Doolittle back in rotation
Oklahoma’s Kristian Doolittle has been unavailable for most of the season, but the sophomore forward made his presence felt in the Sooners’ overtime win against TCU on Saturday.
NORMAN — The first time Oklahoma played TCU, Kristian Doolittle wasn’t with his teammates.
Instead, he was back home in Edmond, watching on television as his teammates knocked off then-No. 10 TCU on Dec. 30 after suffering a concussion in practice the day before.
It was a disappointing time for Doolittle, who missed the season’s first nine games due to an academic suspension from school.
But Saturday, in the second meeting between the programs, a 102-97 overtime win, Doolittle was right in the middle of things.
In the final 13:48 — including overtime — the sophomore from Edmond Memorial was off the floor for just 15 seconds.
During the stretch, he had a pair of offensive rebounds. He finished with nine points, three rebounds and two assists.
“Doo’s making great progress,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. “He’s a guy who sees the floor well. He’s a communicator defensively. He’s a big body from a rebounding standpoint. He shoots free throws — I know he missed a couple, he made the rest of them — shoots free throws well. Good defender. I think a guy who’s made great progress, and we’re gonna see it more and more.”
Doolittle also did much of it as part of a bigger lineup with Doolittle on the floor with fellow big men Brady Manek and either Khadeem Lattin or Jamuni McNeace.
Doolittle started 25 games a season ago, averaging 9.1 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Missing the first part of the season was hard, but Doolittle stayed in shape playing pickup games in northwest Oklahoma City.
But even though he felt like he was physically ready, getting thrown into a game for the first time was an eye-opener.
“I kind of forgot how college basketball was for a little bit, but I’m good now,” Doolittle said. “Besides the game I had to miss because of my concussion, I haven’t missed a step since.”
The forgotten lessons? “The pace of the game,” Doolittle said. “It’s just a lot different from playing pickup then coming out here playing organized basketball.”
Although Doolittle’s role this season hasn’t been what it was last year when he averaged 25 minutes — and isn’t likely to return to that with the emergence of Manek.
But Doolittle is still having more fun this season after the Sooners went 11-20 a year ago, missing the NCAA Tournament.
Going into Tuesday’s game at Kansas State, Oklahoma is 14-2 and No. 9 in the country.
“It’s amazing going from losing almost every game to being upset when you lose a game,” Doolittle said. “Going in expecting to win is a nice turnaround for sure.”
While Trae Young and Manek have contributed plenty to the major improvement, the players who went through last season’s struggles are making a difference, too.
“Last year helped us for this year — prepared us,” Doolittle said. “We all know what we need to do, what to expect when we play in the Big 12 and the results are speaking for themselves.”