What Oklahoma WBB Losses and Returns Next Season

[SoonerTraveler]

A team with an extraordinary amount of experience. Ten players return that played at least 100 minutes in games last season. All 10 players will be either Seniors or Juniors this season.

1. What are your expectations for the 2016-17 season?
2. Who will be Oklahoma’s best player?
3. Who will be Oklahoma’s most improved player?
4. Will an underclassman (freshman; sophomore) crack the starting lineup?
5. Does this roster have the potential or capability to win the conference in 2017?

* * * * * * * * * *

Oklahoma Departing Player
Minutes ............ Points .............. Player
686 (20.8 mpg) .. 410 (12.4 ppg) .. Kaylon Williams (6-3; F) .. started all 33 games


Oklahoma Returning Players (> 100 minutes playing time)
Minutes ............ Points .............. Player
993 (30.1 mpg) .. 360 (10.9 ppg) .. Peyton Little (R-SR; 5-11; G)
900 (28.1 mpg) .. 277 (8.7 ppg) ... Maddie Manning (R-SR; 6-2; G)
876 (26.5 mpg) .. 224 (6.8 ppg) ... Gabbi Ortiz (JR; 5-9; G)
719 (21.8 mpg) .. 201 (6.1 ppg) ... Derica Wyatt (SR; 5-10; G)
674 (20.4 mpg) .. 152 (4.6 ppg) ... T’ona Edwards (SR; 5-5; G)
515 (15.6 mpg) .. 308 (9.3 ppg) ... Vionise Pierre-Louis (JR; 6-4, C)
441 (20.0 mpg) .. 186 (8.2 ppg) ... Gioya Carter (SR; 5-9; G) .. played in 22 games
266 (9.9 mpg) ...... 68 (2.5 ppg) ... McKenna Treece (JR; 6-4; C) .. played in 27 games
266 (8.6 mpg) ...... 64 (2.1 ppg) ... LaNesia Williams (JR; 5-7; G)
155 (7.0 mpg) ...... 23 (1.0 ppg) ... Shaya Kellogg (SR; 6-2; F) .. played in 22 games

_71 (5.5 mpg) ...... 14 (1.1 ppg) ... Gileysa Penzo (R-SO; 5-9; G) .. played in 13 games
_38 (3.8 mpg) ...... 10 (1.0 ppg) ... (Ijeoma Odimgbe (SO; 6-4; F) .. played in 10 games


Oklahoma will have 3 newcomers (including 1 transfer from last season ##)
> Morgan Rich (R-FR; 5-10; G) mid-season transfer from Kentucky ##
> Nancy Mulkey (FR; 6-9; C) .. Cypress, Texas
> Chelsea Dungee (FR; 5-11; G) .. Sapulpa, Oklahoma

 

[sybarite]

1. Let's first see the schedule.
2. Sherri and Chad have said that Maddie will be the best player in the Big Twelve. They, presumably, meant last year. Their projections will come true this year.
3. I suspect that the most improved will be Ijeoma or Gileysa. They have the talent to be much better than they were as freshmen.
4. At the outset of the season, I expect the lineup to be set from returning starters and Vivi. By mid-year, Gioya and Peyton must step up to avoid being replaced by Chelsea or Morgan. Nancy may start in some given situations.
5. The potential is there to win the conference. Will it rise to that level in performance? I think it is likely that we could go further than any other Big Twelve team in the NCAAs.

The key is the progress of Maddie, Vivi, and Gabbi.

 

[scrybe]

Nancy Mulkey will be a freshman, so none of us really know to what degree, if any, she will contribute this season. But if Nancy is surprisingly effective from the start, or even by the start of conference play, our ceiling could be really high.

As the previous posters pointed out, lack of experience won't be a problem for this team. I'm anxious to see how it will all play out.