A look at the box score (UTSA game)

[thebigabd]

Brady Manek, of course... 29 points. 8/11 from 3. OU will beat pretty much anyone if that happens. Also had 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Kuath.... He is absurdly long and athletic... We are going to see a lot of crazy dunks from his this year. Only blocked 1 shot which surprises me, and he didn't rebound as well as I had hoped. Will be tracking that in future games.

Phipps... Not often you have a true freshman come in and do that. Shot nine 3's, hit 4 of them, scored 12. If you are bringing Harmon and Phipps off your bench you probably have a good team.

Harmon... Didn't start but played the most minutes in the game. We will see how this situation unfolds throughout the year. That was probably his best game as a Sooner. 7-11 from field, 3-6 from 3, 5-5 from the line, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 0 turnovers. Outside of not missing at all, you can't play better than that.

Reaves.... I love this stat line for Reaves. 8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. That is a huge reversal from his stat lines in many games last year, which were 4-18 from the field and things of that nature.

All in all... OU would have beaten anyone last night. 17-34 from 3pt range is totally absurd. 20-24 from the free throw line.. 50% from the field.

It's so good, that we have to temper ourselves a bit because its "fools gold" territory... The team has talent though, and experience. 4 starters are seniors, and 1 is a junior.. The bench is still young, but the starters are seasoned.

The only negative in the game was rebounding. Gave up 12 offensive boards and only out-rebounded them by 5. That's been a consistent issue. We will see how it plays out.

 

[WTSooner]

Has the NCAA said that this season won't count against eligibility in hoops, like in football?

 

[Stikboy]

Good post.

Yes, it was a resoundingly successful first game. But... UTSA looks like guys you'd see playing at the rec center where I went to school. Also, competitive rebounding was attrocious and OU left too many guys WIDE open from 3. That will eat our lunch if not fixed.

Jalen Hill--Loved his game even though scored in single digits. He seems to be the only player on the team that enjoys or wants to offensive rebound. Why doesn't OU send guys to the offensive glass? So weird. Hill seems to have a high basketball IQ and can flow within the construct of the game. He is tougher than he looks! Anxious to see if his shooting has improved.

Gibson--Why did he play so little? You can tell he's got some talent.

Kur--Good game with of course some highlight reels. People, though, really need to tap the brakes. Let's see how he does against at least average competition for a larger sample first. Like his athleticism and sweet stroke. He appears to be a below average rebounder for his size.

Phipps--Man he is a gunner! If he can play D and not get left too much, watch out! And if he has handles.... He made some sweet passes too..

Reeves--Can't believe he is playing point! Good low turnover numbers. He is a good player. Hope the added responsibility of playing point doesn't affect his shot.

AG--Looks tall but looks like he has a long way to go. Looked like a fish out of water out there. Looks like some tall guy that can probably play horse but isn't really a divison 1 player. Now, it's a first game. Hopefully if he has more talent than i think it will come out the more experience he gets. I hope that happens.

I hope we get Iwuakor back for TCU. And, I really hope he's improved. He seems like he'll really help rebounding. OU did outrebound UTSA but that's not saying much. It seemed like alot of the rebounds fell into OU's lap. Seemed like they got slapped around too much in competitive rebounding situations, besides Hill. Loved the scoring! TCU will tell us more for sure. Wish we had our full allotment of non conference before that game, though. Oh well, crazy year..

 

[steverocks35]

Good post.

Yes, it was a resoundingly successful first game. But... UTSA looks like guys you'd see playing at the rec center where I went to school. Also, competitive rebounding was attrocious and OU left too many guys WIDE open from 3. That will eat our lunch if not fixed.

Jalen Hill--Loved his game even though scored in single digits. He seems to be the only player on the team that enjoys or wants to offensive rebound. Why doesn't OU send guys to the offensive glass? So weird. Hill seems to have a high basketball IQ and can flow within the construct of the game. He is tougher than he looks! Anxious to see if his shooting has improved.

Gibson--Why did he play so little? You can tell he's got some talent.

Kur--Good game with of course some highlight reels. People, though, really need to tap the brakes. Let's see how he does against at least average competition for a larger sample first. Like his athleticism and sweet stroke. He appears to be a below average rebounder for his size.

Phipps--Man he is a gunner! If he can play D and not get left too much, watch out! And if he has handles.... He made some sweet passes too..

