Fran on Niang

[DenverSooner]

Was anyone besides me sick of it? For most of the broadcast he acted like he was the second coming

 

[chuckb]

Was anyone besides me sick of it? For most of the broadcast he acted like he was the second coming

A little, but he (Niang) was awesome. I think Fran's in a little bitof a tough spot when calling our games since his son played ball here. He has to bend over backwards to not show any favoritism, or at least that's how I see it.

 

[hoopsaustin]

Dude it's niang the guy is freaking good

 

[skyvue]

A little, but he (Niang) was awesome. I think Fran's in a little bitof a tough spot when calling our games since his son played ball here. He has to bend over backwards to not show any favoritism, or at least that's how I see it.

With respect, that's nonsense. We've been hearing that excuse for ages, and it was always a shaky one and its efficacy has now expired. His son was a walk-on and now he's an alumnus. He no longer factors in in any way, shape or form. Kirk Herbstreit calls Ohio State games and he doesn't stoop to giving the opposing team a tongue bath as Fran does.

I love Fran Franschilla calling any team but OU. Apparently, he has no idea his son graduated, because he was still giving it the ol' "can't be biased" call throughout. Not that he didn't say good things about OU -- he did, of course -- but the superlatives, the over-the-top stuff was all reserved for Niang and ISU. OU had nice plays, ISU's good plays were upgraded to unbelievable in his calls. If someone watched this game having no idea a) which team was undefeated, b) which team is ranked in the top three, c) which team was playing at home, and d) which player was the defending Big 12 player of the Year, he'd easily assume, based on Fran's call (and the other guy's, too) that it was ISU and Niang who fit those four criteria.

I'm not talking about when ISU was on a big roll -- it's understood they'll praise a team that's building a double-digit lead -- I'm talking about before that -- pregame and in-game when the action hadn't taken any particular shape yet -- and after the run, when neither team led by more than five points or so for the remainder of the game. The relentless ISU-favoring blather continued throughout.

 

[skyvue]

Buddy's been Big 12 Player of the Week twice already in this young season. Has Niang? I don't know, but I'm guessing not. Buddy was also named CBS Player of the Week (I understand why that went unmentioned) and Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

If Niang's earned any of those honors, I've not heard about it. But Fran was touting Niang from the jump as if he was the standout star in the game, and he never let up.

 

[coolm]

actually it didnt bother me because Niang WAS amazing and he deserved every superlative by his play.

as for Fran I hear him on many other telecasts and he is always talking about OU and saying great things about them. He's not a hater.

 

[MNsooner]

I suspect that if we led most of the game our players would have received similar praise.

 

[skyvue]

Are you guys not reading my posts? I'm not saying Niang didn't deserve praise for his performance, but the praise started before the opening tip. If you're going to pick a player to single out BEFORE the game starts and you pick Niang, that smacks of an agenda.

Imagine you're sitting around in a pre-game production meeting, as Fran and his crew were. You're in Norman, so the home team is OU. That home team is unbeaten and ranked no. 2/3 in the country. And their star player has won two national player of the week awards and two Big 12 player of the week awards. He's averaging 25 points per game.

On the other side, you have an 11th-ranked team. They have a very talented player but has he been named national or conference player of the week four times? (I don't know for sure, but I don't think so). I do know he's averaging 19 points per game, six fewer than Buddy.

So before the game, when the focus for these broadcasts is clearly decided upon, which team and which star do you decide to focus on? The home team that's undefeated, ranked #2/3 in the country and scoring 87 points per game, with the player who's won multiple player of the week awards and is averaging 25 points per game? Or the road team that's ranked 11th, is scoring 86 points per game and has an excellent player averaging 19 points per game?

Fran and Co. went for the road team, the team that has achieved less across the board than the home team. And they chose to spotlight an admittedly excellent player who so far hasn't achieved what Buddy Hield has. He's topped 20 points five times (counting tonight) and 30 points twice. Buddy's topped 20 points nine times, with four games over 30 points.

Again, in your pre-game planning, who are you going to choose to focus on?

They chose Niang. That's nonsense.

