Predict the Starters

CoachTalk

CoachTalk

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1. Woodard
2. James
3. Odomes
4. Doolittle
5. Lattin


What are your guys thoughts!?
 
BCSooners said:
Same but I can see Buford starting at first then Doolittle eventually replaces him.
Click to expand...

Agree. I can also see Freeman possibly starting a couple games. Wonder if McGusty got real hot if Lon would consider him at some point if they needed offense, although it's always good to have a scorer off the bench.
 
Larry72 said:
Woodard
James
Odomes
Lattin
Freeman
Click to expand...

Larry beat me to it. It's good to know I'm not alone in picking Freeman.

I'm perfectly comfortable with Doolittle in that fifth spot. Even if he doesn't start early on, I think he's good enough to be one of the top five as the season progresses. McGusty may be too. This is a very deep team, one with at least eight players who are capable of competing for a starting spot.
 
CoachTalk said:
1. Woodard

2. James

3. Odomes

4. Doolittle

5. Lattin





What are your guys thoughts!?
Click to expand...



This what my gut tells me. I haven't been to a practice yet. My thoughts may change when I do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The starters depend on when. I think it will probably change from the beginning of the season to the start of conference play. Maybe again by the start of the B12 post-season tournament. Of course injuries could be a factor.

For the first non-conference game:

1. Woodard - won't change all season
2. James - great rebounder, and solid offensively. Could sneak into all-conf consideration.
3. Odomes - most improved player. Crazy athletic. Good size. Gets the ball to the rim easily. Good defender.
4. Buford - experience gets him the start. Improved shot. Decent defender.
5. Lattin - good defender / changes shots. Improved offense. Needs to stay away from fouls and rebound.

Contenders to start:

Doolittle - most physical player on the team. Future star. Would give us an inside battler. Maybe by conference play.

McGusty - the guy can score. Playing well in practices. Valuable spark off the bench. Can defend. May be impossible to keep on the bench as he gets some experience.

Freeman - on fire offensively in practices. Early reports says he holds his own on the boards. Would love to see him get some of the outside looks Spangler got last year in high/low offensive sets.

Comments:

We're not real big and physical in the post, but James and Odomes are going to be a very good rebounding tandem from the wing. I wonder if Odomes could slide to the 4 at times allowing McGusty to play a wing? I can see something like that as a strong offensive lineup.

I can see Doolittle getting some starts when we need a more physical inside presence. I also can see him on the floor when McNeace is in when Lattin gets in foul trouble. I'm just not sure what he will bring to the offense.

I have to admit I absolutely love Freeman as an offensive threat. He's not only our tallest player, but also our best outside shooter. He's a nightmare to guard on the perimeter. Early practice reports he is holding his own on the boards, but he needs to improve his interior defense.

This is a much better team than when Buddy, Isaiah, and Ryan began their run. We're not exactly starting over and the cupboard isn't bare. This team will surprise some folks ...... and will surprise me if we finish 6th in the B12.
 
In the time that Lon has been our coach when has his starting lineup changed from the beginning of any season. I only ask because I can't remember it ever happening. And yes, I know the last few years have been Buddy, Isaiah and Ryan.
 
The lineup has only stayed the same from start to finish the past 2 years. Buddy and Isaiah weren't starters their freshman year until later in the season. They weren't even the top rated freshmen. Jelon Hornbeak was.

Kruger juggled his lineups his first couple of years because the cupboard was bare.
 
usedtobe1 said:
The starters depend on when. I think it will probably change from the beginning of the season to the start of conference play. Maybe again by the start of the B12 post-season tournament. Of course injuries could be a factor.

For the first non-conference game:

1. Woodard - won't change all season
2. James - great rebounder, and solid offensively. Could sneak into all-conf consideration.
3. Odomes - most improved player. Crazy athletic. Good size. Gets the ball to the rim easily. Good defender.
4. Buford - experience gets him the start. Improved shot. Decent defender.
5. Lattin - good defender / changes shots. Improved offense. Needs to stay away from fouls and rebound.

Contenders to start:

Doolittle - most physical player on the team. Future star. Would give us an inside battler. Maybe by conference play.

McGusty - the guy can score. Playing well in practices. Valuable spark off the bench. Can defend. May be impossible to keep on the bench as he gets some experience.

Freeman - on fire offensively in practices. Early reports says he holds his own on the boards. Would love to see him get some of the outside looks Spangler got last year in high/low offensive sets.

