John Shinn
Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel has seen just about everything his team has to offer over the last month. That’s how long they’ve been secluded on the practice court.
But there’s one simulation that can’t be produced in practice, and it’s what Capel is anxious to see at 7 tonight when the Sooners open exhibition play against Oklahoma Christian at Lloyd Noble Center.
“I want to see how we’re going to play when the lights come on,” he said. “It’s tough to see in practice, especially in practice with only 10 scholarship guys. We need to see what kind of depth we’ll have and what we’re going to look like when guys are playing as hard as they can and not worried about getting tired.”
He’s not the only one.
The Sooners, who lost a trio of seniors (Kevin Bookout, Terrell Everett and Taj Gray) who each started all 29 games last year, return 44 percent of their scoring, 45 percent of their rebounding and 45 percent of their assists from 2005-06.
Tonight will be the first indication of how OU will go about filling the voids.
Guards Michael Neal, David Godbold and Austin Johnson are well-known commodities, but everything else surrounding the Sooners will be new.
Nate Carter, Taylor Griffin and Longar Longar are all moving from role players to anchors in the post along with freshman Keith Clark. Tonight will also show how freshmen guards Tony Crocker and Bobby Maze will fit into the mix.
Oklahoma Christian, an NAIA school, went 22-11 last season and finished with a 10-8 record in the Sooner Athletic Conference. It advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA national tournament. Oklahoma Christian returns eight lettermen and three starters.
But the Eagles aren’t OU’s top priority.
“We need to see where we are as a team,” Capel said. “We need to see some of the things that maybe we’re pretty good at and hopefully there will be some things we’re good at. I’m sure we’ll also find some things we have to work on. Oklahoma Christian is a pretty good team, who’ll let us know where we are.”
Tickets for OU’s two exhibition games are still available for $10 (upper north and south) and $15 (upper east and west). Lloyd Noble ticket windows will open at 5:30 p.m. today.
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
