Did anyone picture the season going like this?

[sooner 1234]

we've only played three

We have played 4 conference games and none with a "healthy" Woodard . He was about 75% last night .

TCU would easily been a win and k state would have been a toss up . Kansas , we had a 9 point lead at half and Woodard only played 24 minutes , and was a shell of himself .

 

[OUballer]

Dude Young is one and done. It will not matter. OU need some BIG men in the middle to level off all the guards and forwards we have. young wont make a differece simply here and gone. I have been preaching this all season We need Bigs.

 

[OUballer]

OU can win ant least 4 or 5 more games at home. Some teams will underestimate the sooners and they will get caught napping.

 

[chuckb]

Dude Young is one and done. It will not matter. OU need some BIG men in the middle to level off all the guards and forwards we have. young wont make a differece simply here and gone. I have been preaching this all season We need Bigs.

You shouldn't post at 1:45 in the morning. Get some sleep.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Dude Young is one and done. It will not matter. OU need some BIG men in the middle to level off all the guards and forwards we have. young wont make a differece simply here and gone. I have been preaching this all season We need Bigs.

How about the kid from Europe coming in? He's a big body right? Or is he more of a Freeman type player -- soft inside?

 

[Boomer!Sooner!]

Dude Young is one and done. It will not matter. OU need some BIG men in the middle to level off all the guards and forwards we have. young wont make a differece simply here and gone. I have been preaching this all season We need Bigs.

No way he is a one and done guy. Draft Express, NBA Draft.net, none of them have Trae as a 2018 prospect. He is an incredible player and I definitely see him as NBA guy, but he is to small. Younger players are drafted of "potential" usually because size and being athletic. I see at least two years and possibly three like Kris Dunn or Steph Curry.

 

[thebigabd]

This team will beat TCU, beat OSU at least once, beat Texas at least once, and probably win a game or two they shouldnt. Looking at 5-6 wins in conference.

 

[WTSooner]

You think we should go into Madison and win with 2 upperclassman scholarship players ??

You are missing the point.

Y

Same with Memphis . We almost lost to them last season with a final four team .

Same Memphis that has recently lost to SMU and Tulsa? lol

We lose 3 studs, who were 3 and 4 year starters ....two were drafted NBA players , not to mention or of them was the best player in college basketball.

Spangler wasn't a "stud". He was a good, maybe even very good player. Same for Cousins probably. But if we can't replace a 6'7 post with a limited offensive game, maybe THAT is our problem.

We have two scholarship upperclassman , and relying on freshman /Sophs to be leaders .

Give me a break. Buford has been on campus for 3 years now. Same with McNeace. Freeman has been on campus for a year now. I'm not saying we're the most experienced team in the land, but we're not so young as to use that for an excuse to be TENTH in the Big 12. That is ridiculous, and a slap in the face to what OU basketball is and means.

 

[chuckb]

You are missing the point.



Same Memphis that has recently lost to SMU and Tulsa? lol



Spangler wasn't a "stud". He was a good, maybe even very good player. Same for Cousins probably. But if we can't replace a 6'7 post with a limited offensive game, maybe THAT is our problem.



Give me a break. Buford has been on campus for 3 years now. Same with McNeace. Freeman has been on campus for a year now. I'm not saying we're the most experienced team in the land, but we're not so young as to use that for an excuse to be TENTH in the Big 12. That is ridiculous, and a slap in the face to what OU basketball is and means.

Being "on campus" and playing meaningful Big 12 games is not the same thing. It's not even close and you're smart enough to know that. This team, while Woodard was out, had 1 guy who had averaged more than 10 minutes per game in college. To assert that's not a factor is beneath you, frankly.

By the way, our 4 conference games have been 2 road games without Woodard, Kansas, and Baylor. People here need to relax and have patience but I've been saying that for weeks and it's apparently not going to happen.

 

[Laxtothemax12]

Give me a break. Buford has been on campus for 3 years now. Same with McNeace. Freeman has been on campus for a year now. I'm not saying we're the most experienced team in the land, but we're not so young as to use that for an excuse to be TENTH in the Big 12. That is ridiculous, and a slap in the face to what OU basketball is and means.

The problem is Jordan has missed a good chunk of the season, and the only other player with much starting experience (Lattin) has been very average at best. Really expected Lattin to change and evolve as an offensive threat. No doubt the team will get better, but the record is far worse than I could've expected. Next year, the excuses some of the more optimistic people are using will not be allowed IMO.

 

[sooner 1234]

You are missing the point.



Same Memphis that has recently lost to SMU and Tulsa? lol



Spangler wasn't a "stud". He was a good, maybe even very good player. Same for Cousins probably. But if we can't replace a 6'7 post with a limited offensive game, maybe THAT is our problem.



Give me a break. Buford has been on campus for 3 years now. Same with McNeace. Freeman has been on campus for a year now. I'm not saying we're the most experienced team in the land, but we're not so young as to use that for an excuse to be TENTH in the Big 12. That is ridiculous, and a slap in the face to what OU basketball is and means.

