Next year: Great talent, but different

[DenverSooner]

Unless I missed something, he hasn't committed yet. Hard to count on a guy that's not committed.

Just having a positive attitude.

 

[OULad]

Someone made a comment to me that OU was going to practically fall apart after losing Buddy Hield... Ridiculous. All great college players graduate, and good schools restock with good players. OU has a lot of talent on roster and coming in.

OU has survived losing Wayman Tisdale, Mookie Blaylock, Ryan Minor, Eduardo Najera, Ace Mcghee, Hollis Price, Blake Griffin, and will survive losing Buddy Hield.

PG: Jordan Woodard/Darrion Strong
SG: Austin Grandstaff/Kameron Mcgusty
SF: Christian James/Rashard Odomes
PF: Khadeem Lattin/Dante Buford
C: Akolda Manyang/Jamuni Mcneace

Lots of talent, lots of athletic ability. They won't be the #1 team in the nation, but that team will have no problem making the dance and competing in the Big 12.

I dont see a scenario where Lattin and Buford are not starting at the 4 & 5. Manyang looks lost and Mcneace is not nearly as good as those 2. In fact if we get Bolden id look for McNeace to transfer. Hes a garbage time player at this level to me.

 

[DenverSooner]

I dont see a scenario where Lattin and Buford are not starting at the 4 & 5. Manyang looks lost and Mcneace is not nearly as good as those 2. In fact if we get Bolden id look for McNeace to transfer. Hes a garbage time player at this level to me.

I wish I was athletic garbage like McNeace. I am an above average athlete and that kid is so far more talented than me it is ridiculous.

 

[WTSooner]

I dont see a scenario where Lattin and Buford are not starting at the 4 & 5. Manyang looks lost and Mcneace is not nearly as good as those 2. In fact if we get Bolden id look for McNeace to transfer. Hes a garbage time player at this level to me.

Without Bolden, what we get off the bench from the bigs is a legit concern. Hope Manyang does better next year, but he really doesn't fit what this team does, at least this year. And McNeace, I just don't see him ever contributing much. That is two question marks behind Buford (who is a question mark of his own) and Lattin. Going to be interesting. Might see us go small with Odomes or somebody at the 4 next year at times.

 

[skyvue]

McNeace, I just don't see him ever contributing much.

It's way too early to write off McNeace. It's his first season, and he was less experience as a basketball player than anyone else on the team.

I'm not predicting All Big 12 status for him or anything like that, but we fans might show him the respect of taking a wait-and-see attitude with him. He's definitely athletic, and he's got three more seasons to hone his skills and gain experience.

 

[hoopsaustin]

People writing off mcneace probably thought longar longar was never gonna be a contributor too..

I think he could be the best out of manyang and lattin even.. well see

 

[Larry72]

I am also concerned about the centers

 

[Kswhitetail]

It will definitely be a different year with different expectations but i hope that we keep filling the stands and dont go back to the half empty seats.

 

[Soonerinkc]

It will definitely be a different year with different expectations but i hope that we keep filling the stands and dont go back to the half empty seats.

listening to sports here in KC, that was one thing one of the guys was saying. Last nights crowd at OU was pathetic. #1 team..or close to it, playing your rival and it was dead.

Course, they did finally mention that it's a new thing...instead of fans motivating the team..teams now seem to have to motivate the fans. I almost called in cause I've seen a few ku games on tv where the fans weren't all crazy all the time.

But yes, OU is a football school...

do they still require you to buy a bball season ticket to help your "points" to get better fball tickets? I know ku did that but opposite and fans hated it.

 

[Chaser728]

I dont see a scenario where Lattin and Buford are not starting at the 4 & 5. Manyang looks lost and Mcneace is not nearly as good as those 2. In fact if we get Bolden id look for McNeace to transfer. Hes a garbage time player at this level to me.

I agree in principle with this, except that I will say that Lattin at this time last year looked lost too... I could see AK making a significant jump this year.