He's a terrific player, and he had a great game tonight and he deserved praise once it was clear that he was having a special night. But pre-game and in the early going? Buddy and OU should have been the story. But they weren't.

And if that was because Fran's son is a graduate of OU, that's beyond absurd.

 

[skyvue]

I acually was looking forward to Fran's coverage tonight. Finally, I thought, now that his son has graduated, he'll call our games straight up. He won't feel the need to arbitrarily build the other team up in order to avoid (imaginary) accusations of bias.

Then, in the pregame, it was Niang, Niang, Niang, and I thought, uh oh, here we go.

Niang did them the favor of having a terrific night (in a losing cause), but it was readily apparent they'd decided to hype him either way.

 

[WaymanFan]

Since Buddy was jacking up shots from all over the floor, Niang was the best player on that court yesterday. He's certainly no defensive stalwart, but Fran was only drooling over his offensive capabilities...and we had no answer for him whatsoever. I had no issues with Fran's comments since Niang backed it up. If we don't want to hear Fran raving about him next time, then it's up to the OU players to do a better job on him.

 

[coolm]

Since Buddy was jacking up shots from all over the floor, Niang was the best player on that court yesterday. He's certainly no defensive stalwart, but Fran was only drooling over his offensive capabilities...and we had no answer for him whatsoever. I had no issues with Fran's comments since Niang backed it up. If we don't want to hear Fran raving about him next time, then it's up to the OU players to do a better job on him.

yep

 

[Tundrasooner]

Niang was awesome last night. Don't know what some are seeing in Fran and his commentary. I thought Fran did good myself.

 

[garyeb2]

Fran was gushing like a school girl over the kid from the get go. As it happened, Niang made some tough shots last night and bailed him out.

 

[coolm]

what is so hard about accepting that Niang is a very good college player? Niang made tough shots, easy shots, every shot. He was the goods.

 

[soonerbms]

I didn't think Fran was all that over the top. I like his analysis.

 

[thebigabd]

Buddy's been Big 12 Player of the Week twice already in this young season. Has Niang? I don't know, but I'm guessing not.-SKYVUE

Haha... that's funny because Niang might have more awards than Buddy, but you don't know. In which case, you'd end up looking silly.

For the record, I don't know either.

 

[skyvue]

Haha... that's funny because Niang might have more awards than Buddy, but you don't know. In which case, you'd end up looking silly.

For the record, I don't know either.

I was just acknowledging that I wasn't sure. I could have stated it outright and you (and most posters) wouldn't have known the difference, but I was trying to be honest about it. It might not always be apparent, but I strive to avoid being an internet blowhard and to back up my rants, when I offer them, with facts -- and when I don't have all the facts, I acknowledge it, even if it hurts my argument. So I knew full well what I doing last night in admitting that I didn't know if Niang had won a player of the week award. I tried to find out before posting, but if the Big 12 posts a lists of their weekly awards, I can't find it, and I found no other evidence that Niang has won a weekly award this season. If I'm wrong, I'm happy to be corrected.

But I was confident he didn't have many awards as Hield, and the reasons are clear: Hield's had a much better individual season to date than Niang, and OU's had a better season than ISU. You'd never have known that to listen to Fran last night. Gary totally gets it -- Niang bailed out Fran last night.

And to coolm: I have acknowledged that Niang is a terrific player. I have no problem doing that, and I'm again left wondering if you read my posts. But was Niang the major story going into the game last night? No, he wasn't. Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners were.

And at game's end, they still were, as evidenced by the coverage of the game on Sportscenter and other shows. Niang got his props, as he should have, but the story was the undefeated Oklahoma Sooners and their best player, Buddy Hield (Isaiah and Ryan also came in for some love, which is only right).

 

[152219]

http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArti...34&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=210603407

Big 12 POTW so far listed.

 

[skyvue]

http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArti...34&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=210603407

Big 12 POTW so far listed.

Thanks, 152219.

Now we know, and the evidence further backs up my argument.

 

[WTSooner]

So Big 12 POTW is now how we distinguish what players should get pregame praise?

Some OU fans have the biggest chip on their shoulders. Both football and basketball. Act like the world is out to get them and OU. I don't understand that. Would make me want to stop following sports as closely if I felt that way.