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Lon Kruger: ‘Gaining Experience Wasn’t the Goal in Itself’

By Chip Rouse

Mar 4, 2017; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Kameron McGusty (20) and Oklahoma Sooners forward Kristian Doolittle (11) react after the final buzzer at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Kameron McGusty (20) and Oklahoma Sooners forward Kristian Doolittle (11) react after the final buzzer at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s been an extremely tough season, to say the least, for Oklahoma men’s basketball. It’s pretty difficult to fathom a team going from the Final Four in one year and finishing next to worst in the conference less than a year later.

Perhaps not so much, though, when you consider that the Sooners lost almost 70 percent of their scoring production from last season, including the national player of the year in Buddy Hield, and returned a 16-man roster that included 11 freshmen and sophomores.

Two-thirds of the way through the Big 12 schedule Oklahoma lost its scoring and senior floor leader Jordan Woodard to a season- and college-career-ending knee injury.

All of that made for a very subpar season by Sooner standards and just the fourth losing season in the past 36 years of Oklahoma men’s basketball. OU’s 20 losses in 2016-17 is the first time a Sooners men’s team has lost as many as 20 games in a season.

Feb 27, 2017; Lawrence, KS, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lon Kruger reacts to play during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas won 73-63. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2017; Lawrence, KS, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lon Kruger reacts to play during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas won 73-63. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

“I would have liked to have done more, for sure, to get more wins,” said Lon Kruger in his postgame comments to the media following OU’s 82-63 loss to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament that ended the Sooners frustrating season.

"“These guys kept working, kept plugging, kept making progress,” the Sooner head coach said. “A lot of these young kids got experience. That wasn’t the goal in itself. We wanted to win games as well. (It) disappointed us not to win games that we had in decent position to win on the year.”"

Kruger is looking forward to next season and beyond when all but three seniors (Woodard, C.J. Cole and Daniel Harper, the latter two of which rarely saw any action) will be back, along with a recruiting class that includes the country’s No. 2-rated point-guard prospect in Trae Young.

"“This group did grow,” Kruger said. “They had great attitudes about making progress all year long, and all of ’em (will be) back and anxious to get back to work (next season)."

Oklahoma ranked second in the Big 12 this season in points scored by freshmen, points scored by underclassmen, minutes played by freshmen and minutes played by underclassmen.

The Sooners are expected to return 87 percent of their scoring production next season to go along with what the major recruiting services have projected as a top-25 recruiting class.

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