Oklahoma Sooners Hot Links: Early Signing Day, Paul Finebaum vs. Dusty Dvoracek, and more!

Happy Friday, Sooner Nation!

There’s a change likely coming to how Signing Day functions. Once the proposal passes the Conference Commissioners Association (which seems likely), there will be an early Signing Day just before Christmas that coincides with the traditional junior college date.

Bob Stoops has long been on record that he’s a fan of these early signing periods, and it makes sense: he can lock down recruits into a binding written agreement instead of the tenuous verbal agreement that risks his recruit being flipped elsewhere (like in the case of Jacob Phillips of LSU). However, it’s something that would make like difficult for small programs, whose commits may prefer to wait for bigger offers.

Bud Elliott’s article (READ IT) has a great explanation of the nitty-gritty of the soon-to-be rule change, but it seems to be a win all around for Oklahoma and other big schools.

On the other side of the coin, schools that rely on recruits to flip will miss out, and recruits like late bloomers could end up missing out big time. Another interesting scenario is a coaching change: what happens if the coach who recruited a player bolts to another school? This situation can occur under the current system, but would be more prevalent under the new one.

OU Links:

• Paul Finebaum weighed in on the Sooners’ recent off-the-field discipline issues, and he was harsh, calling Stoops ‘a great coach’ but a ‘total failure’ in discipline. Former OU player Dusty Dvoracek counters Finebaum’s argument in the second half of the clip:

• Also, did you know that Dusty invented the man bun? His Stoops impression is clearly a little but out of practice, though:

• Baker Mayfield and Russell Westbrook are contemporaries, and they do share a lot in their play style. They both overcame significant odds and doubt to get to where theyare, so it makes sense to compare them.
• ESPN’s Jake Trotter takes a close look at what Jeffrey Mead could contribute this season.
• Lon Kruger thinks the addition of Trae Young will get the program back where it belongs. Some interesting stuff here on how Young and other new additions will affect the Sooners’ style of play and outlook.

National Links:

• For more on how the early Signing Day referenced earlier hurts coaches and players, read up here. It just became a lot harder for high school coaches to move up the ranks.
• Here are 31 things to watch for in the NBA playoffs, which begin tomorrow.
• This ESPN feature, The Downfall of America’s First Sports-Only College is a great and fascinating read.
• So, Scott Van Pelt casually funded a University of Maryland student-run sports radio station:

‘STICK TO SPORTS!’

• I always try to include an album or a song that came out in this section. Today, that was really easy. If you’re a hip-hop fan, drop what you’re doing and listen to DAMN.: