Darrion Strong ?
- Thread starter Larry72
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Capel's Mustache
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I read the same feed. I think you have it right but sub lattin for buford
Thanks for the feedback on Strong and the Peterson twitter feed. From BB clips, I saw the following:
Latin's 3pt basket: Great shot form. Very similar to Buddy. Head slightly back, Smooth release and perfect follow through. Very Impressive improvement from last year.
From the 33 sec clip I watched D Strong on defense against Woodard. A short sample, but it looked like he is an avg. defensive player.
Latin's 3pt basket: Great shot form. Very similar to Buddy. Head slightly back, Smooth release and perfect follow through. Very Impressive improvement from last year.
From the 33 sec clip I watched D Strong on defense against Woodard. A short sample, but it looked like he is an avg. defensive player.
No inside input but my hope is Strong brings composer and toughness off the bench. Listening to Coach Lew Hill and Cousins talk the last few years about growing up in Mt Vernon NY and the competitive attitude you have to bring when you're challenged on and off the court in those surroundings daily is similar to Strong's story. Trying to understand that mindset of willing yourself out of pride or fear of not wanting to be one upped in the street seemed to be ingrained in Cousins work ethic. Cousins was blessed as a athlete but his work ethic much like Buddy and Spangler played just as much into the success they EARNED through many hours of practice and preparation.
Not to take away from other players past and present but those three individual stories are what movies become. Buddy and Cousins stories are terrific, but even Spangler story of not being recruited right down the road and through a coaching change and a little home sickness he decides to leave a established Gonzaga program to come back home is truly a blessing for both him and OU. Do we make it to the final 4 if Spangs doesn't decide to come back home to play for a program that didn't have a lot of positives going for it at that time? All I can say is thank you Lon, and thank you to those three young men and the rest of the team that took a chance on being great. It made one of the most exciting and enjoyable years I've had of watching OU basketball or anything for that matter. Underdogs at an early life that believed in themselves, their coach and represented a University, a team and a state I love. Truly Awesome.
Sorry for the off topic rant that I'll try to bring back around to my initial thought. I get that vibe with Strong growing up in Chicago originally. Moving around the country, having to grow up at an early age and trusting the process after some set backs. Some of the articles I read in the past about Strong playing through multiple injuries in Juco after he had his scholarship already offered and committed to OU showed me he has pride, competitive drive and toughness to be a leader by example at the very least. How much PT or what his ppg average will be we won't know till that bridge is crossed. Being a positive older teammate should be #1. Can he take some pressure off of the other guards with his ball handling? I think and hope so.
I like kids that are willing to work for an opportunity and don't settle for it when they get it. I see his elevation on pull up and step back jumper and go, "he's got some tools." He's quick and shifty. He'll need that against some of the bigger guards in the conference. Physically he's not going to overpower people but good thing speed can beat power. I want him to be a pest on D and for the smaller guys out there unleash the "Sneaky D". You can be crafty on Offense and the same goes for defense. Double down low on unsuspecting post players for strips and aggressive on ball pressure, deflections and keep your man in front of you. Just be active and make the other guy work.
Injuries are a given but with the depth we have I would like to see are defensive pressure crank up a notch to cause turnovers and use our athleticism in the open floor get easy shots. Hard to believe we will maintain or come close to the record breaking clip from 3 last year but we do have guys that are capable of hitting shots. Maybe a little more team oriented and less individual shot creation that we relied on last year. Defense can be there when your shot is not falling. I just see defense being a way for a young team to win some games they maybe shouldn't.
Either way it should be a fun year watching all the youth find their way. Kruger finds roles for players. Strong will have his, what he does with it the next two years we shall see. Next year maybe more important when Jordan is gone. By all accounts I've seen and read (twitter and such) he's all in and that is what successful teams need. Easy to pull for kids that work and appreciate the opportunity. Sometimes they just need a chance and someone to believe in them. You know Strong has something upstairs working if he picks Kruger to be his coach. Maybe even more importantly, Chi town kids need more stories like him and I hope he can go back home with pride in what he will accomplish on and off the court here.
This is why college sports are so fun to follow. We get to see the youth of today journey in becoming the leaders of tomorrow. Sometimes stats don't always tell the whole story of how well you've played the game of life. So here's to a upcoming season worth something to write home about my friends! :dance005:
Not to take away from other players past and present but those three individual stories are what movies become. Buddy and Cousins stories are terrific, but even Spangler story of not being recruited right down the road and through a coaching change and a little home sickness he decides to leave a established Gonzaga program to come back home is truly a blessing for both him and OU. Do we make it to the final 4 if Spangs doesn't decide to come back home to play for a program that didn't have a lot of positives going for it at that time? All I can say is thank you Lon, and thank you to those three young men and the rest of the team that took a chance on being great. It made one of the most exciting and enjoyable years I've had of watching OU basketball or anything for that matter. Underdogs at an early life that believed in themselves, their coach and represented a University, a team and a state I love. Truly Awesome.
Sorry for the off topic rant that I'll try to bring back around to my initial thought. I get that vibe with Strong growing up in Chicago originally. Moving around the country, having to grow up at an early age and trusting the process after some set backs. Some of the articles I read in the past about Strong playing through multiple injuries in Juco after he had his scholarship already offered and committed to OU showed me he has pride, competitive drive and toughness to be a leader by example at the very least. How much PT or what his ppg average will be we won't know till that bridge is crossed. Being a positive older teammate should be #1. Can he take some pressure off of the other guards with his ball handling? I think and hope so.
