GAME 33 - OKLAHOMA (20-12) vs KENTUCKY (21-10) 8:30pm CST on SEC NETWORK

[pncparn]

Who cares. Game means zero. They were not winning four games, especially down a guy. It was an amazing effort and time to get ready for next week. No one will care come Sunday night (I didn’t care after it was over)

 

[steverocks35]

He literally had his arm around his chest and other arm around his back. Then as Goodine broke free, he pulled his arm.

But I guess you call it a weak screen. Got it.

And Taylor was doing a terrific job face guarding and denying their best shooter the ball, with Fears picking up their second best shooter. 1-2 guys busted the defensive scheme.

Far from "all our guys picking their noses".

I just watched it again. Taylor wasn’t one of the 4 guys hanging out in the middle of the floor. He had his back to the play, face-guarding a guy a mile from the ball, as Oweh was laying it in. It was a horrendously designed defensive play. Why wasn’t Taylor, our best on-ball defender, on Oweh. And again, WHY WAS GOODINE EVEN IN THE GAME. Anyway, I guess I should let it go but this is basic basketball. You can’t have 4 guys standing around at half court on that play and you absolutely CANNOT let Oweh catch it at near half court headed towards the basket. The entire sentient world knew Oweh was going to catch the ball and drive to the cup. Coaching malpractice.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I just watched it again. Taylor wasn’t one of the 4 guys hanging out in the middle of the floor. He had his back to the play, face-guarding a guy a mile from the ball, as Oweh was laying it in. It was a horrendously designed defensive play. Why wasn’t Taylor, our best on-ball defender, on Oweh. And again, WHY WAS GOODINE EVEN IN THE GAME. Anyway, I guess I should let it go but this is basic basketball. You can’t have 4 guys standing around at half court on that play and you absolutely CANNOT let Oweh catch it at near half court headed towards our basket. The entire sentient world knew Oweh was going to catch the ball and drive to the cup. Coaching malpractice.

I’m with you … as much as I want to let it go, I can’t for two reasons: one, this is the crap Moser pulls all the time and it’ll likely happen again in the tournament, and two, I’m blown away that people are acting as if the design of the play was good. To recap: we let their best guy catch the ball unguarded, and had our worst defender as one of the two guys tasked with guarding him.

 

[steverocks35]

I’m with you … as much as I want to let it go, I can’t for two reasons: one, this is the crap Moser pulls all the time and it’ll likely happen again in the tournament, and two, I’m blown away that people are acting as if the design of the play was good. To recap: we let their best guy catch the ball unguarded, and had our worst defender as one of the two guys tasked with guarding him.

They’re all standing at half court and when Oweh catches it uncontested they start back-pedaling. I’m just surprised we didn’t unfurl an actual red carpet for him to use on his way to the basket.

 

[TINY]

Who cares. Game means zero. They were not winning four games, especially down a guy. It was an amazing effort and time to get ready for next week. No one will care come Sunday night (I didn’t care after it was over)

I hear ya but I wanted that game badly. Needed payback on garrison and to a lesser extent I wanted oweh to take an L too. Beating kentucky is a big deal. Gotta take advantage of the chances you get because they are likely to just blow our doors off a lot going forward.

 

[Eielson]

Letting four games change your mind is a choice. I bet NC State is glad they went down that path last year.

After the ugly loss to Florida, we've played very well for the past 7 games.

If you took out the 4 games that preceded it, or the 4 game stretch to open conference play, then we're 20-9 and just had our best non-Buddy/Blake season since Sampson left.

We did play those games and looked awful in them, but if we're not letting a 4 game stretch affect our opinion...

 

[MercedeSooner]

Oweh 1-6 8 Pts 5 TOs. Of course when he goes up against a team with some size. Just embarrassing we let him destroy us in both games when the guy can only score in 1 way and is 6 4.

 

[Boom Soon]

Oweh 1-6 8 Pts 5 TOs. Of course when he goes up against a team with some size. Just embarrassing we let him destroy us in both games when the guy can only score in 1 way and is 6 4.

Couldn't agree more. But I am SO glad it's not OU getting run out of the gym by Alabama.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Couldn't agree more. But I am SO glad it's not OU getting run out of the gym by Alabama.

