Oklahoma Basketball: Sooners add grad transfer Aaron Calixte to backcourt for 2018-19
Oklahoma needed a PG to replace Trae Young. Grad Transfer Aaron Calixte will take over the starting PG reigns, but do the Sooners have enough talent to return to the NCAA Tournament?
Oklahoma had a gigantic hole at PG following the departure of Trae Young to the NBA, but Maine transfer Aaron Calixte will hope to fill the void. Calixte is immediately eligible and has one year of eligibility remaining.
While Calixte will never match Young’s stats or skill level, he should be a competent replacement. The 5’11” lead guard averaged 16.9 ppg and 3.2 apg while shooting 39% from three as a junior. Turnovers were a major problem as he averaged 3.8 per game, but he will be asked to do less for Oklahoma.
Maine was one of the worst teams in the country so Calixte had enormous offensive responsibilities which led to his ugly turnover stats. If he can adjust to a smaller role and keep his turnovers under control, he will be a solid piece.
Oklahoma also added Miles Reynolds, a 6’2” combo guard from Pacific. Reynolds played mostly off the ball, but will see some time at PG for the Sooners. He averaged 13.3 ppg and 2.8 apg for Pacific last season.
Calixte and Reynolds are probably the last additions for this season since the Sooners have six seniors. A sit out transfer, especially on the wing, would mitigate the loss of these veterans.
However, even with the addition of these two veteran guards, Oklahoma is one of the least talented teams in the Big 12. The Sooners relied heavily on Trae Young to create offense which left his supporting cast ball-watching.
Players like Christian James and Brady Manek will need to take much more offensive responsibility even though both scored in double figures last season. Can they handle increased roles? Jamuni McNeace could be a breakout player with more minutes, but would the Sooners be better off playing a smaller lineup?
Can Kristian Doolittle regain his freshman year form? There are so many lingering questions for Oklahoma. Even though the team is loaded with veterans, players will be in drastically different roles to replace Young’s contributions.
Next: Grading each Big 12 team's 17-18 season
Barring any players making massive transformations to their games, Oklahoma looks like a bottom two or three team in the Big 12. This speaks to both the talent level of the conference and the precarious place that Oklahoma finds itself in.