BigTime
The Red Wig
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- Nov 2, 2008
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Leading scorer? Out. Ankle.
#2 scorer and #2 rebounder? Out. Ankle.
That prognosis isn't bad when you're on the road against a juggernaut and it takes a superhuman effort for 40 minutes just to keep it close. But at home, against a team you should beat, in a game you HAVE to win, stuff like that can really send the season into a death spiral.
But that wasn't the case. TMG played the best game by a Sooner freshman in Norman since the late Wayman Tisdale roamed the paint. Cade Davis continues to be an assassin when perched inside the Lloyd Noble Center. Reserves not often called for critical duty, "Gamma" Ray Willis and Andrew Fitzgerald, both played quality minutes in long stretches.
For a thin team it was a thick effort. Iowa State's not the '76 Hoosiers, and they're not the 2000 Cyclones either, but we showed them the best ball we've played all year in the first half and we showed them with two pieces of our best artillery out of commission. What does that say about us? I say we're gutsy. We were completely out of gas at the end. Drained. Running on fumes, yet we were still able to find the fortitude to make some plays on the offensive end after Iowa State began carving us up late in the second half with fresher bodies.
The film will reveal much to repair, but also much to build upon. I'm not sure I could be any prouder of this team than I was last night. You'll hear people scoff and say Iowa State sucks. Whatever. You've still got to make plays. You've still got to hit free throws down the stretch. We did them both, and that's why we won.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 30 [didn't anybody tell her?]
2nd - 18 [didn't anybody see?]
3rd - 15 [Sundays on the phone to Monday,]
4th - 26 [Tuesdays on the phone to me.........oh yeah!]
LEADING SCORERS:
38 - Tommy Mason-Griffin
24 - Cade Davis
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
7 - "Gamma" Ray Willis <---------- [that's my boy!]
6 - Ryan Wright
6 - Keith Gallon
PLUSES:
1. Tommy Mason-Griffin: Hate to play Captain Obvious here, but that was a stellar performance. Like I said earlier, I'm trying to think of a Sooner frosh who scored more than TMG's 38 and I'm thinking it's got to be Wayman. If it wasn't WWT then it's got to be either Alvan, Choo or T-Mac. That's heady company right there. But it was the guts at the end that impressed me so much. The dude's cramping all over the place and he goes up and hits the free throws he'd been missing all year late in the game. His last three games: how about an average of 28/4/4 while only turning it over six times. What a stud.
2. Cade Davis: Now if we could only bottle this up and take it on the road. Cade's averaging 16 points a game in conference at home but has been "No Show Jones" outside the friendly confines of the LNC. The guy definitely gives us his all, and it really shows on the defensive end. Last night was the eighth game this year where Cade's had three steals or more. Not quite Mookie-an, you've got to love the effort. It's contagious.
3. "Gamma" Ray Willis: Unabashed Ray fan here. Yes, that's me. Yes, I do write the newsletter and yes, I'm also a client. Ray had some bad breaks last night, a couple of shots were halfway in before they popped out, but he didn't let that effect him in other areas. He led us in rebounding and also provided three assists while only turning it over once. He's getting better on the defensive end, and I hope last night only adds to Capel's trust in him. Read all about it in the next "Gamma" Ray newsletter!
MINUSES:
1. Keith Gallon: Our team had nine turnovers last night. Gallon had five of them. That speaks to how good we were and how lousy he was.
2. Steven Pledger: Keep your head up, even though Capel's still screaming at you for defensive breakdowns.
3. Second Half Defense: Mercy. Iowa State looked like they were playing for Pleasantville in the second half, and our guys provided them that chance by playing the Matador Defense. It was atrocious, but I'll provide a modicum of humanity by pointing out that we were totally gassed by the end. You can make excuses when you win. [hyuck hyuck]
4. Orlando Allen: If he didn't play last night........
Again, I'm very pleased. We're 3-3 in the Big 12 and can are unblemished in defending the home court. Now we've got to take this circus on the road. Our next stop: Lincoln. We've played some unbelievably bad games up there the past few times we've made the trip, and I'm not sure we could ever use a victory in the Land of Corn more than we could this coming Saturday. With the conference as tough as it is, we really have most of our goals out there in front of us. All we need to do is play better on the road. We're improving, and anyone with a pulse can see we're a hell of a lot better on January 28 than we were on December 28.
Now let's translate it into road victories. Lincoln, Nebraska, is a real fine place to start.
