Bird at the point

[BigTime]

As Sam mentioned on his practice thread, Pledger was getting a lot of work at the point with the first unit yesterday ( Calvin was playing extended minutes at the 2). I heard from another source that he would be the starting PG on Friday against Coppin State.

First off, I want to give Bird some props for working hard this offseason and changing his body. He looks great from a physical standpoint. I am really hoping that it translates to better on the ball defense and better conditioning in the second half of ball games. We are going to need him to be a double digit scorer this year.

I have to admit though that I have my concerns with him as the starting point guard. Is he going to be able to penetrate and creat opportunities for easy baskets? Will he be able to still get good looks for himself beyond the arc? Is he going to be able to get back in transition defense and as the safety (probably the area that concerns the most)? Can he keep the average Big 12 PG in front of him on defense?

What I do know about Bird is that he is an intelligent player who won't force things and who let's the game come to him. I also think that the times that he and Calvin are in the game together that we can still put Calvin on the other team's PG.

Thoughts?

 

[bgrch1350]

only chance we have this season is if we get our best players on the court at the same time and the only way we can do that is if Davis or Pledger runs the point.

 

[Tony]

Not gonna lie, I'm not too wild about it. Pledger's a good player and I was encouraged to see him putting it on the floor vs. Northern State, but I don't see him fitting in as a Big 12 point guard; in particular I worry about if he'll be able to get this team into the offense against good defensive point guards.

What flummoxes me most is what this must mean about Carl Blair. I hope I am wrong, but this gives me serious questions as to what level he'll be able to contribute this season. Quite frankly the fact that we might be completely revamping the point guard position after one game (two if you count North Texas I guess) is not a very good sign, IMO. I give Capel credit for being proactive, though. If Blair and Newell can't get the job done there, better to do something about it now than after a bad loss.

I hope I am wrong and this is just a stopgap or a precautionary measure, but I don't think it's a real great sign. Sorry for being negative.

 

[Edmond_Sooner]

Some people might not like it, but i think it is the right choice...

Remember we has a PG that didnt penetrate very often in AJ and now we would take him back in an instant...

Bird will be a guy that can score some from that position, but also has experience which might be more important...and it looked to me like he is being more aggressive with the ball than last year so even though he might not be able to get by every defender, he doesnt seem to settle on the 3 as much as i thought he would....

I'm less worried about how he handles the offensive responsibilities as i worry about him defending opposing PG's...that is where the Bird PG move could fail...

And this may just be a temporary fix until Capel feels the other PG's are ready for this level...obviously Bird is ideal for the SG spot, but the more experience he has at PG the better this team will be because we could potentially have 2 guys that are capable of running the point in the game at the same time down the road...

 

[Krugerfan52]

It's not really a big deal either way. Even if Pledger plays some point, Blair is still going to play some minutes there too. And even if Pledger plays some point with Calvin Newell at the 2 guard on offense, Newell can still guard the point and Pledger can guard a wing.

To me, this is Capel's way of preparing his players for key moments in Big 12 play where we will need our 5 best players on the floor. It's not like Pledger will play 40 minutes a game at the point.

 

[AdaSooner]

I'm a huge Steven Pledger fan. But I'm with Edmond on the defensive concerns. Bird was caught out of position a number of times when guarding from the two spot last year. Unless he picked up a step or two with the streamlined body he developed in the off season, I don't see how he will be able to defend smaller, quicker point guards?

Steven played some point in high school and on his AAU team, so maybe this will work out. I just don't see putting your best pure shooter at the point and taking away his ability to score from the wing. Oh, and don't bother challenging my "best pure shooter" claim with his stats from last season. I stand by my claim and I believe Bird will prove me right this year.

 

[thebigabd]

It seems like Cade would be a better fit at PG than Pledger, but we will see how it goes.

 

[luckyc1423]

Boy I dont know what I think about this.....I like that capel is trying different things and not stuck in his ways like he may have been in years past.....but....

