Three takeaways from Oklahoma State’s trip to the Maui Invitational

With the Cowboys coming out of the Maui invitational with a 2-1 record with wins over UConn and Georgetown, here are three takeaways of what I learned from OSU from their performance in Hawaii.

1. Jawun Evans is the best point guard in the country

And so far, it’s not even really close. He’s averaging 25 per game to double his point production from last year, and every statistical category of relevance: Assists per game, field goal and three-point percentage, and turnover ratio have all improved from his Big 12 freshman of the year campaign. His points per game leads all power-five conference basketball players this season.

Evans is second in the NCAA in points created per game, per Synergy Sports, behind Washington’s Markelle Fultz — who very well could wind up as the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA draft. Even more impressive, his biggest games come against the stiffest competition. He scored 35 against UConn, then followed that up the next day with a 30-point performance against North Carolina. He has three 30-point games this season; the only major conference player to do that.

2. #Trusttheprocess

Brad Underwood could very well be a top 3 head coach (and maybe even higher) in the Big 12. But it’s important to remember, the only guys he recruited to OSU were really Lucas N’Guessan and Tyrek Coger. The others (Cam McGriff, Thomas Dziagwa and Lindy Waters III) were Ford commits, and Brandon Averette he essentially stole from Stephen F. Austin as a former signee. That’s not to say that the Ford recruits weren’t his picks or weren’t worth keeping, but it’s worth noting that being less than a year into his tenure, the guys he has in his system now may not be ideal fits for his system.

As a head coach, he obviously is responsible for making the pieces of the puzzle work together. So far he’s done a heck of a job, but it will come with growing pains. Underwood has played Lindy Waters III, Cam McGriff, Lucas N’Guessan and Brandon Averette — all true freshmen — in large roles early this season. So far each has provided their own bright spot in one way or another, but it’s a process. True freshmen are bound to go through growing pains, which we may not see until conference play. But a benefit to being a true freshmen at OSU, is that they weren’t allowed to develop any habits under Travis Ford’s regime. So they’re starting their college basketball careers in a pretty good spot from a coaching standpoint. It’s just important to remember this team is relatively young outside of some of their core veterans.

3. OSU basketball is exciting thanks to a revamped offense

Real ball movement is taking place in Brad Underwoods offensive system, and at times it doesn’t even seem to be at peak Underwood execution. It’s just six games into the new system, and even with the best point guard in the country, it will take time to get the team executing at all positions. But there’s been signs …. when things are working, man they look gooooooood.

At one point during the game Underwood gave a pretty clear fist pump that was caught on camera (and I wished I had taped). Their 98.5 points per game ranks third in the country behind The Citadel (!!) and UCLA.

Coming away from Maui with a 2-1 record and wins over Georgetown and UConn, he has to feel pretty confident about his team as they prepare for conference play in a month. The Dec. 17 showdown against Wichita State will be another good measuring stick to see where his team stands.