+++#9 Oklahoma (12-2, 2-1) vs. #8 Texas Tech (14-1, 3-0)+++

[red recluse]

I worried more about Lattin. He has been at OU for 4 years. This is his last year. He should play more physical. Trae passed a beautiful ball to him, but instead of dunkng the ball he tried to play soft against the glass and missed the whole thing. He is very soft for a big man with already 4 years at OU.

as frustrating as he is, he played a really good game tonight. i will take that performance every time. and stayed out of foul trouble. keep it up...

 

[CoachTalk]

as frustrating as he is, he played a really good game tonight. i will take that performance every time. and stayed out of foul trouble. keep it up...

7 blocks? Give me that...

 

[CoachTalk]

I think the original point was that Trae's shot selection could have been better in the first half. This also was an issue at WV. At times, he needs to be more judicious and work a little more to get into a flow at the beginning of games.

Do we want Trae to keep shooting?....hell yes! He's the best player in the country.

Questionable on some sure... but some just flat didnt go in. several at the rim that are good takes, didnt fall.

 

[Chaser728]

His shot selection was much, much better in the second half.

Yep.

 

[stormspencer]

Questionable on some sure... but some just flat didnt go in. several at the rim that are good takes, didnt fall.

I agree on his close floaters tonight. I can live with him missing those, because he usually makes them. To me, it appeared he got a little too deep in the paint before shooting and then had to re-adjust trajectory. Not to mention, one of the Tech guys got a piece of two of his shots inside.

 

[DenverSooner]

His shot selection was much, much better in the second half.

My memory of the first half was a couple of questionable shots, a couple of good looks he missed and several misses on drives. Those drives are not bad shot selection in my opinion.

 

[Chaser728]

I agree on his close floaters tonight. I can live with him missing those, because he usually makes them. To me, it appeared he got a little too deep in the paint before shooting and then had to re-adjust trajectory. Not to mention, one of the Tech guys got a piece of two of his shots inside.

He might have been forcing or pressing in the 1st half, but I thought he let the Offense come to him in the 2nd. Lengthy, good Defenders will do that to you... plus when your struggling to shoot forcing it is something that happens. Furthermore, the entire team was struggling. But yes, his shot selection can be questionable, freshman gonna freshman, but honestly I’ll take it knowing that more times than not it’s gonna fall.

I love how LK let’s his guys play... it’s gonna be rough at times against good D... But man if it isn’t pretty when it’s flowing.

 

[coolm]

What the hell has happened to Manek the last 2 games?

they've been muscling him up and it keeps him covered. he's a bit light in the wazoo.

 

[Chaser728]

they've been muscling him up and it keeps him covered. he's a bit light in the wazoo.

What’s a WAZOO?? Haha!!!:ez-laugh:

 

[SoonerinNC]

Hard to complain with a win over a top 10 team. Much better second half after we missed an opportunity to break out in the first half with some poor shooting. One of 12 from behind the arc. About 10 points missed.

Thought it was our best defensive game for the most part even though there were some wide open shots on defensive breakdowns. Mostly we kept them from getting started from outside.

Good game by Trae and the scary thing is that there is quite a bit upside still out there for him. Big 12 play has him a little out of sync sometimes and Tech did a good job of not fouling him and blocking some of his shots. We have had 16 shots blocked in the last two games and many on plays that looked almost like a gimme. I agree his shot selection was not great in the first half. I think he would also agree. Very strong second half and I expected him to adjust. He will go down as the best player in OU history. Oh for the good old days when players stayed for 4 years.

Good to see Doolittle coming on. We seem to be stronger with him in the game. Real downer for McNease. Possibly the dumb foul got him off his game.

See sin criticism of Shep on another thread but hard to criticize someone who gets so few minutes. He is a victim of needing to keep Trae in the game and the return of Doolittle. Still hard for me to see what we will be like in Febuary and March because not sure how Doolittle fits in yet.

 

[OU92Grad]

they've been muscling him up and it keeps him covered. he's a bit light in the wazoo.

Looks to me like ball is sticking and terrible shot selection by teammates has totally taken Manek out. I went back and watched West Virginia game and he was open over a dozen times only to see a terrible contested shot get thrown up. Kruger has got to take control.

 

[OUAllDay28]

I've never been crazy about Trae's deep 3s that he likes to take. It looks great when they go in, but otherwise it is usually a wasted possession. In the 2nd half, we saw him take his 3s in rhythm and he had a lot more success. I would also like to see him a tad more under control at the beginning of games when teams are up in his grill. He has been inconsistent at finishing at the rim lately as well. But he is a savvy kid and I expect him to figure it out. He's still the best player in the country, yet there are always facets of your game that you can improve upon.

Also, I wonder if Doolittle getting more involved in the flow of games (more minutes) is adversely affecting Manek. It may be coincidental, but I just wonder if there some correlation there.

I actually disagree about the deep 3's. They open up the driving game for him, the fact that he takes and makes enough of them to threaten the defense, causing them to play him tight so far away from the rim is critical to his success.

 

[stormspencer]

I actually disagree about the deep 3's. They open up the driving game for him, the fact that he takes and makes enough of them to threaten the defense, causing them to play him tight so far away from the rim is critical to his success.

Not really, Trae drives when he wants to regardless of taking deep 3s or not. The proper argument would be that IF he is making deep 3s, then it really opens up spacing on the floor and demands instant double-teams or help once he makes his move to drive. The issue lately is that he doesn't shoot the deep 3 at a very high percentage. And he also tends to shoot those deep 3s very early in the shot clock....which typically leads to wasted possessions. I'm fine with him taking a deep 3 on occasion when in it's in rhythm and it's not a "step back" shot. Otherwise, I think he is more valuable running the offense off of a pick/role or looking for a higher percentage shot off the dribble....just MHO.

 

[oudna]

I worried more about Lattin. He has been at OU for 4 years. This is his last year. He should play more physical. Trae passed a beautiful ball to him, but instead of dunkng the ball he tried to play soft against the glass and missed the whole thing. He is very soft for a big man with already 4 years at OU.

Meh. He’s providing a valuable role.

 

[CoachTalk]

I worried more about Lattin. He has been at OU for 4 years. This is his last year. He should play more physical. Trae passed a beautiful ball to him, but instead of dunkng the ball he tried to play soft against the glass and missed the whole thing. He is very soft for a big man with already 4 years at OU.

Of all games to pick on Lattin, this isnt one of them.