MBB TPT2 TRANSFER PORTAL THREAD 2

[BoulderSooner]

So at this point, we have lost all but three scholarship players, only have two people signed, and one of them apparently won't be ready to contribute much this year? I guess it is stating the obvious to say that we need to hit a home run in the portal. Even a double or triple won't be enough.

5 scholarship players are returning ..

 

[Seymore Cox]

5 scholarship players are returning ..

We’ve lost 2 that hurt, Sherfield and Hill. If we would have kept them, I would have love to keep one of them. Overall I see a potential upgrade.

 

[BoulderSooner]

The problem is Oweh is a 2/3. Same with Cooper.

I think Cole is our only potential 4, and agree with CoachTalk that I don't think he will be ready this year, tbh.

I think you are looking at 2 F's you need to bring in. 1 solid and 1 backup

4 out and playing "small" is not ideal but also not the worst thing ..

but i very much expect OU to find 1 or 2 4 men ..

 

[WichitaSooner]

5 scholarship players are returning ..

Okay, let's modify to three players who have ever played a meaningful second of college basketball. Obviously I was incorrect, but having a guy who has never played and a guy who has spent two years injured doesn't change my point. The cupboard is bare. Los and Oweh need all kinds of help.

 

[TEvans4Three]

So at this point, we have lost all but three scholarship players, only have two people signed, and one of them apparently won't be ready to contribute much this year? I guess it is stating the obvious to say that we need to hit a home run in the portal. Even a double or triple won't be enough.

I think we can all agree we need to get a few portal starters.

Lost:

G - Sherfield*
F - Hill*
C - T. Groves*
G - Bamisile
G - Cortes
G - CJ Noland
F - J. Groves
F - Shroeder

We lost 3 starters, 2 bench roleplayers, and 3 non-contributors

So we need to bring in a starting G, starting C(5), starting F(4)...IMO. Another F and maybe another G that can be athletic and provide minutes after that.

PG - Uzan/backup G
SG - Cooper or portal G (presumably McCollum)
SF - Oweh/portal combo wing
PF - portal F/portal F (Traore?)
C - portal C/(whoever shines from Northweather/Godwin/Keita)

We are only returning 3 guys that played any significant role last year, so we need bodies and decent production at that.

*denotes starter

 

[WichitaSooner]

We’ve lost 2 that hurt, Sherfield and Hill. If we would have kept them, I would have love to keep one of them. Overall I see a potential upgrade.

Your eyesight must be better than mine.

 

[BCSooners]

The problem is Oweh is a 2/3. Same with Cooper.

I think Cole is our only potential 4, and agree with CoachTalk that I don't think he will be ready this year, tbh.

I think you are looking at 2 F's you need to bring in. 1 solid and 1 backup

He's definitely not a 2. I think he's more of a 3/4 based on his handling, shot, and who he can guard (which is 1-4). I don't know if Cooper can guard 4s as well as Oweh. I like having big guards that can guard & rebound as 4s, but you better have a legit, athletic big man.

 

[Eielson]

Temper expectations on Cole. I think knee still giving him fits.

Kooper would start over him at the 4 in my opinion all day everyday.

I don't have high expectations for Cole this year. Just stating that he's probably the only natural 4 we have currently. I expect Cooper and Oweh to be better at the 4 this year, but I just don't think it's their natural position.

 

[Eielson]

We’ve lost 2 that hurt, Sherfield and Hill. If we would have kept them, I would have love to keep one of them. Overall I see a potential upgrade.

Yeah, I don't understand how you can see it any other way. Other than those two, it's mostly addition by subtraction. I would have kept Bijan as backup PG, but if we land Small and McCollum, I don't really see that as a loss. I would have kept Tanner as a 15-20 minute guy, but having a 2-year returning starter at the 5 would have hurt us in the portal. The rest were all worth less than an open scholarship.

 

[BoulderSooner]

I don't have high expectations for Cole this year. Just stating that he's probably the only natural 4 we have currently. I expect Cooper and Oweh to be better at the 4 this year, but I just don't think it's their natural position.

agree

 

[Eielson]

PG - Uzan/backup G
SG - Cooper or portal G (presumably McCollum)
SF - Oweh/portal combo wing
PF - portal F/portal F (Traore?)
C - portal C/(whoever shines from Northweather/Godwin/Keita)

There is a lot still to happen, but as of this moment, I expect something along the lines of:

1 - Uzan/Small
2 - McCollum/Portal
3 - Oweh/Cooper
4 - Lubin/Cooper/Cole
5 - Traore/Godwin/Keita/Norweather

I put Lubin at 4, but have no idea how realistic that actually is. Just seemed more fun than typing "portal" there. Small would play alongside Uzan some, in addition to every minute that Uzan sits. Whoever loses out the battle at 3 between Oweh and Cooper would likely take 10 minutes as backup 4. The backup 5 position sure looks like a cluster, as I'm not overly excited about any of them playing the 4. I'm surprised that we gave Godwin a scholarship and didn't process Keita or Norweather. If we don't land a quality portal 4, I'd have Oweh and Cooper both in the starting lineup at 3 and 4.

 

[Eielson]

Small sample size, but dude shot 9% from 3 last year. He ain't the answer as our starting 4.

