Getting to know the Sooners: John Hugley
Sooners basketball season is just around the corner, and it’s OK if you need a primer of who these guys are. Now in year No. 3 at Oklahoma, head coach Porter Moser is confident the program has checked all the boxes to make an NCAA run.
Here is a brief overview of some of the key pieces for OU for the 2023-24 season.
OU begins its season next Monday vs. Central Michigan in Norman.
Forward/center John Hugley – Redshirt Junior
Perhaps the most interesting transfer piece for the Sooners. In terms of his role and production. Two years ago at Pittsburgh, Hugley was tremendous. Last year? He battled injuries and mental health issues and not so much.
So what version is OU going to get this time? The Sooners clearly marked him as their No. 1 big man target from the portal, so very curious to see it all come together.
What to expect?
The conditioning aspect is fascinating. And important. If Moser really wants to run up and down the floor, you’re going to need a center that can keep up. Is Hugley that guy?
Hugley is definitely a throwback to yesteryear in terms of being a back-to-the-basket type of low post player. Those guys certainly don’t really exist anymore.
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So the question is going to be if OU is able to take advantage of what Hugley does in the post? Or will the Sooners get exposed for not having the most athletic five-man trying to adapt to today’s play?
Moser says
“John is different than we’ve had. I mean, he’s more of an Elton Brand; I’ve thrown that out, and some of my players are like, ‘Who’s Elton Brand?’ For those who don’t know, a very, very powerful player on the post. With him, when his conditioning and his mobility is present, it’s very hard to switch with him. That’s one area that y’all want to watch, because what happened last year with our five, with a lot of teams in the league would just switch, and to switch you got to either make them pay because you got so much speed that you’re breaking them down, or you make them pay because the big, they can’t handle the switch inside. We really didn’t do either last year.
“I think those were times we struggled with the teams that switched. John makes it very hard to switch. He has a wide base, a very strong base, has scored down there. So, I think that’s something that he’s going to bring to it. We haven’t had anybody. I will say this, the trend in college basketball is going away from guys like that. There’s not a lot of teams just coming down, throw in the post, throw in the post. So, you’re not seeing those kinds of players. You’re seeing a more mobile five, but John’s something different. He’s a weapon, because if you’re going to switch that ball-screen, he really carves out space. He’s hard to get around. He’s got great hands, good passing touch.”
