Remember way back to yesterday when I mentioned the rumor about St. John’s transfer Larry Wright? Wright was looking for a college closer to his Saginaw origins and was visiting both OU and Detroit-Mercy. I wondered aloud about scholarships available, playing time, blah, blah, blah.
Well, today, Mr. Wright has opted to jump from the Red Storm to the Golden Grizzlies. I kid you not, Oakland has now added a sixth new face to the basketball team heading into the 2008-09 season.
Wright brings an element to OU’s offense that was basically the sole domain of Erik Kangas — the ability to drain threes. That alone warms one blogger’s heart. It should also help open up the floor and take some pressure off Kangas.
Wright’s addition only furthers speculation that some current Grizzlies might be ex-Grizzlies before the fall semester. Certainly playing time is going to be shuffled and somebody is going to be left far outside the rotation.
I have to admit that I’m still sort of in shock over all of these last minute roster additions. Yeah, most of Grizzly Nation was looking (OK, hoping) for a point guard to sign. So, landing a PG isn’t surprising. However, landing what appears to be a quality point along with a seven-foot import and a St. John’s transfer was not on the radar. Not outside Coach Kampe’s office anyway.
I’ll come clean and admit I’m trying to restrain my enthusiasm. After all of last year’s pre-season hype came crashing down, I hesitate to be too wound up about five freshmen and a Big East transfer.
However, there’s no denying that these additions do up the ante on expectations — both for the upcoming season and into the immediate future. It also bodes well for the image of the program, in general. Certainly, it makes OU a more visible, viable option for players. If Kampe can turn the talent into wins, then Oakland can make the next step up the college basketball ladder.
