I guess I was alone in LIKING a lot of what I saw from Tiny

[coolm]

when the game started off I was absolutely beside myself watching Tiny's play. He was big, swift, and had nice offensive moves inside.

Of course his defense needed work. duh. But to me the promise he showed right off the bat was uplifting. You combine that with the guard play and you have one heckuva team.

I thought it was worth more praise than he received. Maybe that is/was calculated.

 

[BigTime]

when the game started off I was absolutely beside myself watching Tiny's play. He was big, swift, and had nice offensive moves inside.

Of course his defense needed work. duh. But to me the promise he showed right off the bat was uplifting. You combine that with the guard play and you have one heckuva team.

I thought it was worth more praise than he received. Maybe that is/was calculated.

I want to see Tiny get mean. He has all the tools, and he has worked so hard to get into shape. He just needs an attitude out there on the glass and on D.

 

[SoonerNorm]

when the game started off I was absolutely beside myself watching Tiny's play. He was big, swift, and had nice offensive moves inside.

Of course his defense needed work. duh. But to me the promise he showed right off the bat was uplifting. You combine that with the guard play and you have one heckuva team.

I thought it was worth more praise than he received. Maybe that is/was calculated.

I completely agree. He's got game.

 

[Sam]

Even though Tiny has made great strides (amazing to look at when you compare him to his JR year) I think it showed he still has some room to improve in conditioning. He was dragging a bit more in the second half so that is going to be an area to watch in the early non conference. But in the first half he was beasting down low on the offensive glass.

 

[okcsoonerfan]

I liked what I saw also. He will play a big role for us this year. Pun intended!

 

[coolm]

of course he needs to get in better shape and be better conditioned. it's the beginning of november.

you don't use a "will this play work in mid-season" standard.

you look at it as "what might this evolve into come midseason".

 

[OKURanger]

I concur. Tiny's performance last night had me thinking that he's going to make many-a-big man look like a lumbering oaf because of his smoothness, long arms and ability to shoot around the basket. I'm not nearly as worried about OU's inside game after watching that performance. I just hope he can stay healthy so that he will continue to mature through the season.

I also liked Drew's performance. What say you?

 

[MsProudSooner]

I thought he looked good - especially for a true freshman. He's going to have his ups and downs, as do all freshmen. The nice thing is that when he has one of those down games there are others who can step up in his place. Blake didn't have that luxury.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

of course he needs to get in better shape and be better conditioned. it's the beginning of november.

you don't use a "will this play work in mid-season" standard.

you look at it as "what might this evolve into come midseason".

First "real" game in a while for one of the most highly rated recruits to ever come to OU...if his worst crime in November is that at 6'10" 290 lbs. is that his conditioning is suspect then I think we [and he] will be fine

Sometimes I think that we forget just how BIG that is.

 

[elmocarp]

I liked what I saw well enough, I just didn't like the sample I got (hope that makes sense). By that I mean that I didn't feel like he got enough touches in "hot spots." I think the kid is a gifted scorer and that we should be deliberate in trying to get him the ball in a position to score. I think 3 of his 6 shot attempts (and 3 of his 5 makes) were off offensive rebounds. I just have a hard time seeing how in 23 minutes on the floor he only got 3 shots out of the offense. That bothers me. It has nothing to do with my opinion of Tiny, I just want to see him touch the ball more.

 

[coolm]

I liked what I saw well enough, I just didn't like the sample I got (hope that makes sense). By that I mean that I didn't feel like he got enough touches in "hot spots." I think the kid is a gifted scorer and that we should be deliberate in trying to get him the ball in a position to score. I think 3 of his 6 shot attempts (and 3 of his 5 makes) were off offensive rebounds. I just have a hard time seeing how in 23 minutes on the floor he only got 3 shots out of the offense. That bothers me. It has nothing to do with my opinion of Tiny, I just want to see him touch the ball more.

I don't necessarily disagree with you there Elmo, but you're talking about a whole different style of play as well as another helping of responsibility to throw on his already-full plate.

This is gonna be an outside-in team, no two ways around it. That style will be its' identity all season and that's what we need to be drilling now. It's actually very enticing to see that Tiny has already shown great skills for what will be a majority of his offensive role for this season ... now he needs to focus on his D and his air.

