Dayton Forsythe set to be more than a spark plug for Oklahoma this season

One of the biggest strengths of this new-look Oklahoma team that Porter Moser has put together has to be its backcourt. The first two names that come to mind when you think of this group, and rightfully so, are Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack. Both have been impressive in Oklahoma’s two exhibition wins: the closed-door scrimmage victory over No. 10 Texas Tech and the televised win over No. 24 Wisconsin.

There’s a lot to like about the combination of Brown, who will run point for this team, and Pack, who will primarily serve as an off-ball guard. Brown plays more of a traditional point guard role, while Pack is an elite shooter.

But what makes this backcourt even more dangerous is that it’s not a duo, but rather a trio. Dayton Forsythe was a spark plug for Oklahoma as a true freshman last season. That’s what earned him the nickname “Sparky.”

This year, though, the Dale, Oklahoma native is set to be much more than just an energy guy off the bench for the Sooners. “My role this year compared to last year will be different,” said Forsythe at Oklahoma’s local media day on Tuesday. “I’ll have the ball more in my hands than I did last year.”

Forsythe averaged 4.3 points in 12.1 minutes per game last season, but he showed flashes of what he’s capable of — including three double-digit scoring performances in conference play and a 25-point outburst on the road at Ole Miss, where he went 4-for-5 from three-point range.

He didn’t play a major role early in the season, something he says taught him how to handle adversity. “Obviously, last year I started off not getting to play for the first half of the season and just staying level-headed, trying to get 1% better every day, and staying ready for when my time came. I feel like learning how to deal with that was a big part of what I learned last year.”

This offseason, Forsythe worked to build on the momentum he carried into the end of last year. “That experience of getting to play as a freshman in the SEC last year and then getting to play a good amount in the NCAA Tournament — just using the knowledge I gained from those games and trying to expand my game.”

His backcourt mate Pack had praise for the sophomore guard. “His game is super talented. I watched Dayton’s highlights when I was in the portal, just seeing what type of player he was and how much of a threat he was — especially coming out of high school and how many points he was able to score there. His freshman year, when Coach started getting him more and more opportunities, he started really taking advantage of that. The more opportunities he gets and the more time he gets to grow, he’s going to continue to get better.

“And if you can be deep at the guard position, I feel like it just makes the team go. So having me, Dayton, and X [Brown] running the guard positions, I feel like this team can be really deep. As long as we stay healthy and continue to play hard, I feel like the sky’s the limit for us.”

Forsythe will serve as the sixth man for this Oklahoma squad and is poised to take on a much larger role than last season. He and the Sooners open the season on Monday, November 3rd against Saint Francis (7:30 p.m. CT, SECN+), before traveling to Spokane to take on No. 21 Gonzaga on November 8th.