The top end SEC teams are just playing a different game, their size and athleticism is just on a different level. Makes what OU is throwing out there look like a Mid Major.

 

[Boom Soon]

The top end SEC teams are just playing a different game, their size and athleticism is just on a different level. Makes what OU is throwing out there look like a Mid Major.

So true!

 

[MJSooner]

They’re all standing at half court and when Oweh catches it uncontested they start back-pedaling. I’m just surprised we didn’t unfurl an actual red carpet for him to use on his way to the basket.

All I'm saying is the design of the play was not as bad as the result. If Kobe does his job and actually cuts-off the sideline and forces Oweh into the middle of the floor, it works. Goodine was a little late to the spot because of the hold, or should I say "weak screen", but he is clearly waiting on the double-team in the middle of the floor. Taylor, as the best defender you say, is giving excellent D on their best shooter and Fears and Moore each pick up a man and have them guarded. The only one that is "backpedaling" is Elvis because he's standing up straight. Once Oweh beats him to the edge, he turns on the burners to the basket and the design falls apart.

Look, I've stated during this conference season, maybe it's time to try something different. But the result on the floor won't be much different until we get the basics and foundations of this program fixed. As long as Joe C is there, I don't see the admin support or the BMD financial support to make things change. I don't even have faith he would make a good hire, or a better hire. But I'm okay to at least try something and if Moser leaves, okay. If we make the change, that's okay, too.

But I also think there are some on this board who has such a disdain for PM that EVERY moment on the floor or surrounding this program is his fault. Player misses a timely FT or layup- Moser's fault. Player turnover the ball a critical moment- Moser's fault. Player has a season-long injury and doesn't play- Moser's fault. And one player doesn't execute the called play or defense to win the game- Moser's fault.

This attitude was apparent this week when Toby shared the news about JMac not ready to play in the Big XII tournament last year and somehow Moser screwed that up, too.

Certainly, Moser has made a TON of mistakes and deserves blame for so many things. But he also deserves credit for things going right, too. We don't have a chance to make the tourney this year if it wasn't for his energy, enthusiasm, and positive attitude. The players have said so. And the biggest oversight by the haters is how he has handled Jeremiah. He is a 18-year-old kid playing against the best competition in college basketball. He's had some downs. He hit a wall. But he got through it all and he's now playing his best basketball. Moser has encouraged him. He's coached him up. He's stuck by him.

And don't take my words for it, those were Jeremiah's words to the SEC network after the Georgia game.

Is it time for PM to move on? Maybe, and I would be okay if he does. But not every problem or mistake with this program, team, or results are PM's fault.

 

[daqman]

everyone focuses on the final play....but it should have never come down to that.
the more disappointing thing to me was moore....5 of 14 shooting.
more than a few people said early on that moore was an nba guy....sure hasn't played that way all year and has been downright bad in several games.

 

[Boom Soon]

everyone focuses on the final play....but it should have never come down to that.
the more disappointing thing to me was moore....5 of 14 shooting.
more than a few people said early on that moore was an nba guy....sure hasn't played that way all year and has been downright bad in several games.

I was completely wrong on Moore. I absolutely thought he was better than Oweh coming into conference play. Hindsight is 20/20 but the program should have paid any amount of money to keep Oweh and then let Moore transfer if he wanted to.

 

[steverocks35]

All I'm saying is the design of the play was not as bad as the result. If Kobe does his job and actually cuts-off the sideline and forces Oweh into the middle of the floor, it works. Goodine was a little late to the spot because of the hold, or should I say "weak screen", but he is clearly waiting on the double-team in the middle of the floor. Taylor, as the best defender you say, is giving excellent D on their best shooter and Fears and Moore each pick up a man and have them guarded. The only one that is "backpedaling" is Elvis because he's standing up straight. Once Oweh beats him to the edge, he turns on the burners to the basket and the design falls apart.

Look, I've stated during this conference season, maybe it's time to try something different. But the result on the floor won't be much different until we get the basics and foundations of this program fixed. As long as Joe C is there, I don't see the admin support or the BMD financial support to make things change. I don't even have faith he would make a good hire, or a better hire. But I'm okay to at least try something and if Moser leaves, okay. If we make the change, that's okay, too.

