Top 5 sleeper recruits coming into the Big 12

[thebigabd]

1.) Steven Pledger (6'4'' 205) OKLAHOMA
-Jeff Capel calls him the best shooter he has ever seen, which is obviously a high compliment coming from Jeff. Had offers from Oklahoma (top 20 program), Wake Forest (top 20 program), Virginia Tech, Clemson, Boston College, and South Carolina. Recently made a 1st Team national Christian school All-American list. He is big, strong, athletic, and apparently one of the elite shooters in the 2009 class, yet no other Big 12 school would know about him and he only got 3-stars from Rivals.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw78xuf4lY8[/ame]

2.) Givon Crump (6'6'' 210) BAYLOR
-This guy may give Pledger a run for his money in terms of shooting. He was named a Reebok All-American, but did not play in the game due to injury. He has unlimited range at 6'6'' 210, and should fit in at Baylor real well. Only a 3-star recruit by Rivals, and isnt even ranked in the top 150. He has a pretty impressive 3pt workout that someone posted as well that demonstrates his shooting.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbvRO5femq4[/ame]

3.) David Tairu (6'3'' 185) TEXAS TECH
-Very good athlete that has been compared to current Raider Nick Okorie in just about every way. Around 6'3'', very athletic, good shooter, good scorer, etc. Led his juco team in scoring with 17.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. Okorie came in and made a big impact for Tech (averaged 12 per game in his first year), and Tairu could do the same.

4.) Alec Burks (6'4'' 180) COLORADO
-Named the 2009 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game as a senior this year. Had offers from Colorado and Kansas State. A 3 star recruit who did not make the rivals top 150, but he will help Colorado in the backcourt right away. He shot 43% from the 3pt line in high school. "Alec is extremely young and still growing. When he walked in the doors a couple days ago for the June session, everybody made the comment, 'You've grown,'" Bzdelik said. "He's a very explosive offensive player."-Jeff Bzdelik

5.) Lance Jeter (6'3'' 225) NEBRASKA
-Nebraskas new starting point guard. named an honorable-mention All-American by the coaches in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) following the 2009 season. He was also the Florida Community College Activities Association (FCCAA) Player of the Year. Jeter averaged 15.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game as a sophomore. He was a really good high school athlete, and was a star on the court and the football field. He was originally a scholarship football player at Cincy before deciding he wanted to play basketball. Could be surprisingly good right out of the gate for Nebraska.

 

[elmocarp]

-Jeff Capel calls him the best shooter he has ever seen

He said that? I didn't know he was that prone to hyperbole...Regardless, its hard to imagine that Stephen Pledger really is the best shooter Capel has ever seen. I mean, seriously...

 

[sharp1]

Steven...the true and real spelling of his name, is four stars on scout and very highly rated on ESPN. All the years I've know Jeff, I've never heard him say that about any recruit, like what he said about Pledger...Can some please help me with that

 

[Smash Williams]

He said that? I didn't know he was that prone to hyperbole...Regardless, its hard to imagine that Stephen Pledger really is the best shooter Capel has ever seen. I mean, seriously...

Apparently he said it at the Sooner Caravan in Dallas.

No offense to Steven, but I have a hard time believing it too simply because Capel has seen a ton of great shooters in his time. However, I would guess that shooting ability may be one of the easiest things to misjudge in high school player evaluations, especially when you're rating a kid based on a few games. You can judge mechanics, but a lot of kids with good mechanics aren't very good shooters, and vice-versa. I think it's especially prone to be overlooked if you're talking about a player who doesn't have ideal size and/or isn't an elite athlete. The mid-majors in particular are littered with players who are very good shooters but weren't rated highly because they had other deficiencies that led to them being overlooked. I'm not saying that I expect Pledger to be the best shooter in college basketball for the next four years, but I can see how a recruit's shooting ability doesn't match his recruiting ranking.

 

[AdaSooner]

Steven...the true and real spelling of his name, is four stars on scout and very highly rated on ESPN. All the years I've know Jeff, I've never heard him say that about any recruit, like what he said about Pledger...Can some please help me with that

His comment was reported as a direct quote from a number of things he said during the Sooner Caravan. Here's the link to that thread:

http://ouhoops.com/showthread.php?t=7877

 

[AdaSooner]

Apparently he said it at the Sooner Caravan in Dallas.

