Oklahoma Sooners MBB | Expectations Vs. Reality: Tyler Neal

Foul trouble is always a concern in the realm of college basketball. That concern becomes magnified knowing your team has only one player who can play with his back to the basket. With the departure of Romero Osby and speculation that the only viable option under the hoop being Ryan Spangler, the Oklahoma Sooners began searching for an answer.

Bringing in a true point guard freed up Isaiah Cousins as well as Je'lon Hornbeak to take hold of a larger role in the scoring. Once again, the sophomore class was expected to fill the void. However, the solution came from an unlikely source.

Insert Tyler Neal into the grand scheme of things. After a dismal junior year at best, the 6-7 Oklahoma product drew mixed reactions when stepping onto the court during the onset of his senior season.

The expectation placed upon the second most experience player on the roster was simply to give guys like Cameron Clark and Spangler a breather every now and then...at least from the fan stand point. Instead Lon Kruger had bigger plans for the former Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year.

Neal embraced the opportunity while bouncing back to have the best season of his career. Throughout the duration of the season, this kid logged eight games of 10+ points en route to being labeled as the Big XII's 6th Man of the Year. Yet, the biggest stat line here may very well be that Neal shot 44.9% from the field and 41.3% from beyond the arc.

Needless to say, Tyler Neal becomes our second player of this series to exceed the expectation.