Next years team

[cowboysooner]

Biggest and deepest inside in a long time.

Spangler, Bennett, Hamilton and Avila. All athletic and 6'8 or better. Then, there is Neal, Cole and Clark that can help inside in a pinch. Neal and Clark have looked pretty good at the 4.

On the outside, Woodard, cousins, heild, booker and Hornbeak. 4 of 5 are 6'3 or taller and all look athletic. Clark and Neal can also play outside.

I think we will much improved defensively and on the glass (both ends) next year. The question will be whether we can score enough to win. This is probably a question that won't be answered until next year, when we can see if Woodard or cousins and consistently break a defense down off the dribble, whether Booker can shoot like is reported and can otherwise get on the court, and whether Heild, Cousins and Hornbeak improve their shooting from the outside. All, to be seen.

I like the looks of the team though and Lon has done a pretty good job of graduating his classes: Cole, Woodard and Booker are freshman, Heild, Hornbeak, Heild and Spangler are sophomores, Bennett, Hamilton and Avila are Juniors and Cam and Tyler Neal will be seniors.

 

[j2d2]

I agree on the probable improvement on defense and rebounding and these two are my personal priorities. I think that if you are superior there you have the best chance to win.

 

[garyeb2]

Next years team will be young and good. The young part will probably get them beat a few times. The not being good enough part will seldom be the problem.

 

[TheGimper]

Neal has looked pretty good at the 4.

This has never happened.

 

[Max Power]

Neal, Cole, and Frachilla should all play about the same amount next year

 

[ksSooner13]

Neal, Cole, and Frachilla should all play about the same amount next year

Cole will get more minutes than Neal next year... hopefully

 

[bgrch1350]

Biggest and deepest inside in a long time.

Spangler, Bennett, Hamilton and Avila. All athletic and 6'8 or better. Then, there is Neal, Cole and Clark that can help inside in a pinch. Neal and Clark have looked pretty good at the 4.

On the outside, Woodard, cousins, heild, booker and Hornbeak. 4 of 5 are 6'3 or taller and all look athletic. Clark and Neal can also play outside.

I think we will much improved defensively and on the glass (both ends) next year. The question will be whether we can score enough to win. This is probably a question that won't be answered until next year, when we can see if Woodard or cousins and consistently break a defense down off the dribble, whether Booker can shoot like is reported and can otherwise get on the court, and whether Heild, Cousins and Hornbeak improve their shooting from the outside. All, to be seen.

I like the looks of the team though and Lon has done a pretty good job of graduating his classes: Cole, Woodard and Booker are freshman, Heild, Hornbeak, Heild and Spangler are sophomores, Bennett, Hamilton and Avila are Juniors and Cam and Tyler Neal will be seniors.

Is there anyone that Kruger could of added that wouldn't make you happy or excited about next year???

We lost 4 starters! We are returning 23ppg.

You think were going to be a better defensive team and rebounding team? Avila averaged 5.5 rebounds a game in juco. You think that number is going to go up in Div 1 bball?!?! Spangler hasn't played serious minutes since high school. Bennett redshirted b/c he wasn't going to be out Neal for minutes and he hasn't played serious minutes in 2 years. Cole is a walk-on and your throwing his name out there. Hamilton is coming off an ACL tear.

This team has a chance to be good in a couple of years...but to expect them to be good next season is ridiculous. I'm Sorry but just because you want OU to be better next season doesn't make it a reality.

 

[SoonerinNC]

One of the more glass half empty posts of the year.

 

[Keller Sooner]

We might not have the player that can fill the void left by Osby, but in my opinion, we can be better at the other four positions. We'll just have to wait and see. I like the kids we have on our roster, including, the ones coming in. Personally, I feel good about next year and see no reason not to be optimistic about the team.

 

[campbest]

Bubble team.

 

[rickjames]

Is there anyone that Kruger could of added that wouldn't make you happy or excited about next year???

We lost 4 starters! We are returning 23ppg.

You think were going to be a better defensive team and rebounding team? Avila averaged 5.5 rebounds a game in juco. You think that number is going to go up in Div 1 bball?!?! Spangler hasn't played serious minutes since high school. Bennett redshirted b/c he wasn't going to be out Neal for minutes and he hasn't played serious minutes in 2 years. Cole is a walk-on and your throwing his name out there. Hamilton is coming off an ACL tear.

This team has a chance to be good in a couple of years...but to expect them to be good next season is ridiculous. I'm Sorry but just because you want OU to be better next season doesn't make it a reality.

Wrong. Bennett redshirted b/c Kruger was saving him for this year, we already had Osby, Fitz, and Mbaye down low. Neal would not take his minutes away any day of the week.

 

[WTSooner]

We might not have the player that can fill the void left by Osby, but in my opinion, we can be better at the other four positions.

Had M'Baye stayed, I might have agreed. I don't see any way we find two post players this year that will contribute more than M'Baye did this past season. Spangler might. I'd be pretty shocked if anybody else was capable of that.