Also, someone on the board made a comment here that we don't have a Soangler type on this team, but j would contend that Buford could be that guy... My only concern would be his ability to rebound... However with a guy like AK and another offseason for Lattin there may not be a significant drop in numbers...

Also, I'm super pumped about Odomes... Think he is going to be a great one for us!

 

[stormspencer]

I expect a pretty significant dropoff next season, but hopefully we'll all be patient as the team comes into its own. We have no one to fill Spangler's role, as far as I can see, and of course, our younger guards won't be as good as Buddy and Isiah have been. I hope Lattin can pick up his scoring, but we've seen no real evidence of that yet.

I'm very high on the future of OU hoops, but I fear next year may be a rebuilding year. But like Sooner04, I think it'll be a lot of fun to see the young players develop.

Exactly. I'm about as inpatient as anyone on this board, so I will attempt to mentally set the bar low next year. I expect the team to be very inconsistent out of the gate when some bench players are adjusting to more minutes and more significant roles. But I think by the end of the year (like Texas this year), I'm hoping the team will be noticeably improved and a dangerous team in the tournament.

 

[thebigabd]

Forgot about Freeman somehow, but it doesn't really matter who starts and who doesn't right now... just making a point that OU basketball isn't going to fall off the face of the earth.

 

[opsooner]

Biggest question is whether guys develop into scorers when we need them to score and defenders when we need them to defend. Lots of talent there. Hopefully, they get better and better during the year and peak at the right time. Should be fun.

 

[lexusooner]

Here's my way too early prediction of how it will all break down.


PG: Woodard/ Strong
SG: James / McGusty/ Grandstaff
SF: Odomes/ Grandstaff/ Doolittle
PF: Freeman/ Buford/ Doolittle/McNease
C: Lattin/Manyang/ McNease


This is a saltier team than some people are anticipating. This team will lose some games it should win early on, but by tournament time this team will have jelled and will be a very dangerous team.

This team wins 21 to 24 games IMO

 

[Soonerinkc]

Exactly. I'm about as inpatient as anyone on this board, so I will attempt to mentally set the bar low next year. I expect the team to be very inconsistent out of the gate when some bench players are adjusting to more minutes and more significant roles. But I think by the end of the year (like Texas this year), I'm hoping the team will be noticeably improved and a dangerous team in the tournament.

with ya...lol

the problem with the Manyang/Lattin comparison...to me, is Manyang will be a Sr. He's had 2 yrs of juco ball, Lattin was coming from HS to D1.

Now, Manyang hasn't played as much..right? So maybe he has as much room to improve, but I believe Lattin just has more natural ability to improve upon, which he did and hopefully will continue to improve.

 

[lexusooner]

I can tell you with certainty the 5 on 5 scrimmages will be COMPETITIVE next year due to so many kids with pretty equal talent and a lot of athletic ability.

 

[Swans]

Next year's team will be deeper than this year's.....especially by conference play. And, Freeman will be much better than any of us expect.....a nightmare to guard.

 

[skyvue]

someone on the board made a comment here that we don't have a Soangler type on this team, but j would contend that Buford could be that guy... My only concern would be his ability to rebound

That was probably me, and I almost mentioned Buford myself. I see him as kind of a cross between Ryan and Cam, leaning more towards the Cam side, but he might just surprise me.

 

[Chaser728]

That was probably me, and I almost mentioned Buford myself. I see him as kind of a cross between Ryan and Cam, leaning more towards the Cam side, but he might just surprise me.

Good call on the combination. As I've considered a little more, I would say that his toughness is something we will need to replace. Not sure that's possible though.

 

[skyvue]

Good call on the combination. As I've considered a little more, I would say that his toughness is something we will need to replace. Not sure that's possible though.

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid we'll be lacking. Buford's built pretty solid, though, and if he's willing to get in there and mix it up like Ryan does, he could help out in that regard.