CJBL - Oklahoma State Cowboys

[Emmett13]

Over this past summer I became a member of the excellent JBL/CJBL universe. I took over Oral Roberts (2036 Summit League Conference Tournament Champion) and Oregon State (Absolutely Zero Accomplishments) and was having a blast and looking forward to building each program over the coming seasons.

BUT THEN

Oklahoma State, my alma mater, came open as the previous AD decided to drop them. I thought about it for a bit and then decided I'd have to be an idiot not to take the Cowboys gig. I had to drop both Oregon State and Oral Roberts to move to Stillwater, OK, but sacrifices had to be made.

The 2037 season JUST ended, and I was given control of the Oklahoma State program about 48 hours ago, but I figured I'd dive in and take a look at what we are working with as I take the first step of the journey to turn Oklahoma State into a basketball power.



Not tons of success, but last year was certainly a low point in Cowboy history.



We will be losing a big chunk of players from last years' team: Mario Davis, Justin Dulin, Tre Edwards, Khadim Garth, Kellen Honig, and Caleb Ocwieja. None of them really are any great loss.

[Emmett13]

We inherit a pretty solid duo of a coaching staff. 39 year old Travell Aucoin is a grit and grind coach with 3 more years on his contract.




It doesn't have this past poor season on his record yet, but I'm attracted to the grit and grind style and that's what I was pivoting Oregon State towards in my brief year there. He doesn't really have a weak spot skill wise, so I'll see what he can manage in the next few years and then see what his future holds.

I'm not as sold on 32 year old Rex Gregory.




He's an offensive minded coach, but doesn't stand out in any other way. I wouldn't mind having double grit and grind coaches. But, I'll think on it a little bit and see what I want to do when the coaching hire/fire phase opens up.

[Emmett13]

We bring back just 6 scholarship players and a handful of walk-ons. So eventually we'll need to add quite a few guys either through the transfer portal or from the high school ranks.

We'll do this by class:

F Ismail Adams, 6'6", 207, Junior, Middleton, Tennessee


Adams primarily played the 4 last year, and I just don't think he fits there. He's a solid defender on the perimeter and the post, but doesn't rebound well enough to get away with 25+ minutes at the 4. He's unbelievably passive offensively. He had an 8.9% usage rate last season, and since his offensive ratings look solid enough, that certainly needs to be higher. Right now, the plan is to start him at the 3, where his defense and three point shot as well as some finagling with some setting will turn him into a decent 3 and D wing this season. If nothing else, his defensive chops will get him some court time, but 29 mpg again probably won't happen.

G Joe Beachem, 6'6", 183, Junior, Dallas, Texas


Long, lanky guard who has played everywhere on the perimeter in his three years. Played primarily at the point this past season and did a solid job. Looks to use his length to get to the rim where he does most of his damage. Passes the ball pretty well, and will certainly be serviceable there this season. He probably shot too many threes last year, and I'm going to try to get him to concentrate on getting to the paint and the line and hopefully dishing off 4 or 5 assists a game too.

G Justas Davis, 6'0", 204, Junior, Baton Rouge, Louisiana


Another experienced perimeter player. This one is undersized and had a poor season shooting the ball last season. He's a very strong perimeter defender despite his size limitations at the 2, and I definitely think he's a better three point shooter than he showed in his junior year. I don't want him starting again, but given his defensive chops, his experience and his ability to shoot the three he will be in the rotation next season, but likely around 10-15 minutes.

G/F Jacob El Darwich, 6'5, 226, Sophomore, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma


El Darwich was a 4 star recruit, ranked #59, a couple of years ago and my scouts seem to think he still has a lot of room to improve. He's a strong athlete with a nice shooting touch and really just a solid all around offensive game. He's primarily played at the 3 the last two years, but I think he has the handles to be fine at the 2, which is where I think he'll start next season. I'm banking on El Darwich and Beachem being a pretty salty backcourt duo next season.


G Zach Cochran, 6'4, 194, Sophomore, Rayville, Louisiana

A walk on who has received a little playing time the last two years, but one of the rules of the CJBL is that a walk on can only be on the team for two years before they need to be cut or granted a scholarship. Cochran will be the former.

C Khadeem Carlisle, 6'7", 236, Freshman, Silsbee, Texas

Another walk on, although Carlisle received zero playing time last season. He doesn't have much promise, so he's likely to get cut as well and see if we can improve our walk-on quality.

F/C Randy Sibert, 6'8", 205, Freshman, Missouri City, Texas


A 3 star recruit ranked #372. He started getting some playing time at the end of the season, but I've got high hopes for him. He's got a really strong basketball IQ and has great defensive instincts. He's got a bit of an offensive game, but he's never going to be a go-to guy. But, given his intangibles an his ability to rebound he seems like a great glue guy for a grit and grind team. Since I consider Adams a perimeter player, Sibert is our only returning scholarship post. Obviously, I have no idea who else will be on the team over the next few weeks, but I like his odds to see some minutes this upcoming season.

G/F Tyrik Straih, 6'6", 200, Freshman, Katy, Texas

Another walk-on who didn't play, but this one has me intrigued. He's a very solid athlete with some real defensive chops. He struggles offensively, but his ability to play defense is very attractive in a grit and grind system where you have room for defensive stars. It'll be tough to find playing time for him this season, but it's not going to be easy to cut him this time next season.

G Michael Thomas, 6'1", 193, Freshman, Killeen, Texas



The other scholarship freshman. He was a 2*, unranked freshman who flew under the radar last recruiting cycle. He's undersized and is certainly a combo guard and not a true point. But, he's a good athlete who defends well and can at least pull off an okay point guard for a few minutes at a time. But, true to his tweener profile, could have a hard time carving out a legit role in the rotation.

[Emmett13]

There were 12 players on scholarship this past season, one fewer than the limit, and 6 of them are graduating. Some quick finger counting gets us to 7 available scholarships going into the offseason.

Unfortunately, it looks like it has the potential to go up to 8. Soon to be sophomore post Randy Sibert is not happy with how his freshman year has gone and there is a decent possibility that he's going to want to transfer. We'll certainly try to convince him to come back, but if he leaves it'll be a major blow. He's a solid look prospect that I think didn't get the playing time he deserved last season and he's literally the only returning post player on the roster. So, if he leaves, we will be completely rebuilding the front line.

Depth Chart:

C: ??? - ???

PF: Randy Sibert (maybe) - ???

SF: Ismail Adams

SG: Jacob El Darwich - Justas Davis

PG: Joe Beachem - Michael Thomas

At least 4 post players are needed and 5 if Sibert bails. I don't want to play Ismail Adams at the 4 at all, but at least I know he can if times get desperate enough. I can't imagine not getting at least one post from the portal, as I have no interest in trying to figure out who to play out of 4 of 5 freshman posts.

Perimeter wise, I'd like to add at least one. Either a true point guard to backup Beachem or a 3 and D wing to act as a true SF and challenge Adams for minutes. Thomas has a lot of talent, but might not be able to handle the point, and I'd like to sign a good enough lead guard to slide Beachem over to the 2 some.

[Emmett13]

Quite a few things to update the Oklahoma State faithful on.

The first. We fired assistant Rex Gregory, who was a solid assistant (has proven by his immediate hiring at Washington). But, he was more offensive minded than I was wanting, so he got the boot.

In his place, we hire former Colorado assistant Tyrese Priddy.



Clearly, you can see what I'm going for here. A very good defensive mind who does some of the other things I'm going for right now (leadership/culture). I'm trying to "role play" a little right now, and I'm certainly going to lean into a defensive minded, strong program "culture".

Good luck to the new coach!

[Emmett13]

The first big update is that I gave sophomore Tyrik Straih a scholarship, despite him not playing a single minute last year for the previous AD/AI. Straih is an incredible defensive players with some very impressive intangibles and I really think he has a shot at getting some decent minutes this year as I'm starting to like him more and senior Ismail Adams a little less.

The next big update:

I had failed to mention (or notice) that our one returning post player, Randy Sibert, was not happy with his lack of playing time last season. He was disgruntled and was thinking about transferring. And when the transfer portal came roaring through the CJBL, we were unable to prevent Sibert from bailing on us. So, we go from one post player returning to zero.

Sibert goes off to UC-Santa Barbara, and while I liked him and would have preferred he stayed, the level of school he ended up with sort of shows he wasn't someone who is irreplaceable.

