Oklahoma basketball: Joe Bamisile getting chance and taking full advantage
By Chip Rouse
For over a month, from mid-December to mid-January, Oklahoma basketball junior guard Joe Bamisile was a fixture on the Sooner bench, failing to see any action in eight consecutive games over that span.
It wasn’t that the transfer from George Washington wasn’t capable. He had averaged 16.3 points a game the season prior to transferring to OU, playing in all 30 games for the Colonials, and was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team.
Bamisile was one of eight newcomers added to the Oklahoma roster in the offseason by head coach Porter Moser. He played in all 11 of the Sooners’ games to start the season. He even had a season-high 15-point effort in 15 minutes of action against UNC Wilmington.
His offensive capability was never really in question. The problem was, Moser wants his teams to play strong on both ends of the floor, which was not the strength of Bamisile’s game.
"“I think when I first got here, I relied heavily on my offensive skill set,” Bamisile told Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman in a recent interview. “Now being able to adjust and having that same attention to defensively playing hard, it’s made playing a lot easier.”"
That adjustment on Bamisile’s part has enabled him to get back in the game. And he’s not only back, but also contributing at a higher level. The 6-foot, 4-inch reserve delivered 13 points off the bench in the Sooners’ two-point loss to Texas this past weekend. In OU’s last five games, Bamisile has averaged 7.2 points and 16 minutes of playing time.
You can see his confidence building and the Sooners really need the athleticism and valuable minutes off the bench that Bamisile can bring.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Bamisile one of the first players Moser calls on off the bench for Oklahoma Tuesday night against Texas Tech. I’ll take it even further by projecting him to have another strong scoring effort. If so, Moser will be the first to tell you that his reserve guard is finally realizing the value of creating offense from defense.