The Sooners will begin this year with a lot of new faces.

OU is returning only three players who saw significant time last year for a team that boasted a 13-18 record after being a preseason top-25 team. This year’s squad is projected to finish 11th in the Big 12.

The Sooners will definitely miss the leadership that Tony Crocker and Willie Warren gave them and will look to rely on their team captains: senior guard Cade Davis, sophomore forward Andrew Fitzgerald, junior guard T.J. Franklin and junior college transfer Nick Thompson.

“Cade, ‘Fitz,’ T.J. Franklin and Nick were selected as captains because of the qualities they displayed in summer workouts and have shown thus far in our preseason program,” coach Jeff Capel said. “We’ve had several players who have shown qualities of a captain, but these guys were selected by their teammates and have the full support of our coaching staff.”

OU will also look to fill the point guard position in lieu of the early departure of Tommy Mason-Griffin. Three newcomers will likely compete for the spot: sophomore transfer Carl Blair Jr., and freshmen Calvin Newell Jr. and T.J. Taylor.

“Our guys are being very consistent with how hard they work, their attitudes and their willingness to listen and learn and try to improve each day. That’s the first step to becoming a better team,” Capel said.

Davis is expected to pick up a lot of the scoring slack because he showed spurts of the ability last season, but incoming freshman Cameron Clark may do a bit of his own.

Clark, a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com, is expected to contribute early.

“He’s going to be a guy that comes in and contributes right away for us,” Davis said. “People will know him more if they don’t already.”

Another key returning player for this year will be sophomore guard Steven Pledger. He, along with Fitzgerald, put a lot of work in this summer to drop his weight, and both said it has been very beneficial.

“I’m getting up the floor easily,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m picking up my feet more; I’m more explosive now.”

This year’s frontcourt will be full of newcomers. Besides Fitzgerald, OU will be looking to a ragtag group of players to help battle with the “bigs” of the Big 12.

Thompson, along with junior college transfer C.J. Washington, are the only newcomers who have some college experience.

Freshmen Abdul Ahmed and Tyler Neal also may see significant time throughout the season because of a lack of bench depth.

Capel is optimisitic about the season but knows that it’s going to be a learning experience.

“There is going to be a growing curve for us, but we are excited about that process of getting better,” he said. “Our goal is to try to get better each day and try to improve as a basketball team each day.”

The Sooner team is young, which could prove to be their double-edged sword.

But OU has the potential for a better record than last year, possibly finishing about 18-14 and coming in no higher than seventh in the Big 12.