No longer defined by suspension, Doolittle has emerged as leader
NORMAN — Sitting to the left of coach Lon Kruger in a postgame news conferences, Kristian Doolittle has become Oklahoma's de facto spokesman during his team's four-game losing streak.
The junior forward from Edmond Memorial checks the box score in front of him before answering questions. Two weeks ago, Doolittle stared at rows of numbers that added up to a 30-point home loss to Baylor. At 8 p.m. Monday in Waco, Texas, Doolittle and the Sooners will again face the Bears.
“I wasn't holding myself accountable,” Doolittle said after the Baylor blowout. “It showed tonight.”
Doolittle was back in the same chair Saturday night, this time after a 12-point home loss to Texas Tech.
“I have to hold myself accountable,” he said again, “and hold my teammates accountable, and it goes for all the seniors as well. Everyone has a voice on this team.”
Doolittle's voice has carried the most weight in recent weeks, whether directing his teammates as the undersized center in the middle of OU's defense, or giving an honest postgame assessment of what exactly has gone wrong in 2019.
He often blames himself, but the 6-foot-7 forward has emerged as Oklahoma's most well-rounded player in the season following his academic suspension.
Doolittle ranks among OU's top-three players in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, field goal percentage
and free throw percentage during Big 12 play.
“He's always been that player that when the team doesn't do well, he takes an introspective look at himself and wants to know what he could've done,” his dad, Dwayne Doolittle, told The Oklahoman.
Kristian and Dwayne, a longtime basketball and football official, talk after every game. The younger Doolittle is obsessed with X's and O's — a trait his dad thinks will make him a great coach some day.
They rehash plays, dissecting why Kristian passed up a specific shot or why he defended an opponent a certain way.
But on Saturday they just looked at each other and hugged.
“Is it frustrating? Absolutely,” Dwayne Doolittle said of the losing streak. “You've got a kid out there playing. It's one thing to lose as a fan, but it's another when you've got relatives out there. You try to talk them down off the proverbial ledge. And it's not just him. It's the entire team that needs encouragement.”
It's not the first time Dwayne has felt the need to pick his son up. Kristian Doolittle missed the first nine games of last season due to suspension.
“He was embarrassed,” Dwayne said. “He's a better person, he's a better student and he's a better ball player. I think all of those things are better for what he's gone through.”
During the suspension, Dwayne made Kristian download a calendar countdown app on his phone. Each day brought Kristian closer to re-joining his team.
His dad asked former coaches and players to work out with his son through the first-semester suspension. Dwayne remembers watching Kristian take 50 shots, then running the length of the floor, needing to make five consecutive free throws to finish a drill.
Doolittle, a year later, is now one of Oklahoma's leaders, trying to revive his team's season as he did to his own career.
“He had some dark days, some low moments,” Dwayne said. “But his mom and I told him, 'Listen, what happened to you doesn't define who you are. It's not the end of your story.'”