We offered this Rick Issanza kid

[coolm]

here's some video of him being really tall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbGRx4buz30&t=142s

 

[CMSOONER]

Lon loves him some tall not overly athletic bigs.

 

[pnkranger]

So ... he can make a wide open dunk at 7'1".

 

[mict085]

It will take him at least 2-3 years of development to make a positive impact, if that. Our projects haven’t seemed to work out under Lon, or ever.

Maybe this kid will be different.


Or not.

 

[TINY]

Longar, Jabari Brown, Jamuni were all projects who worked out well. Give me a higher ceiling athletic guy over a more polished 6-8 stiff every time.

 

[CMSOONER]

Longar, Jabari Brown, Jamuni were all projects who worked out well. Give me a higher ceiling athletic guy over a more polished 6-8 stiff every time.

So you would take all of them over Kevin Bookout?

 

[mict085]

Longar, Jabari Brown, Jamuni were all projects who worked out well. Give me a higher ceiling athletic guy over a more polished 6-8 stiff every time.

Worked out well?

LOL.

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

So you would take all of them over Kevin Bookout?

I probably would. Maybe not Jamuni and maybe my reference of how good the others were is frayed by time, but all 3 are definitely better fits for today's game than Bookout.

 

[OUGenius]

I take Bookout every time all the time in 1 million years in a row. That said, if those guys are projects, they worked out. Projects are not supposed to work out. Project its aresupposed to sit the bench for their entire careers so all three of those guys if they were indeed projects were successes.

I don’t consider any of those three guys projects by the way.

 

[DenverSooner]

Now Bookiut is a stiff?

The guy played two sports in college and could have played baseball. Guess how many sports we all played in college and how many we could have played in college? Zero is the correct answer.


I really wish I had been a stiff like Kevin Bookout.

 

[sooner 1234]

Longar, Jabari Brown, Jamuni were all projects who worked out well. Give me a higher ceiling athletic guy over a more polished 6-8 stiff every time.

I wouldn’t say Jamuni has worked out well.

He started by the end of the season because he was the best we had on a horrible ( talent wise) big men squad.

 

[AdaSooner]

I probably would. Maybe not Jamuni and maybe my reference of how good the others were is frayed by time, but all 3 are definitely better fits for today's game than Bookout.

The bigs on other teams who hurt us the most were built a lot like Kevin Bookout. Bookout had the size and strength to hold his own against a player like Bamba. Wish I could say that about Lattin and Muni.

If Lon’s obsession with tall, skinny recruits who rely on their length and athleticism to rebound and block shots doesn’t change, OU will continue to struggle inside against beefy bigs who have the bulk to score and rebound at will.

No, I haven’t ruled out the possibility that Polla might give us a player like that in time. But, after watching him attempt to catch passes and bang point blank layups off of the backboard last season, I’m not nearly as optimistic as I was early on.

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

The bigs on other teams who hurt us the most were built a lot like Kevin Bookout. Bookout had the size and strength to hold his own against a player like Bamba. Wish I could say that about Lattin and Muni.

If Lon’s obsession with tall, skinny recruits who rely on their length and athleticism to rebound and block shots doesn’t change, OU will continue to struggle inside against beefy bigs who have the bulk to score and rebound at will.

No, I haven’t ruled out the possibility that Polla might give us a player like that in time. But, after watching him attempt to catch passes and bang point blank layups off of the backboard last season, I’m not nearly as optimistic as I was early on.

But beefy bigs are few and far between and, if 1 guy can't handle them, they can often forced into bad fouls, shots, and turnovers by a double-team. The problem with guys like Polla is exactly what you described. They take low value shots and make bad plays and clog the lane and slow down the ball movement. Beefy bigs just don't dominate the college, or even the pro, game anymore. Look at the teams left in the tournament and Azubuike is really the only 1. And if Kansas beats Duke, it won't be because Azubuike dominated Bagley or Carter.

And btw, Bamba would have destroyed Bookout with his size and athleticism. That's probably not a fair comparison because Bamba will be a top 5 or 7 draft choice and Bookout didn't play in the NBA, but there's a reason why NBA teams want guys like Bamba and don't want guys like Bookout.

 

[sperry]

Kevin Bookout would be a huge liability in today's game.

 

[BCSooners]

Kevin Bookout would be a huge liability in today's game.

Bookout was much better/athletic than this Krutweg kid from Loyola, and he's showing out as a freshman.

 

[DenverSooner]

Kevin Bookout would be a huge liability in today's game.

You are nuts.

 

[Matthew G]

If this dude could raise his basketball IQ and become a player like Udoka at KU, I'd take him. Right now, he's extremely raw. Need to see more improvement and then I'd be on board. 7'1" centers would be really good down low for rebounding and altering shots.

 

[opsooner]

You are nuts.

Yep. OU could really use a player like Bookout again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AdaSooner]

If this dude could raise his basketball IQ and become a player like Udoka at KU, I'd take him. Right now, he's extremely raw. Need to see more improvement and then I'd be on board. 7'1" centers would be really good down low for rebounding and altering shots.

I’m all for a 7’ 1” center if our PF has the size and bulk to be effective inside. Spangler and TaShawn Thomas were perfect examples of the kind of player I’m talking about.

 

[sooner 1234]

We just made a final four with Spangler and Lattin ,
Bookout would be fine and I would love to have him right now .