KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2010 / BASKETBALL PREVIEW
5
MEN'S (CONTINUED FROM 4)
Sooners heading into the season,
after averaging 9.9 points per game last year, including a .347 shooting percentage from three-point range.
Davis also recently suffered a facial
fracture during practice, but he is expected to be fully recovered in four to six weeks.
Sophomores Steven Pledger and Andrew Fitzgerald also saw time last year, averaging 18.9 and 15.7 minutes per game, respectively. If Oklahoma wants to improve from last year, these sophomores will have to help Davis in playing a veteran leadership role, having experienced playing under Capel, and having been at Oklahoma.
Since there are so many newcomers — the Sooners have seven incoming recruits — it is hard to pick out who might have a significant impact, but one player to keep an eye on would be the highly-touted freshman Cameron Clark. Clark averaged 23.7 points per game in high school and will have to perform at a high level to give the Sooners a chance at success this year. Rivals.com, which also ranked him as the fifth-best small forward, ranked Clark as the nation's No. 34 recruit.
Junior college transfer Nick Thompson has been named a captain despite not playing a game in an Oklahoma jersey yet. He will look to bring a winning attitude to the Sooners after coming off of a year in which he led his team at Eastern Utah to a third-place finish at the national junior college tournament.
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If the Sooners were to pull out a .500 season it would be deemed successful, but it'll be difficult. They were picked to finish 11th in the league by the coaches.
Jackson Delay
Key losses: James Anderson, Obi Muonelo
Key additions: Markel Brown, Mike Cobbins, Darrill Williams
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (22-11, 9-7)
Vs. Kansas: Feb. 21, 8 p.m.
Lawrence
Mike Lavieri
Breakdown: The Cowboys lost the Big 12's leading scorer, James Anderson (first round, 20th overall) to the NBA Draft. He averaged 22.3 points per game. He was the Big 12 Player of the Year and led Oklahoma State to the NCAA Tournament. Muonelo was the Cowboys' second leading scorer, with 13.3 ppg. It will be hard to replace Anderson and Muonelo. They return senior forward Marshall Moses and junior guard Keiton Page. Page is known for his three-point shot and putting the game against the Jayhawks out of reach. Oklahoma State's recruiting class is below average, bringing in two freshmen and two junior college transfers. The Cowboys will need their freshmen to overperform in order to finish outside the lower third of the Big 12.
TEXAS LONGHORNS (24-9, 9-7)
Vs. Kansas: Jan, 22, 3 p.m.
Lawrence
Key losses: Damion James, Dexter Pittman, Avery Bradley
Key additions: Cory Joseph, Tristan Thompson
Mike Lavieri
Breakdown: The Longhorns are coming off a season in which they started 17-0 and were ranked No. 1 in the coaches' and AP polls for the first time in the program's history. However, Texas went 7-9 in the second half of its season and lost to Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Longhorns lost James (first round, 24th overall), Pittman (second round, 32nd overall) and Bradley (first round, 19th overall) to the NBA draft this summer. The three were the team's leading scorers, averaging 40 points per game among the three. Joseph (No. 8-ranked player by Rivals) and Thompson (No. 17) will put this
team in the top half of the conference. The Longhorns are never to be overlooked, but they won't be as good as they have been in recent past. Joseph will compete with Kansas Josh Selby for Freshman of the Year.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (24-10, 11-5)
Vs. Kansas March 2, 8 p.m., Lawrence
Key losses: Brian Davis, Derrick Roland, Donald Sloan
Key additions: Jeremy Adams, Naji Hibbert
Breakdown: Texas A&M is coming off of a second-place Big 12 finish last year and is predicted by Big 12 coaches to finish the 2010-2011 season in the middle of the pack at sixth.
The Aggies went to the second round of last year's NCAA Basketball tournament only to be edged out by Purdue. They are bringing most of that experience back this year, returning 10 lettermen and three of last year's starters.
The loss of key starters Brian Davis, who averaged nine points, and Donald Sloan, who averaged 17 points, is the reason the Aggies are slated to finish this year at sixth place in the Big 12. Derrick Roland, an NBA prospect, was supposed to be back this year after missing most of last season with a knee injury. His plea for eligibility to the NCAA was denied this summer, however.
The three leaving players were part of the winningest senior class ever at Texas A&M. With no incoming big names to add to the roster, the wins might be harder to get this year. However, if the Aggies finish sixth in the Big 12, it could propel them to a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
Nicolas Roesler
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (19-16,4-12)
Vs. Kansas: Feb. 1, 8 p.m., Lubbock,
Texas
Key Losses: Nick Okorie, Darko Koh darevic
Key Acquisitions: Jamel Outler,
lazarez Willis, Paul Cooper
Breakdown: Red Raider basketbatt fans might know something the rest of the nation doesn't. One business day after tickets went on sale, more than 80 percent of last year's holders renewed for the 2010-11 season, marking the best renewal rate in recent history.
Failing to live up to his father's legacy, head coach Pat Knight holds a 37-42 record since taking over in 2008. Texas Tech did improve their 14-19 record from the previous year, which might leave room for hope for the upcoming season. Nick Okorie averaged nearly 26 minutes and 10.8 points per game and Darko Cohadarevic averaged 6.9 points per game and started in 31 games. Chances are the team will not be hit too hard by these losses.
More important than who is leaving the team is who will be returning to the team. Senior forward Mike Singletary and senior guard John Roberson were the only two players to start in each game in the 2009-10 season. Singletary led the team with an average of 15 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He also contributed 43 steals and 80 assists. Roberson followed closely behind with an average of 14.5 points per game. He also led the team with 190 assists and was perfect from the line in eight games, hitting 41 free throws. Expect those numbers to go up this year.
The upside for the Red Raiders is that they return nearly the entire team that finished ninth in conference play last year. Having the opportunity to return to the Big 12 with essentially the same squad is
Senior guard Sherron Collins forces Baylor guard Tweety Carter to call a timeout last season during the second half against Baylor. Collins had four assists and two steals along with a team-leading 28 points.
rare and gives Texas Tech a unique advantage in many ways, but don't expect the team to make a formidable improvement in Big 12 conference standing this season.
- Megan Rupp