Interesting PT - Player Minutes vs. Ohio

[SoonerTraveler]

The "equality" of minutes we saw earlier in the season is being adjusted as the conference season approaches.

Minutes vs. Ohio

Steven Pledger ..... 34
Buddy Hield ...........34
Romero Osby .........30

Amath M'Baye .......22
Je’lon Hornbeak ..... 20
Sam Grooms ..........20
Cameron Clark ...... 18

Isaiah Cousins ....... 11
Andrew Fitzgerald .. 10
Tyler Neal .............. 1

Obviously, Hornbeak's foul trouble changed the PT some.

 

[CoachTalk]

As the conf season approaches, that bench will get fairly short, but givin these guys so many mins early will hopefully pay off and keep these older guys fresh!

 

[usedtobe1]

Most teams end up with a 7 or 8 man rotation during conference play. Neal has probably been edged out by Clark's strong play at the 4, and Cousins may have played himself out of significant minutes at PG. Even Fitz is losing some minutes to Clark .... but I think they need his offense in the rotation but he may be the 4th option on the front line.

 

[luckyc1423]

Honestly, why was cousins ever starting?
I see that it has all worked out and he is not starting anymore.
However, how was he ever the starter? Most of the time you earn the starting role but in this case there is no way he could have earned the role seeing how he is a freshman. I will never get this one. But I'm glad Kruger finally figured it out.

 

[WaymanFan]

I had a feeling we would start seeing less of Tyler Neal. I wouldn't be surprised if Cousin's playing time kept decreasing as well. He just isn't ready.

Fitz didn't play much, especially in the 2nd half because Osby and M'Baye were so effective. You could clearly see when he was in the game, though, he tried to make an impact.

An 8-man rotation with Grooms, Clark and Fitz coming off the bench could very well be what we see the rest of the year. Still, either Pledge or Hield must ALWAYS be in the game in order to have at least one good outside shooter since they're the only two we have.

 

[garyeb2]

Honestly, why was cousins ever starting?
I see that it has all worked out and he is not starting anymore.
However, how was he ever the starter? Most of the time you earn the starting role but in this case there is no way he could have earned the role seeing how he is a freshman. I will never get this one. But I'm glad Kruger finally figured it out.

Sometimes players don't earn a starting job. They lose a starting job. That is what Grooms did over the course of last season.

That is what Blair did. There wasn't any competion for the starting point guard position last season. Kruger just simply handed Grooms the ball and he was the starter from the 1st day of practice. Same this season. Kruger handed Cousins the ball and he was the starter.

Cousins, Hornbeak, and Buddy, are not Kentucky good elite recruits. But, they are good enough. Kruger got them because he promised them the chance to play as freshmen. With the program in the shape that it is, he didn't have much else to sell. And he has done what he said he would do.

All three of them were playing high school ball 9 months ago. And all 3 of them are coming along slower than hoped for. Hornbeak was the steadiest from the start and he is coming along bit by bit. I overheard early on that the staff thought that they would be 5 games in before they had Buddy ready to start. But it turned out to be 10 games. And he was just exceptional last night.

Cousin was thought by the coaches not to be just a player that would be good at OU. But, more so a player that would be a difference maker. Those that want to start grinding on him in December of his freshman year will likely end up looking as clever as the recent M'Baye bashers.

 

[jerry]

I had a feeling we would start seeing less of Tyler Neal. I wouldn't be surprised if Cousin's playing time kept decreasing as well. He just isn't ready.

Fitz didn't play much, especially in the 2nd half because Osby and M'Baye were so effective. You could clearly see when he was in the game, though, he tried to make an impact.

An 8-man rotation with Grooms, Clark and Fitz coming off the bench could very well be what we see the rest of the year. Still, either Pledge or Hield must ALWAYS be in the game in order to have at least one good outside shooter since they're the only two we have.

Fitz is not a player you can win with. Never has been and never will be. Our record with Fitz in the starting lineup his first 3 years was 42 -52. Only play him if someone gets in foul trouble. Big man rotation should be Osby, M"baye and Clark.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Cousins has not played of in a few games now. Hornbeak is now our starting pg with grooms off the bench

 

[WaymanFan]

Fitz is not a player you can win with. Never has been and never will be. Our record with Fitz in the starting lineup his first 3 years was 42 -52. Only play him if someone gets in foul trouble. Big man rotation should be Osby, M"baye and Clark.

The problem is that if Osby is on the bench, you would have either Clark or M'Baye at the 5 position. While Fitz isn't exactly a 5, he's certainly better at that position than the other two. Just like either Pledge or Hield needs to be on the court at all times, I think either Osby or Fitz also needs to be on the court at all times.

 

[jerry]

The problem is that if Osby is on the bench, you would have either Clark or M'Baye at the 5 position. While Fitz isn't exactly a 5, he's certainly better at that position than the other two. Just like either Pledge or Hield needs to be on the court at all times, I think either Osby or Fitz also needs to be on the court at all times.

If you want to continue to have losing seasons you are right about Fitz. We need to move on because the guy is not a winner. Maybe 10 minutes like last night would work. No more though I hope.

 

[CoachTalk]

If you want to continue to have losing seasons you are right about Fitz. We need to move on because the guy is not a winner. Maybe 10 minutes like last night would work. No more though I hope.

I'm sorry but this statement is way off base. Our losing is not a correlation to fitz being on the floor. Fitz will help this team win some games, he isn't an all star but he a servicevable body!
I could give you 100 "winners" on bad teams.

 

[WTSooner]

I'm sorry but this statement is way off base. Our losing is not a correlation to fitz being on the floor. Fitz will help this team win some games, he isn't an all star but he a servicevable body!
I could give you 100 "winners" on bad teams.

Agreed.

Some people just like to blow things way out of proportion. Clark is fine when the matchup is there. But we'll play teams in the Big 12 that will eat Clark up at the 4.

 

[jerry]

I'm sorry but this statement is way off base. Our losing is not a correlation to fitz being on the floor. Fitz will help this team win some games, he isn't an all star but he a servicevable body!
I could give you 100 "winners" on bad teams.

Just like I said #4 big guy 10 minutes a game.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Kruger has played the freshmen a lot because he knows they will be better players than some of the starters from last year. They have all shown streaks of outstanding play. They are all athletic and all have shown that they can score but being freshmen they play like freshmen sometimes and in some instances more often than not. Same for M'Baye. It is pretty early to write Cousins off.

The Sooners are playing a pretty different game than last year with more pressure defense and more uptempo. Everyone is still learning their role. It looks like Osby and Grooms are the closest of the returnees. Fitz, Clark and Pledger not there yet.

If the team can develop their idenity and consistently perform in that manner the post season is still a reality. If not, then it's wait until next year. With the number of newcomers it has taken longer than we all would like.

At least this year we are not crumbling in the second half.

 

[CoachTalk]

Just like I said #4 big guy 10 minutes a game.

We weren't making the same point. He will need to play more than 10 minutes.

 

[scrybe]

If it were not for the participation of a few posters (SoonerinNC, garyeb2, WTSooner and others), following this board would, on occasion, be downright painful.

Just wanted to offer a heartfelt "thank you" to those who offer a collective voice of reason at times when it seems like the inmates are taking control of the asylum. :ez-laugh: