Lots of smoke around Elijah Harkless

Looks like he played a decent amount of PG for them. He really looks like a nice passer, great rebounder for a guard and is a slasher who can create.

Let's not all forget, Baylor (top 4 team this year) had a transfer from UNC Ashville and Division III Carleton College as 2 of their top 4 players.

You need glue guys like this who can do all the dirty work. And...he shot 36% from the 3 pt line this year...not bad at all.
 
I don't know much about this guy. Is he the the second coming of Miles Reynolds?
 
I wish he had some bigger offers besides us. Another Miles Reynolds or Aaron Calixte probably won't do us any good.
 
rickjames said:
I wish he had some bigger offers besides us. Another Miles Reynolds or Aaron Calixte probably won't do us any good.
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We made the tournament with those guys, and wouldn't have without them. They weren't great, in fact, weren't even good the last half of the season, but to say they didn't do us "any good" is flat wrong.
 
WichitaSooner said:
We made the tournament with those guys, and wouldn't have without them. They weren't great, in fact, weren't even good the last half of the season, but to say they didn't do us "any good" is flat wrong.
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Yes - we did make the tourney with them, but probably shouldn't have with our performance the last half of the season and in the Big 12. The Trae Young effect allowed that to happen. We need impact transfers like Reeves, Thomas, etc.
 
rickjames said:
Yes - we did make the tourney with them, but probably shouldn't have with our performance the last half of the season and in the Big 12. The Trae Young effect allowed that to happen. We need impact transfers like Reeves, Thomas, etc.
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The first two factors are irrelevant. And I didn't realize that the committee liked Trae so much that they put us in the tourney the year after he left -- I guess they figured millions would tune in to watch his former school play lol.
 
WichitaSooner said:
The first two factors are irrelevant. And I didn't realize that the committee liked Trae so much that they put us in the tourney the year after he left -- I guess they figured millions would tune in to watch his former school play lol.
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James is struggling this morning!
 
WichitaSooner said:
The first two factors are irrelevant. And I didn't realize that the committee liked Trae so much that they put us in the tourney the year after he left -- I guess they figured millions would tune in to watch his former school play lol.
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The reasons why can vary from one season to another (they don't have to be constant).
 
Sounds like a top notch defender who has a better than average 3 point stroke and has a nice all around game, can rebound, pass, and can play point..

What’s not to like?
 
I don't make judgments on transfers or recruits, because it's a bigger crap shoot than the stock market, but it's interesting (concerning?) that he only has offers from OU, Fresno State, Montana State, Loyola-Marymount and San Diego.
 
CoachTalk said:
Athlete.
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Not saying that is the case with this kid, but that "strategy" (recruiting athletes only) has gotten us in trouble more than it's helped us.

If you look back over the last 20 years or so, most of OU's elite players weren't elite athletes. Hollis Price. Najera. Hield. It's a pretty long list. There are exceptions. Most notably Blake Griffin. But I'd like to see us go back to recruiting skilled players, not guys that look good getting off a bus. IMO.
 
WTSooner said:
I'd like to see us go back to recruiting skilled players, not guys that look good getting off a bus. IMO.
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Is there anything that suggests to you that Harkless is not skilled?
 
WTSooner said:
Not saying that is the case with this kid, but that "strategy" (recruiting athletes only) has gotten us in trouble more than it's helped us.

If you look back over the last 20 years or so, most of OU's elite players weren't elite athletes. Hollis Price. Najera. Hield. It's a pretty long list. There are exceptions. Most notably Blake Griffin. But I'd like to see us go back to recruiting skilled players, not guys that look good getting off a bus. IMO.
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Gibson skilled? 40% 3pt shooter, play the 1/2, one of the best defenders

Harkless skilled? 36% above avg reb almost 7 3 asst. (likely RS) regardless of ncaa waiver

Id say yes.
 
My thinking is he may red shirt no matter what.. You get a guy that's already strong/athletic in the system for a year. Then let him come compete for 2 years replacing Reaves or Williams. I don't think Harkless is a pure shooter or super skilled, but he looks to be a solid defender and plus athlete. My hope is he comes in and is a good bench player.
 
WTSooner said:
Not saying that is the case with this kid, but that "strategy" (recruiting athletes only) has gotten us in trouble more than it's helped us.

If you look back over the last 20 years or so, most of OU's elite players weren't elite athletes. Hollis Price. Najera. Hield. It's a pretty long list. There are exceptions. Most notably Blake Griffin. But I'd like to see us go back to recruiting skilled players, not guys that look good getting off a bus. IMO.
Click to expand...

https://baylorbears.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/macio-teague/9734

https://gomatadors.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/elijah-harkless/3899

I’m not saying they are the same guy or that Harkless will have scoring stats the same as Teague but you can make the argument that Baylor took a reach on a guy that was “only good” at a smaller school and it turned out pretty good for Baylor this season. Had OU taken Teague two years ago from UNC Asheville everyone would have been questioning the decision and if he could play at the DI level.

Per Harkless’ bio, he made a huge jump from his Fr to Soph more seasons and seems to only be getting better. IF he redshirts given he comes to OU, which seems like the plan, I feel like he could make a pretty good impact come his RS Jr year. In my mind he seems to be the replacement type for Williams after he is gone.

The size and athleticism he seems to have along with the mentality to rebound is exactly what type of guard I want to see OU have. Just my opinion but I’d take a guy that has proven he can play at the higher collegiate level over some JUCO or HS recruit we don’t know anything about.
 
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