Sam
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Its lengthy and ranty so I warn you in advance.
As its been covered in every other thread Kruger has had success at every stop during his long college coaching career. For that reason I am comfortable with assuming his X's and O's will be good enough to make OU competitive on that side.
On the flip slide, how will he impact recruiting?
Its hard for me to guess, as it looks like he mainly recruited regionally at UNLV which makes sense. But that also means he doesn't have a lot of connections in this region, so he'll have to build that from the ground up.
If OU is to leave the basement of the Big 12 that is is has been lounging in for the past two years, Kruger will have to inject new blood into program over the upcoming seasons. The current roster Capel has left behind is not void of talent as there are enough pieces to make next season interesting. Sophomores Andrew Fitzgerald and Steven Pledger have shown the ability to score in the Big 12. While the freshman trio of Cameron Clark, Tyler Neal and Calvin Newell all showed enough flashes during their inaugural seasons to make people believe all three can become key contributors in the future. Then of course there is the transfer from Mississippi State. If Capel was allowed even ten seconds to speak on the future of Oklahoma he would've had you believing that Lebron James was taking his talents to South Norman in the form of Osby. Now that may have been hyperbole on my part but the hype around Osby has been building for a few months now.
With the Sooners expected to have a full compliment of players who can fill the positions from shooting guard spot down to power forward, there still remains a need for depth at center and at point guard. Those two positions were the targets of Capel's staff on the recruiting trail in 2011 and I see no reason why Kruger's scramble for recruits would be any different.
Baring anymore defections from the current team or incoming forward Robert Goff, or the return of sophomore forward Kyle Hardrick from academic issues, Kruger should have three open scholarships to work with in the final months of the 2011 recruiting calendar.
The class of 2011 nationally was never a strong and deep one to begin with. Players at the top like Austin Rivers, Lebryan Nash, Quincy Miller etc are all elite talents but there is a significant drop off after. To make the task even harder on Kruger for 2011 is the fact that the class is well known for its lack of size and floor generals. At this stage Kruger will need to get creative if he is to fill out his three open scholarships. While the junior college ranks is not as deep as it was even nine years ago when the Sooners made a Final Four appearance with six junior college players on the roster, it is still a prime option to fill gaps.
Coach Kruger would do well to continue the recruitments of point guards Sam Grooms (Chipola, Florida) and Jeremy Jones (Seward, Kansas). Both are players that are already familiar with the Oklahoma program after Capel's pursuit of the two this winter and are two of the best point guards that are still on the board.
Based on what I have read on the two, Grooms is more of a distributor and Jones is a scorer so each represent a different piece to add to the Sooners' puzzle. Its is highly unlikely OU would be able to add both as junior college players tend to choose places where they can play early and often. The addition of either player would be a big benefit for the Kruger's staff as they addressed the point guard depth issues.
While Grooms and Jones represent more of a quick fix as both only have two years to play, there are still a few options left in the prep ranks. Eli Carter out of Brewster Academy has long listed OU has one of his final schools. Carter is not a true point guard as he is considered by many national sites as a combo guard but with OU's need for backcourt help he remains an option.
Kyan Anderson is currently signed with Providence but with their coaching change it wouldn't surprise me if the North Crowley standout opens up his recruitment. Anderson visited OU in early September but was not offered at the time and it appeared that both parities had moved on as OU pursued other options and Anderson committed to Providence. With both Providence and Oklahoma experiencing coaching changes it is reasonable to guess that the 5 foot 11 point guard could become a Sooner target this April.
Another Dallas area option is Curtis "Trey" Davis out of Woodrow Wilson high school in Dallas. Davis proved to be one of the top scorers in the Dallas area with a season high of 50 points in January and many other high scoring outings. He's a sleeper option.
The post options are even slimmer pickings at the moment. Phillip Jurick is still undecided and has played his recruiting close to the vest so it is difficult to get a read on him. Since he's already taken his official is doubtful that Kruger will be able to bring in the 6 foot 11 center for any on campus visits. If he does visit here again it will be on his own dime and that is a great sign for OU if he is willing to do that to meet the new staff. Jurick only has two years left in his college career so he will be looking for immediately playing time and with OU's post depth issues, Norman is one of the top destinations for that.
