Redshirts

[Hollisp]

Lon Kruger confirmed on today’s “T-Row Show” on @Sportstalk1400 that his plan is for Anyang Garang and Rick Issanza to redshirt this season. @OU_MBBall opens the season vs UTSA on Tuesday night (7p) in Norman.

From Tobys Twitter

 

[StoopsBros]

Makes sense. Both are projects.

 

[CoachTalk]

I like it.

 

[cowboysooner]

Having seen them a couple times, I am no expert but believe them to be elite prospects. They could end up being two of the best we have had. I love the idea of redshirting them. They can focus on skills and athletic development and not have to worry about travel and games.

I think both are going to be really good at some point. My guess is AG is a contributor next year and RI most likely some next year but definitely the year after.

 

[Eielson]

Not that I really expected it, but I was really hoping Issanza would be able to contribute this year. I can't really see a guy his size sticking around 5 years if he's a quality basketball player, but then again, being 7-1 doesn't mean what it used to to NBA scouts.

 

[Stikboy]

So, I guess that means we'll have a solid 9 man rotation this year, unless Merritt starts balling?

 

[skyvue]

I have seen some reports that Merritt has looked good in practice. I'm not vouching for those reports (I've not seen any practices), just reporting what I read. Perhaps Coach and vbdad can confirm or counter.

 

[WichitaSooner]

So, I guess that means we'll have a solid 9 man rotation this year, unless Merritt starts balling?

Would obviously be nice to have Merritt in the mix to give us post depth, but if we end up with a nine-man rotation, that would be plenty as long as we stay healthy. It's incredibly rare for a college team to truly go 10 deep . . . even the blue bloods usually don't have 10 reliable contributors.

 

[daqman]

I didn't really expect post depth to go beyond Doo/Manek/Kur/Vic. If those 4 can't get the job done we're probably in trouble.
Hopefully Merritt can get a few minutes when we have a comfortable lead.

 

[CoachTalk]

I have seen some reports that Merritt has looked good in practice. I'm not vouching for those reports (I've not seen any practices), just reporting what I read. Perhaps Coach and vbdad can confirm or counter.

Ive been to couple. Merritt looks the part, athletic, and did well in practice that I saw.

I think he can help with depth inside.

 

[Stikboy]

Good responses all..

For those who have been to practice, what does Kur bring to the table? I know he's an athletic shotblocker. Does he fit in with the flow of the offense? Does he get alot of offensive putbacks? Does he have a jumper, or any post moves? What can we realistically expect from him as far as production?

 

[CoachTalk]

Good responses all..

For those who have been to practice, what does Kur bring to the table? I know he's an athletic shotblocker. Does he fit in with the flow of the offense? Does he get alot of offensive putbacks? Does he have a jumper, or any post moves? What can we realistically expect from him as far as production?

When Ive been. He has shot the 12-14 ft jumper at a solid clip. Put backs and lobs are the mainstay.

Had a couple nice baby hooks. Hard to defend. Will it be constant? That is the question.
they are on him all the time to run the floor, run the floor. hands ready.

 

[Stikboy]

When Ive been. He has shot the 12-14 ft jumper at a solid clip. Put backs and lobs are the mainstay.

Had a couple nice baby hooks. Hard to defend. Will it be constant? That is the question.
they are on him all the time to run the floor, run the floor. hands ready.

Thanks Coach.

 

[Sooner04]

Lon Kruger confirmed on today’s “T-Row Show” on @Sportstalk1400 that his plan is for Anyang Garang and Rick Issanza to redshirt this season. @OU_MBBall opens the season vs UTSA on Tuesday night (7p) in Norman.

From Tobys Twitter

I'm not very high on Kuath. So when I read this I see four scholarships occupied by guys who won't be contributing much when we face tougher competition.

I would love to be wrong. I would also love to never sign another JUCO.

 

[vbdad]

Kur has looked very good when I've watched him but then he was a no show in the exhibition game.
Rick definitely needs work but he is massive and should be a valuable player in the future.
Merritt looked like he could provide a few quality minutes in a game. He has nice size.

AG is very thin and it is great we can redshirt him. I think he looks like a future superstar. He probably won't be but I love the look of his game.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I'm not very high on Kuath. So when I read this I see four scholarships occupied by guys who won't be contributing much when we face tougher competition.