But I also think there are some on this board who has such a disdain for PM that EVERY moment on the floor or surrounding this program is his fault. Player misses a timely FT or layup- Moser's fault. Player turnover the ball a critical moment- Moser's fault. Player has a season-long injury and doesn't play- Moser's fault. And one player doesn't execute the called play or defense to win the game- Moser's fault.

This attitude was apparent this week when Toby shared the news about JMac not ready to play in the Big XII tournament last year and somehow Moser screwed that up, too.

Certainly, Moser has made a TON of mistakes and deserves blame for so many things. But he also deserves credit for things going right, too. We don't have a chance to make the tourney this year if it wasn't for his energy, enthusiasm, and positive attitude. The players have said so. And the biggest oversight by the haters is how he has handled Jeremiah. He is a 18-year-old kid playing against the best competition in college basketball. He's had some downs. He hit a wall. But he got through it all and he's now playing his best basketball. Moser has encouraged him. He's coached him up. He's stuck by him.

And don't take my words for it, those were Jeremiah's words to the SEC network after the Georgia game.

Is it time for PM to move on? Maybe, and I would be okay if he does. But not every problem or mistake with this program, team, or results are PM's fault.

I can’t believe you’re STILL defending that last defensive play design. Moser gets paid millions of dollars to make sure he puts the team in position to win and he failed miserably on that play and many others over the last 4 years. Also 2 weeks of playing well is not going to erase 4 years of bad coaching and 20 years of mediocre results. OU can do better.

 

[opsooner]

All I'm saying is the design of the play was not as bad as the result. If Kobe does his job and actually cuts-off the sideline and forces Oweh into the middle of the floor, it works. Goodine was a little late to the spot because of the hold, or should I say "weak screen", but he is clearly waiting on the double-team in the middle of the floor. Taylor, as the best defender you say, is giving excellent D on their best shooter and Fears and Moore each pick up a man and have them guarded. The only one that is "backpedaling" is Elvis because he's standing up straight. Once Oweh beats him to the edge, he turns on the burners to the basket and the design falls apart.

Look, I've stated during this conference season, maybe it's time to try something different. But the result on the floor won't be much different until we get the basics and foundations of this program fixed. As long as Joe C is there, I don't see the admin support or the BMD financial support to make things change. I don't even have faith he would make a good hire, or a better hire. But I'm okay to at least try something and if Moser leaves, okay. If we make the change, that's okay, too.

But I also think there are some on this board who has such a disdain for PM that EVERY moment on the floor or surrounding this program is his fault. Player misses a timely FT or layup- Moser's fault. Player turnover the ball a critical moment- Moser's fault. Player has a season-long injury and doesn't play- Moser's fault. And one player doesn't execute the called play or defense to win the game- Moser's fault.

This attitude was apparent this week when Toby shared the news about JMac not ready to play in the Big XII tournament last year and somehow Moser screwed that up, too.

Certainly, Moser has made a TON of mistakes and deserves blame for so many things. But he also deserves credit for things going right, too. We don't have a chance to make the tourney this year if it wasn't for his energy, enthusiasm, and positive attitude. The players have said so. And the biggest oversight by the haters is how he has handled Jeremiah. He is a 18-year-old kid playing against the best competition in college basketball. He's had some downs. He hit a wall. But he got through it all and he's now playing his best basketball. Moser has encouraged him. He's coached him up. He's stuck by him.

And don't take my words for it, those were Jeremiah's words to the SEC network after the Georgia game.

Is it time for PM to move on? Maybe, and I would be okay if he does. But not every problem or mistake with this program, team, or results are PM's fault.

I agree with a lot of this. I have been critical of Moser and don’t take any of that back. And Moser probably could have had a better plan there. But he probably developed it during the timeout and it wasn’t as bad to me as it was to a lot of the other people who dislike his coaching abilities. It is way down my list in fact. Players still have to make plays and they had the opportunity to do it there. This is almost the opposite of what happened in Norman when he left one guy (and not the right one) to defend Oweh all by himself with no help whatsoever.

I don’t like the state of our program but I sure have enjoyed the past several games. That includes almost all of the UK game even when we got down late. I don’t expect us to be a Top 10 program in this era. I just expect us to be sound fundamentally and never quit. It has been a real pleasure watching Fears lately and he is making everyone else better as it should be.

