Next year's Starting Lineup

[Boomer-D]

Starters
PG-Woodard (will be better off and def then Grooms, just lack experience)
SG-Hornbeak (was shooting the 3 as well as Pledger most of the year)
WG-Heild (may lead us in scoring, needs to cut out the wild low % shots)
F-M'Baye (needs to be more consistent, increase basketball IQ)
P-Spangler (expect him to lead the team in rebounding and maybe the BIG12 before he's done)


Bench
Cousins (improve ball handling and confidence)
Booker (bench sharp shooter)
Clark (hopefully he makes his senior year his best)
Neal (see above)
Bennett (length, defense and rebounding)
Cole (could get some clean-up mins)

Hamilton (I could see the big guy red shirting, after coming off the injury. a year off conditioning could help)

Overall: If we get good PG play and improvement/consistency out of Heild and M'Baye...we could have a similar season as this year.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I see what your saying but I disagree with it.

Our PG play is going to take a major drop off. Cousins showed that he's not that good of a PG under pressure. Woodard is just not going to come in and be a stud. He's going to play like a freshman PG. Hield is going to be the main focus and not having Pledger there to take the main defensive player is going to cause problems for him. Osby's 17ppg is going to be greatly missed.

The only way I see that we succeed next year is if Cameron Clark becomes the man. He has to be a scoring threat.

Well, as much as Cam improved this year and Grooms even moreso I expect Hield, Hornbeak, and Cousins will improve as much. Henson is very good working with guards and Grooms offensive improvement is proof of that. The Georgia kid will be a factor too, but he and Woodard wont be as good early on but by seasons end will be big contributors. I just don't think you get how much these young kids are going to improve in the offseason. At a minimum, they are going to be more athletic and better on defense than grooms and Pledger. That's at a minimum.

 

[152219]

Without any knowledge of how the guys will improve over the offseason and the freshmen, from what I do know about the current players I expect a similar season as this past season. Anywhere between an 8-12 seed and think that OU will still be lacking a go to scorer in particular on the wing and ultimately that will doom the Sooners too often for our liking

 

[bgrch1350]

Well, as much as Cam improved this year and Grooms even moreso I expect Hield, Hornbeak, and Cousins will improve as much. Henson is very good working with guards and Grooms offensive improvement is proof of that. The Georgia kid will be a factor too, but he and Woodard wont be as good early on but by seasons end will be big contributors. I just don't think you get how much these young kids are going to improve in the offseason. At a minimum, they are going to be more athletic and better on defense than grooms and Pledger. That's at a minimum.

I know that they are going to improve...but you seem to think that from year one to year 2 their going to turn into superstars.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I know that they are going to improve...but you seem to think that from year one to year 2 their going to turn into superstars.

Well, Grooms improved so much it's not even fathomable, IMO. Who would have ever thought he would score as he was for a 8-10 game stretch? 18 @ osu, 12 vs Tech, 23 vs Baylor, 19 vs ISU, etc.

The same with Clark.

I don't expect them to be superstars but they will much more consistent and improved than you think.

 

[AdaSooner]

I see what your saying but I disagree with it.

Our PG play is going to take a major drop off. Cousins showed that he's not that good of a PG under pressure. Woodard is just not going to come in and be a stud. He's going to play like a freshman PG. Hield is going to be the main focus and not having Pledger there to take the main defensive player is going to cause problems for him. Osby's 17ppg is going to be greatly missed.

The only way I see that we succeed next year is if Cameron Clark becomes the man. He has to be a scoring threat.

I agree Woodard will not come in as a stud from the start. But as the season progresses, I believe you'll see that he will be more than an adequate replacement for Sam Grooms. That is, unless Cousins improves so much in the off season that Jordan is the back up instead of the starter. I see that as a good thing no matter how it turns out.

I also think it's safe to assume that all three of this year's freshmen will be much improved next season. Their work ethic will not allow them to accept the status quo. That's especially true of Buddy Hield.

