And this is why we lost...

[slides]

“We didn’t bring the emotion that we needed for this game,” junior forward Kristian Doolittle said. “We just kind of expected to win this game going in, expecting West Virginia not to put up as much of a fight as they did. Credit them. They played hard the entire game, and we were trying to match them.”

This team with grad transfers, seniors, and juniors should know better than that

NewsOK source

 

[thebigabd]

Why would a team that isn't very good (decent, but not very good) come into a game in a tournament setting "expecting" to beat anyone? They've lost to this WVU team before, they have a hall of fame coach, and play a "hit you in the mouth" style of basketball.

That is a BIZARRE statement from Doolittle.

 

[ocugolfsooner]

Think it speaks volumes and tells you all you need to know about why we have struggled so much the past few years.

 

[stormspencer]

“We didn’t bring the emotion that we needed for this game,” junior forward Kristian Doolittle said. “We just kind of expected to win this game going in, expecting West Virginia not to put up as much of a fight as they did. Credit them. They played hard the entire game, and we were trying to match them.”

This team with grad transfers, seniors, and juniors should know better than that

NewsOK source

I'm hopeful that our mental shortcomings, low basketball IQ, and lack of toughness is eradicated when this senior class graduates.

 

[thebigabd]

I remember last years quote by Brady Manek... where he said the team lost its desire to win.

What the hell is wrong with these guys? Is that 100% on Kruger that his players are, IN PUBLIC, saying they lost their desire to win and didn't take opponents seriously in tournament games?

 

[Big Old Booger]

The game turned in the 2nd half when Lon put in Calixte and Freeman. From that point forward we trailed the entire time, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Yuck

 

[WichitaSooner]

The quote sounds bad, but if you read just about any article following a loss, by any team, you'll hear similar things. Athletes very rarely say, "man, we played as hard as possible and just came up short." Players get asked to explain losses and this is one of the most frequent answers. That said, I do agree that simply by what I saw on TV, we didn't have much emotion. A completely different demeanor than last week against KU when the players clearly knew they needed a win.

Also, in response to one of the replies on this thread -- I don't think Freeman saw the floor in the second half till after Muni got hurt, and I'm about 95% sure we were behind when he checked in. Anyone pointing the finger at Freeman for last night is clearly just looking for reasons to blame him for everything that happens. I agree that Calixte was terrible offensively, he took multiple awful shots and it seemed like he was determined to shoot every time he touched it, even if he wasn't open. To his credit, he didn't force a shot on the next to last possession -- I was sure he was going to pull from several feet behind the line in transition.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Why would a team that isn't any good come into a game in a tournament setting "expecting" to beat anyone? They've lost to this WVU team before, they have a hall of fame coach, and play a "hit you in the mouth" style of basketball.

That is a BIZARRE statement from Doolittle.

the team is far more than "isn't any good"

 

[thebigabd]

the team is far more than "isn't any good"

I fixed it.... don't want to derail the thread with something like that.

Changed it to "a team that isn't very good, decent, but not very good"...

 

[Soonerinkc]

Wv was more physical...manek got abused in the post, pre entry pass...so did freeman and JM. Was at the game..was watching that particular area.

After JM's bs off hook in the 2nd half he was walking back to wv side and patted the wv player on the butt...really? You just got called for a bs off call and u tap the guy...geeze.

Wv had the attitude...we didnt..

Clearly this team should NOT expect any win...

 

[hoopsaustin]

Wv was more physical...manek got abused in the post, pre entry pass...so did freeman and JM. Was at the game..was watching that particular area.

After JM's bs off hook in the 2nd half he was walking back to wv side and patted the wv player on the butt...really? You just got called for a bs off call and u tap the guy...geeze.

Wv had the attitude...we didnt..

Clearly this team should NOT expect any win...

Team is soft. Everyone knows it.

 

[tmeyer3307]

This is why I don't love the idea of Manek and Doolittle being your starting bigs. One needs to come off bench or move Doolittle back to the 3. Even if it's Kuath, the FR Big, or a Transfer Big at the 5 for 10-15min a game. We could go from a weak rebounding team to a very strong rebounding team if we do this. Just guessing, but Bienemy, Harmon and Reaves won't help much on the glass when all 3 are in. Williams or Hill possibly could do well I guess helping defend/rebound with their length.

 

[thebigabd]

This is why I don't love the idea of Manek and Doolittle being your starting bigs. One needs to come off bench or move Doolittle back to the 3. Even if it's Kuath, the FR Big, or a Transfer Big at the 5 for 10-15min a game. We could go from a weak rebounding team to a very strong rebounding team if we do this. Just guessing, but Bienemy, Harmon and Reaves won't help much on the glass when all 3 are in. Williams or Hill possibly could do well I guess helping defend/rebound with their length.

Disagree... nothing wrong with Manek and Doolittle other than apparently their mindset. These are the two guys with weird quotes about why the team loses. But they do just fine on the boards and scoring. They aren't the problem.

Doolittle at the 3 does nobody any good. He can't dribble or shoot from the perimeter. Not his game. I don't even think he has hit a 3 this year.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Disagree... nothing wrong with Manek and Doolittle other than apparently their mindset. These are the two guys with weird quotes about why the team loses. But they do just fine on the boards and scoring. They aren't the problem.

Doolittle at the 3 does nobody any good. He can't dribble or shoot from the perimeter. Not his game. I don't even think he has hit a 3 this year.

I just don't see what you see with respect to Doo. I'll throw this out to the entre board because I think it is a good debate as long as we can avoid getting nasty or personal -- who on our current team, other than JB, do you consider to be a better ball handler than Doo? I cringe every time one of our other guards leads the break or tries to penetrate because they are turnover machines. RO is probably the one exception to that but he handles it mainly when he is driving. Doo gets stripped some in traffic but that is inevitable when you get guards doubling down on you frequently. But in the open floor, I would MUCH rather him handling the ball than anyone other than Bieniemy.

I also think his shooting range will extend to the three point line next year. The staff is encouraging that.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

1. As a fan, how am I supposed to get excited about watching a team that is not excited about playing?
   
2. As a fan, how am I to remain "emotionally invested" in a team that does NOT "bring the emotion that we needed for this game?"
   
3. As a fan, why should I go to games to watch these fellows, that apparently coast their way through the conference season and fail to fight for their coaches and teammates?
   
4. If they don't care anymore than that, why should I?

 

[steverocks35]

This is ALL about the coach’s culture

 

[Max Power]

1. As a fan, how am I supposed to get excited about watching a team that is not excited about playing?
   
2. As a fan, how am I to remain "emotionally invested" in a team that does NOT "bring the emotion that we needed for this game?"
   
3. As a fan, why should I go to games to watch these fellows, that apparently coast their way through the conference season and fail to fight for their coaches and teammates?
   
4. If they don't care anymore than that, why should I?

Preach

 

[oudna]

1. As a fan, why should I go to games to watch these fellows

Fans didn’t even go see Griffin or Hield, so not sure why it would start now

 

[SKSooner]

1. As a fan, how am I supposed to get excited about watching a team that is not excited about playing?
   
2. As a fan, how am I to remain "emotionally invested" in a team that does NOT "bring the emotion that we needed for this game?"
   
3. As a fan, why should I go to games to watch these fellows, that apparently coast their way through the conference season and fail to fight for their coaches and teammates?
   
4. If they don't care anymore than that, why should I?

Pretty much exactly why I decided to fall asleep at half time. I've been sick for the last several days and work has exhausted me. Why would I invest any more emotion and lose sleep over this team?