He shot 4 3-pointers in conference play, so I don't think that's realistic. Just about anybody can shoot 25-30% with an offseason of emphasis (if not better).
He's a legitimate 4 that already does everything else and would have gotten 15-20 minutes for us last year. He was a freshman last year and I would value him somewhere between our freshman duo, so he's a definite take, and would be better alongside Traore than Hugley. If he were a polished shooter than shot 38% from 3 last year, he likely has his name in the draft and only considering blue-bloods in the portal.

 

[TEvans4Three]

He's definitely not a 2. I think he's more of a 3/4 based on his handling, shot, and who he can guard (which is 1-4). I don't know if Cooper can guard 4s as well as Oweh. I like having big guards that can guard & rebound as 4s, but you better have a legit, athletic big man.

I mean, Rivals/247/ESPN all classify him as a shooting guard. The dude is 6'3"-6'5", absolutely a 2/3 fit.

But we are just arguing for arguments sake now.

Height measurements according to:
Rivals - 6'3"
247 - 6'6"
ESPN - 6'5"

KP he played all his time at the 3.

 

[TEvans4Three]

He shot 4 3-pointers in conference play, so I don't think that's realistic. Just about anybody can shoot 25-30% with an offseason of emphasis (if not better).
He's a legitimate 4 that already does everything else and would have gotten 15-20 minutes for us last year. He was a freshman last year and I would value him somewhere between our freshman duo, so he's a definite take, and would be better alongside Traore than Hugley. If he were a polished shooter than shot 38% from 3 last year, he likely has his name in the draft and only considering blue-bloods in the portal.

"Originally Posted by WTSooner View Post
Small sample size, but dude shot 9% from 3 last year. He ain't the answer as our starting 4."

He was 1 for 11...not something I would hang my hat on in a "can't play the 4" post.

 

[BCSooners]

I mean, Rivals/247/ESPN all classify him as a shooting guard. The dude is 6'3"-6'5", absolutely a 2/3 fit.

But we are just arguing for arguments sake now.

Height measurements according to:
Rivals - 6'3"
247 - 6'6"
ESPN - 6'5"

KP he played all his time at the 3.

My argument was just based off Cooper vs Oweh because I don't see Cole contributing next year. If OU gets a starting 4, then both Cooper & Oweh will see most time at the 3. Moser's offense the 3 & 4 are pretty similar, just defensively is the distinction.

Height really isn't the determining factor. I'd rather have 6'6 Hill guarding 4/5s than 6'9 J. Groves.

 

[WTSooner]

"Originally Posted by WTSooner View Post
Small sample size, but dude shot 9% from 3 last year. He ain't the answer as our starting 4."

He was 1 for 11...not something I would hang my hat on in a "can't play the 4" post.

You can't put a 4 and a 5 on the court in PM's offense where both can't shoot.

Heck, we struggled enough offensively with a 4 and 5 that both shot just a hair under 30% this past year.

The PY, the 4 shot it worse and the 5 shot it better, but we still struggled on offense. We were 34 spots higher on Ken Pom's offense in '22 than we were in '23. There are other reasons for that, but one of the big reasons was T. Groves shooting just under 40% from three that season.

Whatever Portal 5 we get at this point is unlikely to pose any threat from 3, which makes it that much more important that our 4 can.

 

[TEvans4Three]

You can't put a 4 and a 5 on the court in PM's offense where both can't shoot.

Heck, we struggled enough offensively with a 4 and 5 that both shot just a hair under 30% this past year.

The PY, the 4 shot it worse and the 5 shot it better, but we still struggled on offense. We were 34 spots higher on Ken Pom's offense in '22 than we were in '23. There are other reasons for that, but one of the big reasons was T. Groves shooting just under 40% from three that season.

Whatever Portal 5 we get at this point is unlikely to pose any threat from 3, which makes it that much more important that our 4 can.

I agree with you and I am all for having a stretch 4 and 5, my point was more to the end of...he only shot it 11 times, so I wouldnt base a negative or positive opinion off of that.

Perhaps you could say, he may not be a good shooter bc he didnt shoot it enough from 3 = low confidence in his own shot. Unless I see a shot chart, it is tough to tell.

 

[Eielson]

Heck, we struggled enough offensively with a 4 and 5 that both shot just a hair under 30% this past year.

You said it best here -- they both shot in the 20s from 3. You can't get much worse than that. I'm not a believer in Traore or Lubin as guys that will stretch the floor next year, but shooting 25% from 3 isn't exactly a pipe-dream.

What they will provide that last year didn't have is elite rebounding and rim protection. That duo would have the potential to be one of the best in school history in that regard. It's nice to have a 4 with range, but as you stated yourself, JG shot well from 3 and still wasn't a strength on the court.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I agree with you and I am all for having a stretch 4 and 5, my point was more to the end of...he only shot it 11 times, so I wouldnt base a negative or positive opinion off of that.

Perhaps you could say, he may not be a good shooter bc he didnt shoot it enough from 3 = low confidence in his own shot. Unless I see a shot chart, it is tough to tell.

I think your latter point is spot on. Anyone who only attempts 11 threes, regardless of whether they make one or five, clearly doesn't view himself as a shooter. While there are guys who improve their shot a lot over the course of a career, it would be rare for a guy to go from basically never shooting threes to being able to legitimately stretch the floor.

 

[vbdad]

We better get some guys who can shoot the 3 because Oweh has no shot outside 5 feet from the bucket. I like his potential but realistically he isn’t a starter yet on a tournament team. The portal needs to be great this year!