Sooners hoping grad transfer point guard rounds out roster
— Oklahoma’s basketball roster will look much different next season than it did in 2017-18, when freshman point guard Trae Young turned into a college superstar and the Sooners rode a hot start into the NCAA Tournament.
After a disappointing finish, Young declared for the NBA Draft, and his backup Jordan Shepherd and guard Kameron McGusty each announced their intentions to transfer.
The moves left a glaring hole in the roster moving forward, especially with three-year starter Khadeem Lattin being lost to graduation.
The Sooners’ roster makeover is nearly done, and will be if Maine graduate transfer point guard Aaron Calixte commits to Oklahoma.
Calixte visited Norman over the weekend and figures to make his decision soon.
The Sooners have two open scholarships, though they figure to leave one open.
They’ve already added Pacific graduate transfer guard Miles Reynolds, who can play both point and off the ball. Reynolds primarily played off the ball last season when he averaged 13.3 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 assists last season.
Oklahoma also signed high school combo guard Jamal Bieniemy and junior college forward Kur Kuath in the offseason.
Bieniemy is expected to be in the rotation from the start. Kuath might need another year to develop, though Sooners coach Lon Kruger isn’t ruling out the possibility that Kuath could play a significant role next season.
The Sooners return a significant portion of their experience from last year, with Christian James and Rashard Odomes returning as seniors at guard and Jamuni McNeace, who broke into the starting lineup late in the year at center, returning for his final year.
Perhaps the most interesting area will be at forward, where Kristian Doolittle and Brady Manek figure to vie for the starting job there. Doolittle suffered a setback as a sophomore when he was suspended for the first semester as Manek seized the role as a freshman.
Late in the season, though, Manek slumped and Doolittle took over there.
If Kuath isn’t ready to go, the options behind McNeace are limited, with Hannes Polla needing to take a big step forward in the offseason.
Kruger could also elect to play small on occasion, with Doolittle or Matt Freeman in the middle.