ESPN.com - No. 3: Oklahoma

ESPN.com: ESPNMagazine

Tuesday, November 12, 2002
No. 3: Oklahoma

By By Pete Thamel

Last Season: 315, Final Four


	Hollis has his eyes set ot N'awlins.

OU's Bubble Drill doesn't just make men out of boys. It turns them into monsters. How's it work? The coaches place plastic bubbles over the hoops before a scrimmage, then keep score by rebounds. "It's an all-out brawl," says 6'10" junior C Jabahri Brown. And never has the Drill served a greater purpose: The Sooners boast the nation's best guard trio in seniors Hollis Price (16.5 ppg), Ebi Ere (14.6) and Quannas White (4.7 apg), but they need Brown (4.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and frosh PF Kevin Bookout to get nasty down low now that Aaron McGhee's gone. The early results are encouraging. Brown, who can touch 12 feet on a two-step jump, is quicker to the rim, while Bookout has bruised two ribs in fighting for boards. Boys to men to monsters? We're about to find out.

One Step Ahead: Kelvin Sampson's uncompromising style either molds kids into team players or sends them packing. Kentucky transfer Rashaad Carruth didn't make it to the first day of practice. But the coach's steely will has transformed Ere: Once tagged as lazy, the 6'5" senior was OU's best-conditioned player this preseason.

One Step Behind: To get his program rolling, Sampson hotshotted with jucos like McGhee, last season's top rebounder. But Kel's thinking long-term now: He recruited zero jucos and will rely instead on four frosh off the bench. The downside: Smaller bodies are more susceptible to Big 12 elbows. And even the Bubble Drill takes time.

2002-2003 NCAA PREVIEW
MEN
1. Arizona Wildcats	9. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Kansas Jayhawks	10. UCLA Bruins
3. Oklahoma Sooners	11. Alabama Crimson Tide
4. Pittsburgh Panthers	12. Kentucky Wildcats
5. Florida Gators	13. Virginia Cavaliers
6. Texas Longhorns	14. Michigan State Spartans
7. Duke Blue Devils	15. Xavier Musketeers
8. UConn Huskies	16. Indiana Hoosiers

This article will appear in the November 25 issue of ESPN The Magazine.