And don't forget about Frank Booker. He'll be a freshman who will have to adapt to the speed and physicality of the college game. But I believe he's capable of doing his part to make up for the loss of Pledger. I'm not saying he will average 28.9 ppg or shoot 43% from three the way he did his senior year in high school. I am saying that he shoots the ball well enough from long range that defenses cannot overlook him in our offense. In short, if Buddy does have a bulls eye on his back next year, an improved Je'lon Hornbeak and the new kids on the block, Booker and Woodard, should be in a position to eliminate the pressure, at least to some extent.

As you said, it would also help if Cam finally has that breakout season we have all expected since he came to OU three years ago. I think he can if he improves his handles in the off season and develops a consistent shot from short range. He had a decent season this year. But it needs to be a lot better for him to be counted on as one of our go-to players next year.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

We are going to improve, I feel comfortable in saying that. We have a great staff and good kids. Not a Capel v. Kruger or anyone else, just stating the obvious.

 

[opsooner]

Woodard will be a big key. I have only seen him play four times (and he apparently had an injury in two of those games). Based on this limited data I don't think he is ready to come in and make a huge difference (as always I can be wrong). I agree with Ada that he might learn and improve enough during non-conference to make enough of a difference between winning and losing some close games during the conference season. We shall see.

The defense must be better or this won't matter.

 

[WTSooner]

I see what your saying but I disagree with it.

Our PG play is going to take a major drop off. Cousins showed that he's not that good of a PG under pressure. Woodard is just not going to come in and be a stud. He's going to play like a freshman PG. Hield is going to be the main focus and not having Pledger there to take the main defensive player is going to cause problems for him. Osby's 17ppg is going to be greatly missed.

The only way I see that we succeed next year is if Cameron Clark becomes the man. He has to be a scoring threat.

You do realize Cousins started more games at pg for us this year than any other player, right? And we seemed to do okay with that.

Woodard is a true pg. I'm guessing what we get from him next year will be something between what we got most of the year from Cousins/Hornbeak/Grooms, and what we got from Grooms late in the season. That should be good enough to have a similar team, if the other pieces come together.

 

[campbest]

Bubble team.

Cam Clark has found his role, expecting him to make some leap next season is unrealistic. The biggest improvement from a college player is from the start of conference their freshman season through the end of their sophomore year. After that, you have a real good feeling on what you have. The next year for Hield, Cousins, Hornbeak, Spangler will set the tone for the program going forward.

 

[KBaden145]

Bubble team.

Cam Clark has found his role, expecting him to make some leap next season is unrealistic. The biggest improvement from a college player is from the start of conference their freshman season through the end of their sophomore year. After that, you have a real good feeling on what you have. The next year for Hield, Cousins, Hornbeak, Spangler will set the tone for the program going forward.

Agree with this about Cam. I think him at his best this season is all we can realistically expect from him next season. I think he might give us a good 20 min instead of the 15 we got this year but I don't think we will see a quantum leap from him at this stage of his career. I feel differently about MBaye and the 3 FR guards, however...

 

[Max Power]

Agree with this about Cam. I think him at his best this season is all we can realistically expect from him next season. I think he might give us a good 20 min instead of the 15 we got this year but I don't think we will see a quantum leap from him at this stage of his career. I feel differently about MBaye and the 3 FR guards, however...

think one more off season with this staff will see him just more consistent next season. Not a huge leap but a noticeable improvement.

 

[KBaden145]

think one more off season with this staff will see him just more consistent next season. Not a huge leap but a noticeable improvement.

Exactly. More consistent and a few more min of better play. Maybe more time at 3, also.

 

[AdaSooner]

Bubble team.

Cam Clark has found his role, expecting him to make some leap next season is unrealistic. The biggest improvement from a college player is from the start of conference their freshman season through the end of their sophomore year. After that, you have a real good feeling on what you have. The next year for Hield, Cousins, Hornbeak, Spangler will set the tone for the program going forward.

I'm not so sure you're right about Cam Clark. It's not unusual at all for a player to improve more from his junior to his senior seasons than at any other time in his career. That's definitely true of juco transfers, as it was with Romero and how much better he was in his last year.