I have a hard time believing it too, but I would guess that shooting ability may be one of the easiest things to misjudge in high school player evaluations, especially when you're rating a kid based on a few games. You can judge mechanics, but a lot of kids with good mechanics aren't very good shooters, and vice-versa. I think it's especially prone to be overlooked if you're talking about a player who doesn't have ideal size and/or isn't an elite athlete. The mid-majors in particular are littered with players who are very good shooters but weren't rated highly lbecause they had other deficiencies that led to them being overlooked. I'm not saying that I expect Pledger to be the best shooter in college basketball for the next four years, but I can see how a recruit's shooting ability doesn't match his recruiting ranking.

I would agree if mechanics and a few games were the only barometer to gauge Pledger's ability to shoot threes, but that is not the case. He shot over 50% from three as a junior and better than 48% last season. Sharp1 told me a few months ago that he saw Steven knock down 11 of 14 threes in the AAU nationals as a 13 year old, so his touch from three is really nothing new.

Keep in mind, Coach Capel was following this young man's career long before he arrived at OU. Chances are good he would be a VCU Ram if Capel was still there. But in view of the fact that Steven has been a great shooter for several years, and he continues to shoot hundreds of shots every day to get better, I'm not at all surprised Coach would go out on a limb somewhat and make that claim.

 

[tomkar98]

I would agree if mechanics and a few games were the only barometer to gauge Pledger's ability to shoot threes, but that is not the case. He shot over 50% from three as a junior and better than 48% last season. Sharp1 told me a few months ago that he saw Steven knock down 11 of 14 threes in the AAU nationals as a 13 year old, so his touch from three is really nothing new.

Keep in mind, Coach Capel was following this young man's career long before he arrived at OU. Chances are good he would be a VCU Ram if Capel was still there. But in view of the fact that Steven has been a great shooter for several years, and he continues to shoot hundreds of shots every day to get better, I'm not at all surprised Coach would go out on a limb somewhat and make that claim.

this...

 

[Smash Williams]

I would agree if mechanics and a few games were the only barometer to gauge Pledger's ability to shoot threes, but that is not the case. He shot over 50% from three as a junior and better than 48% last season. Sharp1 told me a few months ago that he saw Steven knock down 11 of 14 threes in the AAU nationals as a 13 year old, so his touch from three is really nothing new.

Keep in mind, Coach Capel was following this young man's career long before he arrived at OU. Chances are good he would be a VCU Ram if Capel was still there. But in view of the fact that Steven has been a great shooter for several years, and he continues to shoot hundreds of shots every day to get better, I'm not at all surprised Coach would go out on a limb somewhat and make that claim.

You may have mis-read my post. I wasn't suggesting that Capel was the one making misjudgments. I assumed that elmocarp was in disbelief that a player who isn't rated as an elite prospect is the best shooter that Capel has seen in his many years, so I was referring more to how recruiting sites and other college coaches may be underrating his shooting ability. Spending so much time in Virginia, Capel has probably seen him more than most coaches and can more accurately gauge Pledger's shooting ability more accurately, as opposed to coaches or recruiting gurus who may not have seen nearly as much.

 

[JohnnyBlack]

I was just happy to see him going to the rim a lot and finishing in that clip. Lets hope he can do that and then get Mike Neal hot from three. I still remember the game that Mike Neal went nuts late and beat Tech.

 

[AdaSooner]

You may have mis-read my post. I wasn't suggesting that Capel was the one making misjudgments. I assumed that elmocarp was in disbelief that a player who isn't rated as an elite prospect is the best shooter that Capel has seen in his many years, so I was referring more to how recruiting sites and other college coaches may be underrating his shooting ability. Spending so much time in Virginia, Capel has probably seen him more than most coaches and can more accurately gauge Pledger's shooting ability more accurately, as opposed to coaches or recruiting gurus who may not have seen nearly as much.

Smash, I knew what you meant. I was simply adding to your point with information I had at my disposal to show that Capel must be confident in Steven's ability as a shooter to refer to him as the best he has ever seen. Sorry about that. I should have made myself clear.

I really don't care what the so-called recruiting experts think, I believe OU signed a very special player. You nailed it when you said "The mid-majors in particular are littered with players who are very good shooters but weren't rated highly lbecause they had other deficiencies that led to them being overlooked."