So we look to take revenge on the portal and snag a few players of our own. As I previously mentioned, we had quite a few scholarships to hand out and certainly would be active in the portal.

I'm looking to add one lead guard and a multitude of post players, so I was aiming to add at least two post players in this cycle, and that's exactly what we did:

The first:

Jermont Williams, 6'9", 231, Senior, Exton, Pennsylvania


Williams played the last three seasons at Eastern Illinois, which to be certain has been an unsuccessful program, but he put up decent numbers on passable percentages. I knew I wanted to grab one guy purely for depth, just in case this recruiting cycle was just a disaster, and I'm hoping Jermont is that guy.

Essentially, he's a big body that is competent defensively and will be competitive on the glass. I'm hoping he's the last post off the bench (i.e. out of the rotation) all season, but if he has to plug in a few minutes, it won't be the end of the world. If he's getting 10+ minutes a game, we're probably in trouble.

The other much more exciting addition is:

Hans Gabriel, 6'9", 219, Sophomore, Des Moines, Iowa


Gabriel was a 3*, ranked #254 last season and was a very productive freshman big man off the bench for a very solid Ohio State squad that made it to the 2nd round of the CJBL tournament last season.

He's a strong defensive player who does a strong, if unspectacular job on the glass. But, what is really exciting about him is it seems like he's a strong finisher around the basket, who might be a major cog to the offense as soon as this season. He was 70% on shots right at the rim, gets to the line and knocks them down at a decent clip, and has some strong post moves to boot. You never know what recruiting will look like, but I'm pretty confident the guy will start at the 4 for us this year.

The negative is that the reason he left Ohio State was for his inability to get along with his teammates. I'm hoping if he gets 24-28 minutes in a starting role, and the rest of our staff and players have high culture/leadership ratings, that they'll be able to keep Gabriel in check and he can be a very productive post in the Big 12.


Recruiting high school players won't kick in until after Christmas, but our needs are clear. We probably are going to add three freshmen bigs, and one of them is very likely to start. And I'd like to add a lead guard, preferably someone who can jump right into a starting spot, and slide Beachem and El Darwich down to the 2 and 3 respectively. But at the minimum someone to play some solid minutes as the backup point guard.

[Emmett13]

Recruiting is effectively over and all together I think it has to be seen as success.

Let's start with the good news: We signed 3 well regarded post players, all of which I think can contribute immediately. They all play defense at an extremely high level which is what I was looking for, and each of them are unique enough to play different roles offensively.

Let's start with the highest ranked and go from there.


Khadre Thurman, 6'7", 227, Pearland, Texas, 4*, #98



Players have photos now! Only the incoming guys have photos, so they will remain faceless, but a pretty awesome touch.

Thurman is undersized and his offensive game isn't much at all as you can see from his underwhelming stats. But, he's a defensive whiz in the post. An extremely hard worker (which is a priority) and tremendous defensive awareness. I'm a little worried is subpar offensive game will limit his potential, but there's always use for guys who play hard and play great defense in a grit and grind system.

Troy Moss, 6'9", 230, Coppell, Texas, 4*, #102



Moss is a very athletic big man who we promised a starting spot during recruiting. Like Thurman he looks tremendous in the post defensively and is a solid rebounder and I think we will see a lot of double doubles in his future. In addition to his athleticism and defense, he's got great intangibles and has a strong looking three point shot. I like all three posts we signed, but Moss is definitely the one I think that will be the most impactful both short term and long term.

Christian Hannah, 6'9", 234, Denton, Texas, 4*, #153




Only has one year of high school stats, but Hannah had a really productive season and is very skilled for a big man, with his ability to shoot the three and pass the ball. He's very strong, but I'm a little concerned his lack of athleticism could hurt him in the Big XII. He's noticeably less athletic than the other freshmen and the transfer post Gabriel. But, he uses his strength and freakish 7'4" wingspan to guard the rim and play excellent defense. I think he'll be a great role player for four years.

Rene Ross, 6'1", 187, Midlothian, Texas, 1*, NR



Ross was a bit of a panic take and in hindsight if I'd been more patient I think I could have signed a higher quality player. But, I mismanaged some early resources and put all my eggs in one basket, going after a PG who was ranked #30. I almost grabbed him, but lost him to La Tech. It was pretty late in the recruiting game, so I went into desperation mode and landed on a guy ranked 10,000+ (really). That's not truly indicative how good he is (I hope), because there are some hidden gems scattered in the depths of the recruiting pool.

Anyways, Ross. He's a decent athlete that plays really strong perimeter defense, and uses his quickness to pester guards on the perimeter and generate some turnovers. His offensive game is pretty basic, but I think he could handle the point for a few minutes at a time as a freshman. He's smaller than I'd like, and could be a candidate to be encouraged to move on after just one year. But, this team is really lacking a lead guard. Beachem and Thomas are both listed as point guards, but both guys are probably better suited to be off the ball. I don't anticipate Ross playing at all, but I needed a third point guard.

I also missed out on a 3* center from Oklahoma City, he was 7'1" with some decent game, but I think he would have been buried on the bench for the foreseeable future, so I'm not too upset.

All four signees are hard workers, which fits with the defensive, grit and grind system I'm employing. I think this core of posts will be make us pretty competitive in the paint the next few years, even if this season could be a struggle with 3 freshmen and a sophomore soaking up all the post minutes.

Not signing a strong lead guard, puts a ton of pressure on next year's class as we lose 3 perimeter players, and outside of El Darwich the other returners aren't exactly all-conference types.


We will add 3 walk on players and will be off to training camp in the next few days. I'll likely prioritize defense for about every player, as I'm RPG'ing it some and really leaning into this defensive identity. I'm going to attempt to make this the best defensive team in the country and a team that just grinds their opponents into dust by the end of the game.

[PilotMan]

Nice work Emmett! Finally we get a CJBL Dynasty!

[kingfc22]

Oh nice. A CJBL dynasty. I’ll be following along

[skrath]

This is awesome Emmett! Amazing work.

[Young Drachma]

Following along.

[Emmett13]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. Join up if you haven't, it's a blast.

[Emmett13]

The 2038 season is in the books! Well, for Oklahoma State anyways, the national tournament is still plugging away. But, everyone in this thread is in here for one reason and one reason only. To find out how the Oklahoma State Cowboys did.

AND

We did pretty okay! 26-14 on the season and a berth in the national CJBL tournament as an 11 seed. Coming off such a (mainly AI induced) poor season last year, I would have been quite happy if you had told me before the season started that I'd be able to get this team to the tournament. We were competitive (and even beat a few!) with most of the top level teams we played this season, but just did not have the top level talent to get over the hump in most of them.

Let's look at some team stats:




We played an extremely slow pace and put major efforts (mostly successful) into trying to get as many offensive rebounds and put backs as possible, while trying to pound the ball into the paint and draw fouls. I was surprised that we were as good as we were taking care of the ball. Hopefully that can continue in the future. With as slow of a pace that we played, definitely can't afford to turn the ball over at a high rate.

Our defense was as good as anyone in the conference, and there were a handful of games where we legitimately stifled teams. I think we had some size limitations in the back court and athletic bigs caused us some problems, but hopefully we can shore some of those problems up.

Let's look at some season results





The best win of the season was definitely was the second game of the season when we sprung USC for the upset in LA. We won our first 8 games and 12 of the first 13, before scuffling against better competition at the end of non-conference and then getting a reality check in a power 5 conference. We did manage to beat BYU in a double OT home win, and we played Kansas and Cincinnati close multiple times, but never could get cinch the victory.

The only 'bad' loss we had was the second conference game, when we lost on the road to a cellar dwelling West Virginia squad.

Our CJBL tournament game was a rematch with Arkansas and we managed to lose them both.

Let's look at some player stats:



We'll go one by one for a quick review of the returning players. Seniors will get their own ode. We'll skip walk-ons, Sebastian Adams, Joe Floyd and Jake Rumel, as all three are unlikely to return next season.

