7-10-19 practice

[OU92Grad]

Went to practice today. Athleticism is off the chart compared to last season.
Things I noticed are as follows:

Doo is playing strictly on the perimeter. His 3 ball looks very good

Reeves is very good. Can really stroke it and create. His shot selection needs improvement. He took some questionable shots and turned it over on occasion trying to make a flashy play when an easy open teammate was one pass away.

Bieniemy was really solid.

Manek lit it up today. Hit just about everything he attempted. Looks much bigger than last year. Over 230 lbs

Jalen hit several shots today. He looked really good offensively.

Victor is a jumping jack. Is a work in progress on offense but will help a lot on D and rebounding.

Kur looks stronger and is super long. Finished well around the rim

Da’vion looked solid both shooting and distributing the ball

 

[WichitaSooner]

Went to practice today. Athleticism is off the chart compared to last season.
Things I noticed are as follows:

Doo is playing strictly on the perimeter. His 3 ball looks very good

Reeves is very good. Can really stroke it and create. His shot selection needs improvement. He took some questionable shots and turned it over on occasion trying to make a flashy play when an easy open teammate was one pass away.

Bieniemy was really solid.

Manek lit it up today. Hit just about everything he attempted. Looks much bigger than last year. Over 230 lbs

Jalen hit several shots today. He looked really good offensively.

Victor is a jumping jack. Is a work in progress on offense but will help a lot on D and rebounding.

Kur looks stronger and is super long. Finished well around the rim

Da’vion looked solid both shooting and distributing the ball

Thanks for posting. I love reading these reports, especially when the news is encouraging. Your observations are consistent with what Lon discussed in the story on The Athletic. I'm sure some will be upset to hear that Doo is playing the wing, but I'm definitely not one of those people. He is more than capable of playing there.

One point Seth Davis made that is well taken: last year's team lacked inside play and good three-point shooting, yet still made the tourney and won a game. I'm confident both areas will be improved this year, especially the shooting. Looking forward to this season!

 

[BCSooners]

I’m glad Kuath can give an option inside, but Doo will be most effective at the 5 imo.

 

[SuperHoops]

How many guys were at practice? If Merritt is out due to injury and Issanza and Williams aren't in Norman yet that leaves only 9 scholarship guys if i'm counting correctly.

 

[thebigabd]

I find it hard to believe Manek has put on 20 pounds in 4 months, but maybe he has bulked up some.

 

[Stikboy]

Thanks for the report!

 

[tmeyer3307]

So, are we thinking Doo may start at the 3? With Manek and Kur down low. Victor or Issanza backup Kur up at the 5. This would give us a Center on the court with legit size at least. When Manek goes out, move Doo to the 4 spot.

I think our best lineup will be Harmon, Reaves, JB, Doo and Manek for sure, but maybe we start Kur and Reaves or JB come off the bench..
I always kind of thought this would be best after watching all of last season getting out-rebounded and not being able to contest/block any shots.

 

[usedtobe1]

I always kind of thought this would be best after watching all of last season getting out-rebounded and not being able to contest/block any shots.

We didn't really have any post depth last year either. Freeman wasn't much of a defender and Muni kind of quit after his injury. It sounds like we will have some good, quality post depth this season.

 

[Stikboy]

How tall is Okafor?

 

[dahldennsull]

I find it hard to believe Manek has put on 20 pounds in 4 months, but maybe he has bulked up some.

the story in the athletic said he had an illness last season that drained his energy. He could have lost quite a bit of weight because of it, which makes it far easier to pack it on after you get your health back. Just natural filling out of a 19-21 year old.

 

[CoachTalk]

So, are we thinking Doo may start at the 3? With Manek and Kur down low. Victor or Issanza backup Kur up at the 5. This would give us a Center on the court with legit size at least. When Manek goes out, move Doo to the 4 spot.

I think our best lineup will be Harmon, Reaves, JB, Doo and Manek for sure, but maybe we start Kur and Reaves or JB come off the bench..
I always kind of thought this would be best after watching all of last season getting out-rebounded and not being able to contest/block any shots.

Reaves isnt coming off the bench.

JB or harmon will before him.

As I stated a month ago. I think Kur could start at the 5 very easily.

 

[CoachTalk]

How tall is Okafor?

Jahil? signed with the atl hawks, 6'9

 

[thebigabd]

PG: Harmon
SG: JB
SG: Reaves
PF: Manek
PF: Doolittle

This is much pretty a guarantee.

 

[CoachTalk]

PG: Harmon
SG: JB
SG: Reaves
PF: Manek
PF: Doolittle

This is much pretty a guarantee.

If manek and Doo can rebound better than last year, Yes. But if they cant, Kur could start.

 

[WichitaSooner]

PG: Harmon
SG: JB
SG: Reaves
PF: Manek
PF: Doolittle

This is much pretty a guarantee.

I fully believed this from January till late June, when one of our most reliable posters indicated that Kuath could start. Reading the article yesterday, which said that Doo has been playing wing exclusively in practice and that he is fully on board with playing there this season, has me thinking that it isn't a sure thing. I don't know who would get squeezed from the starting lineup if that happens -- potentially JB, but who knows. Regardless of who starts, it sounds like we will have two perfectly viable lineups -- one with Kuath when we want to go big, and the lineup above when we want to play smaller and get more shooting on the floor. Great to have options because we lacked that luxury last season.

 

[AdaSooner]

Went to practice today. Athleticism is off the chart compared to last season.
Things I noticed are as follows:

Doo is playing strictly on the perimeter. His 3 ball looks very good

Reeves is very good. Can really stroke it and create. His shot selection needs improvement. He took some questionable shots and turned it over on occasion trying to make a flashy play when an easy open teammate was one pass away.

Bieniemy was really solid.

Manek lit it up today. Hit just about everything he attempted. Looks much bigger than last year. Over 230 lbs

Jalen hit several shots today. He looked really good offensively.

Victor is a jumping jack. Is a work in progress on offense but will help a lot on D and rebounding.

Kur looks stronger and is super long. Finished well around the rim

Da’vion looked solid both shooting and distributing the ball

Great report and much appreciated, OU92Grad!

I’m all for moving Doo to the perimeter if it helps the team. I just hope it’s not one of those experiments to move a player to the outside who is more effective on the inside. Lattin comes immediately to mind.

One thing appears to be certain, moving Doo without hurting our post depth makes more sense now than last season. As Wichita said, it’s great to have options this season!

 

[tmeyer3307]

I mean if Kur and Victor are better than Williams or Jalen Hill at this point it makes total sense to move Doo to the 3 for a majority of the game.

 

[BoulderSooner]

thanks for the great report

 

[CMSOONER]

Great report and much appreciated, OU92Grad!

I’m all for moving Doo to the perimeter if it helps the team. I just hope it’s not one of those experiments to move a player to the outside who is more effective on the inside. Lattin comes immediately to mind.

One thing appears to be certain, moving Doo without hurting our post depth makes more sense now than last season. As Wichita said, it’s great to have options this season!

I could see Lon moving Doo to the parimeter to help increase his NBA stock and improve his overall game. However, if it doesn't workout I could see him moving back to post by conference play.

 

[vbdad]

Manek looks to be 230. He is bigger than last year by a bunch.

Kur was with the first team the day I watched. I think the above lineup is likely to be the starting 5 but wouldn't be shocked at all if Kur starts.

Totally agree that the athleticism is significantly better than last year's squad.