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Oklahoma Sooners head coach, Jeff Capel has a lot of work to do. First things first, he should avoid NCAA rule violations.

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Over the next few weeks, I'll be taking an in-depth look at every school in the Big XII.  I'll focus on the past (i.e. last season's strengths and weaknesses), the changes (i.e. incoming freshmen, departing seniors, new coaches), and the future.  

See past previews: Iowa State, Nebraska

Rounding out the bottom tier of the conference are the mighty Oklahoma Sooners.  Last season they floundered without 2008-2009 Player of the Year, Blake Griffin.  Willie Warren proved incapable of stepping up in Griffin's absence; McDonalds All-Americans Tiny Gallon and Tommy Mason-Griffin played below their potentials; and the Sooners suffered for it (along with Warren's salary).  Like Nebraska, Oklahoma fans probably see basketball as a diversion from the boredom that accompanies the football offseason.  Unlike the Huskers, the Sooner athletic department has shown a commitment to winning games and paying coaches (although Billy Tubbs did leave for TCU complaining Oklahoma is a football school).  Last season was a major disappointment, coming off 2009's 30 win, Elite Eight season.

Rubbing salt in the wound, Mason-Griffin and Gallon both departed for the NBA draft (neither was drafted), Willie Warren finally departed, and Tony Crocker graduated.  Those four averaged 52 points and 20 rebounds a game between them, and rising senior Cade Davis is the only returning Sooner who averaged close to double figures (9.9 ppg in 32 minutes of playing time).

The good news is: the slate has been wiped clean.  The bad news is: the slate has been wiped clean.  Mason-Griffin and Gallon clearly didn't want to be in Norman anymore, and I think both would have been nightmares for team chemistry (not to mention eligibility questions).  Hopefully Jeff Capel's recruiting class will provide a solid block to build a team around in the future.  He brought in five incoming freshmen (two in the ESPNU top 100) and three JuCo transfers.

Oklahoma is decidedly rebuilding from last year's exodus.  The most important thing for Jeff Capel right now is to establish some semblance of continuity.  He's shown the ability to recruit at a high level; now he needs to get said recruits to stick around to rack up some more winning seasons.  Oh, and avoid NCAA violations.

At the start of the season, B12H.com ran a "Five Questions For..." segment asking the five most pressing questions of each team. In our continuing review of the season, here are the answers to those questions.

Five Questions For... Oklahoma basketball

1)       How does Oklahoma replace Blake Griffin?

Short answer, they don't. Now don't get me wrong, they thought they had all the pieces together. Willie Warren, an outstanding shooting guard who excelled at the end of last year. Tiny Gallon, a dominant incoming freshman. Tommy Mason-Griffin, a tremendous ball handler with great court presence. Tony Crocker, a veteran who can score.

Problem is that those guys never got the memo.

2)       Can Willie Warren be "the man"?

Short answer, no. This season proved that he needed help on the inside to free up his outside shooting, help he never got.

3)       Can 6-8, 300 lb freshman Tiny Gallon play big in his first year in the Big 12?

Short answer, kinda. Gallon did average 10.8 ppg and 7.9 rpg, but it looked like he never got in shape, trudging up and down the court and tiring easily. Can discount seventh in the conference in scoring though, as that's why he got the "kinda."

4)       Does Oklahoma mind being second fiddle in the Big 12 South?

Oklahoma would have LOVED to have been second fiddle in the Big 12 South. The funny thing about this question is that I had intended Texas to have been first, and Oklahoma second. As it turned out Baylor and A&M were both ahead of UT and the Sooners finished last in the division.

5)       Will inexperience in the frontcourt hurt Oklahoma's chances of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament?

Let's break this one down into two part... the part on the inexperience and the part on the *cough* deep run in the tourney.

Inexperience hurt the Sooners, but not in the typical way. And, in fact, I wouldn't say it was ‘inexperience' as much as it was ‘immaturity.'  Like stated above, I don't think Gallon ever got into shape. I think Willie Warren just assumed he would be as open as he was when Blake Griffin was getting double and triple teamed and also was listening to the critics touting him as Big 12 Player of the Year. Mason-Griffin actually showed maturity on the court, but not so much afterwards in declaring for the draft, which makes you wonder about his on court maturity.

Now that the college basketball season is officially over, we're going to take a look back at each Big 12 school to discuss their season. The rundown will go in order of conference standing. See the complete schedule after The Jump.

What Went Right: Oy vey. It is going to be a stretch to come up with something for this section. I mean, I can usually BS about the pros of beating teams like Northern Colorado or Nicholls St, but for a team that was predicted to finish third in conference by the league coaches, those victories shouldn't make a season recap. Maybe their Ws against NCAA tournament teams Oklahoma St and Mizzou were the highlights. But lord knows there aint much else there.

What Went Wrong: Well for a team that was predicted to get a first round conference tourney bye, had a pre-season Player of the Year candidate in Willie Warren and two stud freshman coming in by the likes of Tiny Gallon on the inside and Tommy Mason-Griffin on the outside, this team should not have lost to: Virginia Commonwealth, San Diego and Houston in back-to-back-to-back games in November. A team with that kind of talent should also not have ended the season on a nine game losing streak. But that was the year in review for the Oklahoma Sooners. They were the team to beat before they played a game, but then lost all respect before Thanksgiving.

Team MVP: Warren led the team in scoring, before sitting out the final few games with injuries and personality conflicts. Mason-Griffin led the team in assists, but for some odd reason decided not to come back for his sophomore year, despite all indications that he won't get drafted. I am going to discount both of them for their off-court actions. That leaves Tiny Gallon and Tony Crocker in contention for the award. Well, Gallon didnt ever look like he hustled on the court, so he is out... so by the power of deduction Tony Crocker is the Sooners' MVP. It's not like he rode the pine all season, Crocker did average 11.4 ppg, 6.2rpg and 1.7 apg. But on the court, he was probably the fourth best player on the team.

Key Losses: Warren declared for the draft, as did Mason-Griffin. Crocker graduates. Gallon is in a wee bit of hot water, but as I write this still seem to be coming back to the squad next season.

Outlook Next Year: Let's just say that Sooner fans will be counting down the time until spring football practice... and with good reason.

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Tiny Galon, Oklahoma's ill-named freshman, broke the backboard this weekend on a dunk against Gonzaga.  The game was delayed nearly an hour as crews cleaned-up and replaced the glass. 

In a recurring piece leading up to the start of the basketball season, we will examine the top 5 questions surrounding each Big 12 basketball team.

Today, the top 5 questions for the Oklahoma Sooners.

1)       How does Oklahoma replace Blake Griffin?

2)       Can Willie Warren be "the man"?

3)       Can 6-8, 300 lb freshman Tiny Gallon play big in his first year in the Big 12?

4)       Does Oklahoma mind being second fiddle in the Big 12 South?

5)       Will inexperience in the frontcourt hurt Oklahoma's chances of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament?

Check back tomorrow when we will ask Five Question For... Texas basketball.
Also check out Five Questions For... Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Nebraska

Follow Evan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MizzouHoops

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The Sooners will have in two of the top players in the country this weekend for official visits, including the nation's #1 player according to ESPN -- Harrison Barnes and Doron Lamb.

OUHoops.com reports...

Cameron Clark (6-6/190) is the No. 30 commit for the 2010 class according to Rivals.com

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Sunday it was reported by Rivals.com that Clark, the nation's No. 5 small forward as ranked by Rivals and Scout.com, two national Web sites that cover major college recruiting extensively, had made his verbal commitment to OU.