Comments:

We're not real big and physical in the post, but James and Odomes are going to be a very good rebounding tandem from the wing. I wonder if Odomes could slide to the 4 at times allowing McGusty to play a wing? I can see something like that as a strong offensive lineup.

I can see Doolittle getting some starts when we need a more physical inside presence. I also can see him on the floor when McNeace is in when Lattin gets in foul trouble. I'm just not sure what he will bring to the offense.

I have to admit I absolutely love Freeman as an offensive threat. He's not only our tallest player, but also our best outside shooter. He's a nightmare to guard on the perimeter. Early practice reports he is holding his own on the boards, but he needs to improve his interior defense.

This is a much better team than when Buddy, Isaiah, and Ryan began their run. We're not exactly starting over and the cupboard isn't bare. This team will surprise some folks ...... and will surprise me if we finish 6th in the B12.
Click to expand...

Outstanding breakdown and analysis, usedtobe1! Not much there I disagree with.

Freeman is still a bit of an enigma for me. As you correctly pointed out, he brings some unique skills to the team offensively. His size and skill set could make Matt a nightmare to defend in a high-low, with him at the top. The question is can he defend at the D-1 level? Judging by the limited time I have seen him on video, I think he can at least hold his own. If so, he would give us another legit post player to team with Lattin, which is the main reason I added him to my lineup to start the season.

This time last year our starting five was pretty much set in stone. That's not the case this season. I think it's possible that two spots are still up for grabs
 
PG- Woodard
SG- James
W- Odomes
F- Doolittle
C- Lattin

the thing I love about this team is the versatility... I mean I'm not sure who starts at every position outside of PG is really that important or won't change from week to week... especially in the non-con schedule. I think depth will be our friend this year and I love that most of this lineup is young and has time to grow.

Lon has shown in his tenure here that he is not afraid to start a freshman, hence the Doolittle nod over Buford/Freeman. I really like the defensive potential of this lineup: big on the wing and 2 potential rim protectors.
 
AdaSooner said:
This time last year our starting five was pretty much set in stone. That's not the case this season. I think it's possible that two spots are still up for grabs
Click to expand...

I agree. Woodard, James, and Lattin as starters are locked in stone.

Odomes is close to being locked in as a starter. I think he is going to surprise people with his athleticism and how much he has improved. The only real contender for his wing position is Kam McGusty. If you follow Derek Peterson on Twitter he absolutely loves Odomes, but says McGusty is really showing why he is Kruger's top rated recruit since he has been at OU. Kam can be a scoring machine. When he's hot leave him in the game. Odomes is close to being the most athletic player on the team. He's also big (6'6") and strong, whereas McGusty is thin and not nearly as strong. Rashard can take the ball to the rim almost at will and his outside shot is much improved. Peterson also commented on what an outstanding defender he is. One of my favorite tweets from yesterday was he said he would love to see a dunk contest between James and Odomes. The truth is all 3 wings will share minutes (James, Odomes, and McGusty). I just think James and Odomes will be the starters.

Buford has a lot more competition at the 4 spot. Both Doolittle and Freeman are serious contenders. Even Odomes possibly. I hear Buford's shot is much improved. He does a good job with interior defense but had some problems guarding the perimeter last season. He and Doolittle are about the same height but Doolittle is probably the strongest player on the team...... and has been the biggest positive surprise of the early practices. I just haven't heard a whole lot about his offensive contributions. I think Buford's offense and experience hold off Doolittle at least for awhile. Freeman is a different story. He's bigger than Buford by 3" and is probably our best perimeter shooter. Peterson says he has been on fire at practices for over a week. I don't know about his inside defense. Peterson said he was teamed with CJ Cole as the 2nd team posts yesterday, and they got worked over.... and we know how much Kruger values defensive consistency. I still think Buford's experience gets him the start until Freeman learns post play a little better. Freeman is a better perimeter player offensively but Buford ain't bad.

We're all just guessing, but it's a fun excercise that might not be settled until 2017.
 
I'm glad Buford's shot has improved because he never met a shot he didn't like. Sometimes he looked like the shot clock was at 1 every time he caught a pass. Conversely, Doolittle is extremely unselfish and seems to have to be prodded to try to score. Hopefully Buford will let the game come to him more and Doolittle will be more assertive. I am intrigued by Freeman also. A 6-10 "4" to go with 6-9 Lattin would be a nice sized frontcourt. I too noticed on that dude's twitter in a practice video that Freeman was banging. Like to see that!
 
I agree with CoachTalk. I hear Doolittle is handling Buford easily in practice.
 
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