And don't forget, it's not just starters that contribute. I think our bench strength will be down some, b/c we're replacing some pretty experienced players with some new guys. Bust on Fitz all you want, but he was likely a better player last year than Hamilton will be this year. It's hard to make a direct comparison, b/c are starting rotation changed so many times, but we'll be a lot less experienced this year.

We might start a true freshman pg, 2 soph guards, a JUCO PF (Bennett) that hasn't played in over a year, and Spangler who really hasn't played decent minutes since his senior year in HS. Couple that with Booker as a true freshman on the bench, and Hamilton/Avila adjusting to D1, and we don't have much D1 experience. We have nobody that has been a top 2-3 option on offense at the D1 level. We have nobody that has been a leader at the D1 level. We basically have Hornbeak/Cousins/Hield/Cam that have D1 game experience.

I'd be pretty shocked if there were very many teams returning less D1 game experience than OU.

 

[rickjames]

Had M'Baye stayed, I might have agreed. I don't see any way we find two post players this year that will contribute more than M'Baye did this past season. Spangler might. I'd be pretty shocked if anybody else was capable of that.

And don't forget, it's not just starters that contribute. I think our bench strength will be down some, b/c we're replacing some pretty experienced players with some new guys. Bust on Fitz all you want, but he was likely a better player last year than Hamilton will be this year. It's hard to make a direct comparison, b/c are starting rotation changed so many times, but we'll be a lot less experienced this year.

We might start a true freshman pg, 2 soph guards, a JUCO PF (Bennett) that hasn't played in over a year, and Spangler who really hasn't played decent minutes since his senior year in HS. Couple that with Booker as a true freshman on the bench, and Hamilton/Avila adjusting to D1, and we don't have much D1 experience. We have nobody that has been a top 2-3 option on offense at the D1 level. We have nobody that has been a leader at the D1 level. We basically have Hornbeak/Cousins/Hield/Cam that have D1 game experience.

I'd be pretty shocked if there were very many teams returning less D1 game experience than OU.

Yes experience is important but Kentucky won a NC with mostly freshmen a couple years ago. With no D-1 experience.

 

[TheGimper]

Yes experience is important but Kentucky won a NC with mostly freshmen a couple years ago. With no D-1 experience.

There is a vast difference from UK freshmen to OU freshmen.

 

[Krugerfan52]

Is there anyone that Kruger could of added that wouldn't make you happy or excited about next year???

We lost 4 starters! We are returning 23ppg.

You think were going to be a better defensive team and rebounding team? Avila averaged 5.5 rebounds a game in juco. You think that number is going to go up in Div 1 bball?!?! Spangler hasn't played serious minutes since high school. Bennett redshirted b/c he wasn't going to be out Neal for minutes and he hasn't played serious minutes in 2 years. Cole is a walk-on and your throwing his name out there. Hamilton is coming off an ACL tear.

This team has a chance to be good in a couple of years...but to expect them to be good next season is ridiculous. I'm Sorry but just because you want OU to be better next season doesn't make it a reality.

I agree. This post reminds me of when Capel got Kyle Cannon and Orlando Allen and people were making mock starting lineups with both of them starting. You never know if these guys are going to be good or not until you see them. There were a lot of poeple thinking Washington and Arent were going to be big time rebounders in the big 12 when they signed and they both had little impact.

 

[skyvue]

I agree. ... You never know if these guys are going to be good or not until you see them.

Actually, I wonder if you do agree.

bgrch, as he always does (and seemingly always will), is taking the doom-and-gloom outlook, predicting that the players we have coming in will be bad.

Others are predicting not so much that they'll be really good, but that they have a good chance to fill needs we have.

You seem to be taking the wait-and-see position: That we won't know until we see them in action.

Just because some former recruits have disappointed doesn't mean this batch of players will come up short. But you're right that there are no guarantees.

But then, no one's predicting we're going to win the Big 12 next season. Doesn't seem to me that anyone's getting that far ahead of themselves.

 

[bgrch1350]

Actually, I wonder if you do agree.

bgrch, as he always does (and seemingly always will), is taking the doom-and-gloom outlook, predicting that the players we have coming in will be bad.

Others are predicting not so much that they'll be really good, but that they have a good chance to fill needs we have.

You seem to be taking the wait-and-see position: That we won't know until we see them in action.

Just because some former recruits have disappointed doesn't mean this batch of players will come up short. But you're right that there are no guarantees.

But then, no one's predicting we're going to win the Big 12 next season. Doesn't seem to me that anyone's getting that far ahead of themselves.

I'm being realistic. Try it. We lost 4 starters and our best bench player. We need a couple of Div 1 transfers who can play immediately that would change the outcome on next years team.

 

[skyvue]

I'm being realistic. Try it. We lost 4 starters and our best bench player. We need a couple of Div 1 transfers who can play immediately that would change the outcome on next years team.

Who knows, you might be right. But you virtually always have a negative viewpoint. You're bound to be right some of the time.

