Marques Bolden Update

[CoachTalk]

Do you see KU with a scholarship?

Florida isn't winning? Wow...one year and they went into the crapper? Geez. They lost a lot of players and will be back next year. They return at least 10 players next year if none jump to the nba. I don't think Florida loses any of their top 10 players.


Freeman top 50? Who has Freeman in the top 50?

You are the one that has the backup mentality. I told you AK wouldn't start over Lattin. I told you M'Baye wouldn't be better than Osby.

Doolittle and Manek are not as ranked as high as Jolly is. Jolly is a unanimous 4 star recruit and those guys aren't. Most have them as 3 star recruits. The 4 and 5 star recruits from oklahoma are kids like Trier, Jolly, Milton, Waters, Solomon, Young.

Jolly was a kid that would have contributed to California this year and now he is a year older. He's going to be good for someone, hopefully its OU.

As for Collins, he was a risk. I'm fine not taking all Oklahoma kids. I'm not fine not going after top 4 and 5 star recruits from OKlahoma that don't have any baggage. Jolly is a proven guard that signed with California and lets not pretend that California isn't good. He's cutting ties with them not the other way around and that also shows that he doesn't want to deal with the mess thats going on up there right now.

Scout- http://www.scout.com/college/basket...four-star-pf-matt-freeman-commits-to-oklahoma

Correct on Lattin- Id still like to see AK w/o injuries but Im not above saying i was wrong.

http://verbalcommits.com/players/tyson-jolly
ESPN has him as a 3 but whatever. Others are unranked 4 stars or around the 130-150 range.

Young.Trier, Milton, Waters, Solomon, Jolly

We spent more effort crootin young trier and milton than any kid in the Kruger era.
Waters we stopped bc we got McGusty, Solomon is terrible (ask even osu fans) and jolly we shall see. Jolly has baggage, or should I say red flags, If staff wants him thats fine, I just dont see it.

 

[bgrch1350]

I don't have a strong opinion on whether or not OU should pursue Jolly, but I wouldn't base it on "What would Kansas do?"

Let's be honest: OU basketball isn't on KU basketball's level. Those programs face different realities. I'm sure KU's decisions, including their recruiting approach, are partly influenced by the strong possibility that some of their recruits could realistically jump to the NBA after one or two years of college. Conversely, OU was fortunate just to have one player who was good enough to contemplate leaving after three years as a borderline first round pick.

If you're a typical blue-chip recruit, what do you want in a school? You probably want to go to a prestigious basketball program that has a good NBA draft track record, and/or you want playing time. A program like KU can load a bunch of players at the same position across one or two classes and still land elite recruits because they have so much else to sell to those players. OU doesn't enjoy that luxury. The way KU's program is built, something like roster balance isn't as much of an issue as it is at OU.

I'm not trying to dump on our program in any way. OU's goal--and it's a reasonable one--should be to win the Big 12 and to beat Kansas, but it's not going to happen by taking KU's approach to building a program.

As I said, I don't have a strong opinion on Jolly and OU, but as a borderline Top 100 recruit, it doesn't appear as if he's being valued as a must-take recruit for a program like OU. To be clear, I'm not saying that he's not good enough; rather, in that range, the differences between recruits are small enough that it's quite possible that Kruger or some other coach prefers the #200 recruit in the country to the #100 recruit. If we were talking about a consensus Top 50 kid, you would have a stronger case.

I wouldn't be surprised if OU did or didn't want Jolly. He may be talented enough for OU, but is he a must-take? You have to weigh his talent versus what OU already has on deck and decide if it's worth not having that scholarship available--not just to pursue future HS recruits, but to take in potential transfers as well (i.e. Grandstaff).

You make good points.

I'm not trying to compare us to Kansas. I'm trying to make an example of their roster. They do lose guys to the NBA but they are also in on several 5 star recruits each year and they could hold those scholarships for the following year but they use them if they got them.

