Next years team

[Big Old Booger]

Losing Pledger, Osby, Fitz and Grooms and replacing them with freshman or Juco will be a step down. Experience is the one thing this team has going for it and so far Kruger hasnt used that with Clark, Fitz, Grooms and Neal on the bench.

But next year we will be very young with little to no proven players. I dont expect us to play in the postseason next year. I also expect the rest of the big 12 to be a little better than they are this year.

I don't understand the love affair with Pledger, Fitz and Grooms? Pledger is a nice player, but put him on any Sampson or Tubbs team and he probably doesn't start many games. (the fact we have to depend on Pledger to have a good game for us to win should tell you something about our talent level!) He's too slow to play for Tubbs but he would play quite a bit for Sampson but more of a Kelley Newton, Michael Neal, or Jaison Williams type role (zone buster who comes off the bench to provide scoring punch).

Fitz is good on offense, particularly scoring but he's improved very little since arriving in Norman and he still can't play defense or rebound. Grooms is a decent backup PG, and that's about it.

People rely too much on recruiting rankings and then think "that guy's awesome!". Fitz and Pledger were fairly high rated, but the recruiting guru's missed on both. Neither has panned out to be as good as their recruiting rankings reflected. It's not their fault they were rated that high.

 

[bgrch1350]

I don't understand the love affair with Pledger, Fitz and Grooms? Pledger is a nice player, but put him on any Sampson or Tubbs team and he probably doesn't start many games. (the fact we have to depend on Pledger to have a good game for us to win should tell you something about our talent level!) He's too slow to play for Tubbs but he would play quite a bit for Sampson but more of a Kelley Newton, Michael Neal, or Jaison Williams type role (zone buster who comes off the bench to provide scoring punch).

Fitz is good on offense, particularly scoring but he's improved very little since arriving in Norman and he still can't play defense or rebound. Grooms is a decent backup PG, and that's about it.

People rely too much on recruiting rankings and then think "that guy's awesome!". Fitz and Pledger were fairly high rated, but the recruiting guru's missed on both. Neither has panned out to be as good as their recruiting rankings reflected. It's not their fault they were rated that high.

What are you liking about the future?

 

[Big Old Booger]

What are you liking about the future?

Kruger
Henson
Hill
Crutchfield
Hield
Hornbeak
Spangler
Cousins
M'Baye

Not necessarily in that order.

I'm also excited to see the new recruits.

 

[originalsooner55]

Losing Pledger, Osby, Fitz and Grooms and replacing them with freshman or Juco will be a step down. Experience is the one thing this team has going for it and so far Kruger hasnt used that with Clark, Fitz, Grooms and Neal on the bench.

But next year we will be very young with little to no proven players. I dont expect us to play in the postseason next year. I also expect the rest of the big 12 to be a little better than they are this year.

I believe Spangler got some valuable NCAA Torn. experience last year at Gonzaga. I think that would be considered some great experience, especially since he is the only one on the squad this year that has experienced that. I think we will be alot better next year

 

[originalsooner55]

Yes. He will be a better rebounder than anybody playing in 2012-13. He will also not get "stuffed" at the rim as easily as Osby and M'Baye.

Strong and active. Think Ernie Abercrombie, with more size.

Watched him in HS and followed him at Gonzaga, very fun to watch and will be a force next year for OU. From what I know Gonzaga very much hated him leaving, they had big plans for him.

 

[Soonerman]

Serious question: How long do you guys expect Kruger to continue coaching before he retires?

3-5 years, max. Hopefully by that time, we're completely through feeling the after-effects of the end of the Capel era and are set to be in the mix for the NCAA every season.

 

[StatGeek]

If any of us really knew what kind of impact Woodard, Spangler, Bennett, Hamilton and Elliott will have next year, that might be a question someone could give a semi-intelligent answer to. The truth is, despite a good deal of speculation, and that's all it is, none of us know for sure. We also don't know who OU will sign in the late signing period, nor do we know how good the returning players will be after getting a test of fire this season?

