Houston Cougars..... just sayin'

[thebigabd]

7 junior college players on roster... got an at-large bid out of the American as a 6 seed. Advancing to the second round.

• Leading scorer Rob Gray (19 ppg) came from Howard Junior College
• Second leading scorer Corey Davis (13 ppg) came from San Jacinto College
• Third leading scorer Devin Davis (10 ppg) and leading rebounder (6 rpg) came from Odessa College

The other guys, including the high school guys, are random role players.

The problem isn't that juco players are horrible.... the problem is Lon Kruger doesn't prioritize them (neither did Capel) so they get the worst ones at the last minute...

Sampson truly has a gift for finding the right transfers to fit his system.

 

[WTSooner]

While I'll admit there aren't nearly as many JUCO guys as their used to be, they do still exist. The past two OU coaches have been terrible at identifying that talent and how it fits with our team, but there are still talented players out there. That gets proven every year.

 

[thebigabd]

Next years team needs Terrell Everett and Mike Neal, badly.

 

[hoopsaustin]

Lol

 

[thebigabd]

Lol

As I was writing this point, I knew you would appear.

 

[vbdad]

Houston won which is great. They hit a shot with a second left. We went to overtime and lost. Not much difference. Houston can get anybody in school they want. We have looked at juco guys and taken a few without much success. We have also tried to get some transfers in that the athletic department said no! One of which went to Houston who is now playing in the NBA.

 

[mict085]

Lon doesn’t prioritize jucos like kelvin does. Also, there isn’t nearly as much talent in juco as there once was. When Lon takes a juco, it’s last minute and they’re awful. Just filler. Sampson does a great job at finding the best jucos, but he doesn’t sign a lot of talent out of HS.

 

[skyvue]

One player scored 39 of their 67 points, they were a 6 seed facing an 11, and they needed a last-second shot to win it. I'm not sure that's what I'd call a true success story.

 

[152219]

Houston won which is great. They hit a shot with a second left. We went to overtime and lost. Not much difference. Houston can get anybody in school they want. We have looked at juco guys and taken a few without much success. We have also tried to get some transfers in that the athletic department said no! One of which went to Houston who is now playing in the NBA.

There are multiple reasons it is called “Cougar High”.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

One player scored 39 of their 67 points, they were a 6 seed facing an 11, and they needed a last-second shot to win it. I'm not sure that's what I'd call a true success story.

I would call Sampson's job at Houston a success story no doubt.

 

[skyvue]

I would call Sampson's job at Houston a success story no doubt.

I think they've had a good season, but they very easily could have lost yesterday. And they're losing their three best players, so we'll see going forward. In any case, you can be certain they wouldn't have enjoyed the success they did if they were playing in the Big 12.

That said, if we'd beat RI by two on a last-second shot and Trae had scored nearly 60% of our points, you'd be trashing him for being a selfish player. That was a very lucky win for Houston yesterday, and if they hadn't won, this thread wouldn't have been started.

The touting of Kelvin Sampson as the model we should look to, however, is laughably ironic, considering the consistent trashing Kelvin (and those of us who supported him) were subjected to while he was in Norman. I was one of his biggest defenders and it was a constant battle, so I can only shake my head hearing him praised now.

 

[thebigabd]

One player scored 39 of their 67 points, they were a 6 seed facing an 11, and they needed a last-second shot to win it. I'm not sure that's what I'd call a true success story.

Survive and advance. Margin of victory is not an important measure in the NCAA Tournament.

if they hadn't won, this thread wouldn't have been started.

Typically threads and their content do or do not get created based on stuff that happens. This seems overly obvious. Some examples below:

If OU wins, threads about that victory will get created
If OU loses, threads about that loss will get created

In this case... Houston did something and a thread was created as a direct result of that.

I am sure a thread will get created later based on OSU winning or losing in the NIT as well.

 

[skyvue]

Survive and advance. Margin of victory is not an important measure in the NCAA Tournament.

