SI's Justin Hite article on Christian James

[AdaSooner]

http://www.scout.com/college/oklahoma/story/1607841-ou-countdown-no-3-christian-james

 

[SoonerinNC]

Don't agree. You can't keep a guy with a stroke like that on the bench that much. I hear the 3rd wing off the bench stuff but I think he is better than that.

 

[WTSooner]

Somebody is going to lose minutes this year, b/c we have a lot of bodies that can play the 2 and 3 spots.

 

[CoachTalk]

It won't be buddy or Isaiah's minutes

 

[AdaSooner]

Don't agree. You can't keep a guy with a stroke like that on the bench that much. I hear the 3rd wing off the bench stuff but I think he is better than that.

No doubt about it. Justin is usually spot on with his predictions, but that article was posted Friday morning, before the exhibition game.

I have a feeling he was surprised by how well James played Friday night. Most of us assumed he would still be slowed by a serious injury that kept him on the sideline for most of his senior year in high school. Some even thought he would redshirt. That may have been why he started slow. But, if he was experiencing any ill effects from the injury, he definitely didn't show it in the way he played.

 

[AdaSooner]

It won't be buddy or Isaiah's minutes

That's not what SoonerinNC was saying. We all know Hield and Cousins will be our starters in every game. Buddy is a sure bet at the three. Isaiah at the two and/or the one. I think we can also assume that Buford will see some playing time at the four.

If James can continue to perform as well as he did Friday night, we'll see a dog fight for playing time at the two and three between Odomes, Walker, Woodard, James, and to some extent, Buford. If James can knock down threes on a consistent basis, it will be hard to keep him on the bench as the third wing. Keep in mind that with his size and his stroke, he could play the two or the three.

 

[Darwin]

It won't be buddy or Isaiah's minutes

Certainly not in the tougher games but I expect for the season that all of last years returning starters will average 1 to 5 minutes fewer. Mostly in lopsided games but there should be more of those.

 

[CoachTalk]

Certainly not in the tougher games but I expect for the season that all of last years returning starters will average 1 to 5 minutes fewer. Mostly in lopsided games but there should be more of those.

Sure I hope the can get some breaks, esp in Non conf and blowouts. We'll need everyone to make a final 4 run.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I will be suprised if the starters will average much over 30 minutes a game if that much.

Remember that both Spangler and Cousins tailed off in performance late in the season last year. They both play hard on both ends of the court and just need more rest.

Also remember how much Booker played as a freshman. James appears to be a much better player.

Kruger has a history of filling the roster with long athletic players who can run the court. Then they play defense with great intensity and run an uptempo offense. I believe that they will go 10 deep, even in conference play. And when Manyang returns they have 11 who can play.

 

[furge]

I don't know that James is/should be regarded as a shooting specialist coming off the bench like a Booker or Michael Neal, he has a lot of versatility over three possible positions. That said, while he gets into pre-injury shape, he can definitely get more run than the article implies if he keeps finding the bottom of the net. Hite might be underselling what he did against quality HS competition when he projects him as a 12th man-type freshman.

 

[BigTime]

Certainly not in the tougher games but I expect for the season that all of last years returning starters will average 1 to 5 minutes fewer. Mostly in lopsided games but there should be more of those.

Exactly. Hopeful that there will be more games that the Sooners put away early and Coach Kruger can sneak the veterans some rest.

 

[ChongoChingi]

From the couple hours I saw yesterday, he looked the least ready to contribute compared to the other new guys...

 

[usedtobe1]

From the couple hours I saw yesterday, he looked the least ready to contribute compared to the other new guys...

I don't think we can overreact to how a newcomer plays in some of these early season games. James had a good, first exhibition game, and people seem a little down on Dante Buford. They might flip back and forth. When I watched this summer, I was really impressed with Buford and Odomes. The other newcomers didn't stand out so much to me, They didn't do anything bad, just didn't catch my eye.

 

[ChongoChingi]

I don't think we can overreact to how a newcomer plays in some of these early season games. James had a good, first exhibition game, and people seem a little down on Dante Buford. They might flip back and forth. When I watched this summer, I was really impressed with Buford and Odomes. The other newcomers didn't stand out so much to me, They didn't do anything bad, just didn't catch my eye.

That was kind of my impression. Odomes and Buford seemed to fit right in while James was needing more work on where he was supposed to be and what he should be doing.