Tulsa Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Golden Hurricanes

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HONOLULU, HI – DECEMBER 23: Martins Igbanu #1 of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane brings the ball up court after colliding with Trey Kell #3 of the San Diego State Aztecs during the second half of the Diamond Head Classic NCAA college basketball game at Stan Sheriff Center on December 23, 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii. San Diego State defeated Tulsa 82-63. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

Starting five

With three of their top five scorers returning that means Tulsa will have to replace two of the five starters in the team’s final game, and they are significant pieces to replace, leading scorer and rebound Junior Etou and Carlos Henderson Jr. and his 10.5 are gone.

Senior guard Sterling Taplin returns as the team’s top scorer at 11.8 points, as does junior forward Martins Igbanu who could be in for a big year after averaging over nine points and five rebounds in 22.5 minutes last season. The last returning starter is junior guard Lawson Korita who started 17 games despite averaging just over two points per game in 2018.

So how will Haith fill out his starting five? One of those spots could go to senior swingman DaQuan Jeffries. The 6-5 Oklahoma native averaged 9.7 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 54% from the field. Jeffries started the first eight games of the season and a game at Houston before settling into a bench role for Haith.

In those nine starts, Jeffries averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. The last spot is likely to go to a newcomer, with St. Louis transfer Zeke Moore a likely candidate. The 6-7 guard averaged 5.3 points and two rebounds as a freshman for the Billikens, where Moore will really benefit Tulsa is with his ability to shoot. He shot a team-best 39% from beyond the arc for St. Louis and over 52% as a high school junior, which will be a big boost to a team that shot just 34.8% last season.