Since the commitments of LeBryan Nash, Cezar Guerrero, and Phillip Jurick, talk about the 2011 basketball team has seemed to quiet down. But if my count is correct, we still have one scholarship to give, and potentially two depending on how the Darrell Williams situation plays out. Obviously the loss of Moses, and to a lesser extent Pilgrim, Sidorakis, Penn, Franklin, and Shaw left some holes in the roster that need to be filled, so what type of a dude should Travis Ford be targeting with these remaining 1-2 spots? Here is the roster as it stands now with a few 2010 stats:
Pos | Players | Vitals | GP | GS | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PG | Reger Dowell | 6'1, 180 | 23 | 8 | 13.6 | 5.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
PG | Fred Gulley | 6'2 175 | 7 | 7 | 16.5 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 0.7 |
PG | Cezar Guerrero | 6'0 170 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SG | Keiton Page | 5'9 160 | 34 | 34 | 34.1 | 13.2 | 2 | 1.7 |
SG | Markel Brown | 6'3 190 | 34 | 10 | 21.6 | 6.4 | 2.5 | 1.4 |
SG | Brian Williams | 6'5 205 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SF | LeBryan Nash | 6'6 210 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SF | Jean-Paul Olukemi | 6'5 215 | 34 | 11 | 23.8 | 11.1 | 4.1 | 0.9 |
PF | Darrell Williams | 6'8 255 | 23 | 12 | 21 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 0.9 |
PF | Mike Cobbins | 6'8 205 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
C | Phillip Jurick | 6'10 250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
A decent mix, but probably a little guard heavy.
This would be the part where I talk about who it is rumored that Oklahoma State may be pursuing... well I hate doing that for a few reasons:1. It is always someone elses rumors that we are reporting. A story starts somewhere that Coach Ford or Pierre has been visiting someone and they are kinda interested and that is about the whole story. I hate these rumors. In order to truly evaluate recruiting options I would have to have boots on the ground at some camps and high schools, and honestly, I can't be around all these gullible 18 year olds because I can't afford the paternity suits. Which brings me to point #2
2. Chasing down high school kids really creeps me out. As a 63 year old man, there are very few non-creepy reasons to actively pursue a high school kid, I am not sure where recruiting info falls on the creepy scale, but I prefer to take the safe route and stay out of that all together.
But... given those reasons for staying out of the rumor stuff, here are 2 guys that it is cyber-rumored are on the short list:
Pos | Player | Vitals | Hometown |
---|---|---|---|
SF | Anthony Norris | 6'7 210 | Houston, TX |
C | Isaiah Hill | 6'11 270 | Indianapolis, IN |
Both are pretty decently rated for it being this late in the recruiting process, and while Hill gave Seton Hall a verbal, neither have officially signed anywhere.
Anyway, enough of this kid-peeping, on to the team speculation. Given the lineup of guys at the top of the post, I have to be honest in saying that I am extremely excited about the upcoming season. What was a weak spot in 2010 (PG), has now turned into a highly contested battle for playing time, SG is very solid and deep with athleticism, SF boasts what could arguably be considered the two best overall talents on the team, then there is a nice 3 man rotation down low. Obviously there is also a lot of opportunity to go small with a Dowell, Brown, JPO, Nash, Center type of lineup, and even that small lineup probably boasts an average height that is taller than some of our big lineups from 2010.
The glaring weak spot exists at the PF and C positions. Williams is great IF he is back, and while both have had a lot of great things said about them, neither Cobbins nor Jurick have any experience at this level. That said, what kind of PF and C recruits can be left at this point? Scanning through some of the rankings, Hill is pretty much the only true PF/C (read: not an athletic type like Nash but more of a true down low presence) on anyone's list that even has a star ranking.
To reiterate what I was saying earlier, who the coaches and administration are really targeting is difficult to decipher, but assuming they can target a specific talent and not just go for "whoever is left", my vote is for a big, strong, presence inside. If he can score, that is just a bonus. With all the scorers at the 1-3, and potentially at the 4 depending on the lineup, I would love to see an overlooked hard worker like an Andre Williams end up on the roster. Someone to mix in some toughness with all the athleticism and "pretty" ballers we already have.
Thoughts?