The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE NCAA basketball season will officially tip off in just a few days, but several Bahamian players were in action last weekend in the final exhibition tune-ups before the games count in the standings.

In the Big 12, Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners played the first of two exhibition games against Washburn University on Saturday, November 2.

With 21 points, Hield was one of five Sooners to score in double figures in the team’s 104-76 win. He shot 7-11 from the field and 2-3 from beyond the three-point arch.

The sophomore guard’s shooting was a major point of emphasis for him both at the Sooners’ and Big 12 media day.

“I developed my jump shot and made that better. I was a shooter in high school but I fell off last year. Being more mentally focused, I think I’m ready to make that step to become a better basketball player this year,” he said. “We’re playing really up-tempo. It’s fast now. We have chemistry and we share the ball. Everybody is like a guard. Cam [Clark] is like a guard but he plays the four (position) for us. Everybody is doing their part and we are sharing the ball. We’re just trying to push the tempo and increase the scoring.”

The new high scoring offence posted the most points in an exhibition game for the Sooners since they scored 118 points against North Carolina-Pembroke in 2005.

In their second preseason meeting in just two days, the Sooners faced Oklahoma Christian last night. However, the results were unavailable up to press time. They will open the regular season 4pm November 8 in the Tip-Off Showcase against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Dallas, Texas.

Hield was thrust into the starting role as the leading scorer to return for the Sooners this season.

After a year when they finished 20-12 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12, the Sooners were projected to finish fifth in the conference preseason poll.

There was a tie at the top of the poll as Kansas and Oklahoma State have been picked to win the league regular season crown. Baylor and Iowa State were next in the predictions at third and fourth, while Kansas State and Oklahoma tied for fifth.

West Virginia, Texas, Texas Tech and TCU round out the poll.

“Everybody’s 0-0. You’ve got to prove something. They [the media] haven’t respected us yet and we’re looking for respect. We’re going to get our respect this year,” Hield said. “We’ve just got to go out there and stay confident and keep playing together as a group.”

Sooners’ head coach Lon Kruger addressed his team’s preseason rank at the Sooners’ media day last week.

“I think the preseason rankings are understandable. I think with Kansas coming back with their run of championships and the new guys coming in, they are right there at the top. Oklahoma State, with all their guys back, I understand that entirely. Baylor, they’re right there near the third spot with their frontline back and new guys. After that I think you have got a pretty good balance. You’ve got a group of people who will work hard to get into that mix of the top three and we feel like we’re one of those that deserve to be in that conversation.”

The Coleby brothers also made exhibition debuts with their respective schools.

Kadeem Coleby and the Wichita State Shockers defeated NAIA’s second ranked Oklahoma Baptist University, 73-29, at the Charles Koch Arena.

Coleby made an immediate impact on the floor for the Shockers with a team leading 12 points as he shot 6-9 from the field. They will open the season 1pm November 9 at home against Emporia State.

The Shockers are coming off an historic season where they finished 30-9 and reached the Final Four for the first time in school history. They have been unanimously projected to finish first in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

The Shockers return eight players from last March’s biggest “Cinderella Story” which set a school record for wins.

Coleby sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, but will be expected to be a major contributor for the Shockers as they seek to make a return to NCAA postseason.

A senior forward with his fourth team in the last four years, he will be expected to fill the void left by the departure of Carl Hall at the center position. Hall was a force for the Shockers on both ends of the floor and averaged 12.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

In his junior season, Coleby averaged 9.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 30 starts for Louisiana-Lafayette in 2011. He blocked 2.4 shots a game and led the Sun Belt Conference in shooting percentage (56.1). He also ranked second in blocks at 2.4 a game, including 73 blocks in 31 games.

His younger brother, Dwight Coleby, made his NCAA for the Ole Miss Rebels in the Southeastern (SEC) conference, when they took on South Carolina-Aiken.

The Rebels won an overtime thriller 75-70 at home in Oxford, Mississippi.

Coleby played 10 minutes and finished with two points a steal and a rebound.

“We did some good things,” said Rebels head coach Andy Kennedy on the school’s athletics website. “Coming into the exhibition game, I was trying to get guys minutes. It was good to get the new guys like (Sebastian) Saiz and (Dwight) Coleby some minutes and into a flow, so they could get some jitters out before it counts for real.”

Ole Miss opens the regular season 3:30pm local time November 8 when they take on Troy University.

The Rebels are coming off a season where they reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in over a decade and won the SEC Tournament title for the first time since 1981.

Kennedy said he expects Coleby and fellow freshman recruit Saiz from Spain to bolster the frontcourt vacancy created by a number of departing seniors.

In the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Shaquille Cleare and the Maryland Terrapins took on NCAA Division III, Catholic University at Home in College Park Maryland, in their first exhibition game.

The Terps won in a lopsided 84-39 victory Sunday afternoon at the Comcast Centre.

Cleare shot 1-3 from the field, totalled two points, four rebounds, two assists and a block in 20 minutes. He recently recovered from a nagging back injury and is reportedly 30 pounds lighter at 265 pounds, due to a rigorous off season workout regime. The 6’ 9” Andros native is expected to control the pivot for head coach Mark Turgeon this season.

During much of the preseason, Cleare was limited in workouts and practice, but began to practice “without limitation” according to Turgeon, approximately three weeks ago.

In the ACC media and coaches preseason poll, the Terrapins were projected to finish seventh in the conference. They are slated to open the regular season 6:30pm November 8 against the UConn Huskies.