About all this questioning substitution patterns and such

[coolm]

a coach of a young team in a rebuilding season has a much different agenda than a casual fan watching a game.

to that end I see this as a myopic argument.

 

[SoonerinNC]

By now we should know that Kruger is always looking long term, particularly with a young team.

Also with inexperienced players you never know what you are going to get from them so you have to make up your sub patterns on the fly.

 

[WTSooner]

By now we should know that Kruger is always looking long term, particularly with a young team.

I personally think that is a terrible way to run OU's basketball program. We should be better than that. We have been better than that with past coaches.

But it's LK's MO. Go back and look at the other teams he coached. Almost always a massive fall off after the first really good season.

 

[Soonerinkc]

I personally think that is a terrible way to run OU's basketball program. We should be better than that. We have been better than that with past coaches.

But it's LK's MO. Go back and look at the other teams he coached. Almost always a massive fall off after the first really good season.

yup...

I guess I think OU is a big enough program that we shouldn't "expect" a grossly under .500 season the year after going to the FF.

part of looking "long term" is to realize if you run your 3 Sr's the majority of your minutes and don't give guys time for the next yr you're reaping what you've sown (sewn)..

I def expect better next year...I have no doubt he didn't expect this big of a fall...but it's about over so looking forward to next year.

 

[WTSooner]

yup...

I guess I think OU is a big enough program that we shouldn't "expect" a grossly under .500 season the year after going to the FF.

part of looking "long term" is to realize if you run your 3 Sr's the majority of your minutes and don't give guys time for the next yr you're reaping what you've sown (sewn)..

I def expect better next year...I have no doubt he didn't expect this big of a fall...but it's about over so looking forward to next year.

Agreed. A fall off is fine. We all expected that. But at worse we should have been fighting for one of the final Tourney spots, not be out of the running by January.

For all the hype that some OU fans were giving KSU, TT, and TCU earlier, I think it's pretty clear OU is the better team. Win a few of those games, get a 1st round bye in the Big 12 tourney, and at least you give yourself a chance to win three and get in. Tough sleddin' from the bottom 4 spots.

 

[coolm]

Joe C. and I like Lon's vision better than your own. suffer.

 

[Sooner04]

Joe C. and I like Lon's vision better than your own. suffer.

Quite possibly the most egotistical post I've ever read on this board.

 

[TheGimper]

Quite possibly the most egotistical post I've ever read on this board.

He's been doing that a lot lately. His schtick of "losing doesn't matter" is equally as tiresome as the constantly negative posters.

 

[AdaSooner]

a coach of a young team in a rebuilding season has a much different agenda than a casual fan watching a game.

to that end I see this as a myopic argument.

By now we should know that Kruger is always looking long term, particularly with a young team.

Also with inexperienced players you never know what you are going to get from them so you have to make up your sub patterns on the fly.

Some may not like it, but I think you're both spot on with what Lon has been doing.

In every year except the current season he has gone with a seven to eight man rotation by the start of conference play, if not before. Last year only seven players logged an average of ten or more minutes. The year before eight averaged ten or more. This season ten players have averaged ten or more minutes, and nine have averaged fifteen or more.

That's quite a departure from what Coach Kruger has done in years past. He usually finds minutes for a lot of players early on, but eventually settles on a rotation of seven or eight near the end of non-conference play.

Some, including me, have questioned why he continued to give quality minutes to ten or eleven players? The only answer I can come up with that makes any sense is that he has been preparing the team for next season for sometime. Early on, I think he may have been searching for the best combination among a host of freshmen and newcomers. In the past few weeks, I'm convinced he has been playing for next year.

Gripe, complain and criticize all you want, but what he is doing now will pay huge dividends next season.

 

[hoopsaustin]

He's been doing that a lot lately. His schtick of "losing doesn't matter" is equally as tiresome as the constantly negative posters.

It wears me out. He trolls the crap out of me with his last year was fun but this year was way more fun! Yaaay stuff

 

[jmizzy4ou]

:ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll:

 

[coolm]

"Let's talk about him like he's not here"

"yeah man ... then let's go do those crimes."

"yeah ... yeah ... let's go get sushi and not pay"

 

[AdaSooner]

:ez-roll: :ez-roll:

You guys are cracking me up!

In case you haven't noticed, I got this thread back on topic with a pretty danged good post, if I do have to say so myself.

 

[Big Old Booger]

It wears me out. He trolls the crap out of me with his last year was fun but this year was way more fun! Yaaay stuff

There's only a few of us who have been around since OUHomer's message board. Coolm (used to be coolmesser) is one of them and so am I (though I was also under a different username). So, he deserves some latitude, he's earned it.

:lon ldwt356: :billy

 

[MsProudSooner]

He's been doing that a lot lately. His schtick of "losing doesn't matter" is equally as tiresome as the constantly negative posters.

He's doing his best to get under the skin of the 'woe is me, my life is ruined' crowd and he's doing an admirable job. :ez-laugh:

 

[chuckb]

Some may not like it, but I think you're both spot on with what Lon has been doing.

In every year except the current season he has gone with a seven to eight man rotation by the start of conference play, if not before. Last year only seven players logged an average of ten or more minutes. The year before eight averaged ten or more. This season ten players have averaged ten or more minutes, and nine have averaged fifteen or more.

That's quite a departure from what Coach Kruger has done in years past. He usually finds minutes for a lot of players early on, but eventually settles on a rotation of seven or eight near the end of non-conference play.

Some, including me, have questioned why he continued to give quality minutes to ten or eleven players? The only answer I can come up with that makes any sense is that he has been preparing the team for next season for sometime. Early on, I think he may have been searching for the best combination among a host of freshmen and newcomers. In the past few weeks, I'm convinced he has been playing for next year.

Gripe, complain and criticize all you want, but what he is doing now will pay huge dividends next season.

I agree completely. At first, I'm sure he was trying to figure out the right combinations and then, when it became apparent we wouldn't make the tournament, he began prepping for next season. And there's no doubt in my mind it'll pay off.

Beyond that, I suppose we'd have been better off this year maybe if Odomes had played more last year, or maybe McNeace, but would we have been as good last year with fewer minutes from our stars? Hindsight is always 20-20. And we'd have been better off with Pritchard but he decommitted so late that he was tough to replace. Is that Kruger's fault, too?

All the critics of Kruger's approach this season need to provide some idea of what should have been done differently. Maybe McGusty should've played a little more early on but the notion that that's the difference between us being a tournament team and not is insane. Second guessing is fine as long as there's an honest critique that includes what the mistakes were and what could have been done differently.

 

[chuckb]

It wears me out. He trolls the crap out of me with his last year was fun but this year was way more fun! Yaaay stuff

"He trolls the cap out of me" somehow is the same as "I am bothered by something someone else does." First of all, I doubt it's directed personally toward you. Second, if you're bothered by something someone else says, that's on you, not him. Stop being bothered by it.

 

[TheGimper]

"He trolls the cap out of me" somehow is the same as "I am bothered by something someone else does." First of all, I doubt it's directed personally toward you. Second, if you're bothered by something someone else says, that's on you, not him. Stop being bothered by it.

Same logic racists use.

 

[coolm]

"yeah ... who does he think he is showing pleasure at the play of a game!?!"

I thank the Buddha for that.

 

[BCSooners]

Same logic racists use.

Wow...just wow