The difference is, Pledger expanded his game to become much more than a shooter last season. I'll be shocked if he doesn't play a meaningful role in the team's success this fall.

 

[BigTime]

Capel doesn't even like to use the word great (except for the Blake Griffins of the world) so no, he is not very hyperbolic.

Steven may have had an awesome shooting day when Capel saw him play or on his visit to Norman....

I bet he would have gotten even better offers had he not committed to OU so early in the process. He was pretty unknown by the national guys when we got him.

 

[SoonerChamp03]

Did Capel watch Stephen Curry play last fall?

 

[SoonerNorm]

Did Capel watch Stephen Curry play last fall?

:ez-laugh:

 

[Cheno]

Did Capel watch Stephen Curry play last fall?

That was a good one.

 

[elmocarp]

I am as interested in seeing Pledger as any of the guys in this class, seriously. I really do think he is going to have an impact. That said, I am really confused about why we are all building him up so much. I know no one on here cares about recruiting rankings (please can we avoid that discussion), but I just don't understand why the guy isn't ranked higher if he is as unbelievable as everyone on the board makes him out to be.

The standard excuse is that he was underexposed and committed early and that the services just didn't know about him, but that seems really unlikely to me. The guy played for Boo Williams in AAU and Atlantic Shores HS...hardly under the radar programs. Plus he is the teammate of Andre Dawkins, so the idea that coaches and recruiting services hadn't seen a lot of the guy just doesn't cut it with me.

It just seems that every year we hype up an incoming recruit that is ranked somewhere around 100 as an "under the radar" type of guy. Last year it was Willis, Cade before that and Crocker before that. I am not saying that Pledger isn't going to be really good, maybe he will (and I certainly hope he is) but is anyone else tired of hyping these guys up before they get here?

I guess that brings it back around to what Capel supposedly said...I don't think he said it. I think maybe an overeager fan embellished it or something, but I find it hard to believe that he would put something like that out there, especially when it is so obviously not true. I am super-willing to be wrong but until we have something like a quote in print, I have to be a little skeptical.

 

[Malcolm X]

I am as interested in seeing Pledger as any of the guys in this class, seriously. I really do think he is going to have an impact. That said, I am really confused about why we are all building him up so much. I know no one on here cares about recruiting rankings (please can we avoid that discussion), but I just don't understand why the guy isn't ranked higher if he is as unbelievable as everyone on the board makes him out to be.

The standard excuse is that he was underexposed and committed early and that the services just didn't know about him, but that seems really unlikely to me. The guy played for Boo Williams in AAU and Atlantic Shores HS...hardly under the radar programs. Plus he is the teammate of Andre Dawkins, so the idea that coaches and recruiting services hadn't seen a lot of the guy just doesn't cut it with me.

It just seems that every year we hype up an incoming recruit that is ranked somewhere around 100 as an "under the radar" type of guy. Last year it was Willis, Cade before that and Crocker before that. I am not saying that Pledger isn't going to be really good, maybe he will (and I certainly hope he is) but is anyone else tired of hyping these guys up before they get here?

I guess that brings it back around to what Capel supposedly said...I don't think he said it. I think maybe an overeager fan embellished it or something, but I find it hard to believe that he would put something like that out there, especially when it is so obviously not true. I am super-willing to be wrong but until we have something like a quote in print, I have to be a little skeptical.

I agree with you elmo. Those vaunted recruiting services have been right so far on those mentioned players that we overrated, yet they underrated.
It turns out they weren't underrated at all, but since they weren't as high as the fans wanted, those services were wrong.
I think Pledger is a decent player, but for people to think he is going to be starting, would be the missing piece to a Final Four run this year (if he were here) and will have a major impact next year with double digit points is beyond any realistic expectations.

 

[sanguinetti]

Harris-Tunks, the big Aussie kid at CU, if he isn't a "project" and can play a lick will have a chance to put up 12 and 8 type numbers IMO. he'll get the minutes to put stats on the board if he can play (and avoid quick foul trouble).

so, if the question is "sleeper" to make a conference All-Frosh type team....I'd say he's got a good shot.

 

[thebigabd]

Harris-Tunks, the big Aussie kid at CU, if he isn't a "project" and can play a lick will have a chance to put up 12 and 8 type numbers IMO. he'll get the minutes to put stats on the board if he can play (and avoid quick foul trouble). so, if the question is "sleeper" to make a conference All-Frosh type team....I'd say he's got a good shot.

