Countdown the NCAA Season: JNixon-Iggy9’s Top 35 Teams (#32)

32: Oklahoma State Cowboys

Frontcourt- OK State loses 2 bulldogs down low in their bruising leading scorer 6’5 PF/C Marshal Moses and rugged dirty work specialist Matt Pilgrim, both who’ve exhausted eligibility. The cupboard isn’t bare though, for a Cowboys team that likes to play pretty small and fast-paced anyway. At the SF spot, they have the most talent and depth on their roster, and with the way OK State plays their guys will be able to be huge mismatches at the PF spot too in the Big 12. They bring in a very highly touted Fr. in the physically gifted 6’7 235 LeBryan Nash. Nash, a McDonalds All-American, is a great athlete, who can score with the best of them. His jumper is nice, he can slash the lane, run, rebound, and is even developing a solid post arsenal, which is interesting and promising for an incoming Fr. wing. Nash isn’t a devoted defender really and there are concerns about his maturity, but he should be one of the absolute best Fr. in the Big 12 and nation. I think he’ll behave himself good enough. He has a legit shot at pacing the team in scoring immediately. Nash probably will only be in Stillwater for 1 or 2 years before he takes his talents to the NBA. He’s got an NBA body already, and his skills aren’t much further behind at all. Also beside him as a SF who can play some PF is the talented Jr. JP Olukemi, who was an immediate contributor for OK State after coming in from JUCO. Olukemi is a 6’7 220 guy who can slash to the rim very well, and even has the ability to stick jumpers from as far as the college 3. He is a huge matchup ploy, and there are times when he can score in bunches by using strength against SF’s and his handle and mid-range  game against PF’s. Olukemi needs to get better from 3-point range and continue to get better on D, where he can lose focus at times. He should be around a 13 ppg scorer who gets 5 rpg next year, and I look for him to be closer to 45% from the floor. Darrell Williams was a solid contributor at the PF/C spot for OK State before he was suspended for his rape case, but his future is in the air. If he gets off and continues his basketball career, he’s a big body who will throw his weight around on both ends. He averaged 7 ppg and 7 rpg in 21 mpg. In case he’s not back, OK State has a big body in 6’11 Philip Jurick and length in 6’8 rFr. Mike Cobbins. Jurick started his career at Tennessee, where he redshirted and left. He played JUCO for 2 years though, and has 2 years of eligibility left. He’s very big at 265 and a good shot-blocker who can make basic shots at the rim with both hands. He won’t score much though and he’ll have to adjust on D. I look for Jurick to play 15-20 mpg. Cobbins was too frail to play last year and he got hurt real early in the year and got hit with “the shirt”, but he has quick leaping skills and long arms to be a shot-blocker. He’s not going to score much, but he should play limited minutes as a tip-in guy and shot-blocker. OK State has the talent at the SF spot to offset the losses of Moses and Pilgrim, and they really could be even better if Williams is able to play.

Backcourt- The guard spots lose 5’9 PG Ray Penn to transfer and 6‘4 PG/SG Sidorakis graduated, but there is enough talent. The key member of the guard group is 5’9 Sr. Keiton Page, a guy who has been in college forever it seems. Page is a sharpshooter who must be accounted for whenever he’s on the floor. He’s generally one of the elite shooters in the college game and owns one of the quickest releases out there, but he struggled with it as a Jr., making just 30% of his 3’s. Page has a little wiggle and quickness, but not all that much and he’s a lacking athlete, ball-handler and passer for a guy his size and offers little resistance on D. Page isn’t a real PG at all. He should be around 40% on 3’s next year while still getting about 13 ppg though, because the PG spot adds a nice talent to set him up and make life easier. Incoming Fr. Cezar Guerrero, a 5’11 165 speed demon will be the PG for the team. Guerrero is going to flourish for OK State, and here’s why. Guerrero is a great ball-handler and that, plus his speed, will allow him to play up-tempo for OK State easy. He also has a nice jump shot with deep range and the ability to hit pull-up shots. Guerrero plays reaching D though and he will have to rely on his floaters to finish around the rim with his lack of strength. Still, he should be a big contributor immediately. I expect about 9 ppg, 3 or 4 apg, some highlight worthy plays and around 42% from the field. His backup will be Fred Gulley, a very good on-ball defender with quickness and length who can’t shoot. Gulley isn’t a scoring threat, and he returns from a season-ending shoulder injury and should get 10 mpg or so next year. At SG, Markel Brown is a solid athlete and he aggressively looks for his shots. He needs to get better at picking the right shots, but he does have OK potential as a scorer. OK State has all the pieces in the backcourt they’ll need to play the fast-paced wide open style they like to play.

Overall- Travis Ford is a creative coach who likes for his team to score and run. His gimmicky style will work this year with the talent they have on offense. They probably will struggle to defend good enough to be a Sweet 16 team, but they have enough offensive punch and talent to be one-and-done or even steal a win in the tourny.