Q&A with CB commit Davis
Jaden Davis, a four-star cornerback from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will sign with Oklahoma on Wednesday and is looking forward to the challenge of facing Big 12 offenses.
TULSA — Oklahoma won another game away from Norman on Saturday night, but the crowd of over 7,000 at Tulsa’s BOK Center was the next best thing to home. Maybe even better.
They watched as Oklahoma improved to 9-1 with an 81-70 win against USC.
“We need to play in Tulsa a little more often,” graduate guard Miles Reynolds said.
Reynolds led the Sooners with 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting as Oklahoma held USC to just 35 percent shooting.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Reynolds expands role
The graduate guard has proved there’s more to his game than energy and defense — though those are still his hallmarks.
Reynolds came into the night averaging 14 points in his last four games. The scoring spree continued as he poured in a seasonhigh 20 points against the Trojans.
"All my looks have been good looks at the goal," Reynolds, who notched his third consecutive start, said. "I forced a couple tonight in the first half. I’m just taking what the defense is giving me and feed off my teammates' passes."
Reynolds is a first-year player for OU after transferring from Pacific, but it would be easy to mistake him as the team’s longtime leader. From his introductory howl when the starting lineup is announced to his hyper on-court antics, Reynolds never runs out of energy.
“Sometimes you question where he's going,” coach Lon Kruger said, “but I like how fast he's going to get there.”
Reynolds earned minutes earlier this season on defense and energy alone. He’s since refined his offensive game, looking more comfortable each time out.
McNeace returns
Senior center Jamuni McNeace returned from injury Saturday night. He had missed the last two games after suffering a right ankle sprain.
McNeace wasn’t back in his usual starting role, but he played 14 minutes off the bench — 14 more minutes than Kruger expected.
"Going into the shootaround today we didn't expect him to play at all,” Kruger said. “The fact that he said it felt good and he wanted to be out there, we wanted to oblige."
McNeace came into the game averaging 9.9 points and seven rebounds. His presence was crucial against USC’s frontcourt, the biggest OU had faced all season.
“I thought he did fine,” Kruger said. “Wasn't like he was in top shape, but good to see him out there."
McNeace was just 1 of 4 shooting with three rebounds, but the Sooners outscored the Trojans by 14 when he was on the floor.
Kruger said McNeace’s ankle is still not 100 percent, but there isn’t risk of further injury.
Double-double machine
Senior guard Christian James recorded zero double-doubles in his first 104 career games.
In his last three games? Three double-doubles.
James had 16 points Saturday with a careerhigh 15 rebounds.
All he could do when asked about the doubledouble streak was smile and shake his head.
“Our big is out,” James said, referring to McNeace. “That’s the biggest thing.”
Kruger said there’s nothing he’s done to coach James differently.
“It's just a matter of him putting forth great effort and going after the ball aggressively,” Kruger said.