Junior G/F Jacob El Darwich - 16.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 37.3 FG%, 31.5 3FG%, 87.9 FT%

Our best offensive threat from the perimeter. He got off to a strong start in non-conference. Hitting a high volume of threes, and helping us to get off to the aforementioned good start. Then, I made the mistake of trying to give him even more opportunities and running the offense through him and he responded with horrendous games. Even after I switched the offensive strategy up some, he was still prone for some real duds. Here's a collection of the worst El Darwich performances in conference. *cue orchestral music*

(all from the field), 7-20, 4-18, 2-16, 4-20, 5-18, 6-22, 1-7, 4-14, 5-17, 1-14, 2-16. He did have a handful of strong performances, but we had success despite El Darwich in a handful of games.

Going forward, I know he's going to start at either the 2 or the 3 next year. I'm hopeful I've wizened up and can use him where he can be more efficient, and hopefully we can add a perimeter player that is enough of a threat it will take some pressure off of him.

Sophomore PF/C Hans Gabriel - 12.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 66.3 FG%, 64.2 FT%

Transfer from Ohio State, who had a really strong sophomore season. If I didn't have the strategy settings set to running the offense through El Darwich, I had it running through Gabriel. He's extremely effective around the basket and had some absolutely dominating games. (23 and 11 against Kansas State on 10-12 shooting, and 5 or 6 other similar games.) But, he also found himself in foul trouble a lot, including in our CJBL tournament game.

I like Gabriel a lot, despite his disruptive attitude, but his biggest flaw is I think he struggles some defensively at the 4, especially when we face teams that have a stretch 4 (which is most). I think these are the teams that can really get him in foul trouble while he's trying to chase them around. Nonetheless, he's probably going to start at the 4 again and be very efficient and foul prone again.

Freshman PF/C Christian Hannah - 5.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, .75 bpg, 44.3 FG%, 31.7 3PT%, 75% FT%

Skilled big man who started off hot, including 18 in our road win over USC. He never scored higher than 13 in any other game. I like that he has the ability to shoot and is a strong passer, but I don't think he's got the athleticism to play the 4. He's an objectively bad athlete by CJBL standards, let alone Big 12 standards, so he probably needs to be a full time 5. But, I'm hoping he can continue to develop his offensive skill and be a needed scoring punch off the bench.

Freshman C Troy Moss - 9.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.4 bpg, 58.4% FG%

Really came on strong in conference play. Scoring in double figures in 11 of our last 12 games. Really good athlete who converts around the basket and does a good job on the glass. I started trying to give him more offensive opportunities as the season progressed and he did a good job. He shot a handful of threes and made 44% of them, I'd like him to expand that in the coming years. Very likely to start at center again as a sophomore.

Freshman PG Rene Ross - 1.8 ppg, 1.5 apg, 43.8 FG%

A 1 star desperation recruit, Ross ended up replacing Michael Thomas in the rotation as the year progressed. Mainly because he almost never turned the ball over and he was a little more adept at creating for others and running some offense when he was spelling Beachem. Ross is undersized but a very hard worker and really good defender. I absolutely have to have a couple of point guards this offseason, and in a perfect world I can relegate Ross to the deep bench, where he'll just make for a great teammate and emergency 3rd PG.

Sophomore G Tyrik Straih - 4.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.45 spg, 43.3 FG%, 30.0 3PT%

Former walk-on and locker room gem, who defends like crazy and who I gave extremely limited offensive opportunities too. I do think he's capable of a bit more offensively, but I'm perfectly happy to have a guy just concentrate on defending in my system. He started the majority of games last year, and I think he could again next season.

Sophomore G Michael Thomas - 2.6 ppg, 1.3 apg, 39.5 FG%

The guy who lost his spot to Ross. More of a combo guard than a true point, and the same size as Ross. I thought he was shooting too much and just didn't like the lineups when he was in. His intangibles weren't nearly as good as Ross's either, which helped me make the change. I'll likely try to encourage him to leave this offseason, as I think I can upgrade that scholarship spot. I think he'd be a solid player for a low-major team.

Freshman F Khadre Thurman - 1.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, .55 bpg, 38.5 FG%

Really good defender and intangibles guy, even if he is undersized at 6'7". Really was poor offensively, and was just unable to finish around the basket. His whole niche is going to be as a hustle/energy defender who can hopefully develop into a nuisance on the offensive glass. He and Hannah will be continually battling it out for playing time, and who can be the 3rd post off the bench. If we could combine them into one guy, we'd have a heck of a player.

[Emmett13]

We graduate 4 this year. Only one (Beachem) is a guy who I consider any kind of big loss. So, I feel confident we will be able to upgrade our talent level this offseason.

Ismail Adams, 6'6", 207, Middleton, TN


The guy played a lot of minutes as a SO and JR, and primarily was a PF in his junior season. He came in and out of the lineup for me, as I tried to turn him into a 3 and D guy, but he just wouldn't ever shoot the ball, even with finagling with some strategy settings, I couldn't get him to shoot more than a couple of threes a game. He hit them at a solid rate, and in a grit and grind system, there is room for guys who know their roles and can knock down shots at decent efficiency.

Joe Beachem, 6'6", 183, Dallas, TX


Ended up having a really good season after a horrendous start. His first game that he shot over 50% from the field was 8 games in, and he was the only guy outside of El Darwich who could create his own offense from the perimeter. He had a great game in our CJBL appearance, with 17 points, 15 assists and 4 steals, and a perfect 8-8 from the line. He was a decent enough defender, but I would like to have a real ball hawk at the position going forward.

Justas Davis, 6'0", 204, Baton Rouge, LA


A bowling ball of a guard, who by all accounts should have been a really good outside shooter, but just couldn't convert on them the last few years. Grit and Grind definitely wasn't for him, and a 6'0" SG is something I never want to see again. But, he had shot the ball well as an underclassman, and he has good defensive reports, and I also had no other real options so he got 10 minutes each game. I'm excited to have other options next year.

Jermont Williams, 6'9", 231, Exton, PA


Transfer from Eastern Illinois, who was taken as an insurance policy during the transfer period. I was returning zero post players (besides Adams, who was going to play the 3 for me), and I didn't want to strike out in HS recruiting and not have at least one competent veteran. Unfortunately for Williams, we grabbed 3 solid HS post recruits and he ended up as the 5th post on the depth chart all season. He was a solid rebounder who held his own defensively and he performed well in the handful of minutes he received for us.

[Emmett13]

The season won't end for a little while, and then coach hiring comes around (I'm planning on retaining my coaching staff) and then after that we get into new player acquisition, transfers and recruiting.

We are losing a C, SF, SG and PG. I'm also looking into cutting Michael Thomas or Rene Ross, or even both, which would open up at least one more PG spot. I'm not super desperate to add another HS post, so I might look in having a repeat of Jermont Thomas, a senior who can fill in during an emergency. I'd like to add one transfer PG as well if there are any I like, but I know if there are there will be major competition for them.

So, I would expect to add a minimum of three HS perimeter players and I really need one of each. I'd love a defensive minded lead point guard, a two that defend and score a little bit to take some pressure of El Darwich, and I'd love a 3 and D wing who can shoot the three. So, we'll see what I end up with. I'll report back when I find out.

[skrath]

Nice work on the season Emmett (and great writeup), I think you exceeded some expectations there. Will be interesting to see what you can do with another offseason and training camp under your belt.

[Emmett13]

A decent amount of player movement this transfer season, some of it good, some bad.

We'll start with the bad. Hans Gabriel, who was probably our best player last year, bailed on us and is on the way to serve in the Air Force and play basketball in Colorado Springs. He was a disruptive presence in the locker room and it was a pretty 'leadery' group, so I could see he how he wouldn't get along. I tried to bring him back, but he was convinced. He averaged 12 and 6 for us last year, played good defense and converted at a very high percentage around the basket.

I also decided to cut both Rene Ross and Michael Thomas, to open a couple of more point guard spots. Michael Thomas is off to Long Island U. Rene Ross is just out of college basketball, which probably goes to show I shouldn't have signed him to begin with.

Ross had replaced Thomas as the backup point guard by the end of the season, but neither had the size I'm wanting in a point guard, and obviously I considered both expendable.

We added one player, and it's one I'm happy about:

Brandon Vanderwal, 6'2", 175, Senior, Newark, New Jersey


Vanderwal is a former 4 star, top 50 recruit who was over recruited at Villanova last season and hardly got off the bench. He's a bit slight for my tastes, and isn't strong at all, but he's a tremendous athlete everywhere else and has intangibles out of the roof. So, even if recruiting doesn't go well for me and I don't sign a standout point guard, I feel pretty good about him starting for me this year.

