Brian Goodman is the lead Big 12 correspondent for Rush The Court. You can follow him on Twitter at @BSGoodman.
Burning question: Is Oklahoma ready for the biggest expectations of the Lon Kruger era?
When it comes to recent history, Oklahoma basketball doesn’t conjure up a lot of great memories. Yes, Big 12 fans will recall Blake Griffin’s evolution into a wrecking ball and the Sooners’ prolonged success under Kelvin Sampson a decade ago, but there hasn’t been a lot to draw from since those halcyon days. Right after Griffin led the Sooners to the 2009 Elite Eight, the program descended into a two-year tailspin where they went 27-36 overall and 9-23 in league play, ultimately leading to Jeff Capel’s ouster in 2011. Fast forward four years later to the afterglow of a Sweet Sixteen appearance and a potential First Team All-American leading the way, and big things can finally be expected again on the hardwood in Norman.
Buddy Hield is back to lead the Sooners, but how will they fare now that they’re under the microscope? (David K Purdy/Getty Images)
The Sooners’ return to Big 12 contention can be credited to Lon Kruger’s direction and guidance. Oklahoma’s win total has increased in kind with every year he’s been on campus, and just last March, the team joined West Virginia as the only two Big 12 schools to survive the NCAA Tournament’s first weekend. Typically, when a program makes the Sweet Sixteen for just the second time in 12 years, a rebuild is lurking right around the corner. Not so with the Sooners — in fact, the spotlight on the Oklahoma program is even brighter in 2015-16 because practically everyone of significance from that run is back.
It all starts with reigning Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield. The senior averaged 17.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game last season, and his keen ability to score from anywhere on the floor (48.7% on twos for his career; 35.3% on threes; 80% at the line) commands great attention from opposing defenses. But it’s not just his scoring that makes him lethal, as his low rate of turnovers (13.3%) belies a usage rate of 26.8 percent. Hield also sported the third-best assist rate on the team, and with another big year, it is tough to not picture Adam Silver calling his name from a podium in Brooklyn next June.
As outstanding as Hield is, the big question for the Sooners is whether his supporting cast will perform well enough to keep opponents honest as all but two significant contributors from last year’s squad are back. Isaiah Cousins, a former two-star recruit who converted on 45 percent of his three-point attempts last season, is a living embodiment of Kruger’s ability to get the most out out of his players. Jordan Woodard’s ball-handling at the point guard position got better as the season wore on, so there’s no reason to think he won’t be up to the task again. On the bench, Dinjyl Walker could provide a boost if he improves on his woeful 26.4 percent three-point shooting. Perhaps the most intriguing backcourt option on the bench is freshman Rashard Odomes, a player of whom scouts believe can do a little bit of everything, especially shoot the basketball.
In the frontcourt, Ryan Spangler is a big man who has been remarkably consistent throughout his career in both finishing at the rim and rebounding. He’s a double-double threat every night out primarily because of his ability to stay on the floor (he picked up more than three fouls in a game just seven times last season). This year could be different given the mandate from the NCAA to allow offensive players more freedom of movement, but it’s wise to give Spangler the benefit of the doubt that he’ll adjust. In order for the Sooners to reach their full potential, though, Spangler will need to find some help in the paint.
The departures of TaShawn Thomas and D.J. Bennett left a frontcourt hole that Oklahoma will try to plug with the addition of Akolda Manyang, a 7’0″ rim protector who came to Norman as the nation’s second-best JuCo transfer in 2014. Behind Spangler and Manyang, the Sooners also have sophomore Khadeem Lattin, who showed some promise last season in limited minutes. Deeper on the bench are redshirt freshmen Jamuni McNeace and Dante Buford.
Woodard, Cousins, Hield, Spangler and Manyang give Oklahoma a starting lineup that can compete with Iowa State near the top of the Big 12 and maybe even catch Kansas if a few things break their way. The Sooners will be tested with an intense non-conference schedule that includes a home game against Wisconsin, a trip to Memphis, a neutral-court showdown with Villanova in Honolulu, and, as it turns out, another trip to Hawai’i for the Diamond Head Classic, where a competitive field awaits. By the time January arrives, Kruger’s club will be ready for conference play because their non-league slate will have prepared them for it. If everything works out and the Sooners improve on last year’s 24-11 mark, perhaps the itinerant 63-year old coach will feel inclined to break away from his program-fixing modus operandi and instead settle into Norman for a few more years.