Guard play

[WichitaSooner]

Outside of James, guard play absolutely killed us tonight. Missed free throws, turnovers, and three times in the second half when we couldn't finish on fastbreak layup opportunities. Sad thing is, we actually got more good looks than I would have expected against them. A couple guys looked scared to shoot in the second half. JB definitely is one guy never afraid of the moment.

Two tough road games that were winnable that we couldn't pull through. Hard to get those back.

 

[sdcloud9]

Outside of James, guard play absolutely killed us tonight. Missed free throws, turnovers, and three times in the second half when we couldn't finish on fastbreak layup opportunities. Sad thing is, we actually got more good looks than I would have expected against them. A couple guys looked scared to shoot in the second half. JB definitely is one guy never afraid of the moment.

Two tough road games that were winnable that we couldn't pull through. Hard to get those back.

Both grad transfer guards played scared but I think they'll grow from it. JB definitely wasn't scared, a lot of Isaiah Cousins in him for sure.

 

[opsooner]

Not a great game for Reynolds but I thought other guards were OK. We just had to knock down more shots and FTs but we weren’t bad from line. Tech just played way above average from line.

We also had a spell in second half where we just stood around too much on offense for about 4 straight possessions. That is when our lead disappeared.

Hold serve at home and find a way to get 3-4 road wins. No prob with the 2 road losses so far. Just have to come through against slightly weaker teams and find a way to get those road wins.


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[tmeyer3307]

James again wasn't all that great.. didin't shoot it well and can't play defense. He has become a mid range/3 point shooter only. He can't get by anyone and he won't bully anyone. He drives me crazy at times.. Reynolds just doesn't give us anything on the offensive end.

 

[WichitaSooner]

James again wasn't all that great.. didin't shoot it well and can't play defense. He has become a mid range/3 point shooter only. He can't get by anyone and he won't bully anyone. He drives me crazy at times.. Reynolds just doesn't give us anything on the offensive end.

He shot well till late when he missed a couple, but he at least gave us life in the first half. And I think your assessment of his D is a bit harsh. There is no way we could be playing as well defensively as a team if the guy who leads us in playing time was as bad as you implying. He isn't Reynolds or Calixte on that end but he is better than in the past and I think he is at least working hard.

 

[CMSOONER]

I thought the offense stalled out a lot last night. There was a lot of standing around and the guards going 1 on 1. None of the guards played well, credit Tech for good defense and our guards for some poor decision making and a bad shooting night.

James played a poor game in my opinion. Was not protecting the ball, wasn't shooting well. Just wasn't a good night for CJ.

Calixte handled the ball well, but it seemed like when he was in the game the offense wasn't moving. So he was dribbling all over the court trying to get the ball to anybody for a good shot. Hit a couple needed 3's but overall didn't shoot well.

Reynolds just flat out didn't shoot well. He had plenty of open looks but just didn't knock them down. Drove into traffic against their bigs and got shots blocked. Missed back to back crucial free throws. Just on overall bad game from Reynolds but I don't expect this to be the norm.

Odomes is Odomes. A bully guard who doesn't shoot well, only drives left and plays overaggressive defense. Pretty typical game from Ro last night.

Bieniemy didn't shoot well, but I thought was by far our best guard last night. Played with energy, broke down the defense at times and got open shots for others.

 

[tmeyer3307]

He shot well till late when he missed a couple, but he at least gave us life in the first half. And I think your assessment of his D is a bit harsh. There is no way we could be playing as well defensively as a team if the guy who leads us in playing time was as bad as you implying. He isn't Reynolds or Calixte on that end but he is better than in the past and I think he is at least working hard.

I mean just watch games.. Teams are picking on CJ.. Making him run and use energy. There are several times he just gets caught ball watching and loses his man. Had a crucial moment in the second half where him and I can't remember who got confused up top on a switch and no one guarded the corner for a wide open 3. I would like to see his defensive rating. I honestly think it's super bad(worse on team).. I did think Doolittle played pretty well. He's just so undersized, but I loved his effort on the glass(Both ends)

 

[opsooner]

We don’t have elite talent but we are achieving. Tech has a good D and we all knew it would give us trouble but we battled to the end. Make a few more shots and FTs and we win. That includes overcoming a lot of calls that didn’t go our way. I thought guards were OK and have no issues. We did have lack of offensive movement at times in second half but that is probably fatigue as much as anything. Guys were really working on D.


