With Bryce Thompson committing to Oklahoma State on Thursday and the number of available scholarships for next season shrinking in half, from two to one, the roster entering next season is beginning to take real shape.
Now it’s time to take stock and start looking ahead.
Below, I’ve done my best guesswork on how I think the starting lineup might look like based upon who we know is returning as of this moment. This is subject to change — the season is still months away! — but we can start filling some things in with pencil for now and go back with an eraser down the road.
Here’s what I’ve got.
PG: Bryce Thompson
SG: Avery Anderson
SF: Isaac Likekele
PF: MA Moncrieffe
C: Kalib Boone
In this situation, Bryce and Avery would likely split scoring guard duties. Heck, maybe Ice gets the nod at PG, and Bryce/Avery play off the ball, where they can create as scorers but wouldn’t necessarily be relied upon as initiators on offense. Both are walking buckets who can create separation for themselves to get off their own shots, but statistically Likekele is a far better creator with an assist rate hovering around 30% in non-Cade years. That’d look something like this.
PG: Isaac Likekele
SG: Avery Anderson
SF/SG: Bryce Thompson
PF: MA Moncrieffe
C: Kalib Boone
Then there’s a situation where there’s a shakeup — if OSU is able to score another key transfer. The staff is squarely in the hunt to land Georgia point guard Sahvir Wheeler, who we have been told is strongly considering OSU and Kentucky. If Wheeler (who had a 37.8% assist rate last season, which was 11th nationally!) were to commit, I think he’d slot in as a starter. That’d look something like this.
PG: Sahvir Wheeler
SG: Avery Anderson
SF/SG: Bryce Thompson
PF: MA Moncrieffe
C: Kalib Boone
In that situation, Isaac Likekele is possibly coming off the bench, which is insane to even fathom but also a testament to just how good OSU’s backcourt would be. With Wheeler in the fold it’d give OSU a true point guard to run the show, and he’d be a perfect creator to help feed Bryce and Avery, who I think are likely to be the Cowboys’ 1-2 scoring punch next season.
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