Booker and Lattin

[AdaSooner]

It was good to see Booker and Lattin play well.

Booker looked more like his old self than at any time this season. You can just see his confidence grow. Even the shots he missed looked like they were going in. Eight points, 4 rebs, a steal, an assist and a block is a good performance for a player who is still trying to round into form from an injury.

Lattin didn't score much, but he gave Tech a lot of trouble with his length and his ability to block and change shots. Five blocks, 4 rebounds and a steal in 19minutes is not a bad night for a freshman coming off of the bench.

And, how about Lattin's dunk? I felt the vibrations in Ada.

 

[1390]

Any confidence generated from tonight especially from the way booker and Lattin played is huge especially going into Stillwater saturday..
There may be people who will say its just tech but this team needed a win and got it in resounding fashion..
Stillwater is a snake pit...come out of there with a win and things could really start to roll

 

[Laxtothemax12]

Need that type of game on the road this Saturday from both of them. I didn't get to watch the game but I know that Lattin has potential, 5 blocks in 19 minutes!? Hassan Whiteside would've been complementing him.

 

[152219]

Booker is getting some of the spring back that we saw last year. Proof that he obviously wasn't well early in the season. If OU can get on track and he can start hitting 40% of his 3 pointers, this team may take off on a run. Started last night, but Saturday's game is big. OU matches up well with Okie State and if they can take that one hopefully the ball starts rolling.

 

[usedtobe1]

I agree Ada. Our defense was stifling. Especially Cousins and Buddy. I also loved Bookers hustle on defense ….. just as much as his shot looking better. Kudo's to Cousins for fighting thru the pain.

Lattin's dunk should be a Sports Center highlight.

Something not mentioned yet was Kruger subbing more liberally throughout. It kept players fresher and helped keep their defensive intensity. I liked it and is good for team morale.

 

[scrybe]

Stillwater is a snake pit...

LOL. Reminds me of Capel's reference to aggietown as a hell hole.

As for Booker's performance last night, I was especially encouraged with his play on defense. The kid was high energy every second he was on the court. I don't think any of us (myself, included) knew that Frank was such a good athlete when he signed with OU.

 

[jaymOU]

Totally agree. Losing close games has been a problem, maybe fresher guys at the end of games would help. I believe Lon addressed this in the post-game with Toby, but there were a lot more subs last night than in the past. Almost every timeout OU came out with a different lineup. Of course, score could have dictated some of that as well.

 

[AdaSooner]

Booker is getting some of the spring back that we saw last year. Proof that he obviously wasn't well early in the season. If OU can get on track and he can start hitting 40% of his 3 pointers, this team may take off on a run. Started last night, but Saturday's game is big. OU matches up well with Okie State and if they can take that one hopefully the ball starts rolling.

Glad you mentioned Booker getting his spring back, 152219. That block he made was a thing of beauty. We saw him do it last year, but this is the first time he has shown the hops to reject a shot with authority.

I agree Ada. Our defense was stifling. Especially Cousins and Buddy. I also loved Bookers hustle on defense ….. just as much as his shot looking better. Kudo's to Cousins for fighting thru the pain.

Lattin's dunk should be a Sports Center highlight.

Something not mentioned yet was Kruger subbing more liberally throughout. It kept players fresher and helped keep their defensive intensity. I liked it and is good for team morale.

You're so right, usedtobe1, Booker's defense was just as good, if not better, than his offense. If what we saw from him last night is a sign the old Frank Booker is back in form, that could be huge down the stretch. We have to get more production on both ends of the court from our back up players or our starters will be worn out by the post season.

I agree, the best part of last night's game was our defense. Some will say holding our opponent to a new Big 12 record low of 36 points on 25% shooting from the field, was no big deal because it was Texas Tech. But that's the same Tech team that upset the #9 ranked Hawkeyes in their previous game. That was a great performance defensively by any stretch of the imagination!

 

[j2d2]

I'm convinced that our offense is grounded on our defense. The offense just works well when we play good defense. The reverse is either not true or doubtful.

 

[DenverSooner]

Totally agree. Losing close games has been a problem, maybe fresher guys at the end of games would help. I believe Lon addressed this in the post-game with Toby, but there were a lot more subs last night than in the past. Almost every timeout OU came out with a different lineup. Of course, score could have dictated some of that as well.

As I recall the game, he was substituting before the game was out of hand. Perhaps I recall incorrectly but OU only had a few point lead at the first time out. They extended to a comfortable lead by around 10 minutes. Tech brought it back to around 7. Then OU put them away.