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Oklahoma Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Sooners

By Holden Walter-Warner

LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 13: Brady Manek #35 of the Oklahoma Sooners goes up for the slam dunk during the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on February 13, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma 88-78. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 13: Brady Manek #35 of the Oklahoma Sooners goes up for the slam dunk during the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on February 13, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma 88-78. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Head coach Lon Kruger of the Oklahoma Sooners watches his team in the second half of the game against the Rhode Island Rams during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Head coach Lon Kruger of the Oklahoma Sooners watches his team in the second half of the game against the Rhode Island Rams during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Season outlook

Kyler Murray is tearing it up at Oklahoma right now, putting the Sooners in a position to battle for a College Football Playoff spot.

That’s good, because it will divert eyes away from what should happen on the hardwood.

Look, the Sooners aren’t entering a lost season in 2018-19 – no such thing exists in college athletics. The best players will emerge and Oklahoma will battle for respectability every single night. At the end of the day, all of these players are good enough to compete in the Big 12, night in and night out.

But Trae Young isn’t walking through that door. And while he had his flaws exposed towards the end of the season, he also spent the year obscuring the problems the rest of the program brought to the court.

The future doesn’t look much better either. While one need not look far to see the impact one freshman can make, the fact that there’s only one on the roster this season doesn’t bode well for the team’s prospects next year

Lon Kruger has talent on his roster. Christian James is ready to take the next step. Brady Manek has potential to bud into a star. Aaron Calixte can score in bunches.

dark. Next. Preseason Big 12 Rankings for 2018-19

The Big 12 looks particularly loaded this season, though. It’s hard to see a path towards the NCAA Tournament with the combination of a daunting conference schedule and gauntlet of a non-conference slate.

Oh, how they miss Trae Young in Norman already.

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