Top 5 BB prospects in OK 2017?

[AdaSooner]

Time will tell if passing on Chargois and signing Polla was a mistake. I don't think any of us know enough about Polla to make that call right now. One thing we do know, there aren't many 6' 11" 265 bigs available in any recruiting class. Contrast that with Chargois' listed 6' 7" or 6' 8" 225 and OU's decision to go with Polla is a little clearer. I have no idea how good Chargois is now or will be at the next level? If we look back on the decision to pass on him with regrets someday, it won't be the first time.

But, I think it's premature at best to even suggest that Polla was a mistake. Putting myself in LK's position and faced with signing a recruit like Polla over a recruit with Chargois listed size, the smaller player would have to be some kind of special for me to pass on Polla. That's not a knock on Chargois. I'm simply saying recruits in his size range are a dime a dozen compared to the players out there with Polla's unique size. Keep in mind, too, that Coach Kruger had the advantage of evaluating Polla through the eyes of a former player (Polla's coach). I trust him with that decision because I don't have a clue right now if signing Polla was a mistake or something we will all be glad he did someday.

 

[BCSooners]

Time will tell if passing on Chargois and signing Polla was a mistake. I don't think any of us know enough about Polla to make that call right now. One thing we do know, there aren't many 6' 11" 265 bigs available in any recruiting class. Contrast that with Chargois' listed 6' 7" or 6' 8" 225 and OU's decision to go with Polla is a little clearer. I have no idea how good Chargois is now or will be at the next level? If we look back on the decision to pass on him with regrets someday, it won't be the first time.

But, I think it's premature at best to even suggest that Polla was a mistake. Putting myself in LK's position and faced with signing a recruit like Polla over a recruit with Chargois listed size, the smaller player would have to be some kind of special for me to pass on Polla. That's not a knock on Chargois. I'm simply saying recruits in his size range are a dime a dozen compared to the players out there with Polla's unique size. Keep in mind, too, that Coach Kruger had the advantage of evaluating Polla through the eyes of a former player (Polla's coach). I trust him with that decision because I don't have a clue right now if signing Polla was a mistake or something we will all be glad he did someday.

Completely agree. With Doolittle showing as much as he has I don't see Chargois getting too many minutes. Especially having to fight off Buford & Freeman.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Manek isn't taller than Chag if he is it is an inch maybe.

To me Manek is an outside in player while Chag is an inside out kid. If Chag would have stayed healthy and worked on his shape he would have been a good option. OU likes to switch and I'm not sure he can guard outside on those switches.

That being said Chag right now is probably the better shooter of the the 2.

This is the key here as to why Chagrois wasn't recruited and I'm guessing why Polla was recruited. Why would you sign a player who can't play your defensive scheme? Everybody on here complains about OU and Lon's defense yet you also complain he's not signing players who can't play his defense. I don't get it.

 

[brettromar]

Time will tell if passing on Chargois and signing Polla was a mistake. I don't think any of us know enough about Polla to make that call right now. One thing we do know, there aren't many 6' 11" 265 bigs available in any recruiting class. Contrast that with Chargois' listed 6' 7" or 6' 8" 225 and OU's decision to go with Polla is a little clearer. I have no idea how good Chargois is now or will be at the next level? If we look back on the decision to pass on him with regrets someday, it won't be the first time.

But, I think it's premature at best to even suggest that Polla was a mistake. Putting myself in LK's position and faced with signing a recruit like Polla over a recruit with Chargois listed size, the smaller player would have to be some kind of special for me to pass on Polla. That's not a knock on Chargois. I'm simply saying recruits in his size range are a dime a dozen compared to the players out there with Polla's unique size. Keep in mind, too, that Coach Kruger had the advantage of evaluating Polla through the eyes of a former player (Polla's coach). I trust him with that decision because I don't have a clue right now if signing Polla was a mistake or something we will all be glad he did someday.

I'm not putting this as a reason for against anyone just stating facts.

Chag is over 6'9 with shoes and weighs 255 now.

I don't know if he could guard those guys, at the same time he is the point on Union's press break and that is why teams like MWC and others struggle to press them.

Chag is a good kid and very skilled. I think the biggest question they had with him was his motor. Crutch has known about Ethan for a long time, have to know that Crutchfield's sons played on an AAU team when they were younger with Mo Garcia, the head coach at Union.

I haven't seen Polla so I don't have a clue who is better. Hoping Polla is a great addition.

 

[usedtobe1]

Time will tell if passing on Chargois and signing Polla was a mistake. I don't think any of us know enough about Polla to make that call right now. One thing we do know, there aren't many 6' 11" 265 bigs available in any recruiting class. Contrast that with Chargois' listed 6' 7" or 6' 8" 225 and OU's decision to go with Polla is a little clearer. I have no idea how good Chargois is now or will be at the next level? If we look back on the decision to pass on him with regrets someday, it won't be the first time.

But, I think it's premature at best to even suggest that Polla was a mistake. Putting myself in LK's position and faced with signing a recruit like Polla over a recruit with Chargois listed size, the smaller player would have to be some kind of special for me to pass on Polla. That's not a knock on Chargois. I'm simply saying recruits in his size range are a dime a dozen compared to the players out there with Polla's unique size. Keep in mind, too, that Coach Kruger had the advantage of evaluating Polla through the eyes of a former player (Polla's coach). I trust him with that decision because I don't have a clue right now if signing Polla was a mistake or something we will all be glad he did someday.