Recruiting Plan

With Gabriel gone, suddenly I need to sign another prep big man, which I hadn't really planned on worrying about much. I 100% need at least one more point guard, and probably 2, and then the other 4 or 5 spots are going to go to wings.

I'm looking for big, beefy wings that are strong and can contribute on the glass. Obviously shooting and other offensive skills would be nice, but they are certainly secondary. The first phase of recruiting has begun, and I've identified quite a few guys I'm interested in. I'm hoping to snag a few.

[Emmett13]

The early phase has ended and with 7 scholarships we were pretty darn active and put out a lot of visits, calls and offers to make sure we get some guards (and one post player).

We missed out on who I wanted the most, #125 Joe Crawford who brought the size and rebounding I so desperately want from a wing, but he instead went to BYU.

But, we did get a couple of decent consolation prices. That leaves us with 5 left over. We for sure need at least one post player and a point guard (I feel pretty confident a 3* is going to recruit soon). That would get us to 10/13, then probably a 5th post and one last perimeter player. The engine mandates that you can only have 12 active players for each game. So, if you use all 13 scholarships for players, you automatically have one inactive. So, essentially, what's the point of having that 13th guy?

Anyways...

Our two commitments:

Brandan Wimberly, #181, 6'7", 198, Kingfisher, Oklahoma



Wimberly is a home state guy and Mr. Basketball in the state of Oklahoma, which is always a bonus. He's an elite athlete and one heck of a defender. As you can probably guess that means he's lacking offensive abilities. But, he's not useless. A little bit of a three point shot, and can shoot off the dribble. But, he definitely has a defensive profile. He also rebounds some from the perimeter, which I always love to have.

and

Aaron O'Neal, #72, 6'7", 196, Deer Park, Texas



Another big wing that can rebound and plays good defense (though less than Wimberly). What makes him exciting to me is that he has some real ball skills and looks like he'll generate some assists, and I even think could get away with time at PG in a really big lineup. The big issue with O'Neal is that he's got a bad attitude and has some worrisome intangibles. He's not complete nutcase like some ours, and he's got a few redeeming qualities, but altogether is definitely not a safe bet to stick around for four years. But, I am excited to see him in action.

[Emmett13]

Due to time constraints, this is coming pretty late (the season is a little over a week old), but better than never. I sign 4 more guys, and they've all played some and have seen their more accurate scouting reports, so it'll be hard to not to have that tint the descriptions. I'll do my best though.

In descending order:

Jack Amoke, 6'4", 186, Waco, Texas, 3*, #337



A little smaller than I like for a wing, but plays solid defense, rebounds and knocks down some threes. His HS stats make him to really lack aggressiveness offensively. But, that's probably fine for a role player. Hopefully he can handle lack of playing time this year and develop into a useful 3 & D guy.


Cameron Stutz, 6'1", 182, Tulsa, Oklahoma 3*, #340



Another guy who is smaller than I'd like, but is 100% an upgrade over Rene Ross. Pesky defensively due to some high level quickness. A strong three point shooter. He's a steady hand at the point, but isn't super dynamic. Will fight for backup point minutes with Aaron O'Neal, but another guy I hope can handle a lack of minutes this year and step into a rotation spot next season.

Josh Armstrong, 7'1", 248, Shelbyville, Texas, 2*



Finally, the size I'm looking for. But, as you can guess the skill level doesn't quite match the mass he has. Big and strong and defends well, but is just adequate on the glass. Offensively, he's decent around the basket and uses his size effectively. Not as worried if this guy can't handle the low playing time and leaves.

Travis Tomic, 6'11', 218, Frisco, Texas, 2*



Insane wingspan at 7'6", so he'll block some shots. Is skinny and is more of a stretch big type offensively with a nice shooting touch. Plays solid defense inside, but his lack of strength probably makes him a 4 defensively.

The starting lineup the first two games of the season was:

G Brandon Vanderwal
G Tyrik Straih
F Jacob El Darwich
F Christian Hannah
C Troy Moss

(spoiler alert)

After the 5th game it had morphed into

G Brandon Vanderwal
G Aaron ONeal
F Jacob El Darwich
F Khadre Thurman
C Troy Moss

The trio of Moss, Thurman and Hannah are quite a bit better than the two freshman posts, and Armstrong and Tomic have only come in during garbage time or foul trouble. They both could develop into something good but it will be a couple of more seasons, so at least one of them will probably be encouraged to leave.

See you in a a month or so for how the 2039 season goes for Oklahoma State.

[Emmett13]

Well, that month has turned into nearly a year. The CJBL (and JBL) have continued to chug along even when my writing has not. Pretty incredible updates to provide. I'm going to use the next few posts to somewhat quickly recap what has happened the last few seasons.

The 2042 season just ended, which means I need to update the Cowboy faithful on what happened in the 2039, 2040, 2041 and 2042 seasons.

So off we go. As a reminder, the 2038 season ended with a first round loss to Arkansas in the national tournament.

[Emmett13]

I did manage to get the preview in there and referenced how poorly we started when I talked about an immediate lineup change.

Here's how the regular season/conference tournament turned out:



I'm having to recollect a decent amount here, but it started off obviously with two losses, including a disastrous first sim that gave us two quick losses. We recovered and found a decent stride with the highlight being two home wins against KU and Cincy, who are always at the top of the conference. We were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament by BYU, who gave us three losses.

We did manage to sneak into the national tournament as a 12 seed in the play in game. And here's how that went.



If you don't feel like counting up the rounds, don't worry, I'll do it for you: The win over Fresno State was the play in game, which means all of those wins got us to the Elite Eight before Stanford dashed our hopes. But, a truly great run. A few seasons later (remember it's 2042 now), the league will do away with the play-in game. The recruiting boost I got from this run, that will pay major dividends down the line is in large part due to this season.

Washington was a 5 seed, UNC a 4 seed, LSU the 9 seed and Stanford the 2.

Our offensive rating ended up #92, and our defensive rating was #130, which gave us a net rating of 101.

The starting lineup by the end of the year:

PG Brandon Vanderwal SR - 32.3 mpg, 13.1 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.4 rpg, 1.31 spg, 1.64 topg, 47.5% FG, 46.2 3P%

Truly the reason we had the success we did. Ended up being drafted in the 2nd round and has seen a handful of minutes in the pros. Excellent three point shooter and was definitely the MVP that season.

SG Aaron ONeal FR - 30.5 mpg, 10.4 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.0 rpg, 1.58 spg, 1.58 topg, 49.7 FG%, 35.7 3P%

A big guard who had a really solid freshman year. Played a lot of backup point, which gave me the idea he could be the full time point as a sophomore. It sort of worked. This would be the best year for him shooting the three.

SF Jack Amoke FR - 16.4 mpg, 4.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.1 apg, .91 spg, 46.2 FG% 46 3P%

Ended up starting the last 20 games including all of the postseason contests. Was solely used as a spot up shooter on offense and a solid wing defender. Did not shoot many threes, but when he did they were typically on target.

PF Khadre Thurman SO - 26.0 mpg, 5.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.49 bpg, 49.2 FG%

Got into the starting lineup a few games into his sophomore year and will pretty much never leave it. 110% a role player, in that I just wanted him to be a defender and be active on the offensive glass, while shooting as little as possible. He did the job and it allowed me to get my better players more shots.

C Troy Moss SO - 28.7 mpg, 11.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, .8 apg, 1.36 bpg, 53.9 FG%

Started every game as a freshman and sophomore and will maintain that all the way through. Just a really solid big guy who scored enough to be a threat and was a strong defensive anchor, even though he was a tad bit undersized at 6'9".

Rotation (played every game):

PF/C Christian Hannah SO - 22.7 mpg, 6.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 42.5 FG% 18.3 3FG%

Hannah turned into a pretty frustrating player. He started the first 5 games of the season, which did not go well. He settled into being the main post off the bench all season. He never shot the ball as well as I hoped, but this was the season he received the most minutes. 2.1 assists for a bench post shows he had some skill. His highlight: 24 points and 9 boards against Washington in the 1st round of the National tournament.