I would love to be wrong. I would also love to never sign another JUCO.

Let's set aside for a second the question of whether you are right about this. For the sake of argument, let's assume it is true. Can you find me many (any?) examples of teams around the country who don't have three or four scholarship guys either redshirting or riding the pine? No college team plays a 12 or 13 man rotation once conference starts. It would be idiotic to even try to do so. That in and of itself means two or three scholarships in a given year will belong to guys who will either never contribute on the court, or who will only do so in future seasons.

The people making this complaint always act as if OU is an outlier in this regard. If you follow college basketball, look no further than Duke, who has every recruiting advantage in the world, for an example of how this plays out other places. When Zion and one or two other guys got hurt last season, they had to burn a guy's redshirt in February just so they could get by for a couple weeks because their depth was so lacking. Again, this is Duke we are talking about. Kansas has found itself in a similar spot in recent seasons.

Not every guy who gets a scholarship is going to be a significant on-court piece. That will never change. If you have 12-13 kids that good on one roster, you'd lose half of them as transfers, anyway.

 

[thebigabd]

Let's set aside for a second the question of whether you are right about this. For the sake of argument, let's assume it is true. Can you find me many (any?) examples of teams around the country who don't have three or four scholarship guys either redshirting or riding the pine? No college team plays a 12 or 13 man rotation once conference starts. It would be idiotic to even try to do so. That in and of itself means two or three scholarships in a given year will belong to guys who will either never contribute on the court, or who will only do so in future seasons.

The people making this complaint always act as if OU is an outlier in this regard. If you follow college basketball, look no further than Duke, who has every recruiting advantage in the world, for an example of how this plays out other places. When Zion and one or two other guys got hurt last season, they had to burn a guy's redshirt in February just so they could get by for a couple weeks because their depth was so lacking. Again, this is Duke we are talking about. Kansas has found itself in a similar spot in recent seasons.

Not every guy who gets a scholarship is going to be a significant on-court piece. That will never change. If you have 12-13 kids that good on one roster, you'd lose half of them as transfers, anyway.

I agree with that.... Most teams have a significant dropoff in both talent and contributions past 7 players, and things really get that way after 8 or 9 players.

I think the sentiment being expressed is that some guys you sign with the idea that they will be in that top 8 and contribute as such, but a lot of these guys being referenced don't belong on a Big 12 team.

OU has literally finished last in the league, which means the bench and the starters don't have enough talent. It's not that people are mad OU isn't 13 deep, it's that players aren't being signed that gets the whole team back into the top 4 or 5 in the league.

So you see these new guys being brought in that you hope can elevate the team, only to find out they cant play at all.

 

[Sooner04]

I'd love to lose most of this year's bottom six to transfers. I'd welcome it. I don't see those guys contributing to a team that legitimately hopes to challenge for the conference.

I would love to be wrong.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I'd love to lose most of this year's bottom six to transfers. I'd welcome it. I don't see those guys contributing to a team that legitimately hopes to challenge for the conference.

I would love to be wrong.

This still ignores the question I posed. Who would you replace them with? Again, if Duke, Kansas, etc., can't put together a roster with 12-13 scholarship players who can "contribut[e]to a team that legitimately hopes to challenge for the conference," to use your words, why do you think it is realistic to expect that from OU, or anyone else? The last few scholarship kids on any roster are always going to be guys who are projects and/or practice players. KU had a backup tight end walk on and actually play important minutes on their FF team two years ago. Is that bad roster management on their part, or again a reflection of the reality that every team will always have about four scholarships tied up in guys who never end up playing many meaningful minutes? Were players 9-13 doing big things for Kelvin's '02 team? That team had seven guys average double digit minutes in conference play. The only other guys who contributed at all were Johnston and Szendrei. The bottom of that roster did no more to contribute to conference title hopes than the bottom of the roster has done for us the last couple years. What we need is better talent/more consistent play from the top seven or eight guys.

 

[Hollisp]

I'd love to lose most of this year's bottom six to transfers. I'd welcome it. I don't see those guys contributing to a team that legitimately hopes to challenge for the conference.

I would love to be wrong.

Wow. No shade here. Can you tell me why you’d want that much turnover? I’d assume the bottom 6 replacements would be at best slightly better? That’s a lot to leave up to chance.