Reeves--Can't believe he is playing point! Good low turnover numbers. He is a good player. Hope the added responsibility of playing point doesn't affect his shot.

AG--Looks tall but looks like he has a long way to go. Looked like a fish out of water out there. Looks like some tall guy that can probably play horse but isn't really a divison 1 player. Now, it's a first game. Hopefully if he has more talent than i think it will come out the more experience he gets. I hope that happens.

I hope we get Iwuakor back for TCU. And, I really hope he's improved. He seems like he'll really help rebounding. OU did outrebound UTSA but that's not saying much. It seemed like alot of the rebounds fell into OU's lap. Seemed like they got slapped around too much in competitive rebounding situations, besides Hill. Loved the scoring! TCU will tell us more for sure. Wish we had our full allotment of non conference before that game, though. Oh well, crazy year..

Good write-up. I agree with almost everything you said. Hill is intriguing. I think he might start getting some of Williams's minutes as the season progresses. Reaves showed a lot of restraint and made some good decisions. Hopefully handling the point guard duties will cause him to let go of some of the Kobe gunner mentality. We have a good mix of length, athleticism and talent! Also, I was not embarrassed by the lack of a crowd for once, hahaha.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Has the NCAA said that this season won't count against eligibility in hoops, like in football?

Yes.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Good post.

Yes, it was a resoundingly successful first game. But... UTSA looks like guys you'd see playing at the rec center where I went to school. Also, competitive rebounding was attrocious and OU left too many guys WIDE open from 3. That will eat our lunch if not fixed.

Jalen Hill--Loved his game even though scored in single digits. He seems to be the only player on the team that enjoys or wants to offensive rebound. Why doesn't OU send guys to the offensive glass? So weird. Hill seems to have a high basketball IQ and can flow within the construct of the game. He is tougher than he looks! Anxious to see if his shooting has improved.

Gibson--Why did he play so little? You can tell he's got some talent.

Kur--Good game with of course some highlight reels. People, though, really need to tap the brakes. Let's see how he does against at least average competition for a larger sample first. Like his athleticism and sweet stroke. He appears to be a below average rebounder for his size.

Phipps--Man he is a gunner! If he can play D and not get left too much, watch out! And if he has handles.... He made some sweet passes too..

Reeves--Can't believe he is playing point! Good low turnover numbers. He is a good player. Hope the added responsibility of playing point doesn't affect his shot.

AG--Looks tall but looks like he has a long way to go. Looked like a fish out of water out there. Looks like some tall guy that can probably play horse but isn't really a divison 1 player. Now, it's a first game. Hopefully if he has more talent than i think it will come out the more experience he gets. I hope that happens.

I hope we get Iwuakor back for TCU. And, I really hope he's improved. He seems like he'll really help rebounding. OU did outrebound UTSA but that's not saying much. It seemed like alot of the rebounds fell into OU's lap. Seemed like they got slapped around too much in competitive rebounding situations, besides Hill. Loved the scoring! TCU will tell us more for sure. Wish we had our full allotment of non conference before that game, though. Oh well, crazy year..

Vic is out through Sunday, unfortunately.

 

[daqman]

Good write-up. I agree with almost everything you said. Hill is intriguing. I think he might start getting some of Williams's minutes as the season progresses. Reaves showed a lot of restraint and made some good decisions. Hopefully handling the point guard duties will cause him to let go of some of the Kobe gunner mentality. We have a good mix of length, athleticism and talent! Also, I was not embarrassed by the lack of a crowd for once, hahaha.

Hopefully Reaves has decided to play the type of game that suits him. Game 1 is evidence pointing in that direction.
Harmon/Manek played great. Hopefully they can develop consistency this season.
Hill is going to be a really good player. I like him as a guard more than a forward though.
Jury still out on Kuath.
Garang isn't ready to contribute yet at this level. Good thing we have Vic.
Williams needs to step it up.
Still to be determined if Gibson can compete consistently at this level.

 

[jrich02]

Harmon with far and away his best game as a Sooner. A little competition for playing time is always good....Manek's shot is so good and hard to challenge. He's got to show some type of off the bounce game because we know all big 12 teams will be all up inside of him around the arc.

 

[red recluse]

phipps gonna be niiiiiice.

 

[Stikboy]

Vic is out through Sunday, unfortunately.