Kruger was recruiting Jolly last year but I don't know if they ever offered him.

My concern is this. We lose our PG slash SG. And another shooting guard. And we lose our 6th man who is a pg/sg. Thats 2 starters and a 6th man who are all guards. what we have coming in is Grandstaff, who won't be eligible until conference. We won't have a guard against a potential tough non-conference schedule. James is our best reserve coming back and the only game we can look at where he's shown anything is against West Virginia. 1 game is not enough to know how good he's going to be next year. Odomes isn't playing this year so big question mark on him. McGusty is the guy we see coming in to be our next star. Strong is a juco player and we don't have a history of juco kids coming here and dominating. I at least see Buford and Lattin this year and see what they can do and expect more from them.

I see a really big concern at the guard spot and I see a scholarship available and a 4 star recruit that we could use whether he contributes next year or not.

Not to mention, Kruger has had kids transfer in his 5 years here so its always possible that someone might transfer, even the ones that have gotten a lot of minutes for us. Ex: Booker, Hornbeak, Blair, and Newell.

 

[bgrch1350]

Scout- http://www.scout.com/college/basket...four-star-pf-matt-freeman-commits-to-oklahoma

Correct on Lattin- Id still like to see AK w/o injuries but Im not above saying i was wrong.

http://verbalcommits.com/players/tyson-jolly
ESPN has him as a 3 but whatever. Others are unranked 4 stars or around the 130-150 range.

Young.Trier, Milton, Waters, Solomon, Jolly

We spent more effort crootin young trier and milton than any kid in the Kruger era.
Waters we stopped bc we got McGusty, Solomon is terrible (ask even osu fans) and jolly we shall see. Jolly has baggage, or should I say red flags, If staff wants him thats fine, I just dont see it.

Look at that article. They say 4 star and yet he's a 3 star on his profile right below it. Scout has him as a 3 star.

As for Solomon. He's not terrible and why don't you hold judging him until after a different coach coaches the post players.

Please tell me his red flags?

 

[bgrch1350]

Scout- http://www.scout.com/college/basket...four-star-pf-matt-freeman-commits-to-oklahoma

Correct on Lattin- Id still like to see AK w/o injuries but Im not above saying i was wrong.

http://verbalcommits.com/players/tyson-jolly
ESPN has him as a 3 but whatever. Others are unranked 4 stars or around the 130-150 range.

Young.Trier, Milton, Waters, Solomon, Jolly

We spent more effort crootin young trier and milton than any kid in the Kruger era.
Waters we stopped bc we got McGusty, Solomon is terrible (ask even osu fans) and jolly we shall see. Jolly has baggage, or should I say red flags, If staff wants him thats fine, I just dont see it.

Also. Whats a bigger red flag. A 3 star recruit who missed an entire season do to a broken leg or a 4 star recruit that had to go to prep school b/c the high school messed up his transcript?

 

[CoachTalk]

I see your points but just because he is a 4 star doesnt mean he is better than what we have. Dont you think these coaches want the best talent on the team and espicially if its local kids, even a more of a reason that this staff would do its dilgence and see if he is worth the scholly.

If they dont feel he is, then we cant waste our time with a kid they feel will never beat out our current guards.

Freeman- it has been said multiple places that if he was ranked with American kids he'd be clearly a 4 star. I'll search for those article.

 

[CoachTalk]

Also. Whats a bigger red flag. A 3 star recruit who missed an entire season do to a broken leg or a 4 star recruit that had to go to prep school b/c the high school messed up his transcript?

You pick and choose what rankings fits your agenda. James was one the top 5 SG in the state prior to the broken leg. y

More red flags than that. Blame the school, it saves face. Just like several other kids Red flags I point out, its not liked. Ill refrain. scott, collins, harris...

 

[AdaSooner]

Look at that article. They say 4 star and yet he's a 3 star on his profile right below it. Scout has him as a 3 star.

As for Solomon. He's not terrible and why don't you hold judging him until after a different coach coaches the post players.

