University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU, Doolittle on The Rise Heading Into Senior Night
March 02, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Oklahoma's final home basketball game of the season is Tuesday night and the scenario appears to be the perfect opportunity for forward Kristian Doolittle to bid adieu.
As the team leader in scoring (15.7 per game), rebounding (8.8) and steals (1.26), Doolittle will take center stage as the Sooners' lone senior honoree before the 8 p.m. tipoff inside Lloyd Noble Center.
The opponent will be Red River rival Texas in a showdown between teams with identical records – 18-11 overall and 8-8 in Big 12 Conference play – in what possibly equates to a play-in game for this year's NCAA Tournament. Also at stake is a potential No. 3 slot in the conference tournament, where seed Nos. 3-7 are separated by two games with two games remaining.
"I always thought it would be pretty cool for the last home game to be against a rivalry team," Doolittle said, "but it being the last game also makes it bittersweet."
Bitter if OU happens to lose, but sweet if it wins.
Beat the Longhorns, and the Sooners might have done enough to be selected for the 68-team tournament come March 15.
OU and Texas enter Tuesday's bout with momentum.
The Sooners have convincingly won their last two outings, both against ranked opponents in No. 22 Texas Tech and No. 20 West Virginia. Meanwhile, the Longhorns are riding a four-game winning streak after losing their previous four straight.
"I think right now our guys are feeling good about what they're doing," OU head coach Lon Kruger said.
The Sooners posted a 72-62 victory in this year's previous meeting against the Longhorns on Jan. 8 in Austin, during which Doolittle had a game-high 22 points (2 for 2 from 3-point range), eight rebounds and a steal.
Doolittle is finishing his collegiate career with the flourish, scoring a game-high 19 points, with seven rebounds and three steals in last Wednesday's 65-51 triumph over the Red Raiders at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
Doolittle averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in wins over No. 22 Texas Tech and No. 20 West Virginia despite wearing a protective mask.
He followed with a game-high 19 points (14 in the second half), seven rebounds and three assists in a 73-62 triumph last Saturday in Morgantown that completed a season sweep of the Mountaineers.
Making these performances shine even brighter, Doolittle is doing this wearing a protective mask since suffering a broken nose at Oklahoma State on Feb. 22.
"He stayed in there, kept battling," Kruger said. "We didn't know how he was going to feel going in. He was great."
Doolittle underwent a surgical procedure last Thursday to straighten out the nose. He didn't touch a basketball for two days and admitted he was still a bit groggy when he awoke Saturday in West Virginia.
OU junior guard Austin Reaves joked the way Doolittle has played since he was injured, perhaps he should "keep wearing the mask his entire life."
Kruger chuckled and said, "That may be a good plan, given what he's done the last couple games. Nothing wrong with that at all."
What adjustments have been necessary wearing the mask?
"It's an ongoing adjustment," Doolittle said. "It's no joke, I'll tell you that. It's a doctor thing. The only way I'm allowed to play is if I have the mask on."
A product of Edmond Memorial High School, the 6-foot-7, 232-pound Doolittle said he felt he always possessed a good skill set. What he lacked was confidence.
"Confidence is the only thing that's necessarily changed for me," Doolittle said. "My freshman year, I played with confidence. I was able to play pretty well for a freshman [9.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 25.0 minutes with 25 starts in 31 games]. I feel like ever since my junior year, I haven't lacked confidence."
Doolittle endured a choppy sophomore season during which he was suspended the entire fall semester, re-enrolled and returned to the team on Dec. 17. Because he was not allowed to practice with teammates, his numbers suffered as a result, making six starts in 22 games, averaging just 2.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.0 minutes.
Those numbers jumped as a junior when Doolittle won the Big 12's first-ever Most Improved Award, which is selected by conference head coaches. Doolittle made 32 starts in 34 games, averaged 11.3 points, a team-high 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 29.1 minutes to earn All-Big 12 Third Team honors. In conference play, he averaged 13.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists and was the only Big 12 player to average 13-7-2 in league play.
"That was pretty cool," Doolittle said of winning the award. "To see coaches around the league respect me and the work that I put in, being effective for my team and someone they had to game plan for. I feel like it was a pretty big honor."
Kruger said Doolittle has "improved every aspect of his game. He was good across the board last year and I think he's improved this year. He's got a ton of skill. He's one of those (players) where you just see so much potential. I still think his best basketball's ahead of him, I really do. He's got that good a package of abilities."
With that improvement came confidence. In addition to his physical attributes, what has made Doolittle particularly more lethal was adding the 3-point shot to his repertoire.
"He's a tough matchup because he can score in a lot of different ways, especially this year when he started making some 3s," Kruger said. "He's been up and down in that 'make' category (36.5 percent overall, but 29.4 in league play), but that still makes other teams guard him out there, which allows him to go by. Plus, he's good mid-range."
When all these ingredients are in place, a confident Doolittle becomes a matchup nightmare for opponents.
"I feel like my size and versatility allow me to attack in more than one way, basically adjusting to whatever the defense is," Doolittle said. "Whenever I have someone the same size as me or a little bigger than me, I'm able to use my quickness being able to handle the ball and basically go wherever I want to on the floor. Being able to shoot from the outside helps as well. They're not able to sag off me. They have to guard me honestly. It really feel I can get any shot I want."
ESPN color commentator Fran Fraschilla on Sunday tweeted: "Probably most respected player by @Big12Conference coaches & least appreciated by national media has been @OU_MBBall's Kristian Doolittle. Last seven games: 20 points, 8.4 rebounds, 48% FG. Best 1-on-1 player in league."
Asked for his reaction to the tweet, Doolittle said, "Everyone has an opinion. I'm sure there are people who say 'so-and-so' is better than me. I just feel like I create the most matchup problems."
Reaves certainly isn't going to argue.
"You can't guard him," Reaves said after the West Virginia victory. "He's just got that versatility and he's big. So yeah, he's a problem."
