 Why No. 18?: The Sooners lost the core of their frontline: Eduardo Najera, Renzi Stone and Victor Avila. But Kelvin Sampson stacked the backcourt. The Sooners will go from being a rugged, banging, defensive-minded team to a quick, shoot-first, think-second offensive squad. Nolan Johnson had an impressive run during the Big 12 all-star trip to Europe, slashing to the basket from the wing and creating shots on his own. Underclassmen Hollis Price and J.R. Raymond return to pose one of the quicker backcourts in the Big 12. Sampson has decent weapons off the bench, too, with specialty shooters Tim Heskett and Kelley Newton. Sampson answered the unknowns up front by landing former Cincinnati forward Aaron McGhee, who found his shot in junior college last year, JC center Jozsef Szendrei and JC forward Daryan Selvy. Najera owned the boards last season but the Sooners shouldn't have problems controlling the defensive backboard to jumpstart their fast break if McGhee and Szendrei are as good as advertised.
Will Climb If: McGhee is the near 18-point scorer Sampson is hoping he can become and Szedrei is a closer in the post, especially from the line. Taking care of business in non-conference games won't be as much of a problem with the only real test coming possibly against Oregon State in the Big Island Invitational or at Mississippi. The Sooners have a realistic chance of running the table on their non-conference schedule.
Will Fall If: Oklahoma can't stay healthy in the frontcourt and it gets beat up in the Big 12. The league doesn't have as defined a top six and bottom six as it did a year ago. Oklahoma can't afford to get stuck in the middle of the pack this year and expect to be a lock for the tournament. The Sooners have to separate themselves from everyone but Kansas to be comfortable going into the postseason.
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