Things just got interesting!

[afaSooner]

I don't want to sound like a complete homer but it seems the planets have aligned for OU.

Last year while finishing an impressive 2nd place in the Big 12 standings OU was led by mostly new or young talent. Spangler had transferred in from Gonzaga, Woodard was playing his first year in the Big 12/college, Hield and Cousins were coming off impressive freshman campaigns but were still sophomores, Booker was a sharp shooter coming out of highschool but it was unknown if he could contribute at all as a freshman, and seemingly this was senior Cameron Clark's team to lead. While Clark did lead this team at times he had surprising help from fellow senior Neal when the Sooners needed a boost but mostly Hield, Cousins, Woodard, and Spangler led the charge with Booker showing he also may be one to show his worth before all is said and done.

2014-2015 was looking promising and then this happened...
"Tashawn Thomas ruled immediately eligible >>> Soonersports.com"

And so it begins. Thomas is now ruled eligible to play alongside an already proven Big 12 under the basket behemoth in Spangler not to mention a surprising 6-9 freshmen big Khadeem Lattin who has already garnered some excitement as well. OU rounds out a nice front court with complimentary players in Bennett and Cole. But that's really not even the most exciting part of this Sooner team despite the mind blowing news just received regarding Thomas. Heild is on almost everyone's radar as one of the best guards in conference as a result of the HUGE jump he's made since just last year with his play at the end of last year and throughout all of the off season period. Then there's Cousins who may very well end up being OU's best player this year despite the talent riddled roster OU seemingly has. Cousins is a threat from anywhere on the court and has shown he too has improved from last year. To round out the backcourt you have to honestly talk about Woodard as perhaps one of the best PG's in the Big 12 based on him only being a sophomore yet as a freshmen showed he can play with anybody. He's a threat to drive past and to the hole if not given the respect he warrants at that PG position and he too can score from anywhere on the court. I think Hield, Cousins, and Woodard will give OU the best backcourt in the Big 12 before the season ends as they continue to get better. But now I want to shift gears to what I think will certainly take OU into the Final Four this year (I know I'm a homer)... the freakish depth on the bench. One word. Booker. This guy is a starter and will play behind Cousins and Hield only because they are upperclassmen but make no mistake about it when Booker comes into the game we will not be giving up much if anything at all. At times Booker will be a nightmare for teams to deal with as they attempt to rest their starters and without depth of their own to counter... Booker will have a field day. Let's not underestimate Walker's ability either. Early on he's shown to have some game. How much game he has will have to be seen but any contribution at all from Walker just deepens the depth at OU with Booker already basically a very good scoring 6th man which all Final Four teams seem to have.

I'm just really impressed with what OU brings to the table now and certainly Thomas becoming eligible serves as a key to this Rolls Royce of a roster OU potentially has.

 

[bgrch1350]

I don't want to sound like a complete homer but it seems the planets have aligned for OU.

Last year while finishing an impressive 2nd place in the Big 12 standings OU was led by mostly new or young talent. Spangler had transferred in from Gonzaga, Woodard was playing his first year in the Big 12/college, Hield and Cousins were coming off impressive freshman campaigns but were still sophomores, Booker was a sharp shooter coming out of highschool but it was unknown if he could contribute at all as a freshman, and seemingly this was senior Cameron Clark's team to lead. While Clark did lead this team at times he had surprising help from fellow senior Neal when the Sooners needed a boost but mostly Hield, Cousins, Woodard, and Spangler led the charge with Booker showing he also may be one to show his worth before all is said and done.

2014-2015 was looking promising and then this happened...
"Tashawn Thomas ruled immediately eligible >>> Soonersports.com"

And so it begins. Thomas is now ruled eligible to play alongside an already proven Big 12 under the basket behemoth in Spangler not to mention a surprising 6-9 freshmen big Khadeem Lattin who has already garnered some excitement as well. OU rounds out a nice front court with complimentary players in Bennett and Cole. But that's really not even the most exciting part of this Sooner team despite the mind blowing news just received regarding Thomas. Heild is on almost everyone's radar as one of the best guards in conference as a result of the HUGE jump he's made since just last year with his play at the end of last year and throughout all of the off season period. Then there's Cousins who may very well end up being OU's best player this year despite the talent riddled roster OU seemingly has. Cousins is a threat from anywhere on the court and has shown he too has improved from last year. To round out the backcourt you have to honestly talk about Woodard as perhaps one of the best PG's in the Big 12 based on him only being a sophomore yet as a freshmen showed he can play with anybody. He's a threat to drive past and to the hole if not given the respect he warrants at that PG position and he too can score from anywhere on the court. I think Hield, Cousins, and Woodard will give OU the best backcourt in the Big 12 before the season ends as they continue to get better. But now I want to shift gears to what I think will certainly take OU into the Final Four this year (I know I'm a homer)... the freakish depth on the bench. One word. Booker. This guy is a starter and will play behind Cousins and Hield only because they are upperclassmen but make no mistake about it when Booker comes into the game we will not be giving up much if anything at all. At times Booker will be a nightmare for teams to deal with as they attempt to rest their starters and without depth of their own to counter... Booker will have a field day. Let's not underestimate Walker's ability either. Early on he's shown to have some game. How much game he has will have to be seen but any contribution at all from Walker just deepens the depth at OU with Booker already basically a very good scoring 6th man which all Final Four teams seem to have.

I'm just really impressed with what OU brings to the table now and certainly Thomas becoming eligible serves as a key to this Rolls Royce of a roster OU potentially has.

OU is defiantly better with him, but We lost 3 key players from last years squad and we only brought in Lattin and Thomas who will contribute this year. The loss of Hornbeak was huge. And the big 12 is going to be even better and tougher this year.