Thank you for your time.
Leading scorer? Out. Ankle.
#2 scorer and #2 rebounder? Out. Ankle.
That prognosis isn't bad when you're on the road against a juggernaut and it takes a superhuman effort for 40 minutes just to keep it close. But at home, against a team you should beat, in a game you HAVE to win, stuff like that can really send the season into a death spiral.
But that wasn't the case. TMG played the best game by a Sooner freshman in Norman since the late Wayman Tisdale roamed the paint. Cade Davis continues to be an assassin when perched inside the Lloyd Noble Center. Reserves not often called for critical duty, "Gamma" Ray Willis and Andrew Fitzgerald, both played quality minutes in long stretches.
For a thin team it was a thick effort. Iowa State's not the '76 Hoosiers, and they're not the 2000 Cyclones either, but we showed them the best ball we've played all year in the first half and we showed them with two pieces of our best artillery out of commission. What does that say about us? I say we're gutsy. We were completely out of gas at the end. Drained. Running on fumes, yet we were still able to find the fortitude to make some plays on the offensive end after Iowa State began carving us up late in the second half with fresher bodies.
The film will reveal much to repair, but also much to build upon. I'm not sure I could be any prouder of this team than I was last night. You'll hear people scoff and say Iowa State sucks. Whatever. You've still got to make plays. You've still got to hit free throws down the stretch. We did them both, and that's why we won.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 30 [didn't anybody tell her?]
2nd - 18 [didn't anybody see?]
3rd - 15 [Sundays on the phone to Monday,]
4th - 26 [Tuesdays on the phone to me.........oh yeah!]
LEADING SCORERS:
38 - Tommy Mason-Griffin
24 - Cade Davis
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
7 - "Gamma" Ray Willis <---------- [that's my boy!]
6 - Ryan Wright
6 - Keith Gallon
PLUSES:
1. Tommy Mason-Griffin: Hate to play Captain Obvious here, but that was a stellar performance. Like I said earlier, I'm trying to think of a Sooner frosh who scored more than TMG's 38 and I'm thinking it's got to be Wayman. If it wasn't WWT then it's got to be either Alvan, Choo or T-Mac. That's heady company right there. But it was the guts at the end that impressed me so much. The dude's cramping all over the place and he goes up and hits the free throws he'd been missing all year late in the game. His last three games: how about an average of 28/4/4 while only turning it over six times. What a stud.
2. Cade Davis: Now if we could only bottle this up and take it on the road. Cade's averaging 16 points a game in conference at home but has been "No Show Jones" outside the friendly confines of the LNC. The guy definitely gives us his all, and it really shows on the defensive end. Last night was the eighth game this year where Cade's had three steals or more. Not quite Mookie-an, you've got to love the effort. It's contagious.
3. "Gamma" Ray Willis: Unabashed Ray fan here. Yes, that's me. Yes, I do write the newsletter and yes, I'm also a client. Ray had some bad breaks last night, a couple of shots were halfway in before they popped out, but he didn't let that effect him in other areas. He led us in rebounding and also provided three assists while only turning it over once. He's getting better on the defensive end, and I hope last night only adds to Capel's trust in him. Read all about it in the next "Gamma" Ray newsletter!
MINUSES:
1. Keith Gallon: Our team had nine turnovers last night. Gallon had five of them. That speaks to how good we were and how lousy he was.
2. Steven Pledger: Keep your head up, even though Capel's still screaming at you for defensive breakdowns.
3. Second Half Defense: Mercy. Iowa State looked like they were playing for Pleasantville in the second half, and our guys provided them that chance by playing the Matador Defense. It was atrocious, but I'll provide a modicum of humanity by pointing out that we were totally gassed by the end. You can make excuses when you win. [hyuck hyuck]
4. Orlando Allen: If he didn't play last night........
Again, I'm very pleased. We're 3-3 in the Big 12 and can are unblemished in defending the home court. Now we've got to take this circus on the road. Our next stop: Lincoln. We've played some unbelievably bad games up there the past few times we've made the trip, and I'm not sure we could ever use a victory in the Land of Corn more than we could this coming Saturday. With the conference as tough as it is, we really have most of our goals out there in front of us. All we need to do is play better on the road. We're improving, and anyone with a pulse can see we're a hell of a lot better on January 28 than we were on December 28.
Now let's translate it into road victories. Lincoln, Nebraska, is a real fine place to start.
Thank you for your time.
