Is fatigue a factor in OU's struggle to close out games?

[AdaSooner]

Quite often OU rallies in the second half but doesn't have the depth on its roster to fully overcome large deficits. The Sooners starters play the majority of the minutes, meaning all of them are asked to maintain a high level of intensity for 25-plus minutes each game.

Yet, point guard Sam Grooms won't allow fatigue to stand as a reason for OU's second-half struggles.

"That's an excuse," Grooms said. "Everybody wants to make it [an excuse] for us; I'm not going to accept it. It's not."

The quote above was taken from Sooner Nation's Brandon Chatmon's article pinned to the top. It brings up a question I have considered a number of times the past few weeks. Is fatigue a factor in our second half struggles? Sam Grooms doesn't buy into that theory and neither do I. But there are some definite signs that mental fatigue could be part of what we've seen in recent games.

I see it this way. While Grooms may not be willing to accept fatigue as an excuse, the fact remains that mental errors, lapses on defense and untimely turnovers are far more likely to occur when players get tired. It's all too obvious the intensity level and the players' ability to remain focused on the task at hand changes from one half to the next.

And to set the record straight, I'm not using fatigue as an excuse either, nor should team members. When no one on a team averages more than 32 minutes, and only three average over 30 minutes, one would think that well-conditioned college athletes would just be warming up. But, this is not the mentally tough teams we grew accustomed to in the Sampson era, when players frequently logged 38 to 40 minutes in the majority of our games.

Intensity and focus demand a mental toughness this team has only shown in spurts. They just can't seem to sustain it. Watch the second half closely and you'll see our players take plays off to pace themselves. That's especially true on defense. They talk a good show about mental toughness. But doing it is another story.

No doubt that a lack of quality depth has something to do with it, too. I've noticed that Coach Kruger doesn't subsitute as much in the second half, and with good reason. But I can't accept physical fatigue as a reason for our second half swoon. The missing ingredient is mental toughness. If this team has it, they have yet to show it when it counts.

 

[thebigabd]

No.

 

[StatGeek]

No.

maybe mental, but not physical. We don't fade with 3 minutes left. We fall apart with 19:48 left to play.

 

[thebigabd]

Im not even sure these guys even get THAT tired.

-They get four, 4 minute timeouts for TV breaks.
-They will call 2-4, 1 minute timeouts which then goes to commercial
-They get a 15 minute halftime
-Even if you play 35 minutes a game, thats another 5 minutes you arent playing

So, you have a 20 minute half of basketball, for a total of 40 minutes.

40 minutes - 32 minutes of TV timeouts - 15 minutes for halftime - 5 minutes each half of called timeouts - 5 minutes of bench time. So the game is 40 minutes long with 57 minutes of breaks.

That does not even consider standing around for free throws, taking plays off here and there, etc.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Im not even sure these guys even get THAT tired.

-They get four, 4 minute timeouts for TV breaks.
-They will call 2-4, 1 minute timeouts which then goes to commercial
-They get a 15 minute halftime
-Even if you play 35 minutes a game, thats another 5 minutes you arent playing

So, you have a 20 minute half of basketball, for a total of 40 minutes.

40 minutes - 32 minutes of TV timeouts - 15 minutes for halftime - 5 minutes each half of called timeouts - 5 minutes of bench time. So the game is 40 minutes long with 57 minutes of breaks.

That does not even consider standing around for free throws, taking plays off here and there, etc.

again proving you know very little about basketball ...

big men get worn down ... period ..... guards do as well but not as much ..

 

[thebigabd]

again proving you know very little about basketball ...

big men get worn down ... period ..... guards do as well but not as much ..

If you get in better shape you should be able to play basketball for 30 minutes when you get an hours worth of breaks.

There have been plenty of teams (with good talent) that perform just fine because A) They are good, and B.) They are in shape.

 

[DenverSooner]

If you get in better shape you should be able to play basketball for 30 minutes when you get an hours worth of breaks.

There have been plenty of teams (with good talent) that perform just fine because A) They are good, and B.) They are in shape.

I think the guys are in shape. I am not sure why the guys play bad in the second half but I don't think it is because they are in bad shape. I would suspect they are in about the same shape as other BCS conference teams.

 

[Shooterms]

I think it might be an issue, but not because they are out of shape.
It seems like they come out on fire in some games, with great defensive intensity, and in a way, are playing above their abilities by playing really hard. Because of that, though, I think they may be getting worn down more quickly than other teams. Mentally and physically, it is hard to keep up that intensity for a whole game. Other teams, better teams, don't have to be at peak intensity to win. These guys do.

