Nick is right. There have been very few true centers at OU. Longar Longar was the last in recent years. Before that Oleg Reztsov in 2000. Victor Avila was listed as a center on that team, but in reality he was a PF. You could name several players over the years who had a "C" by their name on OU's roster. But being called a center didn't make them one.
I think the concern that OU will struggle against a team with bigger players is valid. But last year's team held their own on the boards when most of us thought rebounding would be our Achilles heel. For an undersized team they did quite well, averaging 34.4 rpg compared to our opponents 35.5 rpg. It's true that our biggest player on that team is gone. But Tiny was not exactly a rebounding machine with his 7.9 rpg average.
Rebounding this fall will be by committee again. But I believe the group we've got coming in stands a good chance of being a better rebounding team, because we'll have more size overall at nearly every position. I'll go out on a limb right now and say that C. J. Washington will at least match Tiny's rebounding numbers. C. J. has a nose for the ball like few players I have seen this year. Time will tell if I'm right on both predictions.
My biggest concern is where our scoring will come from? It won't be easy to replace the 56 or so ppg we lost with the departure of Tiny, WW, Tony, TMG and Ray. Our incoming freshmen will have to hit the ground running and not let up. Pledger will need to find his stroke and show everyone why he was thought to be one of the best three point shooters coming out of high school two years ago. As the obvious team leader, Cade will be counted on to carry a good deal of the load on both ends of the floor. Drew, Kyle and our two JUCO recruits will have to be men on the low block.
It will definitely be an uphill battle. But this team could actually be decent if they develop the team chemistry and sense of family and playing as one unit last year's team could never seem to find.