Please tell me his red flags?

Using bad coaching as an excuse for Solomon will not change the fact that he is too slow on his feet to defend without getting in foul trouble. And, by the way, I happen to agree with you about Ford and the way he used his post players.

Solomon seems like a nice young man, but he would have been nothing more than a role player at OU this season. That's not a bad thing, every team needs players who can contribute off of the bench. He would not have started over Lattin, as you incorrectly stated early on. You're also the one who raved about Cheick Diallo and what he would bring to KU this season when the NCAA released him to play. How did that work out?

My point is simple in case you missed it. You're no more of an expert on predicting how a new recruit or a freshman might perform than anyone else on this board. We all make mistakes, and that includes me. So, stop pretending you are the all-knowing soothsayer of college basketball, before you set yourself up for failure again, just as you did with Solomon and Diallo.

I have no idea why our coaches didn't want Tyson Jolly coming out of high school? But, if their interest in him was mild back then, it's not likely there is a smidgen of interest in him now. Why? Because we already have an abundance of talent at his position, not to mention the fact that we have much bigger fish to fry next year with the recruits we're in on. So, why use a valuable scholarship on a borderline three-four star player who may not be as good as the players already on our roster?

Nothing about that makes sense to me, which is why I keep asking myself: Why can't you see what nearly every poster on this thread has been trying to tell you? Is "winning" a nonsensical argument that important to you?

 

[bgrch1350]

I see your points but just because he is a 4 star doesnt mean he is better than what we have. Dont you think these coaches want the best talent on the team and espicially if its local kids, even a more of a reason that this staff would do its dilgence and see if he is worth the scholly.

If they dont feel he is, then we cant waste our time with a kid they feel will never beat out our current guards.

Freeman- it has been said multiple places that if he was ranked with American kids he'd be clearly a 4 star. I'll search for those article.

Again, I have never said he was better than what we have.

Kruger is a great coach but not every player he has had on scholarship could not be replaced with another talent. Walker was not our first choice. We didn't land Trier and Milton which says that we passed didn't get our first choice and had to get 2nd and 3rd options. We had Cole on scholarship. Walker replaced the other juco that had committed that we couldn't bring here for some reason.

If Hield had left last year like most kids as talented as him and hadn't returned I have a feeling we wouldn't have had near as good of a team this year. So its great that we get kids that need time to develop but getting kids like McGusty and Grandstaff will take us closer to getting a big 12 championship. These are kids that everyone wants. Jolly is a kid that almost everyone wants.

California was a 4 seed without him. They might have been even higher with him.

 

[CoachTalk]

Rival.com's Eric Bossi made the quote below about Freeman right after he committed to OU. It has been posted before, but I'm repeating it here for anyone who might have missed it. When Eric Bossi speaks, I listen. IMO, he's one of the best recruiting analyst in the business:

Quote:
Matthew Freeman can really play. I wrote about him back in June when he came to the States with New Zealand's three x three team and was planning to do a new update on him this week after seeing him again at Adidas Nations.

He is a legit 6'9" has a very solid frame and is a good athlete. He should be able to add 20 pounds in the weight room without it costing him any flexibility or athleticism.

He plays hard, is a very good passer and is a lights out shooter for a guy with his size. He's cut out of the mold of NBA player Ryan Anderson.

The reason that he is a non ranked 4-star is because he does not regularly play competition in the States and we don't put International kids into the Rivals150 unless they are regularly playing the competition that we know and have scouted.

Put it this way, if the kid were playing in the U.S. right now or had been regularly competing against kids on the summer circuit here in the States, he would be at least a top 50 type prospect.

Very nice get for the Sooners.

 

[CoachTalk]

Again, I have never said he was better than what we have.

Kruger is a great coach but not every player he has had on scholarship could not be replaced with another talent. Walker was not our first choice. We didn't land Trier and Milton which says that we passed didn't get our first choice and had to get 2nd and 3rd options. We had Cole on scholarship. Walker replaced the other juco that had committed that we couldn't bring here for some reason.

