Syb, I could not agree more with your analysis.
I know what you have long thought about Maddie and hoped for. We all have. For you to make such a statement about her (and the entire state of the program) is extremely fair and balanced.
I simply cannot fathom why the shooting was so poor all season.
Do you think there is some disconnect between the coaches and players? That's all I can think might be possible after the performance and all the players meetings and Kornet's departure.
Maybe a schism has developed.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I think we have not a clue. Let's avoid being the amateur wannabes that think they can coach OU to a title. I'm not sure it can be done. Remember that neither our men's or women's team has ever won a basketball title. Is the men's team as proficient at attracting out of state talent as the women's team has been. Careful, Buddy is an allusion, someone on whom we got lucky. Our men's team was built on Alvan, Wayman, and Blake, all of whom went to school in Oklahoma. We lost superstars to Kansas, Duke, and Georgia Tech. This isn't football.
I have no clue what to think about Kornet's departure. She seemed so happy here. I wonder if she felt rejected when she saw that Maddie, Gioya, and Peyton would be starting, like her turn that she had been waiting for was not to come? It just seemed so pointless, unless she wants to be in grad school in UCLA. Who was her best friend on the OU team? Wasn't it Peyton?
Sherri is a guard's coach. You saw it in the development of Stacy, Danielle, Dionnah, Whitney, and Maria. I don't know that we have seen it in Morgan or Gabbi yet. I get the feeling that it could have been Maddie. But, she needs that relationship that she had with Stacy to be with Gabbi. Bud used to have that relationship with his quarterbacks. They became so in sync with Bud that he didn't need to call plays. They were Bud. I think Stacy was Sherri. Maddie could be Sherri. Gabbi needs to be. I strongly suspect that the reason that T'Ona gets time is that she is more in sync with Sherri than is Gabbi. I wonder if Penzo isn't the next one. There is something about a Sherri guard that sets them apart mentally. I think Sherri would have loved Quannas White. I think this year's men's team would love Quannas.
What this team lacked, and has lacked in recent years, is not talent. We've had adequate talent. What we have lacked is that Sherri-guard leader, the one that controls the floor and keeps the flow going. We lost to North Texas. Then, we beat BYU badly. We went to Seattle and beat a Sweet Sixteen team on their home floor. We should be playing that Sweet Sixteen team for a shot at Notre Dame. We get up, and go down. Floor leader.
I thought Gabbi would be the one. She seemed to be it last year. She was developing into a Sherri-guard. Then, she went to the national team and never came back to OU. What we had was a look-alike. We need to get Gabbi back and have her play the point for two years, as a Sherri-guard.
If you can't score, I want you to distribute. I expect rebounding, defense, distribution, and intensity. In the last fifteen games or so, we got that from Maddie. She did something every game that made her valuable. If we don't get the same from Gioya and Peyton, I'd rather have Dungee, Rich, or Penzo on the floor. I know that Penzo can distribute and handle the ball. Just don't make mistakes. Take what is available. I hope that the Peyton and Gioya that I saw this year are on the bench next year. They must get their act together, or sit. At this point, I would put Peyton, Gioya, Penzo, Rich, and Dungee in a group and take the best two scorers, as long as they didn't negate their scoring with mistakes. Penzo gets a leg up because she can distribute. Gioya and Peyton have their work cut out for them. They were better than this.
