Future Looks Bright

This was supposed to be the year it all fell apart for Oklahoma basketball. The one-and-done experience of Trae Young, multiple transfers, the Sooners weren’t expected too much of anything for the 2018-19 season.

But a stop-gap year turned into a lot more than that for Lon Kruger’s bunch. A rollercoaster season came to an end with a 63-51 loss to No. 1 seed Virginia on Sunday evening, but the pieces are there for a huge 2019-20 season on the horizon.

OU went from being not mentioned in preseason talk to an 11-1 start in non-conference play. The Sooners hit a snag in Big 12 action, losing five games in a row midway through before bouncing back down the stretch. OU earned its first NCAA Tournament win since 2016 with its 95-72 victory against Ole Miss on Friday.

It will certainly be strange being around the team and Lloyd Noble Center and not seeing guys like Christian James, Rashard Odomes and Jamuni McNeace. They’ve become synonymous with OU and definitely embraced Sooner Nation.

Graduate transfers have become a big part of college basketball, and the Sooners took full advantage with guards Miles Reynolds (Pacific) and Aaron Calixte (Maine).

Reynolds’ determination became infectious for the whole team, while Calixte did a solid job in adjusting his game to the Big 12 and helping to mentor freshman point guard Jamal Bieniemy.

Their roles were constantly changing, but neither griped nor sulked the entire way. Just one year, but obvious how much it meant to Reynolds and Calixte and making their first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Looking ahead and with a smile. This team seems poised to make a strong run next season and earn another tournament bid for the Sooners.

Returning starters

Kristian Doolittle: Transition from afterthought to focal point was one to watch all season. Doolittle was the team’s best player in conference action and averaged 11.3 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game. He was named the Big 12 Most Improved Player and will play a huge role as a senior.

Brady Manek: The goal will be to continue to put on weight for Manek, who also continued to make strides as a sophomore. Manek averaged 12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds, while shooting 36 percent from 3-point territory.

Jamal Bieniemy: Found his groove halfway through the season and became the driver of the OU bus. Led the team with 3.5 assists per game compared to just 1.4 turnovers. Bieniemy showed signs as a scorer and should grow in that capacity moving forward.

Don’t forget about Reaves

Yes, don’t forget about Austin Reaves. The sharpshooting transfer guard from Wichita State is going to be eligible for the Sooners as a redshirt junior during the 2019-20 season.

Reaves played his role on scout team all season and teammates gave him praise repeatedly for getting them prepared as well as possible.

His ability to shoot should definitely help spread the floor and open the game up for everybody.

The incoming class is about as well-rounded as have ever seen during Kruger’s time at OU. There have been higher-ranked recruits like Young, but this group checks off the boxes at every single position.

You have to start here. Harmon was incredibly vital toward keeping this class together. He was the lone wolf commit for months and months before other top-tier recruits joined. Harmon and Bieniemy together sounds like a great combination as Harmon can score or create for his teammates.

From point guard you move to the wing position and there enters Hill. Named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nevada, Hill will bring a lot of versatility and ability to stretch the floor and create problems for defenses.

How quickly Iwuakor adjusts is going to be huge for the Sooners. Iwuakor is going to need to be that rim protector and is incredibly athletic for his size. A healthy Kur Kuath and Iwuakor as post guys coming off the bench is something OU fans should be looking forward to next season.

OU is also bringing in junior college guard Alondes Williams, center Corbin Merritt and, from Australia, Anyang Gurang. Williams has been a big-time scorer and will be interesting to see if that can translate when he arrives in Norman.

On paper, this upcoming season would appear to be OU’s best team since the Final Four run in 2016. Nobody is going crazy to say anything like that run should happen yet, but there’s established talent combined with an influx of players who should be able to produce immediately.

That sounds like a nice recipe if they can all figure out how their roles will need to work to best fit the team. That’s what this group did so well. No egos involved, everybody did what was asked. If Kruger can find that in 2019-20, it’s going to be a lot of fun for the players, program and fans.