 

[thebigabd]

Take Mizzou for example.. They only play 7 guys. They have 4 players averaging over 30 minutes a game. They are 24-2.

Why? Because they have talent...

 

[Big Old Booger]

again proving you know very little about basketball ...

big men get worn down ... period ..... guards do as well but not as much ..

Off topic, I know, but BoulderSooner, you were adamant Osby was going to play the wing (2). He has not...do you have any reason why you were so adamant and it hasn't happend? I ask because you seemed as if you had inside info...

 

[AdaSooner]

I think it might be an issue, but not because they are out of shape.
It seems like they come out on fire in some games, with great defensive intensity, and in a way, are playing above their abilities by playing really hard. Because of that, though, I think they may be getting worn down more quickly than other teams. Mentally and physically, it is hard to keep up that intensity for a whole game. Other teams, better teams, don't have to be at peak intensity to win. These guys do.

Spot on, Shooter, you get what I'm trying to say.

You're absolutely right, it's not easy to play at a high level both mentally and physically. But OU is not good enough to beat good teams, unless every player on the floor gives a maximum effort the entire game. Difficult to do or not, that's the only choice this team has if they want to beat any team in the Big 12 this season. We saw what these kids can do in the win against KSU on the road. We also saw what happens when they take an 0-8 Texas Tech team lightly.

I believe our problems in finishing games in the second half, though, have more to do with mental fatigue (mental toughness if you will) than anything else. By that, I mean, a player has to be able to block or fight off any thought of being tired, and refuse to give up on a play. The intensity and the fire is usually there in the first half. But this team is not mentally tough enough to "bring it" for an entire game.

The signs are there for everyone to see when you watch for players to jog down the floor in transition, give up on a steal during a breakaway, fail to block out on a rebound or move too slow to get in a help position on defense. Those things happen on every team. But this OU team can't afford to do it if they expect to win.

 

[BAsooner]

They are getting worn down.what abd failed to mention is that mizzou has a bunch of guys that can score and ou only has 3. With no prions on offense it makes it easier for defenses to key on people and they get worn down

 

[5hrenergy]

No. Look at the 2 best teams in the conference Mizzou and Kansas and then look how many minutes their starters play.

 

[MsProudSooner]

No. Look at the 2 best teams in the conference Mizzou and Kansas and then look how many minutes their starters play.

As many people have mentioned, it's not a physical thing, it's a mental thing.

 

[Soonerborn03]

The signs are there for everyone to see when you watch for players to jog down the floor in transition, give up on a steal during a breakaway, fail to block out on a rebound or move too slow to get in a help position on defense.

Two more reasons its mental toughness. How many times have we seen the opposition get a steal and shoot a layup with our player standing there watching him?

Texas did this twice in the first few minutes of the second half, and I looked at the scoreboard and saw we had NO ONE out there on the floor with more than one foul.

When was the last time we had a player do a hard foul in that situation? If we do foul, it's a lame slap on a wrist for a three point play. Has it become uncouth to foul hard on a transition bucket attempt?

Secondly, The second half is full of whining to the referees. This really has to stop. I see our players crawl into a shell if the calls aren't going their way rather than trying to motivate their teammates and keep them focused. Way too much worry about what they can't control rather than what they can.

That's all mental toughness, and there is a lack of it right now when things don't go our way.

 

[AdaSooner]

Two more reasons its mental toughness. How many times have we seen the opposition get a steal and shoot a layup with our player standing there watching him?

Texas did this twice in the first few minutes of the second half, and I looked at the scoreboard and saw we had NO ONE out there on the floor with more than one foul.

When was the last time we had a player do a hard foul in that situation? If we do foul, it's a lame slap on a wrist for a three point play. Has it become uncouth to foul hard on a transition bucket attempt?

Secondly, The second half is full of whining to the referees. This really has to stop. I see our players crawl into a shell if the calls aren't going their way rather than trying to motivate their teammates and keep them focused. Way too much worry about what they can't control rather than what they can.

That's all mental toughness, and there is a lack of it right now when things don't go our way.

Good point about whining to the officials. I have seen several players do it, but Pledger and Blair lead the charge.

Complaining to the officials has never changed a call that I'm aware of. All it will do is bring undue attention to yourself for showing up an official. Just play ball and shut the hell up!

 

[opsooner]

Fatigue is a factor only if LK has them lifting weights at half time. Typically they are simply coming out of half time with no fire or energy. Maybe LK does need to keep them moving at half or maybe he needs to motivate better. I don't know which or something else.

I only know the issue typically occurs at the beginning of the second half.