R U serious? Very disappointing.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Vic is out through Sunday, unfortunately.

I thought he was cleared to come back Saturday

 

[red recluse]

Manek's shot is so good and hard to challenge. He's got to show some type of off the bounce game because we know all big 12 teams will be all up inside of him around the arc.

i think he is taking it the other way with the step back 3. hopefully he can hit that with consistency.

 

[AdaSooner]

Outstanding breakdown on the stats, Abd! Not much there I don’t agree with.

Looks like rebounding by committee may be in our future, again. No question Kur has improved since last year, especially on offense. Props to him for working hard in the off season to get better. But the fact remains that four guards and wings (two off of the bench) got more rebounds than our 6’ 10” center in last night’s game.

Kuath’s athleticism and hops are off of the charts. Yet, his upper body strength and hands are not on the same level. He’s often in a position to get more rebounds and loose balls, but for some reason he fumbles them away when he fails to maintain control. He’s still raw in some ways. So, I’m hoping that, too, will improve going forward. He’s definitely the key to this team holding its own in rebounding against Big 12 teams.

 

[CoachTalk]

I told you reaves was going to run some PG.

He will be more aggressive sunday. Has to be if we want to win big 12 games. That stat line wont work in Big 12 contests most nights. Manek wont hit 8 a game... If he does I cant wait for our NC parade!

Phipps is a hooper. Video going around. He stayed after the game and got more shots up. Not for show. Because that is what he does.

Really good for 1st game with only 4 practices or so in the last 2 weeks.

Need a win Sunday. Which i think they will.

 

[OUsky]

Vic is out through Sunday, unfortunately.

Dangit

 

[WichitaSooner]

I thought he was cleared to come back Saturday

I think Ric is cleared Saturday but not Victor according to Lon.

 

[sheepdogs1]

Harmon with far and away his best game as a Sooner. A little competition for playing time is always good....Manek's shot is so good and hard to challenge. He's got to show some type of off the bounce game because we know all big 12 teams will be all up inside of him around the arc.

Swished a 3 from the corner towards the end of the 1st half and was knocked on his can. Should have been at the free throw line looking to close out a 4 pt play.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I think Ric is cleared Saturday but not Victor according to Lon.

Oh ok. I must have gotten them confused. Thanks

 

[cvangild]

Trey Phipps = best looking stroke since Brent Price at OU!!!

I told some of you this guy is the REAL DEAL. I watched him play live in HS 10+ times and you could easily tell who had the better shot between him and Thompson. Not saying he is a better player...but Phipps might be the best long range shooter in the HS class of 2020!!!

 

[skyvue]

I'm pleased to Reaves getting some praise, but it's interesting: The general perception seems to be that we saw a whole new Austin, but I don't see it.

Here are his stats from last season, followed by his stats from last night.

Last season
33 minutes
15 points
5 rebounds
4 assists
1 steal
2.5 turnovers
FG 38%
FT 84%
3PT 26%

Last night
21 minutes
8 points
8 rebounds
4 assists
2 steals
1 turnovers
FG 40%
FT 67%
3PT 0-1

There's not a huge difference there. I'll be (very pleasantly) surprised if Reaves manages to maintain over the course of a season the level of rebounding he achieved last night, and that's the only area in which his outing last night was significantly better than last season. He shot about the same and didn't have that that many fewer attempts, considering he played just 21 minutes. Last night, he averaged a shot every 4.2 minutes; last season, it was once every 2.9 minutes.

He had just one turnover, which was very nice to see, though there's no telling how many he'd have had if he'd played 33 minutes, his average from last season. Hopefully, he'll continue to keep his TOs to a minimum.

Overall, I thought the team played very well, especially considering the covid-related disruptions they've had to deal with. I loved the defense, especially in the first half, when it was stifling at times. A little bit of a fall-off in the second half wasn't surprising, given the score.

It was fun to see Phipps showing his stuff in his very first game. He's going to be fun to watch. And Hill's various contributions were a real highlight. Manek obviously won't repeat that performance every game, but man, was it a treat to see him sink so many threes. And Harmon really shone, too. He started out hot last season, and fell off a bit. I hope to see him continue to play as well as he did last night as the season progresses.

All in all, a terrific win (even considering the competition) and I'm crossing my fingers we can get out of Ft. Worth with another one.