Five things I'm watching for in Oklahoma's exhibition vs. Wisconsin

College basketball is back, and Porter Moser’s new-look Oklahoma squad, which is expected to be the best roster he’s put together during his time in Norman, will play televised basketball on Friday night in Milwaukee against No. 24 Wisconsin in an exhibition game (7:00, Big Ten Network+).

It’s only an exhibition, but this does present an opportunity to see what this team will look like against formidable competition. We’re going to learn a lot about this team, and fast, as their second game of the season is against No. 21 Gonzaga on November 8.

Here are five things I’ll be watching for in Oklahoma’s exhibition on Friday night:

1. Does Oklahoma go small with Tae Davis

One of the four transfers the Sooners brought in is Notre Dame transfer Tae Davis, a proven scorer who averaged 15.3 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Fighting Irish. I expect him to be Oklahoma’s top offensive option, but at SEC Media Days, it wasn’t his offense that Moser raved about, but rather his defense.

“I’ll say it, from the eight weeks in the summer and the first six weeks right now, I’m usually not that guy getting on a platform like this saying it, but he could be National Defensive Player of the Year. You ask any one of our guys who they don’t like switching onto them in practice, they’ll all say Tae Davis. He’s that good of a defender.”

At 6’9”, Davis will primarily play the four for the Sooners, but because of his size, there’s potential to play him at the five and have him be a really difficult matchup for opposing centers. This is something Oklahoma did in their scrimmage against Texas Tech.

Moser flirted with the idea of playing Jalon Moore at the five but the difference is that Moore was 6’6” and Davis is 6’9”. One thing I’ll be watching closely is if Davis is effectively going to be the guy who spells Mohamed Wague at the five and how he looks doing it.

2. Derrion Reid’s offensive involvement

The most intriguing offseason acquisition for the Sooners is Alabama transfer and former McDonald’s All-American Derrion Reid, who averaged six points in his freshman season in Tuscaloosa.

There’s obviously loads of potential with Reid. He’s got great size (6’8”), really good length and athleticism, has an NBA body, and has been described as a really good defender. Because he was on such a talented team last season and struggled with injuries, the usage wasn’t really there for him.

He’s expected to start for Oklahoma at the three and have a very large role, but my questions for him are on the offensive end. What will the Sooners get from him? Reid hasn’t been an elite shooter, but his shot has been fine. Will he be respected by opponents from deep? Will he be more than a slasher offensively? Can the Sooners count on him to score double figures a night? Those are the questions.

3. Oklahoma’s new-look backcourt

The Sooners added Nijel Pack, an elite shooter from Miami who has averaged over 12 points in each of his five seasons of high-major basketball and also helped lead Miami to the Final Four, and Xzayvier Brown, one of the best point guards in the portal who averaged 17.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists for St. Joe’s.

With Pack, you feel like you know what you’re getting: an elite shooter with a veteran presence. Pack will win you multiple games because he gets hot from deep. With Brown, it feels like you could get anything from a really solid point guard to a much higher ceiling than that. The question will be how he adjusts to the higher level of play and how quickly.

You’ve also got sophomore returnee Dayton Forsythe, who scored in double figures three times in SEC play. Forsythe was a big spark off the bench last season, and he will be that again this year, but he has the potential to be a lot more than that. The extent of his involvement this season should be more than just a spark plug.

This backcourt of Pack, Brown, and Forsythe has a very high ceiling and should be a lot of fun to watch. The cohesiveness between the three of them is something I’ll be watching tonight, as well as the individual performances, especially Brown’s.

4. Jeff Nwankwo playing Division I basketball

For about two years now, there’s been plenty of hype around Jeff Nwankwo, the wing who came to Oklahoma after transferring up from the JUCO ranks. Last summer, Nwankwo suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Before the injury, the word was that he was one of the top two players on the team and poised to start.

I’ve got a lot of questions about Nwankwo. Despite the hype, he has still not played any Division I basketball. I have no doubt that he’ll be a huge piece of this team, perhaps one of those guys who is a starter for you but doesn’t necessarily start games.

How athletic will he look? Will he look like pre-Achilles-tear Nwankwo or post-Achilles-tear Nwankwo? How well will he shoot it? If he’s got the athleticism he had before the injury, it’ll be hard to keep him off the floor. Nwankwo will be one of the first two off the bench for Oklahoma and should play a big role. It’ll be interesting to see how he looks playing televised basketball for the first time in an Oklahoma uniform.

5. Bench rotation

Forsythe and Nwankwo feel locked into big-time roles off the bench for Oklahoma. But who is after that? That’s a big question.

There are three options, and I’d imagine we see a 10-man rotation involving all three until Moser feels comfortable with one or two. The first is freshman center Kai Rogers, who has come in and been really impressive at the five. Still, it’s a lot to ask a true freshman to come in and play big minutes at that position. Regardless of how ready he is, Oklahoma will most likely need at minimum five minutes from him on a nightly basis.

You’ve also got Kuol Atak, a redshirt freshman flamethrower on the offensive end. He’s probably the best shooter on this team and maybe the best pure offensive talent, but is he playable on the defensive end? Atak gives you a knockdown shooter who could get hot fast. Much like Rogers, a world where he’s the eighth man playing key minutes seems very believable. I’ve got the feeling we’ll know rather quickly into the season with him.

Then there’s Jadon Jones. Where does he fit in? The Long Beach State transfer was an important 3&D guy who was poised to start on last year’s team before a back injury. He’s been banged up recently as well. If he’s healthy, he brings a 3&D wing to the picture, and if you can shoot it and defend, you’re going to play. Similar to the other two, a world where he’s your eighth man feels very feasible.

I’d imagine we see a 10-man rotation to start the season, but eventually, it gets cut to nine. Who the odd man out will be is something that’ll be very interesting.