There was a time when freshmen spent their first year on campus learning the ropes. Playing time was for those who had been through a little more seasoning.
Anyone thinking that’s still the norm in college basketball is in for a surprise when Oklahoma faces Texas at 2:30 p.m. today at the Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
Freshmen are going to be playing major roles in the season’s first edition of the Red River rivalry.
“You look around college basketball, there’s a great freshman class,” OU coach Jeff Capel said. “You can look at a lot of teams and see a lot of freshmen having a significant impact.”
OU’s Tony Crocker has burst on to the Big 12 scene, averaging 11.1 points while starting all 14 of OU’s games. Point guard Bobby Maze still hasn’t made his way into the starting lineup, but he has averaged over 20 minutes in the Sooners’ last two Big 12 contests and scored 24 points in the first two conference games.
Both have played significant roles and that’s what they were hoping to do when they signed with the Sooners.
Crocker and Maze, who were prep school teammates at The Patterson School in Lenor, N.C., zeroed in on colleges where they could find playing time immediately.
“It’s good that coaches are letting it happen,” Crocker said. “You don’t see coaches holding you back and making you sit. You look real hard for a place you can come in a play right away.”
But the rationale for going with experience over young talent usually gains credence in games like today’s. Rivalry games in front of big crowds bring out emotion. Sometimes it’s enough to overwhelm youngsters who were playing high school basketball less than a year ago.
“You have to get adjusted to the atmosphere,” Maze said.
Capel, who started as freshman when he was a player at Duke, said that transition isn’t a big deal anymore.
“These guys are so used to playing in big games,” he said. “You have high school games on TV now. These guys are all used to this.”
But even if they’re not, coaches don’t have any choice but to throw them to into the fire.
Over the last decade, the NBA has gobbled up underclassmen at a rapid rate. At least now, players can’t be drafted until they’ve been out of high school for at least one year.
If that weren’t the case, the Sooners (9-5, 1-1 Big 12) likely wouldn’t have such a major chore on their hands against the 25th-ranked Longhorns (12-3, 2-0).
Texas rolls out a starting lineup featuring four true freshmen. The most notable of the group is 6-foot-9 forward Kevin Durant. He’s averaging 23.4 points per game and 35.5 in the Longhorns’ Big 12 wins over Colorado at Missouri.
He’s joined in the paint by fellow freshman Damion James, who originally signed with the Sooners before opting out of his letter of intent when former coach Kelvin Sampson left for Indiana. On the perimeter, Texas also has freshmen D.J. Augustin and Justin Mason.
It’s a necessity in the Longhorns’ case. Three of last season’s starters left school early for the NBA.
Durant will likely join them there next season.
“They might not be in school long, but at least you’ll be able to see them one year,” Capel said. “When you look at guy like Durant, he’s a top three pick and he’s probably No. 2 right now — behind another freshman (Ohio State’s Greg Oden). That may change if he keeps playing the way he’s been playing.
“I think these guys are so talented. It’s a deep class with some very talented players.”
That should be evident today.
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Youth will be served
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