1sr ) Spangler wasnt a stud ??The guy lead the big 12 in rebounding for almost three years.( 1st,3rd,1st)
I promise you we miss he badly , one of the best rebounders in the history of our program .
Offensive boards are game changers.

2nd) about Memphis . Were they great last year ?? Because we were and almost lost to them .
Memphis has some really good talent and one fitore NBA player .get over it .

3rd) McNease who had never picked up a basketball 5 years ago ?
BUford who is still a Soph ( court time ) and probably will never be more then a depth/guy off the bench.
Freeman ,freshman who is basically a spot up shooter .
Are you serious ??? What about ANY of these players screamed future star/next leader/all big12??

Lastly ,the only "slap in the face to Oklahoma basketball" is given by you ,a complete lack of respect of the three studs we lost last year ,and what they meant to this program .
Not only elite talent , but elite LEADERS,maybe the most dedicated group players in the history of this program .

Again all three of those players were irreplaceable ,no one was going to come close on and OFF the court .

With a healthy Woodard we would be right where everyone expected .....everyone but a few homers on this board that don't live in reality .

 

[sooner 1234]

The problem is Jordan has missed a good chunk of the season, and the only other player with much starting experience (Lattin) has been very average at best. Really expected Lattin to change and evolve as an offensive threat. No doubt the team will get better, but the record is far worse than I could've expected. Next year, the excuses some of the more optimistic people are using will not be allowed IMO.

What on gods green earth gave you the impression lattin would ever have an offensive game ?EVen if he did he would never stay out of foul trouble and stay on the court.
Lattin is what he is ,a great shot blocker and that's it .

Most teams he would be a 6th man .Hes not even that good on the boards.

When you only do one thing great you are a liability as a starter .

He was a great fit on last years starting unit ,but a liability on this years .

 

[Bricklayer]

1sr ) Spangler wasnt a stud ??The guy lead the big 12 in rebounding for almost three years.( 1st,3rd,1st)
I promise you we miss he badly , one of the best rebounders in the history of our program .
Offensive boards are game changers.

2nd) about Memphis . Were they great last year ?? Because we were and almost lost to them .
Memphis has some really good talent and one fitore NBA player .get over it .

3rd) McNease who had never picked up a basketball 5 years ago ?
BUford who is still a Soph ( court time ) and probably will never be more then a depth/guy off the bench.
Freeman ,freshman who is basically a spot up shooter .
Are you serious ??? What about ANY of these players screamed future star/next leader/all big12??

Lastly ,the only "slap in the face to Oklahoma basketball" is given by you ,a complete lack of respect of the three studs we lost last year ,and what they meant to this program .
Not only elite talent , but elite LEADERS,maybe the most dedicated group players in the history of this program .

Again all three of those players were irreplaceable ,no one was going to come close on and OFF the court .

With a healthy Woodard we would be right where everyone expected .....everyone but a few homers on this board that don't live in reality .

Agree with pretty much everything you said. The big bust that no one is talking about IMO is Manyang coupled with recruiting failure in not securing a taller more athletic experienced guard. Strong is going to be a defensive liability, and on offense he's no longer driving to the basket against weaker shorter JUCO talent.

For me the only real surprise is Lattin, expected much more from him , hopefully his scoring and rebounding will pickup. And like the KU game, I want more Jamuni and less Freeman.

 

[Sooner04]

I'm not sure you can label this season anything other than a disaster. Now, if they grow together and learn from it then it's nothing more than an aggravating blip. But if we put together another clunker like this next year it's going to be hard for this staff to pull us out of it.

The seeds of this were sewn when Pritchard abandoned ship. It's one thing for everyone to go ape**** over the daily-doings of Trae Young, but Pritchard was actually on board and depended upon. That one hurt.

But for the actual on-floor problems surrounding our 2017 you need look no further than our assumed starting lineup.

G - Woodard: underperforming by absence
G - James: underperforming on the floor
G - Odomes: Solid
F - Doolittle: Freshman growing pains
F - Lattin: underperforming on the floor

When 60% of your starters are playing sub-par, foul-prone basketball, three dudes who contributed a bunch to a FF team, then it's easy to assign the blame there. With those guys not getting it done, other pieces are either having to play more or in different spots, and they aren't fitting either.

You can see some stuff that works, and you can watch some stretches that are all right. But we've got a lot of new pillars who don't know how to win yet. I'm not sure that's something you just learn in a conference as rough as ours.

At the beginning of the year, I wanted to wear white on Thursday in Kansas City and white in our first game the next week. Now I'm not sure if we'll even need to pack anything but red for the trip to the Sprint Center. The next week game is obviously a pipe dream.

But I'm still on board!


