First time in six years returning to OU's basketball camp. Last time around it was to watch Jordan Woodard and to see if OU would make a move with Shaq Morris. So yea, it had been a while.
There were essentially three names worth monitoring throughout the weekend:
* Never did see Iwuakor when I was there, but multiple sources confirmed he made it and Harmon said he's one of the top guys he's trying to recruit to join him at OU.
* Richardson (Texas) Pearce's Drew Timme didn't make it to Norman so that was a bit of a downer because, as we all know, Kruger needs a monstrous 2019 class so any visit helps.
* First time to see Jamal Bieniemy in person. Will be interesting to see how he fills out in a college strength and conditioning program. Good height, skinny legs. Also saw Miles Reynolds around, and you can just see how excited he is about playing at a Big 12 level. Dude is fired up. Can't get him to stop smiling.
* When it comes to Williamson, feel like it's going to be an OU-Kansas battle at this point. The way he talked, the things he said. Sooners should feel pretty good, but it's going to be interesting to see if OU can keep that momentum throughout the summer. He wants a top five at the end of July but admitted he has about 10 or 11 schools right now in consideration for that five and the official visits.
* Griffin Family Performance Center was a nice boost as Harmon, Williamson and Iwuakor were given tours of the new facility. It's close to done. There are weight training items in the building right now, but could never get a clear picture of it because of the sun glare. Williamson said he was really impressed with it and excited to be on a visit with Harmon and Iwuakor since his other visits had been solo to this point.
* Really good to catch up with De'Vion Harmon. He's locked in, no doubt about it. From talking #NewWave19 to recruiting for BBall, he's all OU, all the time. Sounds like his goal is to be one-and-done, so he was pumped about the freedom Kruger gave Trae Young.
I'll have a lot more with Harmon and Williamson in separate stories later so won't give too much away.
Watching Samuell Williamson
* Saw four games. First game was lame. Guess it's hard to be fired up about playing in a middle court of the Houston Huffman Center. Easy win for Rockwall.
* This was the big one. Win vs. Flower Mound. You had Harmon there. You had Lon Kruger, Kevin Kruger, Carlin Hartman and Chris Crutchfield all watching the game. Hartman was around Harmon and the Harmon family the whole time. This was the offensive game for Williamson. He put on a show in the first half and beginning portion of the second half. Driving to the basket, hitting pull-up jumpers, running the floor. This was the best game I saw from Williamson.
* Sunday morning meant single-elimination tournament time. This first game was a defensive outing by Williamson. Rockwall trailed 29-23 early in the second half when Williamson's defense paved the way for a comfortable win. Back-to-back-to-back possessions went block, block, steal/dunk and Rockwall never looked back. It went from trailing 29-23 to up 47-32 with like three minutes left.
* Next game was a breeze. Williamson played the role of distributor. One of Rockwall's players had the hot hand so Williamson kept going that way. Rockwall started the game on a 26-4 run, and Williamson didn't play the second half (or at least the portion I watched).
* Rockwall was eliminated 55-53 in the quarterfinals. Missed the majority of this game (went to church with my wife). Knew this game would be tough so was hoping Rockwall would pull it out and then could watch the semifinals at 2 p.m. Didn't happen that way.
* Always hard to judge the mega-recruits at events like this. There's some games where there's nobody even close to their level so not accurate to eval, IMO. With Williamson, liked seeing his leadership and ability to pass the ball more than anything else. He didn't make a lot of outside shots, but he didn't need to make a lot of outside shots. Drove hard as well. Didn't always finish in the paint, but when he did, it was smooth.
And we end with De'Vion Harmon talking Noah Cain.
"Me and Noah - we're like cousins, brothers. We talk like every day. I'm trying to get him to put on that crimson and cream as soon as possible. He loves OU, he said, but only time will tell. I'm always going to bleed crimson and cream for him until he finally commits to wherever he's going to go.
"I try not to pressure him or bother him. He's visiting all those schools, trying to figure it out. I just sit back and keep it in his mind that Norman is the place to be. He'll make the best decision for himself, and I think he'll realize OU is the spot for him.
"I try to paint the picture for him. We could live in the same dorm, be roommates. We can go through this whole process together. We've known each other since the fourth grade. You have that relationship with someone, it goes a long way.
"I always tell him why not? You have a chance to go to college with your best friend. You have a place where it benefits both of us - it benefits him as much as it does me on the basketball court.
