OU Men’s Basketball Preview: New Near, New Opportunity

Originally Published: Oct 27, 2010 2:58 PM CDT

Layna Dewell
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer
NORMAN, Oklahoma -- For the Oklahoma men’s basketball team, the upcoming season brings new opportunities for a group that includes nine newcomers.

After a disappointing 13-18 season last year, the Sooners will look to the young and energetic group of newcomers to mesh well and use their individual talents to form a collective unit.

After less than a dozen practice sessions to figure out his new team, head coach Jeff Capel said Tuesday that he hasn't decided on his starters yet and it's too early to tell what sort of team the Sooners will be.

"It's so early to start making these judgments on our team," Capel said. "Maybe if you have a bunch of guys returning and you know your team really well, it's a little bit easier."

The team’s lone senior, Cade Davis, has a lot of leading to do with the squad of youngsters.

Davis, a native of Elk City, started 27 games last year for the Sooners and as the year progressed, so did his play and command on the court. Averaging 31.8 minutes per game last season with 9.9 points and 1.5 steals, Davis brings maturity and poise to the backcourt.

Davis is helped by the Sooners second leading returner, sophomore Steven Pledger. The 6-foot-4 guard made his case toward the end of last season, finishing with averages of 6.2 points per game and 1.5 rebounds in just over 18 minutes per contest.

Cade Davis, one of the team’s four captains, isn’t the only one faced with the challenge of being a leader. Coach Capel and the team also named juniors T.J. Franklin and Nick Thomas and sophomore Andrew Fitzgerald team captains earlier this offseason for their hard work during the summer and preseason.

Fitzgerald will help run the frontcourt for the Sooners. Capel said he is impressed with the work Fitzgerald has done in the offseason reshaping his body and in his commitment to improving his game. Since summer 2009, Franklin has decreased his body fat from 23.4 to 9 percent, an impressive and significant change. The 6-foot-8 forward is the youngest of the team’s four captains and Franklin was voted the squad’s co-hardest worker along with teammate T.J. Franklin.

Carl Blair, Calvin Newell and T.J. Franklin are all candidates to start at the point guard position and each brings his own strength to the position.

Newell, a freshman from Philadelphia, brings quick feet, a strong build and a 35-inch vertical leap along with his average of 26 points and 7 assists during his prep school play.

Blair, a transfer from the University of New Orleans, is a big-body guard who as a freshman last year started every game but one for UNO. He was voted the squad’s smartest player on the court and in looking at his numbers from last season of 9.2 points per game with 4.4 boards and nearly four assists per outing, his future with the Sooners appears bright.

Franklin, a junior from Fort Worth has seen action in a total of 27 games during his two year career so far. He brings quickness to the team and is a great example due to his two years of experience.

Two of the frontcourt’s newcomers are junior college transfers, each with two years of eligibility left. The first is Nick Thompson, a 6-foot-9 forward from Clinton, Utah. Thompson played the last two seasons at College of Eastern Utah where he averaged 8.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

The second is Oklahoma native C.J. Washington. The 6-foot-7 forward had an impressive junior college career at Connors State where he averaged 19.3 points, 13.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Washington creates a presence all over the court, recording 25 double-doubles last season, he finds a way to get to the ball.

While some of the freshman may be new to the program at OU, Tyler Neal and Abdul Ahmed aren’t new to high powered offenses.

Neal, a Gatorade Player of the Year at Putnam City West High School last year, averaged 18.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists. The 6-foot-7 forward played both inside and on the perimeter in high school and he presents matchup problems due to his improving foot speed, ball handling skills, and ability to step behind the arc and shoot from the perimeter. His senior year he hit 45 3-pointers and shot 42 percent from 3-point land.

Ahmed on the other hand, is the first ever English player in program history. Last year Ahmed attended prep school at Canarias Academy where he averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per contest. His 6’10 frame makes him the tallest player on the team, and although he has to continue to become more physical, his positive attitude and work ethic so far have not gone unnoticed.

This season, the Sooners must use the versatility of each player to take advantage of opponents. Although they don’t have an established go-to power inside guy, if they can use their height and continue to bang around against opponents, they can help create more of an inside presence.

"We're not a team that's going to rely just on one guy," Capel said. "We have to be the epitome of a team, where it's five guys playing together as one, then those eight or nine guys you have on the bench are still part of that one that's out there and when they get their opportunity, they're ready to step in and do what they can do to help our basketball team.”

Undoubtedly, this team is forced to grow up quickly. Oklahoma’s schedule leaves no room for slack as they face at least six teams ranked in the preseason top 25.

"It's been typical of a young team, a team that has a lot of new guys," Capel said. "There are some really bright spots and at times it looks like we have no idea what we're doing."

A few matchups to highlight include: The Maui Invitational Nov. 22-24 vs. Kentucky and possibly Washington, the All College Classic Dec. 18 where the Sooners face Cincinnati in the first round, and Big 12 matchups; at Baylor (Jan. 11), at Texas (Jan. 15), Missouri (Feb. 12), Kansas State (Feb. 19), Kansas (Feb. 26), and Bedlam against Oklahoma State March 5.

The Sooners first exhibition game is Tuesday Nov. 2 against Northern State at 7 p.m. inside the Lloyd Noble Center.

For more on the Sooners check out the Sights and Sounds from Media Day.