recruiting/scholarship situation

[seniorsooner]

Here's my feeble attempt to sum up where we're at now.

Current scholarship athletes for 12-13, presuming Blair is in fact gone:

Arent
Clark
Fitzgerald
Grooms
M'Baye
Neal
Osby
Pledger
Hield
Hornbeak
Cousins

That puts us at 11, with 2 to give. There are strong indications that Spangler will transfer in, meaning he would be on a scholarship redshirt year for 12-13. That would leave 1 scholarship to give.

Names we're still in on:

D.J. Bennett - OU is the "favorite" according to Hale
Shavon Coleman - probably LSU's to lose, provided they don't totally botch their head coaching hire
Anyone else?

Since it looks like the Coleman recruitment will be ongoing for awhile (due to LSU's head coaching search), I'm guessing we take Spangler and Bennett and call it an afternoon.

 

[Darwin]

Looks correct to me and sets up well for the future. Only 5 seniors with enough returning the following season to avoid a major rebuild.

 

[ArdmoreSooner]

If the JUCO's fall through then I look for Kruger and staff to look at some more transfers. He likes those guys from his past track record.

 

[CMSOONER]

If the JUCO's fall through then I look for Kruger and staff to look at some more transfers. He likes those guys from his past track record.

You know what you're getting at the D1 level with transfers if you can afford for them to sit out a year.

 

[cvangild]

I would rather save the ship for next year if we don't get either Bennett or Coleman. (I'm assuming we will get Spangler).

 

[TEvans4Three]

Don't know about you all, but I feel so much better having some potential scoring guards coming in to play. How often last year did our second team just die and kill momentum. Not to mention our collapse in the second half.

I am excited about next season and hoping to push 18-20 wins.

 

[AdaSooner]

Don't know about you all, but I feel so much better having some potential scoring guards coming in to play. How often last year did our second team just die and kill momentum. Not to mention our collapse in the second half.

You're not alone. I have said for sometime that "quality depth" was our biggest weakness last season. I realize that the jury is still out, to some extent, about how quickly our freshmen guards will adjust to the college game. But I'm excited about the kids we signed. I think fans will be pleasantly surprised by their impact on the team. It may be later in the season, but I believe the difference off of the bench from what we saw last year will be evident to everyone.

 

[scrybe]

You're not alone. I have said for sometime that "quality depth" was our biggest weakness last season. I realize that the jury is still out, to some extent, about how quickly our freshmen guards will adjust to the college game. But I'm excited about the kids we signed. I think fans will be pleasantly surprised by their impact on the team. It may be later in the season, but I believe the difference off of the bench from what we saw last year will be evident to everyone.

Sure hope you're right, Ada. But I've finally reached the point where I don't expect much at all out of our incoming freshmen. That way, I don't set myself up for a huge disappointment when it becomes obvious that they don't have the tools, talent or whatever it takes to contribute immediately.

Anyway, I guess I am still hopeful that Coach Kruger will do a better job than our previous coach of bringing in players that are at least somewhat prepared to play, then provide them with the coaching they need to allow them to succeed against other Big XII teams.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Sure hope you're right, Ada. But I've finally reached the point where I don't expect much at all out of our incoming freshmen. That way, I don't set myself up for a huge disappointment when it becomes obvious that they don't have the tools, talent or whatever it takes to contribute immediately.

Anyway, I guess I am still hopeful that Coach Kruger will do a better job than our previous coach of bringing in players that are at least somewhat prepared to play, then provide them with the coaching they need to allow them to succeed against other Big XII teams.

also remember that 1 of amath/fitz/clark will also be coming off the bench

 

[Ham]

Remaining with the status quo = One injury to a post player and our post depth will be thin. Right now we have four scholarship big men. All four surely will play significant minutes, with the fourth (most likely Arent) getting fewer but still fairly significant minutes.

Now take one of them out of the equation for any substantial stretch of games (even 2 or 3 games is potentially significant in conference play) and the 4th post guy in the rotation is CJ Cole. All due respect to him, needing a very lightly 'recruited' freshman walk-on to give significant minutes in close games could be a problem.

Bottom line is this - if you follow my logic. We have two scholarships. Spangler would be a great add for next year but that doesn't diminish the fact that we need another post guy this spring. So if we swing and miss on Barnett and Coleman (which could certainly be possible), what are we going to do?

According to previous info posted by OUHoops and others, we could be looking at one of these 3 guys:
Daveon Boardingham (JUCO) Philip Nolan or Isaac Freeman (High School)
I'll do some digging on Brunson and Boardingham and see if there is anything new (re:OU).
UPDATE -
Dwayne Brunson signed with Fort Hayes
Boardingham, like Bennett, is being pursued (in some manner) by Arkansas.
Looks like Freeman (no offer from OU yet) would be much more likely than Nolan.
Freeman - http://oklahoma.scout.com/a.z?s=146&p=8&c=1&nid=5991110

 

[TEvans4Three]

It all depends on how quickly these guys develop. Even if you have an injury, you look at teams in the past, like Villanova, that have moved to a motion/4-guard offense to combat their lack of inside presence.

Now if they come in, don't work out like they should and a guys goes down...then we are in trouble.

 

[TEvans4Three]

1st 5 - Grooms, Pledger, Clark, M'Baye, Osby

Bench - Hield, Cousins, Hornbeak, Neal, Fitz, Arent (Spangler on bench cheering)
Bennett?

Still seems like a pretty good 2 lineups compared to last year with no bench scoring and a lack of post depth. At least it adds athleticism and a spark from the second unit.

 

[Ham]

I like the team too...coming together pretty nicely, as long as 2 of those 3 guards are solid right away. I also considered that 4 guard offense, using perhaps two '3-guards' like Clark and Neal on the floor at the same time. That's an option.

 

[Max Power]

I like the team too...coming together pretty nicely, as long as 2 of those 3 guards are solid right away. I also considered that 4 guard offense, using perhaps two '3-guards' like Clark and Neal on the floor at the same time. That's an option.

Hopefully Cam and Neal find their shot this off-season. If not both on the floor together scares me (even with a hurt post)

 

[AdaSooner]

Sure hope you're right, Ada. But I've finally reached the point where I don't expect much at all out of our incoming freshmen. That way, I don't set myself up for a huge disappointment when it becomes obvious that they don't have the tools, talent or whatever it takes to contribute immediately.

Anyway, I guess I am still hopeful that Coach Kruger will do a better job than our previous coach of bringing in players that are at least somewhat prepared to play, then provide them with the coaching they need to allow them to succeed against other Big XII teams.

scrybe, I have learned to temper my expectations since suffering through a monumental letdown two years ago. Thus, I went into last season without my usual optimistic approach, mainly because I didn't believe we had the talent to compete at a high level. I was encouraged by the way our players responded to LK's coaching, especially on defense. Yet, it was apparent from the start of conference play that, while our starting five were capable, we didn't have anyone who could spark the team off of the bench the way Newell did before he left. We didn't even have back ups who could sustain a lead, much less build on one.

If I'm wrong about next year's group, it defintely won't be the first time. But I believe the addition of M'Baye and our three freshmen guards will finally give us the "quality depth" I have griped about for months.

I was very impressed with Jelon Hornbeak in the game I saw on television last season. There's a lot to like about his game. If Hield and Cousins are as good or better, as some seem to think, I believe the ceiling is really high for these kids. The only question no one can answer is, at what point of the season will the freshman light come on? That's the part I'm not sure about.