I like kids that are willing to work for an opportunity and don't settle for it when they get it. I see his elevation on pull up and step back jumper and go, "he's got some tools." He's quick and shifty. He'll need that against some of the bigger guards in the conference. Physically he's not going to overpower people but good thing speed can beat power. I want him to be a pest on D and for the smaller guys out there unleash the "Sneaky D". You can be crafty on Offense and the same goes for defense. Double down low on unsuspecting post players for strips and aggressive on ball pressure, deflections and keep your man in front of you. Just be active and make the other guy work.
Injuries are a given but with the depth we have I would like to see are defensive pressure crank up a notch to cause turnovers and use our athleticism in the open floor get easy shots. Hard to believe we will maintain or come close to the record breaking clip from 3 last year but we do have guys that are capable of hitting shots. Maybe a little more team oriented and less individual shot creation that we relied on last year. Defense can be there when your shot is not falling. I just see defense being a way for a young team to win some games they maybe shouldn't.
Either way it should be a fun year watching all the youth find their way. Kruger finds roles for players. Strong will have his, what he does with it the next two years we shall see. Next year maybe more important when Jordan is gone. By all accounts I've seen and read (twitter and such) he's all in and that is what successful teams need. Easy to pull for kids that work and appreciate the opportunity. Sometimes they just need a chance and someone to believe in them. You know Strong has something upstairs working if he picks Kruger to be his coach. Maybe even more importantly, Chi town kids need more stories like him and I hope he can go back home with pride in what he will accomplish on and off the court here.
This is why college sports are so fun to follow. We get to see the youth of today journey in becoming the leaders of tomorrow. Sometimes stats don't always tell the whole story of how well you've played the game of life. So here's to a upcoming season worth something to write home about my friends! :dance005:
CoachTalk
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Yes my bad. Was thinking to myself "no Buford"
SoonerSpock
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Today the starting group for the full court 5 on 5 was:
Woodard
James
Odomes
Freeman
Lattin
McGusty, Buford, Doolittle rotated in to make it a top 8. Lattin was 1-3 BTA and made a 17-18'er. Team did not shoot well.
Dsuits on your perspective of the program and players. A very good read, much enjoyed it!
Max Power
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Freeman in the starting lineup again? Usedtobe1 was the only poster who didn't make fun of me when I threw that out as a possibility several months ago.
Just imagine the fun that would be made at your expense if you mentioned Isaiah Cousins starting at the point guard during last years pre-season practices...
AdaSooner
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:ez-roll:
I wish I had been smart enough to see that coming. Didn't that honor go to garyeb2, or was it someone else?
As for Freeman, I didn't predict he would start, I just didn't rule him out as a possibility.
I don't know who first posted it but I confirmed it and was ripped as being an idiot.
Freeman and Doolittle both have a chance to be in the starting lineup as do Buford and James. This is going to be very interesting to see what happens and if it changes throughout the year.
It will be interesting.
Since Lon practices full court in 2-4 min spurts and then teaches / corrects. He changes lineups periodically and repeats the process. In another couple of weeks the better players will start showing up more. With the limited experience the coaches will earn their pay this year.
All will get valuable PT in the exhibition games.
Interesting info. As has been said, Kruger usually plays 9 tops in conference. Before practice started I had sort of counted Freeman out for this year's conference rotation. If he, Buford, and Doolittle are all 4s then I wonder if one will get just scrap minutes ultimately. You'd think JMuni is Lattin's post backup. You have McGusty as the wing backup and Strong as the point backup.. That means one of those 4s might not get too many minutes, unless Doolittle or Buford backs up Odomes at the big wing(3). Yes, it will be very interesting. Hope Lon can keep them all happy!
I was ripped pretty good over on the SoonerScoop board for touting Cousins as the PG.
I'm always more interested in the ultimate 8-9 man rotation than I am who starts. Especially in Nov/Dec. My wild guess now would be:
PG - Woodard
Wing - James
Wing - Odomes
PF - Buford
C - Lattin
6. Doolittle - "manimal" on the boards
7. McGusty - instant offense
8. Strong - experienced PG who can score
9. Freeman - would love to see him get some looks from the arc in high/low sets. Also, like how he has battled on the boards in early practices.
I just haven't read much about McNeace standing out. I've heard more positive things about CJ Cole. I also think Sheperd is too young, along with thinking Strong is a good, experienced PG.
JMHO
AdaSooner
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I remember that now, vbdad. You may be the one who first posted it too. No one thought starting Isaiah at the point was a foolish idea halfway through the season. It turned out to be pure genius on LK's part, one that eventually led to a final four run for last year's team.:woot
Max Power
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Yea I remember you and gary both getting roasted for that, by people who didn't even go to the practices.
SoonerinNC
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With a team this young and as short on experience I suspect that we will see someone look like a lock starter for a hot run and then hit the wall for awhile. I don't believe that we will see the same 5 starting all season this time.
I do think we will see at least 8 and probably 9 getting meaningful minutes. And probably not the same 8 or 9.
We are probably in for a bit of a roller coaster season but maybe not. Lon has a way of bringing on young players fast. He also has a way of giving more playing time to people who have the most long term upside. Remember how much he played Cousins at point his freshman season. Lon is very good at seeing what will benefit the team in the long run.
I do think we will see at least 8 and probably 9 getting meaningful minutes. And probably not the same 8 or 9.
We are probably in for a bit of a roller coaster season but maybe not. Lon has a way of bringing on young players fast. He also has a way of giving more playing time to people who have the most long term upside. Remember how much he played Cousins at point his freshman season. Lon is very good at seeing what will benefit the team in the long run.
I attended my first practice in late Oct last year and reported that Cousins was play the point during the the full court sessions. It did surprise me.