"I don't know why he wouldn't pick Oklahoma."
There were essentially three names worth monitoring throughout the weekend:
* Never did see Iwuakor when I was there, but multiple sources confirmed he made it and Harmon said he's one of the top guys he's trying to recruit to join him at OU.
* Richardson (Texas) Pearce's Drew Timme didn't make it to Norman so that was a bit of a downer because, as we all know, Kruger needs a monstrous 2019 class so any visit helps.
* First time to see Jamal Bieniemy in person. Will be interesting to see how he fills out in a college strength and conditioning program. Good height, skinny legs. Also saw Miles Reynolds around, and you can just see how excited he is about playing at a Big 12 level. Dude is fired up. Can't get him to stop smiling.
* When it comes to Williamson, feel like it's going to be an OU-Kansas battle at this point. The way he talked, the things he said. Sooners should feel pretty good, but it's going to be interesting to see if OU can keep that momentum throughout the summer. He wants a top five at the end of July but admitted he has about 10 or 11 schools right now in consideration for that five and the official visits.
* Griffin Family Performance Center was a nice boost as Harmon, Williamson and Iwuakor were given tours of the new facility. It's close to done. There are weight training items in the building right now, but could never get a clear picture of it because of the sun glare. Williamson said he was really impressed with it and excited to be on a visit with Harmon and Iwuakor since his other visits had been solo to this point.
* Really good to catch up with De'Vion Harmon. He's locked in, no doubt about it. From talking #NewWave19 to recruiting for BBall, he's all OU, all the time. Sounds like his goal is to be one-and-done, so he was pumped about the freedom Kruger gave Trae Young.
I'll have a lot more with Harmon and Williamson in separate stories later so won't give too much away.
Watching Samuell Williamson
* Saw four games. First game was lame. Guess it's hard to be fired up about playing in a middle court of the Houston Huffman Center. Easy win for Rockwall.
* This was the big one. Win vs. Flower Mound. You had Harmon there. You had Lon Kruger, Kevin Kruger, Carlin Hartman and Chris Crutchfield all watching the game. Hartman was around Harmon and the Harmon family the whole time. This was the offensive game for Williamson. He put on a show in the first half and beginning portion of the second half. Driving to the basket, hitting pull-up jumpers, running the floor. This was the best game I saw from Williamson.
* Sunday morning meant single-elimination tournament time. This first game was a defensive outing by Williamson. Rockwall trailed 29-23 early in the second half when Williamson's defense paved the way for a comfortable win. Back-to-back-to-back possessions went block, block, steal/dunk and Rockwall never looked back. It went from trailing 29-23 to up 47-32 with like three minutes left.
* Next game was a breeze. Williamson played the role of distributor. One of Rockwall's players had the hot hand so Williamson kept going that way. Rockwall started the game on a 26-4 run, and Williamson didn't play the second half (or at least the portion I watched).
* Rockwall was eliminated 55-53 in the quarterfinals. Missed the majority of this game (went to church with my wife). Knew this game would be tough so was hoping Rockwall would pull it out and then could watch the semifinals at 2 p.m. Didn't happen that way.
* Always hard to judge the mega-recruits at events like this. There's some games where there's nobody even close to their level so not accurate to eval, IMO. With Williamson, liked seeing his leadership and ability to pass the ball more than anything else. He didn't make a lot of outside shots, but he didn't need to make a lot of outside shots. Drove hard as well. Didn't always finish in the paint, but when he did, it was smooth.
And we end with De'Vion Harmon talking Noah Cain.
"Me and Noah - we're like cousins, brothers. We talk like every day. I'm trying to get him to put on that crimson and cream as soon as possible. He loves OU, he said, but only time will tell. I'm always going to bleed crimson and cream for him until he finally commits to wherever he's going to go.
"I try not to pressure him or bother him. He's visiting all those schools, trying to figure it out. I just sit back and keep it in his mind that Norman is the place to be. He'll make the best decision for himself, and I think he'll realize OU is the spot for him.
"I try to paint the picture for him. We could live in the same dorm, be roommates. We can go through this whole process together. We've known each other since the fourth grade. You have that relationship with someone, it goes a long way.
"I always tell him why not? You have a chance to go to college with your best friend. You have a place where it benefits both of us - it benefits him as much as it does me on the basketball court.
"I don't know why he wouldn't pick Oklahoma."
