Men's Basketball Wraps Summer Sessions

Oklahoma men's basketball concluded its series of summer workouts on Wednesday, wrapping up a summer of development for the new-look Sooner squad.

One of only 13 major conference schools to reach the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven seasons, Oklahoma looks to continue its string of success under Kruger as it welcomes in the next era of Sooners.

The building blocks for next season began to take shape throughout June and July, when teams are allotted four hours per week for on court instruction and workouts. The Sooners took full advantage of their time adjusting their new young core to the Oklahoma program.

“It's been a really good summer,” said OU head coach Lon Kruger. “Terrific summer. Their attitudes about getting better, about putting the time in on their own without the coaches have all been fantastic. Couldn't be more pleased. It's a long and athletic group, a very unselfish group. We're excited about seeing them continue to develop and get better.”

With the regular season less than 100 days away, SoonerSports.com recaps the Sooners' summer and previews what fans could expect from Kruger's crew in 2019-20.

RETURNING CORE

The Sooners are going through a large roster turnover, replenishing a departing senior class with seven newcomers. Despite over half of OU's roster being in its first year with the program, Oklahoma returns a core of three starters from the 2018-19 team in Jamal Bieniemy, Kristian Doolittle and Brady Manek. Doolittle and Manek both ranked in OU's top three for points, rebounds and blocks last season while Bieniemy led the Sooners in both assists and steals.

Paired with the returning trio will be guard Austin Reaves and forward Kur Kuath, both in their second year in Norman.

Reaves, a transfer from Wichita State, will be eligible to play this season after sitting out last season due to the NCAA's transfer policy. The junior is a proven shooter who led the American Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage during conference play in 2017-18 by shooting at a .451 clip (37-for-82).

Kuath joined the Sooners last summer from Salt Lake Community College and totaled just X minutes of action over the first six games of the season while battling a back injury. OU is pursuing a medical hardship waiver to give Kuath an additional year of eligibility.

The athletic and lengthy big man, Kuath made the most of his year by adjusting to the Division I level and adding over 20 pounds to his frame.

“Kur had some really good moments, continued to make progress and become more and more comfortable in that new role coming off a redshirt year,” said Kruger. “He's healthy now. His redshirt year gave him a year to rehab the back, get stronger and be more full speed.”

BIG EXPECTATIONS FOR A BIG CLASS

The Sooners bring in a recruiting class listed in the top 20 nationally by Rivals (No. 14) and ESPN (No. 20). Both sites list Oklahoma's incoming class as the second best in the Big 12.

The incoming class is comprised of guards De'Vion Harmon (Denton, Texas) and Alondes Williams (River Grove, Ill.), forwards Anyang Garang (Adelaide, Australia), Jalen Hill (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Victor Iwuakor (Sulphur Springs, Texas) and centers Rick Issanza (Kinshasha, Congo) and Corbin Merritt (Tallahassee, Fla.).

Kruger believes the seven-member incoming class is the largest in his coaching career, but is excited about the opportunity and challenge of onboarding so many newcomers. Having the four hours per week in the offseason has already paid dividends on laying a foundation for their careers in the Crimson and Cream.

“Summer really did help a lot,” said Kruger. “If you go back to the old days, where you couldn't get with them with a ball until October 15 – that would be tough with this group and this many new guys. The summer helps make that transition possible. It's been really exciting. This will be a fun group to watch grow and develop. We have no idea what we'll really look like come November 1, but they'll determine that by what they do between now and then.”

ADDING SIZE AND SHOOTING

Kruger and his staff looked to add length and athleticism to their roster, and this year's roster is full of size from top to bottom. Of Oklahoma's 12 scholarship players, 11 are at least 6 feet 5 inches tall.

With an average height of 79.2 inches (6 feet 7.2 inches), this year's roster is almost a full inch taller on average than last season.

“Longer, rangier – no question about that,” said Kruger on this year's roster composition. “Not really that bulky of a group, pretty lean. I like the size, like the length. I like the depth on both the inside and perimeter. It'll be a good, deep group.”

The Sooners could also see an increase in shooting capability after taking the fewest 3-point attempts in the Big 12 last season. The addition of sharpshooting Reaves will have an immediate impact while Bieniemy, who shot 8-for-17 (.471) from deep in the last month of the season, is expected to play as a combo guard this upcoming year.

Shooting help could also come from the slew of newcomers such as JUCO guard Alondes Williams, who shot 72-of-178 (.404) from behind the arc at Triton College in 2018-19.

The increase in size also gives Kruger flexibility with Doolittle, who played in the frontcourt late last season but has experience on the wing should Kruger decide to utilize him on the perimeter. During his freshman campaign, Doolittle shot 39.5 percent on 43 attempts (took only eight combined 3-point attempts in his last two seasons).

Doolittle is the reigning Big 12 Most Improved Player and led the Sooners in Big 12 play with team-high averages of 13.9 points and 7.8 rebounds to go with 2.1 assists.

“This group is going to be very versatile,” said Kruger. “There are a lot of different combinations out there. Go small, go bigger. A lot of it depends on matchups and the opponent. Doo did a great job with his advantages there on the inside and Brady is bigger and stronger now and can bang around a little bit more too.”

YOU BELONG HERE

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