Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners season review

Oklahoma basketball was the Big 12’s most successful team this year, as they clinched a berth in the Final Four.

One thing we learned about Oklahoma this past season: Buddy Hield is pretty darn good.

The Sooners surged this year on the back of Hield’s phenomenal play. OU went 29-8 overall this year and 12-6 in Big 12 play to finish third in the conference. They beat Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament, but fell to West Virginia in the semifinals.

The team had numerous great wins, but lost important contests at Kansas State, at Texas Tech, and at Texas. Those shortfalls kept Oklahoma from knocking Kansas off the conference’s top slot, but the greater postseason success made up for it.

Hield led the team in postseason awards, winning Big 12 Player of the Year and unanimous First-Team All-Big 12 along with numerous national accolades. Teammates Isaiah Cousins and Ryan Spangler were Third Team selections, while Jordan Woodard was Honorable Mention and Khadeem Lattin made All-Defensive.

In total, it was an excellent year for the crimson and cream under Lon Kruger, who continues working his sideline magic.

Final Season Grade: A-

So, what’s next in Norman?

Players Gone:

G – Buddy Hield (25.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.1 spg)

G – Isaiah Cousins (12.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.4 spg)

G – Dinjiyl Walker (3.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg)

F – Ryan Spangler (10.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg)

Losing Hield would be a major blow to any team, but losing additional starters Cousins and Spangler means that OU graduates three of its top five scorers and their most consistent producers.

Walker didn’t play much from the bench, but he was solid perimeter depth on a team that only play six or seven guys most nights out. There are plenty of guys who likely will excel returning to Norman, but it would be an outright lie to say that Oklahoma won’t take a step or two back in terms of success.

Players Returning:

G – Jordan Woodard (13.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.6 spg)

G – Christian James (3.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg)

G – Rashard Odomes (2.1 ppg)

F – Dante Buford (3.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg)

F – Jamuni McNeace (1.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg)

C – Khadeem Lattin (5.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.1 bpg)

C – Akolda Manyang (2.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.4 bpg)

Woodard and Buford are the only primary rotation guys back and will take on larger roles within the offense. Woodard and Lattin are locked in as starters, while pretty much the other three starting slots are wide open for now.

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At the wing, James has maybe the easiest road to start next year, even if he is still a bit out of control with the basketball. Odomes has good size at 6’6″, but might need another season to get real minutes. One of these two will have to spell Woodard at times alongside the newcomers.

For big men, Lattin is a definite starter and has Manyang behind him for rim protection.

Buford and McNeace are in line to battle for the two other forward spots. Buford was a promising swing man last year, while McNeace showed nice bounce and energy in fewer than eight minutes per game. There is some solid potential here, but no clear favorite to replace Cousins and Spangler.

Who’s new:

G – Kameron McGusty (6’5″, 165 lbs, ESPN 100 #44)

G – Darrion Strong (6’2″, 180 lbs)

G – Austin Grandstaff (6’5″, 190 lbs, transfer from Ohio State)

F – Kristian Doolittle (6’8″, 215 lbs, ESPN 100 #66)

F – Matt Freeman (6’9, 200 lbs)

Oklahoma currently has the 24th best recruiting class according to ESPN right now. Headlining the class is top-50 prospect McGusty out of Texas. He probably has the talent to start at shooting guard immediately, but needs to add some muscle to his frame (he is listed at just 165 pounds).

Competing for the off-guard spot is former Buckeye, Grandstaff. He averaged 4.4 points in just a partial year in Columbus and is an electric guard who will push right away to replace Hield. Consider Grandstaff the favorite right now, but don’t sleep on McGusty.

Strong is a JUCO transfer that will slot in behind the others for point depth.

The forwards are intriguing, to say the least. Doolittle has a fantastic frame to compete right away and should probably get the early nod to start alongside Lattin next year.

Freeman is a bit of a wildcard coming out of New Zealand. He projects as a potential stretch-4 like Spangler, but I haven’t seen enough buzz about him to make any kind of confident prediction about his role next year.

There isn’t a lot of room left on roster, but there is still plenty of time for change in the young college hoops offseason.

Final Numbers to know:

65% – The proportion of OU’s scoring that departed with the graduations of Hield, Spangler, Walker, and Cousins. This leaves a major gap for the numerous returning role-players and newcomers. Someone will separate and produce, but only time will tell if they can return to the offensive heights we saw this previous year.

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3.9 – Woodard’s current lifetime assist average. He hasn’t been the primary guy in any year since coming to Oklahoma, but he’ll be the big man on campus next season. His scoring will certainly jump, but if he can keep the assists flowing to the newcomers, then the Sooners will have another All-Big 12 First Team candidate on their hands.

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