If I recall correctly, OU was recruiting Isiah Jasey (Sunrise Christian via Killeen Tx, signed with Texas A&M), and Theo John (from Minnesota and later signed with Marquette). I thought those guys were recruited ahead of Chargois. Also, Polla came for his visit, worked out with the team, and committed. I never heard much more about those other guys after that.

I'm not sure how many D1 teams had a chance to scout Polla with him being from Finland...... although his teammate the year before (Markannen?) was Arizona's top signee. I know he tore his ACL in that timeframe, too. I think the staff liked what they saw in Polla over the other players..... many thought OU led for John.

I agree it's way too early to label Polla's signing a mistake. I'm really interested in hearing how he fares this summer in the team workouts. I don't expect a super athlete, but he's going to grind in the trenches, and give us a true low post presence that can't be pushed around.

Give the kid a chance. He could be a very pleasant surprise.

 

[AdaSooner]

I'm not putting this as a reason for against anyone just stating facts.

Chag is over 6'9 with shoes and weighs 255 now.

I don't know if he could guard those guys, at the same time he is the point on Union's press break and that is why teams like MWC and others struggle to press them.

Chag is a good kid and very skilled. I think the biggest question they had with him was his motor. Crutch has known about Ethan for a long time, have to know that Crutchfield's sons played on an AAU team when they were younger with Mo Garcia, the head coach at Union.

I haven't seen Polla so I don't have a clue who is better. Hoping Polla is a great addition.

Everything you've said makes sense to me, Brett. I only have one thing to add. Even if Chargois is further along than Polla now, the difference in their size is still the same. Two to three inches and ten or more pounds, with the potential to get bigger and stronger in OU's conditioning program, could be a huge advantage for Polla, providing he is willing to put in the work of course. His coach, Hanno Mattolla, who played for LK when he coached the Atlanta Hawks, said Hannas is a very hard worker.

 

[cowboysooner]

I have seen Chag play a few times. I agree with BrettRomar. Chag is an inside player that can shoot and handle the ball. Manek is a tall perimeter player.

I don't know or have inside info, but my guess is the only reason CHag wasn't offered is we signed Doolittle last year, and the staff thought they were the same player (beefy inside 4 that could replace Spangler).

I think Chag is a good player and will be a good D1 player. As for whether we made a mistake in not pursuing him harder, who knows and depends upon how he develops and our kids develop.

BTW, the landrum kid is good too. If OU had 15 schollies to give, I wonder whether you might have seen offers to both Landrum and Chag.

Romar -- did Tulsa recruit Chag? And if so, why no interest there?

 

[Stikboy]

I hope no one thinks I think signing Polla was a mistake. I just don't know anything about him besides his size and a few clips and that's it. And a less than impressive offer list. But Lon should be given the benefit of the doubt, I agree. I asked before, and like Usedtobe1 said it appears that OU chose Polla over Jasey and John. WHo knows how much of any of this stuff is true or not. But, recently i've followed recruiting pretty closely and somebody said one time that the Sunrise coach was quoted as saying that Jasey was "going to OU". And like was said earlier, John was all but committed to OU until Polla committed. I take that to mean the coaches like him over those other two highly rated guys, so that should make us all feel better. I can tell you this, I saw Markannen(sp) for the first time the other night against Washington and that guy is a massive human being and a pretty good player. If Polla is close to that guy I know i'll be happy. Let's hope..

 

[brettromar]

Everything you've said makes sense to me, Brett. I only have one thing to add. Even if Chargois is further along than Polla now, the difference in their size is still the same. Two to three inches and ten or more pounds, with the potential to get bigger and stronger in OU's conditioning program, could be a huge advantage for Polla, providing he is willing to put in the work of course. His coach, Hanno Mattolla, who played for LK when he coached the Atlanta Hawks, said Hannas is a very hard worker.

I get that, I'm not arguing that OU should have taken him, just bringing stuff to the discussion.

I wonder what Polla's length is like, that could be a big thing too. I know Ethan has a standing reach of 8'11.

Ethan is going to be a good player and I know TU recruited him, their assistant coach has a son that played with Ethan last year. I don't know why no interest there other than the fact that TU is not that good and hasn't been for a while now. SMU is going to the tournament and whether that changes or not, having Shake there and Landrum going there probably helped.

 

[chuckb]

It's pretty clear that most of us have absolutely no idea what to expect from Polla or what it was that got the staff interested in him over Chargois or anyone else. But I would think that, even if Chargois might be ahead of Polla now, the staff probably saw Polla's upside as higher. Will Chargois get much bigger? Unlikely, so what does he add that we haven't got or can't find? But 6'11, 265 with a great work ethic is really hard to find. Worst case scenario is that he ends up riding the bench or transferring due to a lack of playing time. Best case scenario is that he's a star. Will Chargois ever be a star? Extremely unlikely. So with the team's depth, why not take a chance on Polla's upside?

 

[usedtobe1]

I agree that most of us don't know what to expect from Polla. I'm guessing that if Polla had lived in the USA and played AAU ball, he would have a much more impressive offer list than Penn State and Tulane. The coaches saw something they liked when he visited Norman.

Also, for the record, I was surprised that OU didn't recruit Chargois harder. I was impressed with him his sophomore year. I thought he was a star in the making. It further impressed me that they chose Polla over other big man recruits like Chargois, Theo John, and Isaiah Jasey.

 

[vbdad]

I haven't seen Manek this year but I hear he gained a bunch of strength. Which last year he was really lacking. He is a very good shooter if Chargois is better then he can stroke it. I personally think Manek redshirts next year unless we have injuries.