Sooners getting some recognition

It started with Oklahoma receiving four votes in this week’s USA Today poll, essentially ranked 39th.

Now ESPN Bracketlogist Joe Lunardi has the Sooners as a No. 11 seed in the early, early, early, early NCAA Tournament projections.

Did I say it was early?

OU’s 7-1 start in Lon Kruger’s inaugural season is a little surprising but others are starting to notice the Sooners are playing some pretty decent basketball.

While many focused on OU being undersized, rebounding has been a strength. The Sooners make a concerted effort to crash the offensive and defensive boards to rank an astonishing eighth in the nation in rebounding margin (9.8).

The Sooners are 15th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (41.9).

OU’s fast tempo also is producing an entertaining 78.1 points a game, which ranks in the top 40 in the nation.

Why the turnaround? How good are they?

Explaining the turnaround, starting with Kruger and his staff coaching fundamentals to the nth degree, is easy.

Predicting how good the Sooners are… it’s too early.

Don’t discount the nucleus of this team played countless in-the-fire minutes during last year’s 14-18 season that included two wins over Baylor.

Steven Pledger, an exceptional shooter who is expanding his game, is one of the Big 12’s leading scorers.

Andrew Fitzgerald is starting to provide consistent inside production.

Cameron Clark had a three-game stretch he averaged nearly 17 points.

The impact of two newcomers — point guard Sam Grooms (excellent floor general who is among the league leaders in assists) and Romero Osby (capable of a double-double any game) — has been invaluable, helping form a solid seven-man rotation.