Willie Warren at the point

[playmakr]

This. It's so yesterday to have A PG....A SG....A SF.
It's called combo guards...I don't want one guy on the floor that can handle the rock. TMG & WW will play a ton of minutes together and make each other better. I see TMG starting from day one and if he doesn't it won't be at the sake of Ray Willis. At this point I'd say Willis is the 6th perimeter player.

Good post. My high school team had 3 guys that went on to play a true PG in college (all D1) and it was a tremendous advantage. Some team from some boring town in Kansas used the combo guard quite well in some random tournament a couple years ago. They even let some clown with a toupee cut the nets down.

 

[Cheno]

Good post. My high school team had 3 guys that went on to play a true PG in college (all D1) and it was a tremendous advantage. Some team from some boring town in Kansas used the combo guard quite well in some random tournament a couple years ago. They even let some clown with a toupee cut the nets down.

Yeah, I think the toupee invented the combo guard. Worked pretty well at Illinois with Williams, Brown and Head.
I see Capel going that way as well which is why he's recruiting PG's so hard in this upcoming class.

 

[FaithfulSooner]

Once again. TMG maybe 5'9, but he is built nothing like Drew Lavender. TMG is built like a small tank. By his body being stronger. It gives him more to offer on defense. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

 

[BigTime]

Once again. TMG maybe 5'9, but he is built nothing like Drew Lavender. TMG is built like a small tank. By his body being stronger. It gives him more to offer on defense. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

That will be the biggest difference between TMG and Lav as freshmen.

 

[cowboysooner]

I've been predicting since last year that WW would run the point this year. Then Jeff signed Tommy and, due to his reputation, it is a little less clear. I haven't seen Tommy play enough to really form an opinion on how much he will play.

I have felt WW would start at the point, because he will have to play the point in the NBA and he would want to play the position for a year before moving on. I think he would be a great point. Plus, his playing the point would allow us to play two of our wings, instead of just one.

I am a big fan of Willis, but think he might be another year away from the light coming on. But who knows, I think the sky is the limit with the guy. I know everyone talks about his offensive potential, but kids with his height, length and lateral quickness just don't grow on trees, and he could force coach to play him by becoming a dominant shut down perimeter defender. In any event, I see both he and Davis getting more minutes this year and playing a bigger role. I know he is paper thin, but depending upon the othe lineup, I could see Ray getting minutes at the 4.

With the development of Orlando, I could see double low post (allen and Tiny) team similar to the one we had with Longer and Griffin. Until I have had a chance to see the new kids, I am predicting Davis, Crocker and WW start. If Tommy is too good to sit, then I think Tommy, WW and Crocker start on the perimeter and Davis is the 6th man.

I like O better than Wright at the 5, but it may be that Wright is the only big we have that is quick enough to effectively guard the 4 and ends up starting for that reason. Count me as one of the guys that thinks Tiny is going to be just a dominant player from the start. So, I think the issue will be who to play with him on the inside.

 

[OKURanger]

With the development of Orlando, I could see double low post (allen and Tiny) team similar to the one we had with Longer and Griffin. Until I have had a chance to see the new kids, I am predicting Davis, Crocker and WW start. If Tommy is too good to sit, then I think Tommy, WW and Crocker start on the perimeter and Davis is the 6th man.

Me too, but I like the fact that OU has TMG, Willis, and Pledger coming off the bench and predict that because of that guard depth, OU will be a very fast team.

 

[soonernutt]

I think he is going to play more point than people expect.

PG - WW
SG - Ray Willis
SF - Tony Crocker
PF - Ryan Wright
C - Keith Gallon

That is my projected best starting lineup. TMG will be a good player but if we want to win a lot of games it won't be with a true frosh playing the majority of minutes at PG. We might start out that way but like Calipari did at Memphis with Tyreke Evans Capel will have WW running point more often than not.