I am sure we'll find some plays for him as the season rolls on, but letting him grow and develop with a more limited job first might take some of the pressure off. He will get all the action he wants provided his D and conditioning are up to snuff.

 

[Edmond_Sooner]

I didnt see much on offense from Tiny so it was hard to evaluate (very guard oriented with very little post entry), he got the majority of his points from put backs...

I saw a guy that has tons and tons of potential and i think he really played hard (which is the biggest positive i saw from all the freshmen)...

This team was just feeling itself out last night and even though we all have expressed our thoughts on the game, the performance probably didnt mirror much of what we will see when they play better competition...

Was just fun seeing the new faces...

Now they have some areas coach Capel can focus on in practice (the "i told you so" practices)...

 

[Tony]

The "His name is Tiny, but he's actually really big! Hahaha!" puns from the announcers are going to get really old by the time he leaves OU.

 

[mizzOUstu702]

The "His name is Tiny, but he's actually really big! Hahaha!" puns from the announcers are going to get really old by the time he leaves OU.

Hopefully it doesn't get as annoying as watching Capel's Duke-UNC shot every other game...(shudder)

 

[DenverSooner]

I did not get to see the game but Tiny's numbers are pretty darn good. 10 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks (with no foul trouble) in 23 minutes is pretty darn good. Ryan Wright was a top 50 high school prospect and has played college ball for 4 years (including a redshirt season) and he had 8 rebounds with 3 points in the same amount of time. Fitzgerald is another top 100 prospect, played more minutes with 10 points and 5 rebounds. I am not trying to insult Ryan Wright or Fitzgerald but I think when you evaluate Tiny's first game you need to recognize that he in fact had the best numbers of any forward on the floor. That seems pretty good for your first college level game/exhibition.

Perhaps Blake Griffin could have put up a 20/20 game but we should not hold Tiny Gallon to the standard that Blake had set by the end of his sophomore year. Quite frankly it my not be fair to even compare Tiny to Blake but it certainly isn't fair to compare his first game to Blake's last.

FYI - Blake's first game (I did not see the Exhibition stats) was 18 and 13 in 29 minutes against San Francisco. Those are clearly better stats but they are not off the chart better, especially when you consider Blake took more shots and played more than 25% more minutes.

 

[thebigabd]

Dave Armstrong will have a field day with that pun during the Saturday afternoon Big 12 broadcast.

"There is nothing Tiny about this big guy!!!!"
-Dave Armstrong

"Anything but a Tiny effort on that play!!!"
-Dave Armstrong

"Tiny is coming up HUGE for the Sooners!!!"
-Dave Armstrong

I can't wait for the Saturday 11:00am and 2:00pm Big 12 games... Nothing better!

 

[Sooner Quick]

Cool I completely agree. Most people don't understand the training this guy has gone through to get in shape. It was his first game and quite honestly he is learning to play with his new body still. I look for him to get tiny better each game and be a huge factor for the team this year!

 

[FaithfulSooner]

Trust me Tiny will be fine. I actually think that it was very encouraging to see him get 9 rebounds in his first game. For a player that's used to shooting the ball when he wants from the outside. It shows me that he really is trying to buy into what Coach Capel has told him. Don't worry about his offense because Tiny has that part figured out. Tiny Gallon in not the one we should be worried about. If there was one thing I was disappointed about last night. It would be the absence of our veteran players from the stat sheet. Now don't get me wrong. I think Crocker and Wright will give better accounts of themselves in future games, but we need the experience and leadership to go along with our talented young guys. If we get a balanced combination of both. We will be a very good basketball team. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!:clap

 

[buttermaker1]

I want to see Tiny get mean. He has all the tools, and he has worked so hard to get into shape. He just needs an attitude out there on the glass and on D.

A year with Blake and Taylor would have done wonders

 

[buttermaker1]

when the game started off I was absolutely beside myself watching Tiny's play. He was big, swift, and had nice offensive moves inside.

Of course his defense needed work. duh. But to me the promise he showed right off the bat was uplifting. You combine that with the guard play and you have one heckuva team.

I thought it was worth more praise than he received. Maybe that is/was calculated.

Watch Tiny in the all star game last year thats all you need to see, kid is going to play in the NBA.