SF/SG Jacob El Darwich SR - 24.2 mpg, 11.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.51 spg, 40.9 FG% 34.8 3FG%

An extremely hot and cold player. There were games where he was nailing threes and was a very solid wing, but there were more games where he was a complete bomb. He ended up moving to the bench and led that unit and did a pretty good job, and if I remember right I had him closing games instead of Amoke. Will I go back and look? No.

SG/SF Brandan Wimberly FR - 13.2 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1 apg, .84 spg, 50.4 FG%

Athletic, big wing that could really defend. Had some really good games and showed up in the postseason.

Sporadic time:

SG Tyrik Straih JR - 18 G, 2 GS, 9.7 mpg, 1.7 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 40.0 FG%

He started most of his sophomore season because of his excellent defense. After the team started off horribly, I decided to blame it all on him and he hardly played the rest of the season. I was probably premature in doing that in hindsight. Not too worried about it though!

C Josh Armstrong FR - 23 G, 5.0 mpg, 1.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg, .23 bpg, 47.4 FG%

A huge (7'1", 252) freshman who was taken along with another 2* freshman when we swung and missed on numerous post options trying to fill some deep depth options. With foul trouble issues sporadically popping up, Armstrong got into quite a few games and played every single game of the postseason run.

PG Cameron Stutz FR - 8 G, 4.5 mpg, 2.4 ppg, .6 apg

Didn't play much at all with fellow freshman ONeal taking up all of the backup point minutes. But he showed promise shooting the ball.

C/PF Travis Tomic FR - 8 G, 3.0 mpg, .5 ppg, .5 rpg

Huge (7'6") wingspan. But it was decided early that Armstrong would be the emergency depth at the 5 and that about wrapped it up.

Walk-ons

Jack Stone, Jordan Taylor, and Parker Harding were the three walk-ons this season and they would all be cut the following season.

[Emmett13]

After the season was over, our prestige jumped up to High from Above Average which was a major boon, but we did lose a few important players.

Brandon Vanderwal, 6'2", 175, Newark, New Jersey



Like I said in the previous post, ended up being the MVP of the team and the only reason we even qualified to make the tournament before we got hot and made a nice run. Was able to play off the ball quite a bit with the emergence of ONeal and shot the lights out. Really became a prototype for me for a point guard.

Jacob El Darwich "the Darwich", 6'5", 226, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma


Highly ranked out of high school and had some really strong offensive games, but was just very hot and cold and not to be depended on. Low efficiency players are nobody's favorite.

And one surprise transfer:

Brandan Wimberly, 6'7", 198, Kingfisher, Oklahoma


I don't remember the circumstances, I'm pretty sure I kept my minutes promise to him, but one way or the other he left. I was disappointed that he took off, because he had the makings of a very strong defensive wing. But, he couldn't shoot, didn't finish around the rim, and wasn't creative off the dribble. So, no great loss. He ended up at conference foe WVU and did okay.

Travis Tomic was also cut at the end of the year freeing up another scholarship. He didn't transfer to another school and that was the end of his D1 experience.

[Emmett13]

With two graduated, one cut, and one transferring out that meant we had 4 spots to fill and were in dire need of a scoring wing and a few guards to compete for minutes at the 1.

Here's who we ended up with:

First, a transfer from Arizona:


Sophomore Wallace Power, 6'8", 206, Glendale, AZ - 40 G, 14 GS, 20.0 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, .75 apg, 48.1 FG% 28.6 3FG%


Great last name. a 4*, ranked #89 out of high school. Really big guard with a bad attitude, but I was willing to overlook it with his skillset. Scores inside, rebounds well, creative with the ball, and could really defend. I was willing to roll the dice that his attitude might cause problems.

The Freshmen:


SF Wayne Brown, 6'7", 212, Wright City, Oklahoma, 5*, #22

There were three 5* freshmen in the state of Oklahoma that season, and we were able to take advantage of our tourney run and snag one of them. Brown didn't quite fit the profile I was looking for, as his defensive left some room to be desired. But, he looked so effective offensively, I didn't see how I had a choice. He was promised the moon and was going to slot right into the 3.


SF/SG Sam Weisman, 6'6", 190, Dallas, Texas, 4*, #132

Sharpshooting wing who has potential as a rebounder and passer. He would never be excellent at it, the strength to play in the post some and be decent switching. Was a surprise pull as I didn't offer much of a role, but got lucky.


Soufiyane Mimms, 6'3", 176, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 3*, #263

Guard who picked us over Washington. Has major intangibles with his leadership and pick and roll abilities. I honed in on him fairly early, knowing I needed a point guard bad in this cycle. Either he or Aaron ONeal seemed the favorites to play point, with Cameron Stutz a bit of an afterthought.

[Emmett13]

Just like the last recap, a lot of this from memory so there are probably some incorrect memories here. This season was a frustrating one, primarily because I created a starting lineup with hardly any shooters. My starting lineup for the year had one guy who shot any threes with volume, Wayne Brown, but he really struggled. As a team we were #328 out of 362 in 3P% at 30.7 and #341 in 3PTs made. A huge difference from last year's team which was very dependent on the shooting of Vanderwal and El Darwich.

Nonethless, we still had a decent season with what we had, which was a team that could get to the paint and did damage inside, still managing to be one of the 66 teams to shoot over 50% from the field overall.

Regular season results:



We pretty well held serve against the teams we were supposed to beat, with no really bad losses all year, but we struggled to take care of the best teams. We ended up 4-11 in quad one games, which wasn't great. But it was good enough to get us back into the play in game as the 12 seed. But unlike last year where we were able to use that to spring us into the Elite Eight, this time:



Florida ate us up and put an end to the season. It still extended our post season success to Oklahoma State to 3/3.

This season we ended up #106 offensively and #69 defensively which earned us a #76 net rating.

Let's look at the starting lineup by the end of the year:

PG Aaron ONeal SO - 30.8 mpg, 8.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.7 spg, 1.58 tpg, 45.5 FG%, 22.9 3FG%


He primarily played at the point all season long and did a solid job distributing the ball. His three point shot (2.7 3PA) never got going, but he did a good job getting to the rim and on pull ups. His biggest issue I think was that he was just too big at 6'8" to guard opposing point guards. In our play in loss to Florida, their sub 6 foot point guard absolutely torched us. But this year made me want to get him to the 2 full time.

SG Wallace Power SO - 30.1 mpg, 13.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.48 spg, 2.03 tpg, 55.8 FG%

Another guy that can't shoot. Was 10-36 from three all year, but like ONeal, did his damage at the basket and from mid range. Had a really strong year, but definitely was part of bogging up our offense at time with his inability to shoot.

SF Wayne Brown FR - 30.4 mpg, 13.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.53 spg, 1.58 tpg, 46.2 FG%, 26.6 3FG%

Put up 4.3 3PA's a game and was our most prolific outside shooter which is pretty sad given his percentages. But outside of that he had a really solid freshman year. Led our team in scoring, was effective getting to the basket and really looked like a super star in our national tournament loss, where he scored 30 points on 11/18 shooting.

PF Khadre Thurman JR - 27.6 mpg, 4.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.35 bpg, 59.5 FG%


Yet again played his role excellently. Hardly shot the ball and when he did it typically went in. 4.1 FGA per 36 minutes is just what I was looking for. I wish he rebounded better, but I'm happy with what he does well. Play hard defense and stay out of the way on offense.


C Troy Moss JR - 28.7 mpg, 12.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.25 bpg, 53.8 FG%


Another solid, steady year for Moss who continued to average close to a double double every game on solid percentages. Not much to say about him outside of that. Super consistent.

Rotation (played every game)

PF/C Christian Hannah JR - 19.8 mpg, 6.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 52.9 FG%

Didn't shoot nearly as many threes this year, but he provided what he normally does. Some offensive punch, some strong passing and poor athleticism defensively.

SG/SF Sam Weisman FR - 9.2 mpg, 3.1 ppg, 0.8 rpg, .7 apg, 51.1 FG%, 59.5 3FG%

Shot the lights outs from three (25-42) but definitely established himself as a low volume shooter. As bad as we were shooting the ball all season, he was certainly an outlier. But a promising season for sure, even if he struggled to get a high volume of minutes.