After that it gets murky, there are a few other bigs floating around the juco waters looking for a school but I honestly would do better pulling a name out of a hat rather than picking people OU could target. i.e. I'm lazy and don't wanna dig around juco junction.
As far as local guys like Josh Richardson and Dom Raney I think it will be similar to how Capel viewed them. Given the lack of open ships and the needs elsewhere I doubt Kruger pursues either too much. Now if some people leave in the guards slots I think they would become top options. Richardson is ahead of Raney in my book as he more versatile and has a higher ceiling. In some ways Richardson is David Godbold like, he would be a four year player who's biggest impact would be defense. I doubt he would ever be much of a scorer in a Major Conference.
Raney is a volume shooter type who I think could be star at a mid major school as the go to guy but I am not sure how he would fit in at a Big 12 quality school. He needs to ball in his hands to score but he's a table setter. He's a two guard, and I just don't see it working in the Big 12.
Any impact players that Kruger adds this late is a bonus as the most important recruiting will happen down the road. There is only so much you can do late in the game and its important to start laying inroads on the current juniors and sophomores in high school.
A quick glance over UNLV's recent recruiting classes on Rivals shows that he was focused on the region Las Vegas was in for them. Many of his commitments were Nevada, California and Arizona natives, the core of his roster was regional.
While he has to build new contact in the area, his recruiting at OU should be similar. Just a few hundred miles south is Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex and it is full of talented basketball players. The state of Oklahoma has also produced its fair share of talented products and the class of 2013 is looking to be one of the better ones in recent years.
Here is a list of some of the high school kids OU has been recruiting/options in the region who could pop up on Kruger's radar.
2012
Oklahoma
James Woodard, 6'3 SG, Edmond Memorial
Joe Edmonds, 6'5 SF, Bishop McGuiness
Matt Chrisantensen, 6'9 PF, Bishop McGuiness
Note - I dont see OU getting back in with Nino Jackson for multiple reasons.
Texas
Aaron Durley, 6'11 C, Fort Bend Bush, Houston
J-Mychal Reese, 6'1 CG, Bryan
Jelon Hornbeak, 6'3 SG, Grace Prep, Arlington
Jordan Mason, 6'2 SG, Ennis
Marcus Smart, 6'3 SF, Marcus, Flower Mound
Nick Banyard, 6'7 PF, Marcus, Flower Mound
Niem Stevenson, 6'3 SG, Ranchview, Carrollton
Prince Ibeh, 6'10 C, Naaman Forest, Garland
Shaquille Cleare, 6'9 C, The VIllage, Houston
Note - I don't see OU getting Perry Ellis without Capel here, he was OU's main connection to him. I expect him to be a Jayhawk or a Kentucky Wildcat now.
2013
Oklahoma
Jordan Woodard, 5'11 PG, Edmond Memorial
Juwan Parker, 6'4 SG, Booker T Washington, Tulsa
Shaquille Morris, 6'8 C, Edmond Santa Fe
Stevie Clark, 5'10 CG, Douglass, Oklahoma City
Texas
Jordan Mickey, 6'7 F, Berkner, Richardson
Kendal Harris. 6'2 G, Berkner, Richardson
Shirmane Thomas, 6'1 G, Skyline, Dallas
Soma Edo, 6'5 F, Berkner Richardson
Note - I have similar thoughts on Julius Randle along with the Harrison Twins out of Houston that I have on Perry Ellis. It was Capel's relationship with them that put OU in the picture.
OU should have around 2-4 open scholarships to use in 2012, I would expect two posts player and two guards to make up the class. If OU gets a point guard to finish out the year and they feel confident with him I would bet they focus more on the 2-3 types then a combo or point guard. In some ways 2013 is more crucial as there are more open ships to use (at least 5 players on this roster as expected to graduate then). Good news on that is there is expected to be quite a few Big 12 quality players in Oklahoma in 2013.
If Kruger is going to turn around the program like he has done in his five previous stops it will be through regional recruiting. There are many talented options in the area that should be hearing from the new Oklahoma staff soon.
If you're still reading, or even skimmed over to the end. Thanks for reading.
