Oklahoma Sooners’ Trio Fueling White-Hot Start to Season

The Oklahoma men’s basketball team has jumped out to a white-hot start, earning themselves the No. 19 ranking in the AP Poll.

The team’s 8-0 start can partly be contributed to the direction of head coach Porter Moser, who’s infused the team with a physical, competitive mentality in his time with the program.

But three of the team’s best players — Javian McCollum, Otega Oweh and Milos Uzan — should be garnering a lot of the credit, as they’re already doing so with NBA Draft attention.

The trio has anchored the Sooners in a variety of areas, including scoring, facilitation and defense.

The player likely generating the most buzz is McCollum, who’s having a strong follow-up season to his debut with Sienna last year. In eight games, McCollum is scoring 14.3 points, dishing out 3.1 assists and generating just shy of one steal per game, all while shooting 48% overall and 38% from beyond the arc.

McCollum is undersized at just 6-foot-1, but has unquestionably strong scoring instincts.

After an okay freshman campaign, Oweh has burst onto the scene in year two, averaging 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 68% overall.

At 6-foot-5, Oweh possesses immense physicality and athleticism, which he utilizes on both ends. There are understandably questions about his overall shooting — which currently stands at just seven attempts in eight games — but otherwise, he looks the part.

And finally there’s Uzan, who’s earned some draft acclaim in the past, but has yet to truly capitalize on it in his Sooners career.

On the season, Uzan’s efficiency has been near-abysmal, shooting 37% overall and 27% from three. But his facilitation skills — 4.4 assists per game — fluidity and defensive chops all pop, making him a potential second-round flyer for the time being.

Oklahoma next takes on Arkansas at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, in what is sure to be a test for the Sooners and their star trio.