Sporadic Time

PG Soufiyane Mimms FR - 32 G, 10.6 mpg, 2.8 ppg, 1.5 apg, 34.0 FG%

Started off as the backup PG, and I was hoping that he would force my hand and take the starting spot, but he just stunk pretty much from the word go. Shots the ball poorly, and didn't do much to demand him staying in that position, so ended up getting benched for Stutz by the end of the year.

Cameron Stutz SO - 27 G, 7.9 mpg, 3.1 ppg, 1.4 apg, 51.8 FG%, 40.5 3FG%


With how poorly Mimms played and how desperate we were for shooting, Stutz ended up becoming the backup point guard. He shot the ball well (15-37 from three) and an absolutely absurd 38:2 A/TO ratio. His play at the end of the year convinced me to make a major lineup change for the next season.

SG/SF Jack Amoke SO 27 G, 7.9 mpg, 2.4 ppg, .8 rpg, 39.7 FG%, 35.1 3FG%

Ended up in the starting lineup as a freshman, but never really carved out a role as a sophomore. His shooting percentages fell a bit, which is tough when he was pretty much solely a perimeter shooter. Still a good athlete and plays strong defense.

SG/SF Tyrik Straih SR - 18 G, 6.2 mpg, 1.9 ppg, .7 rpg, 61.9 FG%

I never really figured out how to handle Straih, Weisman and Amoke, because there were some major similarities with the three of them. I started giving him a little more playing time at the end of the season, including some time at the 4. I do wonder with his excellent defensive chops how he would have done full time in the starting lineup.

C Josh Armstrong SO 26 G, 5.6 mpg, 1.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 43.5 FG%


Still giant (7'1") and still just used in emergencies. There were times he'd get 4 predetermined minutes, but otherwise pretty much just there for foul trouble. Where his job was to be big and not worry about fouling.


Walkons

Much like last season, we had three walk ons and all three (Marvin Miles, Ambrose McCloud, and Bryan Anderson) were cut after the season. Miles did end up playing at Maryland-Eastern Shore.

[skrath]

The conclusion is worth waiting for

[Emmett13]

Originally Posted by skrath

The conclusion is worth waiting for

[Emmett13]

One graduate:

SG Tyrik Straih, 6'6", 204, Katy, Texas


Defensive stud on the wing, and will always have his sophomore year where he was a starter, but he fell out of the rotation as I got new, more intriguing recruits.

and one surprise transfer

Sam Weisman, 6'6", 190, Dallas, Texas


Similar to Wimberly the year before, I'm pretty sure I met my promises to him, but he decided he wanted more playing time and I wasn't going to promise much more than he received. So off to UNC Greensboro he went. He'll be a senior this season, and is coming off a strong junior year.

[Emmett13]

Had 3 scholarships to offer. We brought back essentially everyone besides a handful of backup guard minutes, and since we already had guys I felt comfortable about in house, I decided to go after a couple of posts to prepare for losing the trio of Moss, Hannah, and Thurman after this next season.

I looked for a PG but I didn't make progress on anyone who I knew would take a starting spot, and I lost out to a highly ranked guy who ended up at Alabama.

The plan became moving Stutz to the starting PG, moving ONeal to the 2 and Wallace Power to the bench. We still had Mimms and Amoke on the roster as well, and I just didn't see a lot of perimeter minutes out there.

We didn't add any transfers and signed two prep post recruits:


PF AJ Rushin, 6'9", 253, Katy, Texas, 4*, #50

Definitely the jewel of the class. A legit offensive threat in the post with a nice jump shot all the way out to three, he's a strong passer form the post as well. Isn't quite the defender I'm normally looking for and is just adequate on the glass. But, he gives us a real offensive force at the 4, which is something we've not had since I've been at Oklahoma State.



Eros Zenga, 6'8", 231, Cologne, Germany, 3*, #339

My first foreign recruit. Zenga is a very skilled big man, who like Rushin can shoot the ball and is even better passing than Rushin. The issue is that he's pretty rough defensively. He does compete on the glass, but we'll have to find out if his pros outweigh his cons at the Big XII level.

[Emmett13]

We made a major breakthrough this season, finally breaking out of the drama of being squarely on the bubble every season. This year we brought back 90% or so of our production, decided to ramp up our non-conference schedule and it paid off. We had by far our best year from beginning to end.



It resulted in a 6 seed, and just like 2039 we made a nifty, little run.



3 wins makes for our second Elite Eight appearance in 3 years. We take down the 11 seed, 3 seed and 2 seed before falling to the 1 seed.

Our offense took a major jump, making it up to #21, our defense was at #135, giving us a net rating that settled in at 16th.

Our starting lineup

PG Cameron Stutz JR - 28.1 mpg, 8.3 ppg, 3.3 apg, 1.9 rpg, 1.55 spg, 42.2 FG%, 33.3 3FG%

I knew I needed more shooting in the lineup to open things up offensively. He didn't shoot the ball as well as I hoped, but he acted as a poor man's Vanderwal, in that he was a competent lead guard that could operate off the ball and allow ONeal to run the offense.

SG Aaron ONeal JR - 31.8 mpg, 10.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.64 spg, 52.2 FG%, 24.1 3FG%


Another year, another impressive season. He earned 2nd team all Big XII for the second consecutive season, and continued to operate efficiently in the mid range. He shot way less threes this season and never really got going there.

SF Wayne Brown SO - 30.3 mpg, 17.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.05 spg, 47.3 FG%, 31.7 3FG%

Took a nice step his sophomore year. Shot the ball a little better from long range, and was a tad better at getting to the line. What was really promising was his performance in the big dance, averaging 26.5 ppg a game in the 4 tourney games.

PF Khadre Thurman SR - 44 G 41 GS, 15.0 mpg, 2.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .43 bpg, 50.8 FG%

The addition of the freshman didn't result in Thurman losing his starting spot, but he did lose a lot of minutes. He started games and ended them, but the time in between was typically Rushin's.

C Troy Moss SR - 28.3 mpg, 11.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg, .8 apg, 1.05 bpg, 55.1 FG%


Wrapped up an excellent career with a season that was pretty much identical to the last two. Solid, consistent scorer inside who held his own on the glass. Had 16 and 12 in his last college game against the eventual #1 overall pick.

Rotation

PF AJ Rushin FR - 45 G 3 GS, 23.1 mpg, 8.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, .69 bpg, 50.5 FG%, 34.7 3FG%

Had a really solid freshman year, and at times was excellent on offense and dominated. Showed some ability passing the ball too. I toyed with him in the starting lineup, but figured it worked better when he could be a focal point of the offense with the second team. Very impactful freshman.

SG/SF Wallace Power JR - 44 G 3 GS 20.3 mpg, 7.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.7 apg


Lost his starting spot when Stutz moved into the starting lineup. Still got to play quite a bit, and it was much of the same. Solid from mid-range and around the basket, and did a good job as a scoring punch off the bench. Always expect a guy with a bad attitude like him to potentially take off after the season.

C/PF Christian Hannah SR - 12.1 mpg, 4.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.8 apg, .56 bpg, 55.9 FG%

Rushin really took his minutes away at the 4, and Hannah essentially was just the backup 5 this season. His offense got a shot in the arm, as he was much better in the paint and at drawing fouls than he had in the past. Still didn't have a great +/- when he was on the court.

SG/SF Jack Amoke JR - 9.8 mpg, 2.5 ppg, .8 rpg, .4 apg, 48.8 FG%, 47.3 3FG%

Settled into a decent role off the bench getting 10 minutes a game and putting up a 3 or so a game and playing solid defense on the wing. If he shot a higher volume of threes he'd probably get more playing time.

Sporadic Minutes

PG Soufiyane Mimms SO - 12 g, 6.5 mpg, 1.3 ppg, .6 apg, 27.3 FG%

Aaron ONeal received all of the backup point guard minutes, and his only extensive playing time was 3 games that Wayne Brown missed due to injury, and he was able to squeeze his way in for a few minutes. Just doesn't hit shots when he gets chances to play. Expect him to transfer.

PF Eros Zenga FR - 8 g, 4.7 mpg, 1.8 ppg, .5 rpg, .5 apg, 47.2 FG%

With three seniors already established and the addition of Rushin, there just weren't many minutes for him. He's got some real offensive skill, but it was always going to be a season or two before he got any playing time, hopefully he doesn't leave before then.

