#15 OU vs WVU 7pm CST on ESPN+

[CoachTalk]

At what point does Moser realize that Darthard is just not a good option. I realize we don't see everything a coach sees outside of game day, but what I see on game day isn't cutting it. If Cooper isn't a better option then that's pretty bad.

You’ve seen cooper be better?

Tre is a plus defender great help defender.

Sure I want him to go 2-4 each night from deep

 

[CMSOONER]

Coach I get that. But Darthard is not getting it done. I'm no coach, but as a player I feel like you have to role the dice at least a little bit. He's averaging 20+ minutes per game, if he's playing well ride it. If he's not playing well, cut that to 12-15 and see what Cooper can bring. I'm not saying you bench a Sr but earning it goes both ways.

 

[CMSOONER]

You’ve seen cooper be better?

Tre is a plus defender great help defender.

Sure I want him to go 2-4 each night from deep

No We haven't seen him be better. We've only seen him for 24 total minutes all season. Is he a little timid, yes. But how do you get over that... experience.

*Correction...47 minutes.

 

[CMSOONER]

Did Darthard look better in the noncon? 100%. Do I think Cooper is the answer? Maybe not. I'd just like to see.

 

[skyvue]

Darthard is a nice complementary player. Good defense, relatively error-free, doesn't typically force his shot. If the Cooper curious can promise we'd get the same from him, fine, but true freshmen aren't generally known for any of those three qualities and our margin for error the rest of the way is razor thin.

 

[WaymanFan]

The one thing that scares me is that, like the past two years, we don't have a go-to player. During non-conference play, it had looked like Oweh was our go-to guy, but conference play shows that we will apparently have someone different lead us on a particular night. Last night it was Jalon Moore, but we all know he's not going to score 16 (or even close to that) every night. That always hurts in a close game when OU is behind by just a few points and need someone reliable to step up.

 

[CoachTalk]

The one thing that scares me is that, like the past two years, we don't have a go-to player. During non-conference play, it had looked like Oweh was our go-to guy, but conference play shows that we will apparently have someone different lead us on a particular night. Last night it was Jalon Moore, but we all know he's not going to score 16 (or even close to that) every night. That always hurts in a close game when OU is behind by just a few points and need someone reliable to step up.

Javian is that guy and it’s not close for me.

 

[CoachTalk]

No We haven't seen him be better. We've only seen him for 24 total minutes all season. Is he a little timid, yes. But how do you get over that... experience.

*Correction...47 minutes.

If he can’t show it in practice you expect it in games? I know some guys don’t practice well.

I want it as well for cooper!

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Javian is that guy and it’s not close for me.

agreed
He was pretty quiet last night but he is definitely that guy

 

[CoachTalk]

agreed
He was pretty quiet last night but he is definitely that guy

4 shots. He let others take advantage of their mismatches.

 

[steverocks35]

That was a nice "had to have it" win. I'm still concerned about the turnovers and I want Uzan to be more aggressive but it was a very good win. As some have mentioned, West Virginia is better since it got a couple of guys eligible.

 

[steverocks35]

Checking scores from last night and I see that OU, Houston, and UCF all scored exactly 77 points in their wins. What are the odds?

 

[SoonerBounce13]

That was a nice "had to have it" win. I'm still concerned about the turnovers and I want Uzan to be more aggressive but it was a very good win. As some have mentioned, West Virginia is better since it got a couple of guys eligible.

Turnovers have to get cleaned up

 

[Soonerinkc]

Checking scores from last night and I see that OU, Houston, and UCF all scored exactly 77 points in their wins. What are the odds?

Houston looked really strong..I really don't care for Fran...but he talked about Sampson having Price and White as asst...and I thought a bip about Ryan Minor

 

[BoulderSooner]

At what point does Moser realize that Darthard is just not a good option. I realize we don't see everything a coach sees outside of game day, but what I see on game day isn't cutting it. If Cooper isn't a better option then that's pretty bad.

he is a Plus defender and doesn't make mistakes .. that is winning basketball

 

[Eielson]

I love that people are citing Oweh as an example of Moser mismanaging freshmen. He is probably the best HS development story we have since Cousins. I would LOVE for Cooper to develop along that same path. He's getting reps against Big 12 dudes every practice.

 

[Soonerinkc]

I love that people are citing Oweh as an example of Moser mismanaging freshmen. He is probably the best HS development story we have since Cousins. I would LOVE for Cooper to develop along that same path. He's getting reps against Big 12 dudes every practice.

I think, at least for me, is that Cooper is buying in. Kid was offered by ku...so I believe he's talented. In today's instant NIL world who knows. Hopefully Cooper is good with this as well. Just my 2 cents

 

[BoulderSooner]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1748010084545036363

 

[WichitaSooner]

All the excuses for not playing Cooper are so strange. Yes, he is a freshman. Yes, the bench guys in front of him are older. So what? Every freshman in college basketball is in the same spot. If he is as good as we think, he should be getting minutes. The best team in our league has been playing three freshmen all season, including in games against great noncon opponents. They all struggled to varying degrees, yet wouldn't you know it, Furphy make his first start against us, played very well, and then lit up OSU Tuesday. Notably, he signed with KU very late and missed much of summer and fall due to shin splints. He is a good player, but I certainly don't think he is more talented (and definitely not more athletic) than Cooper. If he can get 15 minutes per game from day one on a top 3 team against far better competition than we played in the noncon, how can anyone argue that Cooper shouldn't have at least been given 10-15 mins a game while we were blowing out NET 300 teams? If he had gotten that chance to learn at game speed, who knows, maybe he could have helped us at TCU and KU when Darthard and Soares were not only giving us nothing offensively, but were struggling to guard bigger players? I heard Kevin Henry say the other day that Cooper is almost as athletic as Moore. Unless he is showing up late to practice and scoring in the wrong basket, you can't tell me that he shouldn't have gotten more time in November and December. If he had played poorly, what is the worst that would have happened? We would have won those games by 25 instead of 30? And if he clearly showed in those games that he wasn't ready for prime time, then you could put him on the pine for league play and it would be absolutely justified.

It just seems like such an old fashioned approach by Moser. Freshmen come into college today far more ready to play than they did 20 or 30 years ago. All kinds of freshmen throughout the country contribute to very good teams. Again, I honestly would love to hear anyone give a reasonable answer to this question: what would the downside have been to playing him more in the noncon, especially the blowouts?

 

[SoonerBounce13]

If he is as good as we think, he should be getting minutes.

Maybe he's not as good as you think yet. Maybe Moser thinks playing other more experienced players give OU a better chance to win.
You can't compare the situation to KU. KU has a much more talented roster playing along side their freshman. They have a lot more margin for error than OU.
They can cover freshman mistakes easier and still win games.
OU's margin is so thin that playing a freshman that isn't ready could likely be the tipping point in losing a game.

And with all of that said, if Cooper did play more and we dropped a few games, you would likely be the first one chiming in saying its dumb that Moser is playing a freshman that isn't ready. You likely would not be OK with the loses even though it is giving Cooper good experience and learning on the job.

Moser's job is on the line. I highly doubt he isn't putting the best pieces out there to win