As its been covered in every other thread Kruger has had success at every stop during his long college coaching career. For that reason I am comfortable with assuming his X's and O's will be good enough to make OU competitive on that side.
On the flip slide, how will he impact recruiting?
Its hard for me to guess, as it looks like he mainly recruited regionally at UNLV which makes sense. But that also means he doesn't have a lot of connections in this region, so he'll have to build that from the ground up.
If OU is to leave the basement of the Big 12 that is is has been lounging in for the past two years, Kruger will have to inject new blood into program over the upcoming seasons. The current roster Capel has left behind is not void of talent as there are enough pieces to make next season interesting. Sophomores Andrew Fitzgerald and Steven Pledger have shown the ability to score in the Big 12. While the freshman trio of Cameron Clark, Tyler Neal and Calvin Newell all showed enough flashes during their inaugural seasons to make people believe all three can become key contributors in the future. Then of course there is the transfer from Mississippi State. If Capel was allowed even ten seconds to speak on the future of Oklahoma he would've had you believing that Lebron James was taking his talents to South Norman in the form of Osby. Now that may have been hyperbole on my part but the hype around Osby has been building for a few months now.
With the Sooners expected to have a full compliment of players who can fill the positions from shooting guard spot down to power forward, there still remains a need for depth at center and at point guard. Those two positions were the targets of Capel's staff on the recruiting trail in 2011 and I see no reason why Kruger's scramble for recruits would be any different.
Baring anymore defections from the current team or incoming forward Robert Goff, or the return of sophomore forward Kyle Hardrick from academic issues, Kruger should have three open scholarships to work with in the final months of the 2011 recruiting calendar.
The class of 2011 nationally was never a strong and deep one to begin with. Players at the top like Austin Rivers, Lebryan Nash, Quincy Miller etc are all elite talents but there is a significant drop off after. To make the task even harder on Kruger for 2011 is the fact that the class is well known for its lack of size and floor generals. At this stage Kruger will need to get creative if he is to fill out his three open scholarships. While the junior college ranks is not as deep as it was even nine years ago when the Sooners made a Final Four appearance with six junior college players on the roster, it is still a prime option to fill gaps.
Coach Kruger would do well to continue the recruitments of point guards Sam Grooms (Chipola, Florida) and Jeremy Jones (Seward, Kansas). Both are players that are already familiar with the Oklahoma program after Capel's pursuit of the two this winter and are two of the best point guards that are still on the board.
Based on what I have read on the two, Grooms is more of a distributor and Jones is a scorer so each represent a different piece to add to the Sooners' puzzle. Its is highly unlikely OU would be able to add both as junior college players tend to choose places where they can play early and often. The addition of either player would be a big benefit for the Kruger's staff as they addressed the point guard depth issues.
While Grooms and Jones represent more of a quick fix as both only have two years to play, there are still a few options left in the prep ranks. Eli Carter out of Brewster Academy has long listed OU has one of his final schools. Carter is not a true point guard as he is considered by many national sites as a combo guard but with OU's need for backcourt help he remains an option.
Kyan Anderson is currently signed with Providence but with their coaching change it wouldn't surprise me if the North Crowley standout opens up his recruitment. Anderson visited OU in early September but was not offered at the time and it appeared that both parities had moved on as OU pursued other options and Anderson committed to Providence. With both Providence and Oklahoma experiencing coaching changes it is reasonable to guess that the 5 foot 11 point guard could become a Sooner target this April.
Another Dallas area option is Curtis "Trey" Davis out of Woodrow Wilson high school in Dallas. Davis proved to be one of the top scorers in the Dallas area with a season high of 50 points in January and many other high scoring outings. He's a sleeper option.
The post options are even slimmer pickings at the moment. Phillip Jurick is still undecided and has played his recruiting close to the vest so it is difficult to get a read on him. Since he's already taken his official is doubtful that Kruger will be able to bring in the 6 foot 11 center for any on campus visits. If he does visit here again it will be on his own dime and that is a great sign for OU if he is willing to do that to meet the new staff. Jurick only has two years left in his college career so he will be looking for immediately playing time and with OU's post depth issues, Norman is one of the top destinations for that.