C Josh Armstrong JR - 4 g, 4.9 mpg, 1.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 50.0 FG%

Rushin destroyed his minutes too and we didn't have many blowout lineups get in this season. At this point I might as well have him graduate, as you don't want to tell a 7'1" human that he is losing his scholarship.

Walkons

Another year with 3 one and done walk-ons as Twan Okoro, Linton Isiani, and Parrish Dickson all get the boot.

[Emmett13]

This was the end of my first recruiting class at Oklahoma State, and it ended up being an important one that played a lot of minutes. Three posts and a pg named Rene Ross that was cut after the first year.

Our graduates


Troy Moss, 6'9", 230, Coppell, Texas


An excellent career, he was steady every season. His main flaw was that he was a bit undersized and wasn't exactly a great defensive anchor under the basket. I thought his athleticism might get him a look in the pros, but it doesn't seem like that will be the case.


Christian Hannah, 6'9", 236, Denton, Texas


I had higher hopes for him when he signed on, thinking he was going to be a strong outside shooter and have the ability to pass the ball. I think he was just too poor of an athlete at this level, and his shooting never came around. Did provide a decent offensive punch off the bench.


Khadre Thurman, 6'7", 227, Pearland, Texas


Probably lucked out with getting a starting spot for us. Didn't score, didn't rebound much, but he had great defensive ratings, and I was happy to have a low volume guy fill in at the 4. But, it probably isn't a coincidence that the less he played the better we did.

And an unexpected transfer


Aaron ONeal, 6'8", 196, Deer Park, Texas


3 year starter, 2 time all-conference member, Aaron ONeal decided he didn't like his teammates and he wanted to move on. He was a really solid guard, but he had some flaws. He would have been a starter yet again, but his decision to move on really didn't end up hurting at all. He went on to St. John's who is a lower level Big East school and he struggled mightily in a new system.

[Emmett13]

Losing 3 post players and our starting SG gave us 5 scholarships going into the offseason cycle and we ended up signing 4 guys and adding zero transfers. It was definitely the best class we've been able to come up with so far. Going into it, I knew I needed at least a couple of posts, and I was hoping to upgrade at PG. I had two guys with extensive starting experience in Power and Amoke ready to take ONeal's spot, but I was looking for an upgrade at SG if at all possible.

Here's what I got:


PF Marquese Henshaw, 6'11", 241, Terry, Mississippi, 4*, #43


Our highest ranked recruit, Henshaw has great size, plays great defense and has a high basketball IQ. He's just extremely confident with no great weaknesses. He doesn't have much range to his game, so I think he's likely stuck as a 5, but has the defense abilities to switch some and play some 4, which is listed position.

Garth Ludwig, 6'9", 245, New Orleans, Louisiana, 4* #59


Another highly rated post. I didn't promise Ludwig many minutes, and I was a bit surprised to see he signed with us. I had promised big roles to some top 25 post recruits, but they both chose to go to Kentucky. Getting a top 60 player as a consolation is pretty sweet. Ludwig has a 6'10" wing span at 6'9", so he's never going to be dominant above the rim, but he's thick and strong and does a good job rebounding and like Henshaw has a high IQ. But, he can't shoot, and can't pass and doesn't offer much outside of the paint. If I can keep him as a backup center the next four years I think I'll be doing great, if he has to start, he has some limitations which will limit us.

Tevin Ridder, 6'2", 205, Chaska, Minnesota, 4*, #70


Pretty well signed up with zero competition which was nice. Basically looks like a stronger version of last year's point guard Stutz. A really good defender, and shoots the three pointer really well, but doesn't take a high volume of them. Not going to be any kind of 7 assist guy, but should be a steady PG. Ideally, he can play with another guard that can create some.

Mekel Duell, 6'4", 198, Bossier City, Louisiana, 3*, #235


It's not often you find guards who prefer Grit and Grind has their style of play, so when we saw Duell we jumped all over him. He's a very strong, athletic guard who can get to the basket and finish in the paint as well as a strong mid range game. He also has a nice handle and can create and initiate offense. Even his defense is solid. His three point shot is inconsistent at best, but if it wasn't he'd be a top 25 recruit. Very under ranked.

[Emmett13]

A coaching change before the season start, as our assistant the last 4 seasons, Tyrese Priddy left to take the head coaching position at Bowling Green. We wish him luck!

His replacement ends up being Ben Green. Green spent the last 4 years at Rutgers, which is where he started his CJBL coaching career. Priddy was a defensive oriented coach, and this time we decided to go after a more balanced approach. He's just solid pretty much across the board, and I'm hoping his general competency will benefit us.

[Emmett13]

I won't try to create too much suspense for the results of this season because, frankly, besides just a couple (literally two) hiccups, we flat out dominated and pretty much gave the CJBL the business from the opening tip to the season's final buzzer.

So, yes, if that was too clunky of a sentence; we won the whole CJBL last season with an incredible 45-2 record, a Big XII regular-season championship, a Big XII tournament championship, and most importantly, a CJBL championship to hang in the fake Oklahoma State rafters for fake eternity.

I'm honestly still not 100% sure on how I was able to do it. Not sure what was so special about the combination of players I had to win so many games, but I undoubtedly will be trying to recreate that for as long as I'm in the CJBL.

Let's first take a look at team stats:




We ended up being just so deadly and efficient on offense. We played an incredibly slow pace, finished at the rim, were tough on the offensive glass, and got the foul like a lot. Teams essentially had to match us bucket for bucket, and very few could keep up with us. Our defense struggled early on but really started to tighten up when it mattered. It was never great, but certainly good enough.

Let's look at some season results:




We had two games, @BYU and @Houston, where we just got shellacked, but besides that, we won every game. And even the two teams we lost to, we beat twice and three times respectively.

We had a game-winning three-pointer against BYU in the conference tournament semi-finals from Wayne Brown that was a particular highlight.

Let's look at some player stats:



Our Starting Lineup by the end of the year:

PG Tevin Ridder FR - 27 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 4.6 apg, 1.3 rpg, 48.9 FG%, 37.7 3FG%

Was this close to being the scapegoat for losing the national championship game with his horrific performance in regulation, but salvaged his reputation by hitting multiple big shots in the overtime. But, he was just what we needed at the point. Played very strong defense, knocked down some shots and did a better job than expected passing the ball. Planning on him being the starter for the next three years.

SG Mekel Duell FR - 22 GS, 24.9 mpg, 14.2 ppg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 rpg, 62.3 FG%

Holy hell. I hit the jackpot with this guy. After spending about half the season coming off the bench and leading the second team, I just couldn't deny him any longer. He was so efficient, he forced his way into the starting lineup and the rest was history. We were undefeated after he began starting at the 2, and in the national tournament he was virtually unstoppable.

His 6 tournament games: 10-13, 13-19, 7-10, 15-22, 8-11, 5-11. He struggled a little bit in the championship game, but his ability to score was incredible, and it earned him the tournament MVP award. Not too bad for a 3* recruit.

SF Wayne Brown SR - 31.5 mpg, 15.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.81 spg, 50 FG%, 38.6 3PT%

With Duell having such a ridiculous second half, Brown got overshadowed a bit. His scoring numbers went down from last year since he had to share the ball more, but his efficiency took a huge step forward. He also did a great job generating steals, including 5 in the national championship game. A great season for the former 5* and current team captain.

PF AJ Rushin SO - 29.9 pg, 10.6 ppg, 5.3 ppg, 2.6 apg, 54.9 FG%, 38.7 3PT%
Another guy that took a step forward. He made big strides on the glass and was a consistent offensive threat from all three levels. His passing was also a big part of our offense, and I'm hoping that continues to grow the next two years.


C Marquese Henshaw FR - 27.6 mpg, 8.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.26 bpg, 54.3 FG%

He dealt with some foul trouble and had a few clunkers over the course of the year, but overall had a great season. Strong on the glass and defensively, and also showed some offensive chops with his passing and ability to get to the free-throw line. All season long he was ranked around 40 in the JBL draft rankings, so definitely a concern of him going pro.

Rotation (played every game)

SG/SF Wallace Power SR - 14 GS, 15.7 mpg, 5.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 54.4 FG%

Started the first 14 games of the season. Offensively, he was essentially a poor man's version of Duell. Good at getting to the rim and in the mid-range. Eventually, Amoke replaced him for a while, but unlike Amoke, Power was able to stay in the rotation all year long.