IKWT

 

[sanguinetti]

we are about two losses freefall into what i considered the bad zone. woodard getting hurt was an unknown unknown as Donny Rumsfeld used to say.

i thought we'd struggle but still be on the + side of .500 in conference, bubble team for the NCAA.

like others, i thought James would step up.

i like our guys and Coach....but, we need to do better. i saw in person Billy Tubbs' Sooners lose to the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern.

i'm not giving up.

 

[OUSKINS]

It's a lost year in terms of accomplishing anything on the floor--at least in a measurable way. I'd consider an NIT berth a huge success at this point, but I consider that to be an unrealistic goal. They are going to finish well below .500 and will be playing the play-in game in KC. They will likely be underdogs in that game. I could see them beating one of the other bottom 4 teams for sure, but they aren't taking down KU or Baylor, that's for sure.

So for me, this season has completely lost all of its juice and excitement. I'm not really looking forward to the games or particularly enjoying them. And it's Norman so the casual crew has already checked out and we are down to die-hards and entirely empty sections of the LNC for the KU game already. On the heels of the Final Four just 8 months ago, that is pretty depressing.

That said, for four years this team was highly enjoyable to follow, got increasingly better, and culminated in a great and memorable run last year. That scene for the two games at the Peake was fantastic and something I will always remember. So even though I'm grumpy about this season, I feel that Lon and the program has certainly earned a mulligan for this season. Hopefully, the rest of the year can be used to sort out who can play, who can't, and we will be better equipped to be competitive again next year. Feel bad for Woodard, but he had a good three year run before this. Sometimes you can't go out on top.

So yeah, I kind of want this season to just hurry up and end, but I'm still watching and supporting--taking my son to ISU game next Saturday.

 

[Stikboy]

Obviously this isn't as exciting as chasing a final four, and yes they aren't going anywhere this year. So with that being said, I look at the rest of the season as being hugely important, and interesting to follow. Coaches, real OU fans, etc should be looking at the rest of this season as what young players that have potential can get some great experience before next year. Go on the road in some tough venues. Guard, rebound, and overall play against some great athletes. The further guys like McGusty, Doolittle, Odomes, Shepherd et al can get THIS YEAR as far as experience and confidence, the better OU can be next year, and faster. THat's why I was a little disappointed that Shepherd didn't play at all yesterday, because I see him as an insurance policy against losing Young. While trying to win games obviously, Kruger needs to be playing the heck out of all these freshmen in as many challenging and stressful situations as reasonable. Let them get a taste, see where they're at, and what they need to do to play at this level.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Obviously this isn't as exciting as chasing a final four, and yes they aren't going anywhere this year. So with that being said, I look at the rest of the season as being hugely important, and interesting to follow. Coaches, real OU fans, etc should be looking at the rest of this season as what young players that have potential can get some great experience before next year. Go on the road in some tough venues. Guard, rebound, and overall play against some great athletes. The further guys like McGusty, Doolittle, Odomes, Shepherd et al can get THIS YEAR as far as experience and confidence, the better OU can be next year, and faster. THat's why I was a little disappointed that Shepherd didn't play at all yesterday, because I see him as an insurance policy against losing Young. While trying to win games obviously, Kruger needs to be playing the heck out of all these freshmen in as many challenging and stressful situations as reasonable. Let them get a taste, see where they're at, and what they need to do to play at this level.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn Shepherd was sick yesterday.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Two main reasons for the disappointment.

1) No one could have, should have predicted that Woodard, the only player who has performed with any consistency would be injured and miss games.

2) The deadly committed fan's disease; overconfidence. Last year we were starving for depth off the bench. Walker, now gone was up and down in effectiveness. The quartette of newcomers (McNease, Buford, Odomes and James) produced a total of 35.5 minutes and 9.5 points a game.

Who could reasonably expect those players to suddenly develop into double digit dandies on a consistent basis. That is beyond the pale for even the most adamant sunshine pumper. While all four appear to have potential, we may be looking at their junior or senior year before we get the kind of consistent performance from them that will compete well in an ever tough Big 12.

The better news is that in addition to Strong-Moore the four incoming freshmen (Doolittle, McGusty, Freemen and Shepherd) have accumulated a average 66 minutes and 23.1 points per game so far this season.

It is going to be some kind of journey. I for one think I am going to enjoy it.

 

[chuckb]

What talent do you see out there??? If they had talent, they wouldn't be blowing 20 point leads, committing unforced turnovers 20 times a game, missing layups 15 times a game, missing free throws, and the list goes on and on.

They're just gonna have to prove it to me at this point. There is just way too much stupidity out on that court right now for me to sit here and believe they'll magically figure things out and reel off 10 straight wins.

I see talent that can go in to Morgantown and beat West Virginia on its home court, while turning the ball over only half as often as Baylor did about a week ago against the very same team.

Have they proven it to you yet? Did you see stupidity out there on the court tonight? I saw toughness and resilience and, by the way, a layup that proved to be the game winner.