After that it gets murky, there are a few other bigs floating around the juco waters looking for a school but I honestly would do better pulling a name out of a hat rather than picking people OU could target. i.e. I'm lazy and don't wanna dig around juco junction.
As far as local guys like Josh Richardson and Dom Raney I think it will be similar to how Capel viewed them. Given the lack of open ships and the needs elsewhere I doubt Kruger pursues either too much. Now if some people leave in the guards slots I think they would become top options. Richardson is ahead of Raney in my book as he more versatile and has a higher ceiling. In some ways Richardson is David Godbold like, he would be a four year player who's biggest impact would be defense. I doubt he would ever be much of a scorer in a Major Conference.
Raney is a volume shooter type who I think could be star at a mid major school as the go to guy but I am not sure how he would fit in at a Big 12 quality school. He needs to ball in his hands to score but he's a table setter. He's a two guard, and I just don't see it working in the Big 12.
Any impact players that Kruger adds this late is a bonus as the most important recruiting will happen down the road. There is only so much you can do late in the game and its important to start laying inroads on the current juniors and sophomores in high school.
A quick glance over UNLV's recent recruiting classes on Rivals shows that he was focused on the region Las Vegas was in for them. Many of his commitments were Nevada, California and Arizona natives, the core of his roster was regional.
While he has to build new contact in the area, his recruiting at OU should be similar. Just a few hundred miles south is Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex and it is full of talented basketball players. The state of Oklahoma has also produced its fair share of talented products and the class of 2013 is looking to be one of the better ones in recent years.
Here is a list of some of the high school kids OU has been recruiting/options in the region who could pop up on Kruger's radar.
2012
Oklahoma
James Woodard, 6'3 SG, Edmond Memorial
Joe Edmonds, 6'5 SF, Bishop McGuiness
Matt Chrisantensen, 6'9 PF, Bishop McGuiness
Note - I dont see OU getting back in with Nino Jackson for multiple reasons.
Texas
Aaron Durley, 6'11 C, Fort Bend Bush, Houston
J-Mychal Reese, 6'1 CG, Bryan
Jelon Hornbeak, 6'3 SG, Grace Prep, Arlington
Jordan Mason, 6'2 SG, Ennis
Marcus Smart, 6'3 SF, Marcus, Flower Mound
Nick Banyard, 6'7 PF, Marcus, Flower Mound
Niem Stevenson, 6'3 SG, Ranchview, Carrollton
Prince Ibeh, 6'10 C, Naaman Forest, Garland
Shaquille Cleare, 6'9 C, The VIllage, Houston
Note - I don't see OU getting Perry Ellis without Capel here, he was OU's main connection to him. I expect him to be a Jayhawk or a Kentucky Wildcat now.
2013
Oklahoma
Jordan Woodard, 5'11 PG, Edmond Memorial
Juwan Parker, 6'4 SG, Booker T Washington, Tulsa
Shaquille Morris, 6'8 C, Edmond Santa Fe
Stevie Clark, 5'10 CG, Douglass, Oklahoma City
Texas
Jordan Mickey, 6'7 F, Berkner, Richardson
Kendal Harris. 6'2 G, Berkner, Richardson
Shirmane Thomas, 6'1 G, Skyline, Dallas
Soma Edo, 6'5 F, Berkner Richardson
Note - I have similar thoughts on Julius Randle along with the Harrison Twins out of Houston that I have on Perry Ellis. It was Capel's relationship with them that put OU in the picture.
OU should have around 2-4 open scholarships to use in 2012, I would expect two posts player and two guards to make up the class. If OU gets a point guard to finish out the year and they feel confident with him I would bet they focus more on the 2-3 types then a combo or point guard. In some ways 2013 is more crucial as there are more open ships to use (at least 5 players on this roster as expected to graduate then). Good news on that is there is expected to be quite a few Big 12 quality players in Oklahoma in 2013.
If Kruger is going to turn around the program like he has done in his five previous stops it will be through regional recruiting. There are many talented options in the area that should be hearing from the new Oklahoma staff soon.
If you're still reading, or even skimmed over to the end. Thanks for reading.
