Which one player is the key to the season?

[Sooner23]

I'm going with Tiny. IMO, he absolutely has to live up to the hype for us to finish in the Top Four of the Big 12 this year.

 

[RonMexico]

I'll take TMG. The team will have to adjust to running an offense without BG, and with a new PG. If TMG can come in and take care of the ball and create for others, then we should be fine, on offense at least.

 

[thebigabd]

I went with Gallon... If TMG for whatever reason doesnt cut it, Willie can play the point and OU can have all the guards bring the ball up the floor.

However, if Gallon doesnt give OU double figures the post game will be really bad. OU wouldnt even make the NCAA Tournament if Gallon turns out to be a bust or gets hurt.

He is the key to the season, IMO.

 

[elmocarp]

I think Tiny and TMG are both obviously going to be relied upon for quite a bit, so they make sense, but I voted for Willie. He has to be the dynamic scorer and floor leader many of us think he will be.

That said, I think a case could be made for any of the 5 projected starters (TMG, WW, Crock, Tiny and Orlando). I think thats one reason why there is such a wide range of opinion on what to expect from the team next year. That really is a lot of questions to have about your team. Hopefully most of the questions have good answers...

 

[Boomer]

I am going to go with WW. We need him to step up as the leader of this young team.

 

[Edmond_Sooner]

Gotta go with Tiny, i know you could make the case for a lot of guys but IMO it all depends on what we get out of him in the post...

We need a dominant guy down there, one we can rely on to score and he is the only one with that type of ability on our roster (i know Orlando is getting better but there is no way he is ready to be dominant and a go to guy)


There are only a few other guys i would consider being keys, but not as big as what we need out of Tiny...there is more upside for the team with Tiny having a great season than anyone else IMO because there are already some knowns going in...



Here are the things we know for sure:

WW will be a dominant guard...hard for me to envision him not improving

Crocker will give us some great games, some average games, some below average games...Just doesnt have the take over instinct, will be a great veteran leader

TMG will play a lot at point and wont be asked to do too much, but i think has the capability too...even if he underperforms we have the guards to take up the slack

 

[Krugerfan52]

Although I know Gallon will be the most valuable player (meaning if he is ever injured or in foul trouble we will be sunk), I went with Fitzgerald.

The reason I picked Fitz is that I know what WW and Crocker can do and I believe TMG and Gallon will be starters from day one.

That just leaves the 5th starting spot vacated by Patillo. I have seen nothing from Wright or Allen yet to suggest they can be legit starters Big 12 this year. If Fitzgerald is good enough to win that other starting spot inside and be a productive player than this team could win about 25-27 games. If Fitz stays behind Wright and Allen all year then I see us as a 20-22 win team...assuming Gallon stays healthy and has a big year.

 

[luckyc1423]

Ray willis...not just for this year but also for next....if he can step up he will be huge...adding an extra 10-12ppg will be big and possibly next year getting around 15ppg....i think we know what we get out of willie and we hope we know out of tmg and tiny so in my opinion willis is the next important person....I would like to see a small lineup at times with this below:
1)TMG
2) Willie
3) Willis
4) Crocker/pledger/unknown
5) Gallon

 

[T_Neal's Twitter]

I went with Crocker. We really need him to not disappear for 4 or 5 games at a time. He needs to average double digit scoring to go along with his great D. Everybody else will be great in their roles but some consistency out of Crocker would go a long way.

 

[DSMok1]

Orlando Allen... Somebody's got to do the rebounding+be a post defensive presence. If he is respectable at that, Tiny can focus on what he does best. If Allen is decent, OU is really good.

What OU lost was rebounding, more than scoring, and didn't have a great post defensive presence. If Allen can throw himself into that role....

 

[SoonerNorm]

I went with Crocker. We really need him to not disappear for 4 or 5 games at a time. He needs to average double digit scoring to go along with his great D. Everybody else will be great in their roles but some consistency out of Crocker would go a long way.

I did too. He needs to have a great year. Guard play is critical in college.

 

[hoopsaustin]

guys, i think its crocker.. if he can show up and shoot the ball well like he did in the NCAA's he will be a threat that we most of the time do not have from him which allows defenses to play loose on him (4v5)... i pray that he works on his penetration, or lack thereof, and get some handles

 

[NickZepp]

This team will go as Willie Warren goes. If he averages something 10-14 a game we may have a NIT type season at best. If he puts up 18+ we'll have a chance to be really good.

 

[Cheno]

I think it's gotta be WW. He needs to step up this year and be the leader and be more than just a bigtime scorer.

 

[bocabull]

It's all about Willie. He is our ceiling and will determine how far we go just like Blake did last year.

 

[FaithfulSooner]

I went with Tony Crocker. I just feel like if his scoring is more consistent and he cuts down on his turnovers we will be very hard to beat. I really think that Willie will take the reigns of this team and give us the performances that we know he is capable of. We need another consistent veteran like Crock to be an example for the younger guys. As for Tiny and TMG. I think some on this board will be very surprised at how good they will be. The two of them will have to make an adjustment at the beginning of the season, but it won't take them long. My second player behind Crock would have been Orlando. We need someone to compliment Tiny. Just think what it would be like if we could get 8 points and 8 rebounds from Orlando to go with Tiny's offensive game. That would make us very good down low. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!! :clap

 

[Boomer Sooner]

IDK why, call me crazy, but I think at the end of the year we will to be on the same level as last year. Yeah, we just lost the arguably the best college basketball player of all time but I just have a gut feeling that we will really gel at the end of the year and make a deep tourney run. Again, call me crazy but if we reach a sweet 16 or elite 8 or further I think Willie might come back trying to win it all. So after all that I will say the key is TMG. If he can get the team on the same page with the help of Willie we can be special. The world will realize what a great coach Jeff really is because I think a new offensive monster will come out that JC has been waiting for the right person to run it. (TMG/Willie Combo)

 

[AdaSooner]

Gotta go with Willie because much of this team's success will be on his shoulders, and the younger players will look to him for leadership.

 

[BigTime]

Went with Orlando Allen. Gonna need one of the posts not named Tiny to step up and be a man.

 

[DenverSooner]

I personally think OU needs Tony Crocker to have a big senior year. Willie Warren will be the star and I am confident he will be impressive but I think for OU to have a big year, Crocker needs to have his best shooting year ever and avoid the slumps he has had in years past.

If Tony can do this, it will really stretch the defense making things easier for the big guys and Willie Warren.