For those that watched the game

[BigTime]

How did Walker look in his debut? Did his handles look good under pressure? Make decent decisions? Shooting form/release? Defense?

Just curious how he will do as Beak's replacement at backup PG...

 

[BCSooners]

Shooting and body looked good. He didn't shoot well last night but you can tell that he can shoot it. Decision making was average as well as his defense. I see him being a serviceable backup to Woodard for 10 mins a game but not a combo guard like Hornbeak was. JMO

 

[KBaden145]

I think he will shoot it better than he did last night. He's a physical guy and was really good at muscling into the lane. I think he needs more work when he's off the ball and playing with Jordan but in the end I think he ends up being better in that role than Hornbeak was.


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[snydrosooner]

He will play the role of backup point guard better the hornbeck. But what I saw not as dynamic of scorer as hornbeck was.

 

[AdaSooner]

I think he will shoot it better than he did last night. He's a physical guy and was really good at muscling into the lane. I think he needs more work when he's off the ball and playing with Jordan but in the end I think he ends up being better in that role than Hornbeak was.


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^
This

I liked what I saw of Walker. It's true he didn't have a great night shooting from the field, but I can think of at least two shots that rimmed out. One tried to go in twice. His stroke looks good. As KBaden said, he takes the ball to the hole and finishes with authority.

I think he's more comfortable at the one right now. But I wouldn't worry too much about a guy who shot 40% from three last year. He'll be fine at the two. I also think he'll be just as good or better than Hornbeak when he gets the feel for the speed and physicality at the D-1 level.

 

[sybarite]

Green.

 

[TINY]

He will play the role of backup point guard better the hornbeck. But what I saw not as dynamic of scorer as hornbeck was.

It's hard to say after one game but I think hornbeak is a better player regardless of position. Losing him when we did was rough.

Walkers most impressive attribute was his strength imo. He did not dribble the
Ball particularly well with his off hand. He didn't shoot it particularly well but he made some nice finishes in traffic, drawing an impressive and-1. I think his d should be fine too, it's too early to say.

 

[usedtobe1]

I liked Walker's play. He's strong and physical, and likes to penetrate. He also did a good job of dishing the ball when he penetrated. He didn't shoot the ball particularly well but not many did ..... e.g. Cousins.

I really haven't seen enough to compare him to Hornbeak. I suspect Hornbeak is a little better shooter and quicker, but Walker is more physical. Since this team last year was so perimeter oriented, I think having a physical penetrator will be a good change of pace.

 

[WTSooner]

Walker is almost definitely a better pg and ball-handler than Hornbeak. Need to see him more to comment more.

 

[BigTime]

Thanks for all the updates!

 

[KBaden145]

They are very different players but for what I believe we need at that spot and from what I've seen of him to this point, Walker fits better than Hornbeak did last season. That's not to say Hornbeak would not have improved and might not have ended up the better player.


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[JBaker]

He had good strength and body control getting to the rim.

 

[DenverSooner]

I guess I saw things a bit differently. I thought he had a slow start and perhaps was a bit nervous or overwhelmed in the first half. It wasn't really enough to cause a lot of mistakes but he was not particularly productive. I thought he had a great second half.

I think he will penetrate better than Hornbeak. He looked like he shot with confidence and good form but he did not have a great shooting night. I personally think he is going to be an improvement over Hornbeak last season.

Last season Hornbeak played in 29 games and averaged 18.2 minutes. He only shot .398 from the floor and .224 from 3 pt range. He averaged 5.1 points, 1.8 boards, less than 1 steal a game (22 on the season). His assist to TO ratio was just over 2:1 and he had 3 blocks on the year. He was not a great defender. Those numbers are respectable for a bench player but far from great.

Nothing against Hornbeak but I think he is easily replaced. What is going to be more difficult to replace is Cam Clark (obviously) and Tyler Neal's .413 3 point shooting. Neal played just over 15 minutes a game averaging 3.3 boards and 6.3 points. Neal was one board short of averaging 1 offensive rebound a game. He had 11 blocks. Last season he was far more valuable than Hornbeak in my opinion.

OU might get lucky and Mankin might be able to pick up some of Neal's production. Gary suggested Mankin would play this season and he certainly did no Friday night.

 

[BoomSoon]

Absolutely agree with Denver. Walker can be dangerous and make his own shot. More of a scorer. Easy to tell he was nervous with his jumper early. He had a strong few minutes in the second half where you could tell he is a gamer.

Offensively, an upgrade over Jelon. (And I LOVED Jelon from Day One.) We'll have to see on defense.

 

[perryj74]

Walker played quite well like Denver said after he had a chance to get into the game and shake the nerves off. I don't know how much help he is going to be at the 2 or that he is needed to help much there, but I saw enough to be confident in him to be the backup PG.

 

[pnkranger]

Walker played quite well like Denver said after he had a chance to get into the game and shake the nerves off. I don't know how much help he is going to be at the 2 or that he is needed to help much there, but I saw enough to be confident in him to be the backup PG.

Agree with most things being said, but he took too many shots with the second unit as opposed to creating for others. Needed to set the table more.

 

[Max Power]

i liked that he was able to take some contact in the paint and still finish for the and 1