Carl Blair

[Krugerfan52]

The guy has some deficiencies on the defensive end, but here's a stat that I thought was impressive.

Assists per 40 mins (Big 12)

1. Michael Dixon (Missouri) 7.6
2. Phil Pressey (Missouri) 7.6
3. Tyshon Taylor (Kansas) 7.4
4. Carl Blair (Oklahoma) 7.0
5. Diante Garrent (ISU) 6.8
6. AJ Walton (Baylor) 6.5
7. Calvin Newell (Oklahoma) 6.4
8. Lance Jeter (Nebraska) 6.1
9. Dolgus Balbay (Texas) 5.6
10 Dash Harris (Texas A&M) 5.2

 

[Krugerfan52]

Here are the assists leaders in big 12 play so far.

Assists
## Player-Team Cl G Assists Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------
1.Garrett, Diante-ISU...... SR 5 30 6.00
2.Jeter, Lance-NU.......... SR 5 28 5.60
3.Blair, Carl-OU........... SO 5 27 5.40
4.Walton, A.J.-BU.......... SO 5 25 5.00
5.Taylor, Tyshawn-KU....... JR 4 16 4.00
6.Middleton, Khris-TAMU.... SO 5 17 3.40
7.Morningstar, Brady-KU.... SR 4 13 3.25
8.Holmes, B.J.-TAMU........ SR 5 16 3.20
Dixon, Michael-MU........ SO 5 16 3.20
Pressey, Phil-MU......... FR 5 16 3.20

 

[seniorsooner]

I think Blair is a solid Big 12 reserve point guard, but don't see him as a starter on a team that finishes anywhere near the top of the league.

 

[NickZepp]

I think he turns it over far too much. I think he's just okay at best. If we had someone else that was decent he would probably not be getting any minutes.

 

[OUhoops11]

If he eliminates his turnovers, which I think he will, he can be a solid Big 12 point guard. Maybe he won't ever be an all-conference guy, but he can be good enough to win games. He must get better defensively as well.


Those of you down on him have to remember this is his first year of playing against real competition. He's essentially a freshman in reality. He will only continue to improve.


Just remember Austin Johnson as a frosh and how good he was his senior year.

 

[bocabull]

Blair is looking more and more like a player to me. You can't knock his defense when we shut down Colorado's vaunted perimeter game. He had to be part of that.

Turnovers are to be expected in your first go around in a league like the Big XII. They will drop with experience. I hear knocks on his foot speed but he seems to be able to explode into the lane and penetrate on occasion.

I just love what Capel is building. A "TEAM" with all the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. We need another true PG which he is after. More size, which he is after. The only other gap I see is another knock down spot up shooter.

But if you read the Cade Davis article about how Capel and the team supported him when he lost his grandmother you see the makings of something special.

 

[Seymore Cox]

I like blair. I want to see more consistency. If we get Guerrero, I would love for Carl to make him earn every minute of play. I think Carl can humble Guerrero in practice initially.

 

[bocabull]

I like blair. I want to see more consistency. If we get Guerrero, I would love for Carl to make him earn every minute of play. I think Carl can humble Guerrero in practice initially.

The good thing about getting Guerrero, if we are so fortunate, is that we can move Newell to the dedicated combo guard position. Maybe he can turn into the additional spot up shooter we need. Ala Jason Terry.

 

[scrybe]

I can't believe some of this criticism of Carl Blair. The kid is among the assists leaders in the Big XII. Yeah, he had a couple of turnovers early against the Buffs, but there's no way the Sooners win that game without Blair. After he settled down and quit looking for the lob every time down the court, Carl was outstanding. He repeatedly made great passes to open teammates and he drove the lane to either score or draw fouls against Colorado (Terrible foot speed?). It was equally impressive (to me) that he was able to shake off the several misses at the free throw line and come back to hit seven (maybe eight) straight in the closing seconds.

Listen, I'll be tickled pink to get Guerrero (if we do), but it doesn't matter how talented the kid is, he'll still be a freshman trying to compete against Big XII players. I, for one, will feel very fortunate that we have Carl Blair on the team, and I'll frankly be surprised if Carl doesn't hold onto the starting PG spot, at least during Guerrero's freshman year.

 

[SoonerWarVet]

I think Blair is a solid Big 12 reserve point guard, but don't see him as a starter on a team that finishes anywhere near the top of the league.

This!!

If we land Cezar, he should be the starter. I have seen some film on this guy and he is much more of a natural point guard and he is quicker. Blair makes stupid mistakes and most importantly he is slow. You can fix mistakes but can't fix being slow.

 

[jmizzy4ou]

This!!

If we land Cezar, he should be the starter. I have seen some film on this guy and he is much more of a natural point guard and he is quicker. Blair makes stupid mistakes and most importantly he is slow. You can fix mistakes but can't fix being slow.

Hard to say that BEFORE the guy plays one minute of D-1 ball. Plus, who knows how much Blair will continue to improve?? Remember Godbold?? Many thought that he was not a D-1 talent his 1st couple of yrs. He developed into a solid Big 12 player. I hope that we land Cezar or some other PG because we need the depth at the position, but I'm not going to anoint someone based on 3 minute U-Tube clips.....

 

[BigTime]

This!!

If we land Cezar, he should be the starter. I have seen some film on this guy and he is much more of a natural point guard and he is quicker. Blair makes stupid mistakes and most importantly he is slow. You can fix mistakes but can't fix being slow.

Very difficult for PGs to come in and start from day one in conferences like the Big 12 unless they are the elite guys (Joseph, Selby, TMG etc...).

And I will contend that Blair can and will get quicker. He is already quicker than he was to start the year and I fully expect Pledge, Cam, Fitz, and Osby to push him in the offseason to continue to drop a few and get into better shape.

BTW, Carl Blair didn't even touch the rim on those clutch last minute FTs. Very impressive for the second game in a row down the stretch.