Going hog wild
Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger had the Sooners’ scout team in overdrive in practice this week to help the Sooners prepare for the sometimes smothering Arkansas defense. The Sooners meet the Razorbacks in the first round of the PK80 event in Portland, Oregon.
NORMAN — Earlier this week, as Oklahoma went through its final preparations before leaving for Portland, Oregon, for this week’s PK80 event, the Sooners’ scout team went into overdrive to help OU prepare for the sometimes smothering Arkansas defense they’ll face in the first round.
They paid particular attention to freshman point guard Trae Young, trying to rattle him the way Mike Anderson’s players figure to Thursday.
Mike Anderson is a disciple of longtime Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson and still incorporates schemes from Richardson’s “40 minutes of hell” philosophy.
“It’s not maybe to the same degree in terms of all-out (pressing),” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. “They’ll trap frequently, their pressure is really good, their athletic ability is really good so they’ll use what they have so that their style fits their personality.
“You’ve got to be strong with the ball, you’ve got to be strong as receivers, you’ve got to move the ball.”
That hasn’t been a problem so far for the Sooners as their offense has been flying high since freshman point guard Trae Young arrived.
But when Oklahoma tips off the tournament against the Razorbacks (4 p.m. ESPN2), things figure to get a lot more difficult for Young.
“It’ll be good,” Young said. “It’s a good test for us — a good test for me. It’s not going to be anything I haven’t seen before. It’ll be a good team, a good competition.”
The Razorbacks return much of the team that pushed eventual champion North Carolina to the brink in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. If the Sooners are fortunate enough to get past Arkansas, a likely matchup with those Tar Heels awaits in Friday’s semifinals.
For the lone remaining central piece on the OU team that made the Final Four in 2016, Khadeem Lattin, the tournament is a chance to prove how far the Sooners have come from last year’s disappointing season, in which they missed the tournament.
“We’re looking at it as a test to go out there and pass, of course,” Lattin said. “We’re just getting ready for our first challenge.”