I'm not saying that Cam is a sure fire bet to make that jump in his senior season. A lot will depend on how hard he's willing to work in the off season. But I think it may be too early to give up on him right now.

 

[bgrch1350]

You do realize Cousins started more games at pg for us this year than any other player, right? And we seemed to do okay with that.

Woodard is a true pg. I'm guessing what we get from him next year will be something between what we got most of the year from Cousins/Hornbeak/Grooms, and what we got from Grooms late in the season. That should be good enough to have a similar team, if the other pieces come together.

Cousins averaged 2.6 ppg, 1.4 apg, and 1.2 topg in conference play.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Bubble team.

Cam Clark has found his role, expecting him to make some leap next season is unrealistic. The biggest improvement from a college player is from the start of conference their freshman season through the end of their sophomore year. After that, you have a real good feeling on what you have. The next year for Hield, Cousins, Hornbeak, Spangler will set the tone for the program going forward.

I'm not disagreeing with you but I offer up Grooms as proof a player can improve quite a bit with solid coaching between their 3rd and 4th years of college.

 

[WTSooner]

Cousins averaged 2.6 ppg, 1.4 apg, and 1.2 topg in conference play.

That is my point. And we STILL won a bunch of games. You don't think Woodard can top those numbers?

Let me put it another way. Aside from the 3 games or so when Grooms went off late, if you average what our pg play was for all other games, I'm guessing Woodard will be better than that next year, for the season.

 

[bgrch1350]

I agree Woodard will not come in as a stud from the start. But as the season progresses, I believe you'll see that he will be more than an adequate replacement for Sam Grooms. That is, unless Cousins improves so much in the off season that Jordan is the back up instead of the starter. I see that as a good thing no matter how it turns out.

I also think it's safe to assume that all three of this year's freshmen will be much improved next season. Their work ethic will not allow them to accept the status quo. That's especially true of Buddy Hield.

And don't forget about Frank Booker. He'll be a freshman who will have to adapt to the speed and physicality of the college game. But I believe he's capable of doing his part to make up for the loss of Pledger. I'm not saying he will average 28.9 ppg or shoot 43% from three the way he did his senior year in high school. I am saying that he shoots the ball well enough from long range that defenses cannot overlook him in our offense. In short, if Buddy does have a bulls eye on his back next year, an improved Je'lon Hornbeak and the new kids on the block, Booker and Woodard, should be in a position to eliminate the pressure, at least to some extent.

As you said, it would also help if Cam finally has that breakout season we have all expected since he came to OU three years ago. I think he can if he improves his handles in the off season and develops a consistent shot from short range. He had a decent season this year. But it needs to be a lot better for him to be counted on as one of our go-to players next year.

How many freshmen PGs(especially ones that aren't ranked in the top 100 out of high school) do much of anything in their freshman debut? Even the top ranked pgs out of high school who were freshmen this season barely did anything.

This team is going to be extremely young next season, were losing key players, and 2 guys we are going to need to be the guys have been 2 inconsistent players throughout their careers.

Our guys will improve but so will a lot of other players on other teams in the big 12. W.V. and Texas return pretty much everyone. KU just turns water into wine every season. OSU returns the majority of their team. ISU has 2 solid players returning and Hoiberg is turning into a solid coach. Baylor will still have a talented team(don't know what they will do). K-St returns most of their team.

 

[bgrch1350]

That is my point. And we STILL won a bunch of games. You don't think Woodard can top those numbers?

Let me put it another way. Aside from the 3 games or so when Grooms went off late, if you average what our pg play was for all other games, I'm guessing Woodard will be better than that next year, for the season.

We won a bunch of games because of Romero Osby.

 

[bgrch1350]

I'm not disagreeing with you but I offer up Grooms as proof a player can improve quite a bit with solid coaching between their 3rd and 4th years of college.

Season GP MPG PPG FG% 3FG% FT% APG RPG BPG SPG
2012-13 31 20.6 5.0 47.2 40.0 69.6 3.2 1.7 0.0 0.3
2011-12 31 31.5 6.7 35.0 20.0 66.3 6.0 3.0 0.1 0.9

He shot the ball 98 times less this season than last.