU is losing some of these games by a few points. 1-2 more contributors, a few better athletes, that is the difference between winning and losing guys....There is absolutely zero doubt that Nelson brings more to the team than 75% of the roster. He's better than Jalen Hill and Hill has been playing college basketball for 5 years. Nelson is 20 games in.
Diarra is definitely surprising to me that he isn't ready yet... I still would have signed him, even knowing what I know now. Any day of the week. I take a chance on a regional recruit like that any day. It wouldn't surprise me if he still turns out good either.
I have zero doubt Daniss Jenkins and Sean East are better than Bijan Cortez, CJ Noland, Otegwa, and Joe Bam. Zero. None. Zilch. Cortez belongs at a school like Colorado State, Wyoming, UTEP, North Texas, etc.
Post-Kelvin, we ended the tradition on our own. It was likely because the JUCO talent pool is nothing like it was 30-40 years ago. While there are no Mookie Blaylocks or Harvey Grants in JUCO, there are still some Taj Grays and Skeeter Henrys popping up. I wish we could have kept that tradition going and been in the hunt for the best of the best every year...we certainly would have landed our fair share.
That was my long roundabout about way of saying Bigabd is not completely off base.
A very reasonable take.... and oddly enough the exact point I am making. Post-Kelvin, OU gave up on junior college players as a talent source, and instead went with them in desperate situations. OSU has done the same thing. I think it has cost both programs significantly.
There are plenty of dudes still out there, mostly in the area, to increase the age, talent level, and athletic ability of your team. In very few cases will they be stars, but they will fill gaps.
Nolan Johnson averaged 10ppg at OU
Kelley Newton averaged 9ppg at OU
Eric Martin averaged 12ppg at OU
Quannas White averaged 8.5ppg at OU
Mike Neal averaged 11ppg at OU
Ebi Ere averaged 13ppg at OU
Those guys are still out there... Just in the last few years.
Alonzo Verge from a Missouri juco averaged 15ppg at Arizona State
Devante Bandoo from a Kansas juco averaged 8.5ppg on a great Baylor team
Taz Sherman from a Texas juco averaged 12ppg at West Virginia
Shakuir Juiston from a Kansas juco averaged 11ppg at Oregon/UNLV
Jo Acuil from a Kansas juco averaged 14 and 9 at Baylor
These are the same kinds of dudes Kelvin Sampson signed.. OU just isn't signing them. It's killing the consistency of the program more than anything. OU isn't bringing in enough talent to consistently be good, and I think its exactly for this reason.
Remember, we are living in fantasy land where every JUCO wants to come to OU, and where you can have 13 guys who are all really good players coexisting and being content with their playing time.