 

[MJSooner]

I can’t believe you’re STILL defending that last defensive play design. Moser gets paid millions of dollars to make sure he puts the team in position to win and he failed miserably on that play and many others over the last 4 years. Also 2 weeks of playing well is not going to erase 4 years of bad coaching and 20 years of mediocre results. OU can do better.

If executed by the players, it works. Kobe failed miserably and Goodine was late to the double team. That's the reality whether you or I agree on the play design or not.

I stated in my first post on the play, a couple of things could have been done differently, like having Duke in the game, or denying the catch with your top person in the 1-2-1 faceguarding instead of playing behind. But we wouldn't have noticed if Kobe does his job.

You basically admit without saying it, you're letting the frustration of four years, and twenty years, impact your thoughts on the last play design. And go back and read my last post, I wasn't saying it erased anything and didn't say it wasn't time for a change. I'm okay if we do make a change as we need to do something. But I'll cheer hard for PM if he comes back. My love for OU basketball and support goes much deeper than who the coach is. I'll cheer and donate regardless who the HC might be next year.

At this point, the debate doesn't matter. Neither one of us is wrong or right. The bottom line is we have to do better going forward, either next week or into next year.

I'm just not really confident things will be a whole lot different regardless of who the coach is. Can a different coach get us 3-4 more wins? Absolutely. But until the AD, admin support, marketing, BMDs, arena, etc, etc. are fixed, we're having this same frustrating debate on how we finish in the last half of the SEC, how we lack talent against better teams, how we missed a recruit, or what could have been again next season and for years to come.

 

[pnkranger]

A 1-2-1-1 halfcourt trap is intended to slow down

If executed by the players, it works. Kobe failed miserably and Goodine was late to the double team. That's the reality whether you or I agree on the play design or not.

I stated in my first post on the play, a couple of things could have been done differently, like having Duke in the game, or denying the catch with your top person in the 1-2-1 faceguarding instead of playing behind. But we wouldn't have noticed if Kobe does his job.

You basically admit without saying it, you're letting the frustration of four years, and twenty years, impact your thoughts on the last play design. And go back and read my last post, I wasn't saying it erased anything and didn't say it wasn't time for a change. I'm okay if we do make a change as we need to do something. But I'll cheer hard for PM if he comes back. My love for OU basketball and support goes much deeper than who the coach is. I'll cheer and donate regardless who the HC might be next year.

At this point, the debate doesn't matter. Neither one of us is wrong or right. The bottom line is we have to do better going forward, either next week or into next year.

I'm just not really confident things will be a whole lot different regardless of who the coach is. Can a different coach get us 3-4 more wins? Absolutely. But until the AD, admin support, marketing, BMDs, arena, etc, etc. are fixed, we're having this same frustrating debate on how we finish in the last half of the SEC, how we lack talent against better teams, how we missed a recruit, or what could have been again next season and for years to come.

Kobe and Goodine were in the game. Perfect play design or not, coach decides which players are where. Kobe on the right side of the floor knowing Oweh wants to get downhill going right...Goodine as the point of attack, no big in to protect the basket. So many coaching decisions -- right play or not, it's the personnel that needed adjustment, and Porter missed on that one.

 

[WichitaSooner]

If executed by the players, it works. Kobe failed miserably and Goodine was late to the double team. That's the reality whether you or I agree on the play design or not.

I stated in my first post on the play, a couple of things could have been done differently, like having Duke in the game, or denying the catch with your top person in the 1-2-1 faceguarding instead of playing behind. But we wouldn't have noticed if Kobe does his job.

You basically admit without saying it, you're letting the frustration of four years, and twenty years, impact your thoughts on the last play design. And go back and read my last post, I wasn't saying it erased anything and didn't say it wasn't time for a change. I'm okay if we do make a change as we need to do something. But I'll cheer hard for PM if he comes back. My love for OU basketball and support goes much deeper than who the coach is. I'll cheer and donate regardless who the HC might be next year.

At this point, the debate doesn't matter. Neither one of us is wrong or right. The bottom line is we have to do better going forward, either next week or into next year.