In short, there are too many unanswered questions to make that call right now. Ask again when the season is over and we have a better feel for who OU will sign in the spring and how much our returning players have improved.

There is no doubt that we'll miss Osby and Pledger. That's all I'm going to say about the players we're losing after this season.

:clap

 

[stoopified]

This year and this team are still a work in progress,I think it is imperative to see where this team/season ends before any speculation on next team/season.

 

[bgrch1350]

Watched him in HS and followed him at Gonzaga, very fun to watch and will be a force next year for OU. From what I know Gonzaga very much hated him leaving, they had big plans for him.

They had big plans for him to sit the bench and get around 8 mpg this year

 

[bassmaster]

Watched him in HS and followed him at Gonzaga, very fun to watch and will be a force next year for OU. From what I know Gonzaga very much hated him leaving, they had big plans for him.

Why did he leave Gonzaga?

 

[garyeb2]

Why did he leave Gonzaga?

They have two 7 footers that are better than him. He was looking at limited playing time for the next couple of years.

Plus, he is an Oklahoma kid that wanted to come to OU in the 1st place. With that said, the Zags are very good and have very good bigs. Spangler is a fine player and was a good get for us. We are not a top ten caliber team like the Zags and there is a big gap between the caliber of player they currently have and the kind we have.

He will fill that gap nicely for us. He is a step forward. He is an upgrade. Capel was stupid to pass on him in the 1st place and Kruger was smart to get him back home.

 

[originalsooner55]

They have two 7 footers that are better than him. He was looking at limited playing time for the next couple of years.

Plus, he is an Oklahoma kid that wanted to come to OU in the 1st place. With that said, the Zags are very good and have very good bigs. Spangler is a fine player and was a good get for us. We are not a top ten caliber team like the Zags and there is a big gap between the caliber of player they currently have and the kind we have.

He will fill that gap nicely for us. He is a step forward. He is an upgrade. Capel was stupid to pass on him in the 1st place and Kruger was smart to get him back home.

You are absolutley correct, I think he wanted to come to OU and had the chance to do that, so he is here now. He will make a nice addition to the team next year. With that being said, he has to be pretty good because Gonzaga did sign him and they don't recruit alot of US players by looking at their roster the last few years, so Spangler must have something they liked.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

You are absolutley correct, I think he wanted to come to OU and had the chance to do that, so he is here now. He will make a nice addition to the team next year. With that being said, he has to be pretty good because Gonzaga did sign him and they don't recruit alot of US players by looking at their roster the last few years, so Spangler must have something they liked.

From what I saw in the preseason scrimmages, there is a lot to like about Spangler. Number one, he is active and aggressive on both ends of the floor. He has a high motor.

Not that it matters now, but does anyone recall where Spangler was on the recruiting charts out of high school? Was he a "3-star" guy? Was he a top-150 guy? Just curious.

 

[Sooner-Bred]

All I will say is that Bennett has gotten SO much better in the short time hes been here.

He's the best defensive-post player we have on the team. Amazing ability to alter or block shots, and hes getting better every day.

Also, both of our incoming JUCO guys are upgrades from Fitz, and probably close to equal with Ro.

The biggest difference is that Hamilton is a legit 6'10 and has a big frame, something we dont have on this team yet.

With Bennett and Hamilton, thats 2 legit 6'10 post threats.

Spangler is the hardest worker on the team.

We'll be better next year, have some faith. Kruger and Henson have done this before.

 

[Max Power]

From what I saw in the preseason scrimmages, there is a lot to like about Spangler. Number one, he is active and aggressive on both ends of the floor. He has a high motor.

Not that it matters now, but does anyone recall where Spangler was on the recruiting charts out of high school? Was he a "3-star" guy? Was he a top-150 guy? Just curious.

he was a 3 star on both rivals and espn. Espn had him as the #45 Power forward in the class