If Hield had left last year like most kids as talented as him and hadn't returned I have a feeling we wouldn't have had near as good of a team this year. So its great that we get kids that need time to develop but getting kids like McGusty and Grandstaff will take us closer to getting a big 12 championship. These are kids that everyone wants. Jolly is a kid that almost everyone wants.

California was a 4 seed without him. They might have been even higher with him.

This just isnt true.

 

[bgrch1350]

Using bad coaching as an excuse for Solomon will not change the fact that he is too slow on his feet to defend without getting in foul trouble. And, by the way, I happen to agree with you about Ford and the way he used his post players.

Solomon seems like a nice young man, but he would have been nothing more than a role player at OU this season. That's not a bad thing, every team needs players who can contribute off of the bench. He would not have started over Lattin, as you incorrectly stated early on. You're also the one who raved about Cheick Diallo and what he would bring to KU this season when the NCAA released him to play. How did that work out?

My point is simple in case you missed it. You're no more of an expert on predicting how a new recruit or a freshman might perform than anyone else on this board. We all make mistakes, and that includes me. So, stop pretending you are the all-knowing soothsayer of college basketball, before you set yourself up for failure again, just as you did with Solomon and Diallo.

I have no idea why our coaches didn't want Tyson Jolly coming out of high school? But, if their interest in him was mild back then, it's not likely there is a smidgen of interest in him now. Why? Because we already have an abundance of talent at his position, not to mention the fact that we have much bigger fish to fry next year with the recruits we're in on. So, why use a valuable scholarship on a borderline three-four star player who may not be as good as the players already on our roster?

Nothing about that makes sense to me, which is why I keep asking myself: Why can't you see what nearly every poster on this thread has been trying to tell you? Is "winning" a nonsensical argument that important to you?

One) I'm not backing down on my argument about Solomon. Had he been here as a freshmen, i still believe he would be starting over Lattin but now he has a coach that uses post players, we will see how he turns out. It really doesn't matter b/c Lattin is a good player for us and I'm happy we got him. It wouldn't bother me if we had both of them. I look at a former OSU player who is currently starting for Miami right now that wasn't being used very well at OSU.

Kruger was recruiting Jolly but I don't think they offered him.

Winning? Did we finish 1st in the big 12? Did we finish 2nd in the big 12? Did we win the big 12 tournament? What have we won?

I think we have a great shot getting to the final 4 especially with the help of Joe C and the committee by putting us in the weakest region of them all.

 

[bgrch1350]

This just isnt true.

and yet From California all the way to Florida...he is getting interest.

 

[152219]

One) I'm not backing down on my argument about Solomon. Had he been here as a freshmen, i still believe he would be starting over Lattin but now he has a coach that uses post players, we will see how he turns out. It really doesn't matter b/c Lattin is a good player for us and I'm happy we got him. It wouldn't bother me if we had both of them. I look at a former OSU player who is currently starting for Miami right now that wasn't being used very well at OSU.

Kruger was recruiting Jolly but I don't think they offered him.

Winning? Did we finish 1st in the big 12? Did we finish 2nd in the big 12? Did we win the big 12 tournament? What have we won?

I think we have a great shot getting to the final 4 especially with the help of Joe C and the committee by putting us in the weakest region of them all.

Solomon had lead for feet and no coaching would change that.

OU has won 2 NCAA tourney games and hopefully they notch another win tonight.

 

[BCSooners]

One) I'm not backing down on my argument about Solomon. Had he been here as a freshmen, i still believe he would be starting over Lattin but now he has a coach that uses post players, we will see how he turns out. It really doesn't matter b/c Lattin is a good player for us and I'm happy we got him. It wouldn't bother me if we had both of them. I look at a former OSU player who is currently starting for Miami right now that wasn't being used very well at OSU.

Kruger was recruiting Jolly but I don't think they offered him.

