By Clay Horning
Maybe the first thing the masses notice tonight will be Sooner point guard Danielle Robinson.
A preseason All-Big 12 selection, she might be an All-American before she leaves Oklahoma.
For a few in the crowd it might be Mercer forward Lacy Ramon, who closed our her high school career at Norman High.
Mercer and OU begin their respective seasons tonight at Lloyd Noble Center and there will be plenty to watch as the No. 13 Sooners roll what they hope is a second straight march to the Final Four.
Yet there's something else folks might take note of: the empty chairs or the lack of them along the OU side of the scorer's table.
The Sooners signed five recruits to national letters of intent Wednesday, but they won't be available for another year. What OU has is a very interesting roster of just 10 players.
Off the bench, some will play more than others, but should play. That's great for the players, just as long as they're healthy and out of foul trouble.
"I think it's a coach's dream," OU coach Sherri Coale said. "I don't have anybody over there grousing about playing time. They're all getting to run around."
Coale recalls that the rotation she employed for the Sooners' 2002 run to the Final Four. It only went about eight players deep.
The lack of bodies does makes a for a few necessities. Freshmen posts, Joanna McFarland and Lyndsey Cloman, will both be called upon, and likely quite frequently. So will Lauren Willis, a junior guard, who originally walked on to the program."
OU graduated Courtney and Ashley Paris, as well as Carolyn Winchester. It's not uncommon to retain a scholarship to give and the Sooners had one after bringing McFarland and Cloman into the program. However, it was Jenny Vining's and Rose Hammond's transfers that led to the abundance of empty chairs at Tuesday night's 109-55 exhibition victory over Oklahoma Christian.
It all begins tonight.
Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com