I'm just not really confident things will be a whole lot different regardless of who the coach is. Can a different coach get us 3-4 more wins? Absolutely. But until the AD, admin support, marketing, BMDs, arena, etc, etc. are fixed, we're having this same frustrating debate on how we finish in the last half of the SEC, how we lack talent against better teams, how we missed a recruit, or what could have been again next season and for years to come.

I, for one, would have noticed even if Oweh had missed the shot. I’ve said for two weeks since the first game that you absolutely have to deny and not let him get the ball in that kind of situation. This isn’t the NBA where all five guys on the court are elite players who can easily make you pay if you deny a guy and play the other four guys with three defenders. And with only five seconds to play, it’s very hard for a team to go to plan B if you take away their primary option. Deny Oweh, make Brea your other priority, and if anyone of the other three dudes can make a play, you live with the outcome. Again, it’s a big deal because it continues a pattern, and that won’t be the last close game we’re in. If Moser doesn’t adjust his approach, we will keep losing these games, and our miserable record in one-score games will continue.

 

[MJSooner]

everyone focuses on the final play....but it should have never come down to that.
the more disappointing thing to me was moore....5 of 14 shooting.
more than a few people said early on that moore was an nba guy....sure hasn't played that way all year and has been downright bad in several games.

I was completely wrong on Moore. I absolutely thought he was better than Oweh coming into conference play. Hindsight is 20/20 but the program should have paid any amount of money to keep Oweh and then let Moore transfer if he wanted to.

I agree. JMoore hit a couple of HUGE 3s down the stretch. But his size and lack of physicality have hurt him around the rim, as he hasn't been able to out-athlete guys in the SEC.

IMO, he tries too much to out-finesse guys when he is finishing, especially at the basket or in the paint. Contrast that to Oweh who plays like a poor man's LeBron and just barrels and explodes to the basket and into contact. You can see this in JMoore's FTAs as they have steadily declined. But I also think he contributes a lot more in leadership and one cannot deny how he has pulled some huge rebounds out of the sky due to his athleticism. But ultimately, he's probably more of a wing than a PF.

I don't think anyone at the end of last year would have thought keeping Oweh over Moore was a good decision. Plus, they wanted both of them back and it was Oweh's decision to leave. No one at OU or on the staff chose one or the other. And it's easy to say in hindsight that maybe we should have Oweh over Moore- based on his game's against OU. But Oweh was 1-6, 5 TOs, and 8 pts last night. And looking at the two of them over the entire season, Jalon's numbers overall are slightly better, even with his dip late.

Bottom line- if we had Oweh vs. OU on our roster, he'd be worth Cooper Flagg money. But season long Oweh, we did okay having Jalon Moore instead.

WIth that said, agree with the both of you, we need a whole lot more out of JMoore next week for us to win a couple of a games in the tourney.

 

[MJSooner]

I, for one, would have noticed even if Oweh had missed the shot. I’ve said for two weeks since the first game that you absolutely have to deny and not let him get the ball in that kind of situation. This isn’t the NBA where all five guys on the court are elite players who can easily make you pay if you deny a guy and play the other four guys with three defenders. And with only five seconds to play, it’s very hard for a team to go to plan B if you take away their primary option. Deny Oweh, make Brea your other priority, and if anyone of the other three dudes can make a play, you live with the outcome. Again, it’s a big deal because it continues a pattern, and that won’t be the last close game we’re in. If Moser doesn’t adjust his approach, we will keep losing these games, and our miserable record in one-score games will continue.

Don't disagree completely, and openly stated, that I would have drawn it up a little differently. And maybe would have had Duke in the game instead of Kobe. But all I stated is the problem was the execution, not that it was a horrible horrible play design. Maybe not perfect, but not as bad as it's being blamed.

BTW, according to my count, we were 7-6 in games decided in the final minute or final possession. Not as bad maybe as many think and it seemed a lot worse than that. Probably because of a handful of recent stingers (Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Kentucky) where mistakes were pretty blatant. And I was pretty vocal on how bad the called defense was against Ole Miss. Totally on Moser to teach/tell the D to go under the screen and switch. Split those games and the season and opinions could look a little different.

But ultimately, 100% agree. Whether players or coaching, can't keep letting games get away from you when they are right there for the taking. That's every game in March.