Sooners plan to showcase their depth
BY GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Friday, November 02, 2012
11/02/12 at 4:36 AM
NORMAN - Andrew Fitzgerald, with 74 starts the last three years, will be on the bench tonight when Oklahoma tips off its exhibition against Division II Washburn. So will Cameron Clark, who started 60 games the past two years, and Sam Grooms, last year's starting point guard.
Is this punishment for some misdeed? A reason for the Sooners to start the season discouraged?
Hardly. It's a sign that freshman guards Isaiah Cousins and Je'lon Hornbeak are thriving. So is Amath M'Baye, now eligible after transferring from Wyoming the year before last.
"It's not a matter of hoping to start just because others aren't playing well. We did that a little bit last year," OU coach Lon Kruger explained. "Guys started because there weren't a lot of alternatives. This year it's going to be a little different. In essence, guys are beating out others who are playing well."
The Sooners finally have some depth. They plan to showcase that beginning Friday.
Cousins will start at the point, with Hornbeak and Steven Pledger on the wings and M'Baye and Romero Osby inside. That leaves Grooms, Clark and Fitzgerald with forward Tyler Neal and freshman guard Buddy Hield as a second unit, with forward Casey Arent also in the mix.
When the two units played half-court against each other in practice Thursday, the second group outperformed the first in stretches. It was worth asking Kruger if he might consider subbing five at a time against Washburn.
"We might. I could see it," Kruger said. "You get five new guys in there to change it up, or maybe because the other group is not playing well. Hopefully it's not the latter."
Either way, Kruger will substitute freely tonight. He is as curious as everyone else how his revamped team will respond to unfamiliar competition for the first time.
"It's really more different than you imagine it to be," he said. "You're not quite sure if a guy can go by you, if he's gonna go right or left. You're more familiar with that in practice. There's a comfort there."
Washburn has the ability to make OU quite uncomfortable. The Ichabods return five starters from a team that won 25 games a year ago. They're ranked No. 4 in the Division II preseason poll.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Washburn at Oklahoma
7 p.m. Friday
Lloyd Noble Center
TV: FSP-68, FCSA-272 Radio: KTBZ am1430
Washburn
|
|
Ht. |
Pt. |
Rb. |
| F |
Chipman |
6-8 |
7.3 |
5.8 |
| F |
North |
6-6 |
6.3 |
4.5 |
| F |
Riggins |
6-6 |
6.2 |
3.3 |
| G |
McNeill |
6-1 |
20.2 |
5.5 |
| G |
Mitchell |
6-0 |
10.2 |
3.6* |
Oklahoma
|
|
Ht. |
Pt. |
Rb. |
| F |
M'Baye |
6-9 |
-- |
-- |
| F |
Osby |
6-8 |
12.9 |
7.3 |
| G |
Cousins |
6-3 |
-- |
-- |
| G |
Pledger |
6-4 |
16.2 |
3.9 |
| G |
Hornbeak |
6-3 |
-- |
-- |
*assists per game
(averages are from 2011-12 season)
Original Print Headline: Sooners plan to showcase depth
Guerin Emig 918-581-8355
guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com
