Elijah Harkless showed up in Norman with a vow to do the dirty work. And in OU basketball practices, Harkless showed the willingness to do the same.
But in games, not so much. In his first five games since the NCAA granted him eligibility for his transfer from Cal State-Northridge, Harkless looked mostly lost. The 6-foot-3 guard had eight steals but hardly distinguished himself otherwise. Offensively, Harkless made just four of 17 shots and missed all five of his 3-point shots.
Then Brady Manek and Jalen Hill were sidelined by COVID-19 protocols, Lon Kruger’s rotation got really thin really fast with a game at Kansas upcoming, and Kruger had to think fast.