But you didn't merely start a thread congratulating Coach Sampson and his team as surviving and advancing; you (and others) are presenting him and his approach as preferable and superior to what we have currently have in Norman (if you're not stating that outright, you're implying it). Given that, it's fair and proper to dig a little deeper.

Kelvin's team played an 11-seed yesterday; OU faced a 7. But the results were not very far apart. Houston needed 39 points and a last-second shot from a single player to squeak by that 11 seed; OU took their 7-seed opponent to overtime.

And if OU had been a 6 seed and squeaked by an 11 seed at the last second only because Trae Young had scored 39 (out of the team's modest 67 points), there would be all kinds of criticism of the win on this board today. We'd be happy we won, sure, but several posters would have the knives out for TY (for being a ballhog and a selfish player), for his teammates (for having only scored 28 points combined), and for Coach Kruger on general principle.

 

[red recluse]

you should stop sayin’...

 

[sperry]

Let's not forget that Kelvin has always been a terrible tournament coach.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I think they've had a good season, but they very easily could have lost yesterday. And they're losing their three best players, so we'll see going forward. In any case, you can be certain they wouldn't have enjoyed the success they did if they were playing in the Big 12.

That said, if we'd beat RI by two on a last-second shot and Trae had scored nearly 60% of our points, you'd be trashing him for being a selfish player. That was a very lucky win for Houston yesterday, and if they hadn't won, this thread wouldn't have been started.

The touting of Kelvin Sampson as the model we should look to, however, is laughably ironic, considering the consistent trashing Kelvin (and those of us who supported him) were subjected to while he was in Norman. I was one of his biggest defenders and it was a constant battle, so I can only shake my head hearing him praised now.

even if they had lost, it was still a good year for houston.
Even if we had won, it was a horrendous year for us.

I always liked sampson. there were plenty that didn't.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

you (and others) are presenting him and his approach as preferable and superior to what we have currently have in Norman

I think most logical people would prefer Kelvin to Lon kruger...even if yesterday's results were flipped.

I know I would

 

[MrAnderson]

I think most logical people would prefer Kelvin to Lon kruger...even if yesterday's results were flipped.

I know I would

Indeed. KS is a superior coach to LK

 

[inoref]

KS good coach..I wouldn't want him back

 

[Maverick008]

I think most logical people would prefer Kelvin to Lon kruger...even if yesterday's results were flipped.

I know I would

Career Records-

KS- 508-274
NCAA Tournament: 15 Years (13-14), 1 Final Four(OU), 0 Championships

LK- 619-395
NCAA Tournament: 18 Years (20-18), 2 Final Fours(OU/Fla), 0 Championships

So just because you don't like Kruger's style makes the rest of us "not logical"?

We all get that some of you don't like Kruger's style but to act like he's a horrible coach is laughable.

To call this season as a whole "terrible" is laughable. No it didn't end any where close to what it could have based on the start but they did "improve" by 7 wins from the year before.

I get they had one of the top players in the country but just adding ONE stud doesn't always mean GREAT/immediate success as a whole. Honestly, I would say he did more than he probably should have had to do to get them to 18 wins. Yes it's unfortunate they didn't win more for sure but to call it a failure is odd? I heard that this was the 8th youngest team in the NCAA tournament this year. What was this team supposed to do? Win it all? I'm pretty sure

I guess the question which some have already given names is, who do you realistically think could come in and do better with the hand they are dealt? As others have said, when Sampson left the first time many CHEERED that he and his slow methodical style of play were gone and LOVED that a young energetic coach with a "faster style" and better recruiting reputation were steaming in to take Norman by storm......how did that turn out? Fact is you can't ever guarantee what the next guy will bring to the table. This team also was supposed to be together one more year WITH Trae which probably wont' happen now. IF it did happen and they didn't win at least 23+ and finish as a 6 seed or higher with at least a sweet 16 birth than I'm sure we'd all agree it was a disappointment and Kruger underachieved.....I'm guessing we'll never get to know.