 

[NickZepp]

It's key that 4 starters return. And while Hornbeak will be missed as a reserve. A better inside game will cover that up. The starting guards are probably among the best in the conference. Frank Booker needs to step up his game a bit. We'll see how good Walker is. If he can be a decent reserve guard we'll be just fine overall. We have 4 really good post players that can all rebound. That's something we haven't had at OU in a very long time.

 

[skyvue]

OU is defiantly better with him, but We lost 3 key players from last years squad and we only brought in Lattin and Thomas who will contribute this year. The loss of Hornbeak was huge. And the big 12 is going to be even better and tougher this year.

In your predictable rush to paint a bleak picture, you neglected to mention Dinjiyl Walker.

That's 3 out, 3 in. Feel better now?

 

[Max Power]

OU is defiantly better with him, but We lost 3 key players from last years squad and we only brought in Lattin and Thomas who will contribute this year. The loss of Hornbeak was huge. And the big 12 is going to be even better and tougher this year.

Now I know you don't watch much ou basketball if you think losing the always injured and never engaged Hornbeak was "huge". He was a huge loss all the way to mighty monmouth

 

[NickZepp]

Now I know you don't watch much ou basketball if you think losing the always injured and never engaged Hornbeck was "huge". He was a huge loss all the way to mighty monmouth

I disagree a bit. He was a decent combo guard as a backup. If he were here the bench would be much more solid. Not near as important as the 3 starters and very much replaceable if we get a decent backup point. If Frank Booker steps up his game a bit, we won't miss Hornbeak at all even if Walker is a bust.

 

[skyvue]

If Frank Booker steps up his game a bit, we won't miss Hornbeak at all even if Walker is a bust.

I'm not prepared to predict greatness for Walker, but from what we've seen so far, there's no reason to think he'll prove a bust, and there's no certainly no justification for leaving him out of the equation altogether, as bgrch did.

 

[BigTime]

OU is defiantly better with him, but We lost 3 key players from last years squad and we only brought in Lattin and Thomas who will contribute this year. The loss of Hornbeak was huge. And the big 12 is going to be even better and tougher this year.

Walker? You are really reading as foolish on here. You would make a perfect SMU fan...

 

[BruinSooner]

Hornbeak was a loss. Not HUGE loss, but a medium loss. That said, I like Walker's game and I don't think we are going to miss Jelon.

 

[OULad]

Walker looks pretty decent to me, so losing Hornbeak is not as big of a deal if he plays well.

 

[sheepdogs1]

Walker looks pretty decent to me, so losing Hornbeak is not as big of a deal if he plays well.

He still needs to develop an outside shot (3 pt range), though.

 

[AdaSooner]

He still needs to develop an outside shot (3 pt range), though.

Walker will be fine. He already has an outside shot, and a good one. He shot 40% from three on a Iowa Western team that was the #1 seed in the juco national tourney last year.

Despite his 0-3 shooting from three in today's game, I like what I saw of him in all other areas. He was 4-9 from the field with 8 points and 5 boards. Not a bad first game for a reserve who only played 15 minutes.

 

[sheepdogs1]

Walker will be fine. He already has an outside shot, and a good one. He shot 40% from three on a Iowa Western team that was the #1 seed in the juco national tourney last year.

Despite his 0-3 shooting from three in today's game, I like what I saw of him in all other areas. He was 4-9 from the field with 8 points and 5 boards. Not a bad first game for a reserve who only played 15 minutes.

Not a big deal, but I've just used the three games played in a Sooner uniform to form an opinion and in those three games he still hasn't made a 3 pointer after twelve shot attempts.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Hornbeak was a loss. Not HUGE loss, but a medium loss. That said, I like Walker's game and I don't think we are going to miss Jelon.

walker is already a much better backup PG on O

it remains to be seen if he is as good on D

 

[jerry]

walker is already a much better backup PG on O

it remains to be seen if he is as good on D

Agree.

 

[BoomSoon]

As I have stated on here a couple of times, I absolutely loved Jelon.

That said, Walker will prove to be an upgrade.

 

[bocabull]

Cam Clark was inconsistent but a better overall talent than TT. Will be interesting to see how TT & Spango play together. We should be a very good rebounding team but still a little undersized for any real on the block offense.

IMO Cousins is the most important piece. He's the guy who can elevate our team with all around athleticism and versatility.

 

[AdaSooner]

Cam Clark was inconsistent but a better overall talent than TT. Will be interesting to see how TT & Spango play together. We should be a very good rebounding team but still a little undersized for any real on the block offense.

IMO Cousins is the most important piece. He's the guy who can elevate our team with all around athleticism and versatility.

Clark a better overall talent in playing the four? You can't be serious. Are you basing that on one game when TT barely had time to get dressed after he learned he would be in the lineup? How many games did you see him play last year?

Cam was a three who did an admirable job of holding his own against bigger, stronger players. But, there is no way he was a better rebounder, better defender and better low post scorer than Thomas. He'll prove you wrong in the not too distant future.

I agree with your assessment of Cousins. He is an important piece to the puzzle in our success this season.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Cam Clark was inconsistent but a better overall talent than TT. Will be interesting to see how TT & Spango play together. We should be a very good rebounding team but still a little undersized for any real on the block offense.

not sure how you can make this statement

thomas has a 7-3 wing span .. he is not undersized ..

and he averaged 15 9 and 3 last season .. and has starter every game of his college career

 

[ksSooner13]

Cam Clark was inconsistent but a better overall talent than TT. Will be interesting to see how TT & Spango play together. We should be a very good rebounding team but still a little undersized for any real on the block offense.

How can you say this, he's played one.....ONE game for OU.