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[jaymOU]

Bieniemy didn't shoot well, but I thought was by far our best guard last night. Played with energy, broke down the defense at times and got open shots for others.

I liked his aggressiveness as well, but I think - even with his shooting woes from last night (1-7) - he still needs to look for his shot more. Often his penetrations last night stopped around the free-throw line. Just needs to be more aggressive offensively.

I love his game. If he can make a Cousins, Buddy type jump year-to-year he's an all-conference candidate before he leaves.

Harmon, Reeves, Bienemy trio - if Harmon is as good as advertised - will be salty.

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

This team wasn't hurt by guard play. It is and was hurt by the fact that they have nearly no inside presence without McNeace. He has to get healthy and play 20-25 minutes well for this team to reach its potential. My concern is that, if he's so banged up that they can't get more than 75% of him for 6-8 minutes a night, he's also not allowing that ankle to heal. It seems to me that he needs to sit for a few games so we can get him back to 100% for the last half of conference season and March. Right now, he's not helping the team in the short- term or the long-term.

 

[WichitaSooner]

This team wasn't hurt by guard play. It is and was hurt by the fact that they have nearly no inside presence without McNeace. He has to get healthy and play 20-25 minutes well for this team to reach its potential. My concern is that, if he's so banged up that they can't get more than 75% of him for 6-8 minutes a night, he's also not allowing that ankle to heal. It seems to me that he needs to sit for a few games so we can get him back to 100% for the last half of conference season and March. Right now, he's not helping the team in the short- term or the long-term.

I don't think I've ever disagreed with you, so this might be a first. I just expect more from veteran guards than missed free throws and critical turnovers, plus poor perimeter shooting, if we are to win on the road against the top teams in the league. Losing Muni obviously hurts, but we still dominated the glass and weren't hurt by their bigs. Awful three point shooting has been a common theme in our losses.

Hard to know what the deal is with Muni, he and Lon both say he is no longer in pain and is just trying to work the rust off and regain the explosiveness.

 

[coolm]

This team wasn't hurt by guard play.

nah. it was bad guard play. the guards say it themselves.

 

[Sooner04]

I think inside presence is overrated in today's college game, and I think we play better defense with McNeace on the bench. Nobody's trying to block a shot and everybody is looking to box out.

I like our small lineup a lot.

 

[coolm]

I think inside presence is overrated in today's college game, and I think we play better defense with McNeace on the bench. Nobody's trying to block a shot and everybody is looking to box out.

I like our small lineup a lot.

yep.

 

[hoopsaustin]

I don't think I've ever disagreed with you, so this might be a first. I just expect more from veteran guards than missed free throws and critical turnovers, plus poor perimeter shooting, if we are to win on the road against the top teams in the league. Losing Muni obviously hurts, but we still dominated the glass and weren't hurt by their bigs. Awful three point shooting has been a common theme in our losses.

Hard to know what the deal is with Muni, he and Lon both say he is no longer in pain and is just trying to work the rust off and regain the explosiveness.

I mean 2 of our vet guards were on pacific and 4-25 maine...

 

[TheMont]

I'm a huge Muni fan, but I'm now kinda seeing his injury as a blessing in disguise -- it allowed Brady's inside game and Doo's overall aggressiveness to develop and those have been huge for us. If we can add a 100% Muni back to that rotation for 25+ minutes a game, look out!

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

I don't think I've ever disagreed with you, so this might be a first. I just expect more from veteran guards than missed free throws and critical turnovers, plus poor perimeter shooting, if we are to win on the road against the top teams in the league. Losing Muni obviously hurts, but we still dominated the glass and weren't hurt by their bigs. Awful three point shooting has been a common theme in our losses.

Hard to know what the deal is with Muni, he and Lon both say he is no longer in pain and is just trying to work the rust off and regain the explosiveness.

The team missed a lot of shots, to be sure, but having McNeace be able to score inside helps open up the outside. You're right that those guys have got to knock down shots...Reynolds was the main culprit Tuesday but they need that additional scorer. Teams are sagging on the drivers like Odomes and we can't be so dependent on hitting 3's. McNeace is a threat offensively when he's healthy and playing well. He scores, draws defenders, and can pass (sometimes) to open players off double-teams.

His loss could be offset if Manek had a jump hook or some way to score other than on 3's & putbacks. Same with Freeman.