Winning? Did we finish 1st in the big 12? Did we finish 2nd in the big 12? Did we win the big 12 tournament? What have we won?

I think we have a great shot getting to the final 4 especially with the help of Joe C and the committee by putting us in the weakest region of them all.

He literally has almost the exact same stats as now then as a sophomore at osu his last year there. I know Miami is better than osu was then (even though that osu team was really talented), but Murphy is also 2 years older.

 

[152219]

He literally has almost the exact same stats as now then as a sophomore at osu his last year there. I know Miami is better than osu was then (even though that osu team was really talented), but Murphy is also 2 years older.

His stats are actually slightly worse than when he was at Okie State, but no reason to let facts get in the way when you have an argument going.

 

[AdaSooner]

One) I'm not backing down on my argument about Solomon. Had he been here as a freshmen, i still believe he would be starting over Lattin but now he has a coach that uses post players, we will see how he turns out. It really doesn't matter b/c Lattin is a good player for us and I'm happy we got him. It wouldn't bother me if we had both of them. I look at a former OSU player who is currently starting for Miami right now that wasn't being used very well at OSU.

Kruger was recruiting Jolly but I don't think they offered him.

Winning? Did we finish 1st in the big 12? Did we finish 2nd in the big 12? Did we win the big 12 tournament? What have we won?

I think we have a great shot getting to the final 4 especially with the help of Joe C and the committee by putting us in the weakest region of them all.

My reference to "winning" had nothing to do with what OU did or did not do this season. I was asking you if "winning" an argument that makes very little sense to anyone but you is that important to you. There has to be a reason why you have been so tenacious in promoting Tyson Jolly, when most of the posters on this thread are not sold on the idea of using a ship on him.

If next year's team was short on talented scorers from the two or the wing, I would be on board with what you are trying to sell. That is definitely not the case, which is why I agree with those who feel our program would be better served by saving that scholarship for one of the recruits we're hoping to sign next year; namely, Trae Young and one of the bigs we're in on.

Bottom line: We don't need Jolly. If we did I would be all for signing him. Nothing I like better than bringing in local kids who want to be a Sooner.

 

[bgrch1350]

Solomon had lead for feet and no coaching would change that.

OU has won 2 NCAA tourney games and hopefully they notch another win tonight.

Hope they do to.

 

[bgrch1350]

His stats are actually slightly worse than when he was at Okie State, but no reason to let facts get in the way when you have an argument going.

He's also on a sweet 16 team playing next to a post player whose getting almost 9 rebounds a game. If you notice, Murphy was basically the only post player with those numbers. Cobbins wasn't averaging very good numbers either and that was on a cowboy team with a losing conference record. He has a better center right next to him in Jekiri.

 

[bgrch1350]

My reference to "winning" had nothing to do with what OU did or did not do this season. I was asking you if "winning" an argument that makes very little sense to anyone but you is that important to you. There has to be a reason why you have been so tenacious in promoting Tyson Jolly, when most of the posters on this thread are not sold on the idea of using a ship on him.

If next year's team was short on talented scorers from the two or the wing, I would be on board with what you are trying to sell. That is definitely not the case, which is why I agree with those who feel our program would be better served by saving that scholarship for one of the recruits we're hoping to sign next year; namely, Trae Young and one of the bigs we're in on.

Bottom line: We don't need Jolly. If we did I would be all for signing him. Nothing I like better than bringing in local kids who want to be a Sooner.

1) you say we don't need him? I say...give me one ounce of evidence that we don't need him?
2) Prove to me that the guys we have coming back (besides Woodard) is better than him?
3) Guarantee me that Young is going to come here. The other norman kid is heading to stillwater. The other top recruits Kruger has been in on have not come here. Kruger has signed 1 unanimous top 100 recruit straight out of high school since he has been here. Jolly was a unanimous top 100 recruit. Grandstaff transferred here.

 

[hoopsaustin]

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