I think maybe his thought behind this is that getting newell away from the ball at the 2 gives us two deadly scorers by mid season (cam and newell).....I think in the first game we saw flashes that newell can fill up the basket and create his own shot...so maybe capel is just trying to capitolize on that by having his two best play creaters on the wing together.....im not saying they are the two best right now, but talent wize there is no reason they shouldnt be the two best on the team by mid season in terms of play making ability

Another thought is that because of newell's potentiall scoring ability capel wants to make sure he has him on the court....and with what happened with tmg playing point last year being our leading scorer alot that didnt work out...so maybe he is just trying not to make the same mistake twice....pledger playing point and staying at the top of the key if he does knock down shots will open the floor for our wing guys

 

[thebigabd]

so the lineup tomorrow is gonna be:

PG: Steve Pledger
SG: Cade Davis
SF: Cam Clark
PF: Andrew Fitz
C: Nick Thompson

?

 

[boksooner]

so the lineup tomorrow is gonna be:

PG: Steve Pledger
SG: Cade Davis
SF: Cam Clark
PF: Andrew Fitz
C: Nick Thompson

?

PG: Steve Pledger
SG: Calvin Newell
SF: Cade Davis
PF: Andrew Fitz
C: Nick Thompson

?

 

[thebigabd]

PG: Steve Pledger
SG: Calvin Newell
SF: Cade Davis
PF: Andrew Fitz
C: Nick Thompson

?

You dont think Cam will start?

 

[luckyc1423]

You dont think Cam will start?

I think cam starts...I dont think thompson starts....I just dont like thompsons game very much...I think cade starts at the 4...that should get him far enough away from the three point line that he shouldnt shoot from there much...plus I liked his game there last year...he seemed to drive nice and hustle for loose balls

We could run a spread zone with this and go after loose balls by getting in the passing lanes....press...hustle....I think this is our best lineup

 

[SoonerBounce13]

i don't get how people can say they don't like thompson's game already. We have had one exhibition and stats wise he did fine.

 

[luckyc1423]

i don't get how people can say they don't like thompson's game already. We have had one exhibition and stats wise he did fine.

I could care less about his stats in the first game....In the first game he showed me what I fear...and that was that he stayed at the three point line on offense...we have enough people to shoot from threes....and apparently he did the same in the scrimmage as reported from a couple people on here

Also this is how he played in Juco...played the three.....people blamed it on him being forced to play there but the fact still remains that if he wanted and was good enough to play the 4 he would have...

 

[boksooner]

I think cam starts...I dont think thompson starts....I just dont like thompsons game very much...I think cade starts at the 4...that should get him far enough away from the three point line that he shouldnt shoot from there much...plus I liked his game there last year...he seemed to drive nice and hustle for loose balls

We could run a spread zone with this and go after loose balls by getting in the passing lanes....press...hustle....I think this is our best lineup

So, you're thinking this:

PG: Steve Pledger 6-4
SG: Calvin Newell 6-1
SF: Cam Clark 6-6
PF: Cade Davis 6-5
C: Andrew Fitz 6-8

An interesting line-up. Lots of athleticism and every one of those players has a mid-range jumper. This lineup would have a lot of trouble against any team with size.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

In the first game

lot of season left. Hard to tell anything from one exhibition game

 

[luckyc1423]

So, you're thinking this:

PG: Steve Pledger 6-4
SG: Calvin Newell 6-1
SF: Cam Clark 6-6
PF: Cade Davis 6-5
C: Andrew Fitz 6-8

An interesting line-up. Lots of athleticism and every one of those players has a mid-range jumper. This lineup would have a lot of trouble against any team with size.

You bring up a great point and your exactly right...we would struggle against teams with size...but we are going to struggle against teams with size regardless of who is in the game..
I think our shot against those teams is the small lineup...press press press....make them play up tempo and make other teams play small because we are causing their bigs to turn it over to much....if we play a half court slow game against any big team we are screwed regardless of who is on the court

 

[Max Power]

You bring up a great point and your exactly right...we would struggle against teams with size...but we are going to struggle against teams with size regardless of who is in the game..
I think our shot against those teams is the small lineup...press press press....make them play up tempo and make other teams play small because we are causing their bigs to turn it over to much....if we play a half court slow game against any big team we are screwed regardless of who is on the court

I agree, 40 minutes of hell is our best chance of winning this year

 

[Seymore Cox]

We're going to struggle with the press regardless of who's at point. I think the pg position will improve his shot selection. I actually thought he had backup pg potential last year.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I agree, 40 minutes of hell is our best chance of winning this year

capel said on the radio today that we don't have the athletes to play like mizzou does