"Shane is the opposite of Alec from the standpoint that he is already a very good rebounder and a very good defender," Bzdelik said. "He can hold and contest position in the low post, he can get out and blitz ball screens. He stunts extremely well."

"I anticipate he'll make that adjustment more smoothly than a typical freshman having played at the Australian Institute of Sport for the last three years," Bzdelik said. "It's the equivalent of an Olympic training center, and they run a system that is pretty similar to what we run in terms of team play and reading defenses. I don't anticipate too much of an adjustment for him."

Harris-Tunks is currently playing in France with the Australian under-19 national team. He will also compete in the under-19 World Championships this summer in New Zealand, an event Bzdelik plans on attending.

 

[Smash Williams]

I am as interested in seeing Pledger as any of the guys in this class, seriously. I really do think he is going to have an impact. That said, I am really confused about why we are all building him up so much. I know no one on here cares about recruiting rankings (please can we avoid that discussion), but I just don't understand why the guy isn't ranked higher if he is as unbelievable as everyone on the board makes him out to be.

The standard excuse is that he was underexposed and committed early and that the services just didn't know about him, but that seems really unlikely to me. The guy played for Boo Williams in AAU and Atlantic Shores HS...hardly under the radar programs. Plus he is the teammate of Andre Dawkins, so the idea that coaches and recruiting services hadn't seen a lot of the guy just doesn't cut it with me.

It just seems that every year we hype up an incoming recruit that is ranked somewhere around 100 as an "under the radar" type of guy. Last year it was Willis, Cade before that and Crocker before that. I am not saying that Pledger isn't going to be really good, maybe he will (and I certainly hope he is) but is anyone else tired of hyping these guys up before they get here?

I guess that brings it back around to what Capel supposedly said...I don't think he said it. I think maybe an overeager fan embellished it or something, but I find it hard to believe that he would put something like that out there, especially when it is so obviously not true. I am super-willing to be wrong but until we have something like a quote in print, I have to be a little skeptical.

Every fan base thinks its recruits are underrated. It's the nature of the beast.

I think it is plausible that Pledger could very well be the shooter that some fans are making him out to be while also being ranked appropriately. However, I think those arguing that he is very underrated may also be ignoring or downplaying deficiencies in his game while overvaluing shooting. As odd as the latter sounds, someone can be an elite shooter without being an elite player. Generally speaking, greater shooters who can't consistently create their own shots aren't elite players.

In the case of Pledger, I haven't seen as much of him as others have and can only go by a few highlight clips and what I've read, but if he just consistently hits open threes for the next four years, I'll be happy.

 

[BigTime]

I am as interested in seeing Pledger as any of the guys in this class, seriously. I really do think he is going to have an impact. That said, I am really confused about why we are all building him up so much. I know no one on here cares about recruiting rankings (please can we avoid that discussion), but I just don't understand why the guy isn't ranked higher if he is as unbelievable as everyone on the board makes him out to be.

The standard excuse is that he was underexposed and committed early and that the services just didn't know about him, but that seems really unlikely to me. The guy played for Boo Williams in AAU and Atlantic Shores HS...hardly under the radar programs. Plus he is the teammate of Andre Dawkins, so the idea that coaches and recruiting services hadn't seen a lot of the guy just doesn't cut it with me.

It just seems that every year we hype up an incoming recruit that is ranked somewhere around 100 as an "under the radar" type of guy. Last year it was Willis, Cade before that and Crocker before that. I am not saying that Pledger isn't going to be really good, maybe he will (and I certainly hope he is) but is anyone else tired of hyping these guys up before they get here?

I guess that brings it back around to what Capel supposedly said...I don't think he said it. I think maybe an overeager fan embellished it or something, but I find it hard to believe that he would put something like that out there, especially when it is so obviously not true. I am super-willing to be wrong but until we have something like a quote in print, I have to be a little skeptical.

Who is overhyping Pledger on this board? I think you are making a mountain out of a mole-hill.

Most people tend to think that he will only get a few minutes per game next year, but that he has a chance to have a bright future as a Sooner. What is wrong with that? The kid is 6'4 with a passion for defense and great shooting form.

Also, EVERY fanbase hypes their recruits. We are not unique in that regard. bigabd is the only guy I have ever seen that hypes inferior schools' recruits more than ours!