PG Cameron Stutz SR - 2 GS 13.2 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 1.9 apg, 43.7 FG%, 39.3 3PT%

Was relegated to the bench after the signing of Ridder. And he did a pretty darn good job. Had a couple of starts when Ridder missed a couple of games due to injury. Knocked down some threes and took care of the ball, a very competent, experienced backup point guard.


C Garth Ludwig FR - 18.0 mpg, 4.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 51.6 FG%


Started off with a 13 and 9 performance in game 1 on the road at Missouri. But never quite reached those heights again. Both of those numbers ended up being season highs. But, he was a solid backup. Active on the glass and scored the ball okay around the rim. He has some athletic limitations, so I'm hoping he'll be satisfied with being a backup his whole career. His intangibles are tremendous, so I definitely want him to stick around.

Sporadic Time

SG Jack Amoke SR - 34 G 11 GS, 10.7 mpg, 2.3 ppg, .8 rpg, 44.3 FG%, 40.9 3FG%

I jerked Amoke around his whole career. In and out of the starting lineup, in and out of the rotation. He had a stretch midseason where he was starting and playing 10-15 minutes a game. He had a tremendous +/- there for a while, which gave me the idea to plug him in the lineup. He played strong defense and spaced the floor well. But when push came to shove, he just wasn't shooting the ball enough to justify giving him minutes in lieu of Duell and Power.

PF Eros Zenga SO - 22 G 7.0 mpg, 2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, .7 apg, 47.2 FG%
Was part of the rotation the first 11 games, but he was the first casualty as I shortened my post-rotation down to 3. He has a lot of offensive skill, and is a strong rebounder. The concern with him is just that his defense is too big of a liability to play much. Showed his versatility against Akron when he had 4 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists in just 11 minutes.


C Josh Armstrong SR - 16 G, 4.1 mpg, 0.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg

The big man somehow managed to stick around all 4 years. And even with 60+ minutes on the court, managed to not score a basket. But he provided solid depth and I didn't worry too much if he had to play 5 minutes at center.

PG Soufiyane Mimms JR - 10 G, 5.3 mpg, 1.3 ppg, 0.9 apg


One more year of collecting dust. His ratings still look solid, but his performance on the court over the last 3 years has not been pretty.

Walk-ons

Lachlan Troost, J.W. Poynter, and Avis Sestina were the walk-ons this season and they hardly played and each will be cut at the end of the season to try a new batch.

[Emmett13]

Quite a few guys are moving on after our tremendous season. Four seniors graduated and we also ended up losing two non-seniors to the JBL, with one in particular being a heartbreaker. But, we can get over about anything with a championship trophy in our possession.

The seniors (in alphabetical order)


Jack Amoke, 6'4", 192, Waco, Texas


As I said in the previous post, I probably gave Amoke whiplash from how often he was in and out of the rotation. At the end of the day, he just wasn't aggressive enough to force me to play him. His ratings and athleticism made him look like a solid wing defender, but that's so hard to quantify in a text sim. Repeated 0-1 games from three made it easy to bench him, even when his percentages still turned out solid.


Josh Armstrong, 7'1", 252, Shelbyville, Texas


Came in with another huge center, Travis Tomic. Tomic was cut immediately after his first season, but somehow Armstrong stuck around. He essentially was the 3rd string, emergency center his whole career. And his play time completely relied on the guys in front of him getting in foul trouble. He did have a few spurts over the years where I briefly gave him a few minutes in the rotation.


Wallace Power, 6'8", 206, Glendale, Arizona


A guy with a troublesome attitude that I'm surprised handled his benching as well as he did. He started as a sophomore after transferring in, and had a solid season even if it was on a pretty flawed team. Has great size, defends and is efficient around the rim and in his mid-range game. Just couldn't shoot threes, and it limited him, and me when figuring out lineup combinations. But, did a great job in the national tournament, going 10/12 from the field across 6 games, and a 4-4 performance in the championship game.


Cameron Stutz, 6'1", 182, Tulsa, Oklahoma


Local guy who toughed out limited playing time as an underclassman as well as getting sent back to the bench his senior year. He was solid as a starter (replacing Power) bringing us better spacing and more playmaking ability in the backcourt. But, he was ideal as a backup point guard. Rarely made mistakes, hit a decent percentage of threes, and then sat the other 30 minutes of the game.

And the guys who declared with eligibility left:


Wayne Brown, 6'7", 212, Wright City, Oklahoma


Despite his unimpressive JBL prospects, Brown just didn't have much left to prove. The former 5 star was efficient on the wing, was our best three point shooter by volume, and was just a consistent stud pretty much the entire year. Including in the championship game where he had 5 steals and the game winning block. If we hadn't won the championship I think he probably comes back, but again, it's hard to complain. He was also the captain of the team this year, so we have some major, major shoes to fill.



Mekel Duell, 6'4", 198, Bossier City, Louisiana


This was the stunner. I had already accepted the awesome future of having him for four years, because I just didn't see him going pro. He doesn't have great size at the 2, doesn't shoot the three well (to be fair, I didn't let him), and is just a solid athlete, nothing insane. But, the guy can get to the basket and works the mid-range game like nobody's business. He was the MVP of the tournament, and like Brown, really didn't have a ton left to prove at this level, so off he goes. I definitely think he'll get drafted, unlike Brown who I think is 50/50. I had visions of him being the top dog for the next 3 seasons, but instead I'm looking at rebuilding my entire wing rotation, with Power, Amoke, Brown and Duell all off to other things.


Edit- Looks like when I uploaded photos to the hosting site, I was not consistent in the size that I uploaded them in. Duell deserved the largest photo anyways.

[Emmett13]

Going into the next season as defending champions is definitely a different dynamic than we are used to. We also have quite a bit of talent to replace. Fortunately we did get to keep Marquese Henshaw, who ironically was who I was anticipating leaving early since he was a frequent sight on the JBL prospect list. None of our returning guys transferred, even Mimms, the seldom used reserve point guard.

So going into the transfer season and HS recruiting here is our scholarship break down:

PG: Tevin Ridder (SO), Soufiyane Mimms (SR)
SG:
SF:
PF: AJ Rushin (JR), Eros Zenga (JR)
C: Marquese Henshaw (SO), Garth Ludwig (SO)

Clearly you can see what our needs are. With 7 scholarships to give, I'd love to have a couple used up in the transfer session. I'd like to sign a senior big man to replace Armstrong. I really like the trio of Rushin, Henshaw and Ludwig, and I'm not really looking to upgrade there next year, unless there just happens to be some monster of a post that falls into my lap. I also don't really want to try to convince a decent HS recruit to come and sit on the bench as the 4th or 5th post. So, ideally I can find a senior to fill that role for one season, get a few minutes, have a few laughs and hit the road.

As far as wings go, who knows. I'd like a better backup point guard than Mimms, or at the minimum have a better option. I'd love a SG that slide down to the 1 and effectively be the backup point guard. A SF that could also play the 4 would be dreamy as well, but those guys are hard to find.

I probably need 4 perimeter players at the minimum this cycle, and one of them needs to play PG. Same with trying to find a senior post, ideally we could fill one of those slots with a solid transfer, so I don't have to have 4 or 5 freshmen wings.

Interesting to see how our new "extremely high" prestige rating and our shiny 2042 national championship trophy benefit us on the recruiting trail. I'm very cognizant of trying not to go star chasing, and keep going after guys that I think fit what our high culture, grit and grind program.

[Emmett13]

There is still a phase or two left, and we're effectively finished. This was a pretty light portal season as far as talent goes. We did go after a veteran wing, who I would have really liked to have, but I was definitely not aggressive enough in my offer and he went elsewhere.

On the bright side, I found an ideal target at center and was able to snag him with promising him zero minutes, which is the absolute dream.


Kazimierz Kusmierz, 7'0", 263, Senior, Brodnica, Poland


This guy checked all the boxes. A senior, can play the 5, solid enough defensively and competitive on the glass. He played the last two season at AI ran Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and he played in a horrendous conference in the Southland. But he cleaned up on the glass and earned a 3rd team all-Southland nod.

I think he's an upgrade over Armstrong, who essentially he is replacing. Much like Armstrong I don't think he'll get much playing time outside of foul trouble games, but I might try to pepper him in during the non-conference slate to see what he can do at this level....probably not, though.