Your thoughts on Opening Day Lineup???

[TN Sooner]

Bottom post of the previous page:

I think the key factor for the Sooners this year is simply how well the team can manage the collection of talented athletes and the egos that can sometimes accompany high performance people.

I believe Coach Gasso has built an incredible culture of “team” first and has a long track record of managing the best athletes. The team has the right mix of leaders with 3-5 years in the program, who also happen to be the best players in the team (Hansen, Coleman, Jennings and Lyons) to be able to absorb new players, some of whom are high caliber players in their own right.

I certainly expect Gasso and the team to rise to the occasion and make us all proud.

[OUBeliever56A]

In response to 1KCSoonerFan and TropicalSooner I wrote a brilliant response and then when I pushed "Submit" it just went into nowhere land and it did not post.

i am sure it was pretty brilliant. HA!

I will reduce my typing this time around.

I heard Coach Gasso say this on an interview. She said that if a player enters the portal that she feels they can help her team win a Natty, she has to call her. IF after the initial conversation, if Coach Gasso thinks the player might fit, she is obligated to move forward and invite her to Norman. If things work out there, she has to offer her. It is her job to put the best team she can on the field. Each and Every Year! Every Year!

It is just that simple. I have wasted many sheets of paper figuring out how the lineup looks next year, the year after and even the year after. Then a transfer is announced. Here i go again scribbling on a piece of paper. Another transfer is announced, once again, I grab a sheet of paper. It is simply the new process. You recruit very well, then you work the portal very well. Then you address your players and you must be honest with each of them. Every time.

I was not a fan of the transfer exodus after the 2021 season. But in retrospect, it was really the best choice for every Sooner that transferred. I do not think any of them would have gotten any real playing time if they would have stayed a Sooner. Almost every one of them was a starter with their new team. Most played well, some very well. There were 30-ish Sooners playing well in 2022. (I know that is a selfish thing on my part.) Most in Norman, but others playing in Tennessee, Boise State, GCU and other locations. It is the new, NEW.

If a great SS enters the portal, or a great pitcher enters the portal early in June of 2023, Coach Gasso will call. She has to. The Sooner roster will adjust and do what is in their best interest at that time. Coach Gasso will do her best to keep the team the best next year and the year after that and after that. I will try to keep up on my pieces of paper.