I don't see RW starting, and that isn't a knock. I expect him to be much improved this season, but there is only one position he can play, and there is much competition for it. When WW and/or TMG are out of the game for whatever reason, he will get some minutes at the SG position, but not all of them. Anything more than that, he will have to earn by shining in those early opportunities (assuming everybody else stays healthy and eligible to play).

 

[afaSooner]

Well firstly there's really no way of knowing how these freshmen are going to pan out on and off the court. I was one that thought by mid-season last year we could see Ray Willis on the court a lot and of course that never happened. Also there's no telling how the guys that are already here improving their skills and what not from last year will pan out. Cade Davis could make a HUGE jump in that dept if he can improve his handles and court awareness. If he does that my money is on Cade to garner a lot of minutes.

Having said that Ray is an interesting prospect. He has some real nice skills but I think right now Davis and even the unknown Pledger probably shoots more consistently. Next year Willis will be a better slasher than shooter which is why I think he'll play more SF when Crock is out. I think if he improves he will most likely be the first off the bench either sliding Crocker over to the SG spot and playing at SF or giving Crocker a breather.

Bottom line... TMG is Capel's man at point. He may not start by game one but I really believe he will be needed to run the offense and let teams figure out what they are going to do with Willie out on the wing. Obviously at points Willie will take over and bring the ball up the court but we'll need TMG to get us in our offense early on which I think he'll be an awesome floor general to do just that.


PG: TMG - WW
SG: WW - Davis
SF: Crocker - Willis
PF: Wright - Fitz
C: Gallon - Allen

Pledger is a guy that could break into the rotation fairly easily. Pledger will be challenging Davis as one of the guards that see a lot of PT at SG. I like Pledger in that his maturity level seems a cut above most 18 yr olds but like Willis last year, you just never know if a kid is ready for D1 or not. He certainly has the talent to be on the court. My money, however, is on Davis to be a much more consistent shooter and slasher to the hole. Plus we really need Davis along with WW & Crocker to be leaders in our back court while TMG works out the kinks early on. I'm sure Davis is aware of the importance to raise his level of play and I think he will.

Can't wait for the games to begin!

 

[NickZepp]

No matter if TMG is a freshman. He was brought here to be the point guard from day one.

I don't think anyone is questioning that. He's probably a little behind the ball right now with his injury issues. Willie has a big head start already having a full season and most of the pick up games so far he's been our point. He may be the guy this year and we may bring in TMG slowly and get him in there gradually so he can be ready by next year to be the full time point. There's a chance TMG may start off as a bench player.

 

[BigTime]

Me too, but I like the fact that OU has TMG, Willis, and Pledger coming off the bench and predict that because of that guard depth, OU will be a very fast team.

I agree. I think we will have one of the quickest backcourts at OU in a long time.

 

[BuddyHolly]

You know, I don't like to bash anybody, but I never have understood the props Ray Willis gets on this board. I don't like him much as a player and I don;t see him ever making a very serious impact here. I think has a ton of work to be competitive at the college level, but the kid is overmatched so far. I didn't like anything about his game last year, just my honest opinion. Now, kids can improve alot from their freshmen seasons, but he has a long way to go and I'll be the first to admit I was rong if he matures- but I don;t see it, I don't think he has the work ethic or the game.

 

[SoonerNorm]

You know, I don't like to bash anybody, but I never have understood the props Ray Willis gets on this board. I don't like him much as a player and I don;t see him ever making a very serious impact here. I think has a ton of work to be competitive at the college level, but the kid is overmatched so far. I didn't like anything about his game last year, just my honest opinion. Now, kids can improve alot from their freshmen seasons, but he has a long way to go and I'll be the first to admit I was rong if he matures- but I don;t see it, I don't think he has the work ethic or the game.

I haven't yet seen much from Willis yet that gets me excited but as you mentioned, he still has time to become a good player.

 

[FaithfulSooner]

Stay tuned Buddy. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!