Hard look

[bluesooner17]

Loss to Bears should be a program check for Sooners

What’s rock bottom look like?

Maybe like what happened to the Oklahoma women Sunday afternoon at Lloyd Noble Center.

Baylor prevailed 74-52 and, true, losing by 22 points to the nation’s fifthranked team is not necessarily the worst kind of loss, even in your own gym.

Seemingly, the worst kind of loss is the one coach Sherri Coale’s team took Dec. 3 against Florida, an 80-61 home-court defeat that had her apologizing for the effort.

“I haven’t seen an Oklahoma team play that poorly in 15 years,” Coale said that day.

Sunday was a different deal.

The Sooners actually shot better than 50 percent for a quarter, led the Bears 27-20 after an Ana Llanusa 3-pointer less than 3 minutes into the second quarter and led the game until nearly the final minute of the first half.
Still, the bottom had already dropped out.

From the second quarter forward, OU shot 7 of 41, which may be some kind of record if such records are kept.

It wasn’t like the Sooners quit playing hard. They hounded Baylor — the class of the conference for a very long time — into 17 turnovers against their own 13. The Bears nearly shot 50 percent — 30 of 61 — yet only twice this season had the Bears attempted so few shots and only once this season had they scored fewer points.

In many ways, OU executed its game plan. Much of what the Sooners wanted to do, they did. Much of what they wanted Baylor to do, the Bears did.

Nevertheless, OU scored a season low 52 points, shot a season low 26.8 percent, canned eight field goals in the first quarter but only seven more the rest of the game and, as long as we’re at it, played the No. 5 team in the nation in front of a puny-yet-liberally- estimated crowd of 3,510.

There was a time OU-Baylor, women’s edition, might require T-shirts on every chair because you knew a big crowd was coming.

That ship has sailed.

It’s a program check.

“I think we showed stretches where we executed extremely well and knocked down great looks by shooters who are very capable,” Coale said, “and then we have droughts and that’s where you have that guy who you go to.

“Who’s that guy you go to when you’ve got to have a basket? And we’ve not been able to answer that question.”

Sunday, that player might have been freshman guard Ana Llanusa, who already had 13 of her 19 points when she put the Sooners on top by seven early in the second quarter.

However, Llanusa, nor her teammates, nor her coaches had the wherewithal to understand they might want or need to go back to her.

The Choctaw rookie missed a shot near the rim on the next possession, but did not attempt another one until almost 3 minutes had elapsed in the second half.

Of course, asking a freshman to be that player so early in her collegiate career is not the preferred template, either. On the other hand, even on a veteran team, OU has no better options.

The Sooners haven’t claimed the player Coale’s looking for in several seasons. Instead, they’ve specialized in players who seem like, perhaps, they could be that player, but have not been.

“I think we’ve tried. I think we’ve put players in that position and still we’re looking for the right answer,” Coale said. “I think you try to create those opportunities, but at some point you have to make those plays so you can believe you can make those plays. Confi dence comes from demonstrated ability.” It goes without saying that Stacey Dales, Courtney Paris or Danielle Robinson would be amazing additions to this band of struggling Sooners, now 8-9 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12 Conference. Yet so, too, would be the second and third bananas on the teams that played with those All-Americans.
Oh, how this team could use a Caton Hill, an Erin Higgins, a Nyesha Stevenson.

Fearlessness and a little athletic ability can go a long way on the hardwood, yet OU, even when hitting its marks, as it did plenty Sunday, did not go very far.

“Baylor looked way more confident in the second half than we did and that’s something with four seniors on your team that you’d like to see more of,” Coale said.

It is what it is.

Or what it isn’t.

OU remains good enough to dream. It can put points on the board. It can defend, at least some of the time. Occasionally, it makes its free throws.
There’s time for the season to get better.

Also, against the top of the conference as well as the program’s very own history, it’s an abundantly long way away.

 

[oketex]

OU has been some what of an embarrassment this season, our seniors are not producing the youngsters are working hard while learning but the real change needs to be with the assistant coaches, they give the appearance of riding the bench drawing a pay check. It's time for SC to make some real changes and that may mean letting some friends go and bring in recruiters and hard ass coaches.

 

[sooner8693]

OU has been some what of an embarrassment this season, our seniors are not producing the youngsters are working hard while learning but the real change needs to be with the assistant coaches, they give the appearance of riding the bench drawing a pay check. It's time for SC to make some real changes and that may mean letting some friends go and bring in recruiters and hard ass coaches.

Hell freezes over before SC gets rid of any of her asst coaches.

 

[Sweetest OU Girl]

I don't really think it is quite as easy as some think. I expect no one is any more disappointed than I am about this year (and a couple of the past few), but the real problem is related to players who were never expected to be prime players needing to carry a big load.

If you will play back even the last game (BU), the big problem is an inability to pass the ball. Ana knows how to do that. So she gets the ball, passes it quickly, moves fast, never gets it back. The person she passes it to often just starts dribbling, usually never moving more than a few feet, eventually passing to someone within a few feet of her, etc.

All the "ball movement" SC has asked them to do, just seldom happens.

Secondly, some of them have really struggled to understand that it is mostly a turnover to dribble into the middle where several taller players are waiting to block your shot. Plus a couple of our players oddly never look up at the basket when shooting layups.

