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Coaches asking Sam Grooms for more defense
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PledgerFan
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I still think Grooms is our best option at PG right now.
jmizzy4ou
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I agree......
What is coach Kruger or any coach suppose to do? The coach sets the standard for effort, results, progress, and everything else. If a player is excelling in one area and failing to meet standards in other areas, do you just let him play anyway?
I don't think so. That is what the "players coaches" do. They try to be one of the guys and let the players define their roles. Playing time is the only real tangable way a coach has to assert his will. Meet the minimum standards in the defined areas or sit is the right plan.
I think Grooms is a pretty handy point guard to have around. And I certainly wouldn't challenge the arguement that the offense looks better with him in there. But, you just cann't put him out there if he isn't meeting the minimun standards everywhere else. If Kruger did it for Grooms, then it would be another and then an other and the next thing you know, we would have a Capel caliber mess again.
I hope Grooms steps up. I certainly wouldn't want Kruger to step back.
I don't think so. That is what the "players coaches" do. They try to be one of the guys and let the players define their roles. Playing time is the only real tangable way a coach has to assert his will. Meet the minimum standards in the defined areas or sit is the right plan.
I think Grooms is a pretty handy point guard to have around. And I certainly wouldn't challenge the arguement that the offense looks better with him in there. But, you just cann't put him out there if he isn't meeting the minimun standards everywhere else. If Kruger did it for Grooms, then it would be another and then an other and the next thing you know, we would have a Capel caliber mess again.
I hope Grooms steps up. I certainly wouldn't want Kruger to step back.
WTSooner
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Not every defensive deficiency is "effort" related. Some of our guards have more physical ability than the others. Grooms and Pledger cannot pressure the ball like Hield, Cousins, and Hornbeak can. I haven't noticed Grooms being all that bad on defense. He did have a bad game recently, though I can't remember who it was against. Other than that game, I've been pretty happy with his defense.
That said, OU doesn't have a guard that does everything well, consistently. Grooms getting back-doored is really no worse than Cousins not handling pressure and either turning the ball over, or not getting OU into anything resembling an offensive set. Our "other" guards have had defensive lapses too. Hield gave up some easy hoops against either KU or KSU. Cam had a horrible defensive play that resulted in McGruder getting an easy bucket. The list goes on and on. Grooms, and Pledger too, aren't allowing this to happen any more than the other guards, imo.
We may not need major minutes from Grooms every game. But there are going to be some games, or certain points during games, where he can make us a better team. We've already seen that a couple of times recently.
That said, OU doesn't have a guard that does everything well, consistently. Grooms getting back-doored is really no worse than Cousins not handling pressure and either turning the ball over, or not getting OU into anything resembling an offensive set. Our "other" guards have had defensive lapses too. Hield gave up some easy hoops against either KU or KSU. Cam had a horrible defensive play that resulted in McGruder getting an easy bucket. The list goes on and on. Grooms, and Pledger too, aren't allowing this to happen any more than the other guards, imo.
We may not need major minutes from Grooms every game. But there are going to be some games, or certain points during games, where he can make us a better team. We've already seen that a couple of times recently.
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Big Old Booger
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Not really. Grooms gets back-doored because he's not putting out the effort. Cousins doesn't handle the pressure because he's a freshman and is learning and adjusting to college ball. Big difference and you know it.
A bunch of us complained the last few years because Capel didn't make his players play defense. We complained about lazy defense but you are willing to allow it because you don't want to lose? Can you say hypocrite? (I'm pretty sure you were complaining about Capel not forcing his team to play defense and letting them be lazy on defense. If not, please accept my apology.)
Grooms definitely got us in the game on Saturday, but you can probably pin the loss on him too for having a lapse on defense when Rodriguez blew by him on the last possession. That was all on Grooms.
WTSooner
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All you have to do is read my first sentence above. Not all bad defense is do to poor effort. You really think Grooms put out poor effort on that last play that KSU scored on? Really? You think that was an "effort" issue? No. Grooms knows he needed to cheat a little to stay in front of Hernandez. The screen was coming, so Grooms started cheating. Happens all the time. I saw that play happen twice in an NBA game last week. While Grooms shoulders some of that blame, there is NO way Hernandez should have drove from where he was, all the way to rim, without better help defense. THAT was the #1 thing OU did wrong on that play. Guards get beat off the dribble all the time. Even good defensive guards. Why we're singling out Grooms on that one, I'll never know. He should have had MUCH better help than what he got.
Big Old Booger
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Fair enough. You make good points.
You are letting him off too easy. It isn't always an effort issue. Sometimes it is a mental bust. Sometimes the defender is just overmatched. What got Grooms called out by Kruger (and Pledger by a little less degree) to the press, something Kruger very seldom does, is probably something that he has gone over and over in pracice and film sessions. And it is something Kruger thinks that they could and should be doing better.
If it was a problem with the help defense, then the help defender would be on the pine. Grooms and Pledger are not getting it done to Kruger's satisfaction. If it were anything else, then he would have told the reporter something else.
jmizzy4ou
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I agree with WT here. It isn't always about effort. Steve Nash is a horrible on ball defender and it has nothing to do with effort. He plays as hard as anyone in the league, but he can't keep anyone in front of him because of lack of lateral movement, and he often gets overpowered......
I would bet Pledger has more effort lapses than Grooms. Neither appear to be dogging it on defense, IMO, they both are just limited.
I would bet Pledger has more effort lapses than Grooms. Neither appear to be dogging it on defense, IMO, they both are just limited.
WTSooner
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Agreed.
I won't say Pledger hasn't dogged it on defense in past seasons, but for the most part, I haven't seen it this year. I think he's actually playing quite a bit better on D this year.
Not really, the Sooners were blown out so he is dogging it on defense because what is the point?
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