You never, to my knowledge, acknowledged how much we benefited by playing the freshmen guards early in the season. You ragged on that approach throughout the first half of the season, but went remarkably silent on it when it clearly began to pay off.

And glass-half-full types always justify their pessimism by insisting that they're just "being realistic," as if more optimistic fans are all pie-in-the-sky dreamers.

 

[campbest]

I'm being realistic. Try it. We lost 4 starters and our best bench player. We need a couple of Div 1 transfers who can play immediately that would change the outcome on next years team.

Is this the same realism that caused you to disappear during our wins in the Big XII?

 

[SoonerTraveler]

As old as I am, I still find these discussions interesting, even if they are meaningless. The fact is that none of us knows what the season holds for the 2013-14 school year. Nevertheless, we like to speculate.

**********

Glass-Half-Empty (Empty): There is no one we can count on to replace the perimeter scoring production we got from Pledger. None of the freshmen guards have shown consistent shooting skills from outside, nor have they been great at creating their own shot.

Glass-Half-Full (Full): The returning guards are young, but they are more athletic and have a higher ceiling than either of the departing senior guards (Steven Pledger and Sam Grooms). The young guards gained invaluable experience and will show improvement as sophomores.

**********

Empty: Osby turned out to be a fine team leader, which a team must have to have a chance to reach its potential. He is gone and there is nobody like that left on the roster. Neither of the seniors next year (Cameron Clark and Tyler Neal) really have what it takes to be the team leader.

Full: Coach Kruger knows that team leadership is invaluable and he knows how to develop the next team leader. The team leader does not have to be a senior. (Remember Hollis Price?) There are several hard-working gym-rats on the roster and there is a good chance that someone will emerge as a good team leader.

**********

Empty: Where are the points coming from? With the departure of Osby, Pledger and M'Baye, OU losses all of its double-digit scorers. The following is all we have coming back (conference stats):

PPG .. Minutes .. Class ...... Player
8.2 ....... 28.2 ..... Frosh .... Buddy Heild (G, 6-3, 200)
6.0 ....... 17.1 ..... Junior ... Cameron Clark (G/F, 6-6, 210)
5.2 ....... 21.6 ..... Frosh .... Je’lon Hornbeak (G, 6-3, 180)
2.6 ....... 14.3 ..... Frosh .... Isaiah Cousins (G, 6-3, 185)

Full: The players coming back will just have to step up. They know Coach Kruger's system and realize it is their turn to excel. There are seven newcomers added to the equation, and three of those were redshirts last year that also know Coach Kruger's system. Growing pains on offense can be somewhat offset by the improved defense we expect to see next season.

**********

Empty: Point Guard play cannot be as good. Sam Grooms was strong with the ball and had a wonderful assist-to-turnover ratio. It is unrealistic to expect a true freshman like Jordan Woodard to excel in the Big-12, and neither Cousins nor Hornbeak are natural PGs.

Full: With Lon Kruger, Steve Henson and Lew Hill, the coaching staff is full of former PGs that can teach the guys how to play winning basketball. The soon-to-be sophomores gained good experience as freshmen and will be improved. Compared to Grooms, all of the options next year will be better defensively.

**********

Empty: We lost three "post players" with a ton of experience. None of the new post players played one minute of Division-1 basketball last year. Both of the seniors-to-be (Cam Clark and Tyler Neal) are "tweeners" that can play some at the "4" spot, but they are certainly not the tall bruising skilled strong guys you must have in the post. Even if Ryan Spangler and D.J. Bennett turn out to be good players, they will be rusty after being redshirts. Even if Keshaun Hamilton and Edson Avila are 6'10", just how good can they be since they were not recruited by the big time basketball schools. We need impact payers here, not just role-playing projects.

Full: Both Spangler and Bennett put their redshirt to good use as they worked very hard to improve. They benefited as they practiced every day against Osby and M'Baye. While we will certainly miss Osby and M'Baye, the new guys may be better rebounders. While Andrew Fitzgerald could make jumpers and draw out defenders, he was not a strong rebounder off the bench. With the two 6'10" JUCO players coming in, there will be more size in the post rotation than we have had in recent years.

**********

Hey, I do not know what will happen next season. But I am an optimist about the future of OU basketball. At the very least, I think the team will be fun to watch in 2013-14. I think the team will be competitive in every conference game. I think the team will have a winning conference record. Then in the following year (2014-15), I think the potential is there for OU to climb back into the Top-25. Then the year after that (2015-16), I think the team will be even better.

Now I will admit that my glass was also more than half-full after Jeff Capel's second and third seasons at OU, then the ship hit an iceberg and sank. I believe that Lon Kruger is a much better coach than that. I believe this ship has a captain that will keep us on course for better times ahead. In the meantime, I will enjoy reading these boards. Whether your glass is empty or full, you at least have a passion for OU basketball.

You also have a lot of time on your hands, since you use it to read and reply to threads like this. I think this is called a hobby.