A third problem we are having is officiating. While I'm not certain if that has actually decided many/any games this year, it is very problematic. For example, I challenge you to go back and re-watch the play where K Brown threw her elbow into Vivi's jaw. I have played it back several times - even in slow motion - looking for some way a call could have been made that Vivi fouled Brown. It never even sort of happens. Instead, Brown throws her elbow - very hard - straight into Vivi's jaw. The official looks shocked, delays a bit, looks puzzled, then finally calls the foul on Vivi. Nothing like that ever happened. Look at it. It is obvious what happens. Everyone in the place knew what happened. The official knew what happened. She just made up a call trying to protect Brown. The other officials forced her to look at the monitor and finally protected her by keeping a foul on Vivi (which does not even get close to reality) then adds the flagrant on Brown. Now I ask you. Why did Lisa call that foul on Vivi. That she did - especially watching her body language - is a major problem.

This kind of thing happened over and over in the game. Look at 1:15 of quarter 1. Ana is called for a foul that never happens. Look at the last 0.6 of Q1. Choau literally knocks Ana down at mid-court. It is absolutely obvious. No call. Look at 5:52 of Q2 (may have been Q1). Cox literally knocks Ana a few feet sideways with her body. Somehow a travel is called on Ana. Look at it and explain that call. In all but one of these calls, the same official (Lisa) is looking unobstructed, directly at the play. She knew what actually happened. Yet called the fouls/walk.

Look at 5:15 of Q2. Richards is said to be fouled by Maddie even though Richards is BEHIND Maddie, with her arms wrapped around Maddie. SC doesn't complain too much, and Richards gets this huge smile on her face - clearly saying "I got away with that one".

Cox fouled over and over - with waving, shoving arms - yet seldom called for it until they did some makeup calls late in Q4 to make it appear fouls/free throws were not totally one sided. Don't take my word for it. Go back and watch the game again.

I am not saying that to complain that officials definitely cost us the game. But it is highly obvious they impacted the outcome.

The question is WHY?

 

[sybarite]

As a matter of "sportsmanship," we are not supposed to complain about the officiating. I have repeated many times that the Dallas Morning News or Dallas Times Herald had a Southwest Conference writer who made it very clear that the biased officiating in favor of Texas was very offensive to the other coaches of the Southwest Conference. It continues, but Baylor and Texas are both in Texas. We had a few problems with KU when the Big Eight headquarters were in KC.

Officiating can play a major role. Throughout the Baylor game, I do not remember a call that was close that went OU's way. We were called for blocking when we were standing still. On the other hand, we were called for charging at the other end. The same calls were not made on both ends. That plays into your mentality. OU led early. How much of the collapse was the fact that we stopped hitting, and how much of that was frustration? Was Baylor ever called for blocking underneath their basket? We tend to play Texas close and even beat them in Norman as a rule. Baylor---we seem to give up on. How much of it is that banging that Baylor is allowed to do---that we are not?

There is more than one reason that we should never be in a conference with Baylor or Texas.

 

[soonerstar]

Hell freezes over before SC gets rid of any of her asst coaches.

True, unless she needs to make a spot for Colton.

 

[tycat947]

I don't really think it is quite as easy as some think. I expect no one is any more disappointed than I am about this year (and a couple of the past few), but the real problem is related to players who were never expected to be prime players needing to carry a big load.

If you will play back even the last game (BU), the big problem is an inability to pass the ball. Ana knows how to do that. So she gets the ball, passes it quickly, moves fast, never gets it back. The person she passes it to often just starts dribbling, usually never moving more than a few feet, eventually passing to someone within a few feet of her, etc.

All the "ball movement" SC has asked them to do, just seldom happens.

Secondly, some of them have really struggled to understand that it is mostly a turnover to dribble into the middle where several taller players are waiting to block your shot. Plus a couple of our players oddly never look up at the basket when shooting layups.

A third problem we are having is officiating. While I'm not certain if that has actually decided many/any games this year, it is very problematic. For example, I challenge you to go back and re-watch the play where K Brown threw her elbow into Vivi's jaw. I have played it back several times - even in slow motion - looking for some way a call could have been made that Vivi fouled Brown. It never even sort of happens. Instead, Brown throws her elbow - very hard - straight into Vivi's jaw. The official looks shocked, delays a bit, looks puzzled, then finally calls the foul on Vivi. Nothing like that ever happened. Look at it. It is obvious what happens. Everyone in the place knew what happened. The official knew what happened. She just made up a call trying to protect Brown. The other officials forced her to look at the monitor and finally protected her by keeping a foul on Vivi (which does not even get close to reality) then adds the flagrant on Brown. Now I ask you. Why did Lisa call that foul on Vivi. That she did - especially watching her body language - is a major problem.

This kind of thing happened over and over in the game. Look at 1:15 of quarter 1. Ana is called for a foul that never happens. Look at the last 0.6 of Q1. Choau literally knocks Ana down at mid-court. It is absolutely obvious. No call. Look at 5:52 of Q2 (may have been Q1). Cox literally knocks Ana a few feet sideways with her body. Somehow a travel is called on Ana. Look at it and explain that call. In all but one of these calls, the same official (Lisa) is looking unobstructed, directly at the play. She knew what actually happened. Yet called the fouls/walk.

Look at 5:15 of Q2. Richards is said to be fouled by Maddie even though Richards is BEHIND Maddie, with her arms wrapped around Maddie. SC doesn't complain too much, and Richards gets this huge smile on her face - clearly saying "I got away with that one".

Cox fouled over and over - with waving, shoving arms - yet seldom called for it until they did some makeup calls late in Q4 to make it appear fouls/free throws were not totally one sided. Don't take my word for it. Go back and watch the game again.

I am not saying that to complain that officials definitely cost us the game. But it is highly obvious they impacted the outcome.

The question is WHY?

I guess you missed the post game interview Kim had with Brenda. She said they weren't really expecting all the flopping so you need to look closer. HYPOCRITE U NEVER FOULS!