Is it time

[j2d2]

to sit the starters and use the younger players for a few games? Gives the usual starters time to reflect and choose what they will do the rest of the year and gives some good experience to a good number of next year's team. At this point what do we have to lose?

 

[sybarite]

It's almost too late to be doing that. There is no time for the starter to get over the insult and make the emotional adjustments. It is worth a try. At this point in time, I have more faith in Edwards and Kornet than I have in Morgan and Vegas. There is no way that I ever thought I would be saying that. But, I find myself during a game wishing that Vegas or Morgan would be pulled. I feel the same way about Williams. If she isn't going to rebound or score, why not bring in Gibbs? She will at least rebound. She fouls no more than Kay Kay, and she actually is dominant around the boards when she is in the game.

These are absurd statements. Unfortuately, I just have lost faith, for now, in Morgan, Vegas, and Kay Kay. They don't seem to be trying---or at least thinking while trying.

 

[jerry]

Well Vegas has another concussion so we won't see her for a while. Really feel bad for her.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Well Vegas has another concussion so we won't see her for a while. Really feel bad for her.

That's too bad. It's gonna be hard to win without her.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I have never thought there are consequences for mistakes under Sherri. She allows players to have 9 turnovers (maybe more but it just hasn't happened yet) and keep playing. Think about that. If a player realizes they can commit 9 silly turnovers and still play, where is the incentive to get better?

I believe it was Adasooner or maybe Rocjunkie who said this team is very poor fundamentally. Whose fault is that? We have 3 seniors and 1 junior who have been at OU long enough to at least have down the fundamentals of the game. What do they work on during practice if they can't even get the basics right?

As someone else stated, insanity is when you continue to do the same thing and expect different results. How about going to a full-court press? How about putting both bigs in the game at the same time? How about ditching the zone? How about telling the bigs to stop putting the ball on the floor? How about sending at least 3 players for offensive rebounds? How about telling the guards to stop dribbling so much? How about telling the guards to stop trying to dribble through double teams? If they don't comply, how about putting their butts on the bench?

While no one can be happy with the players, Sherri is just as responsible for some of the problems they are experiencing.

 

[keysersose]

I was watching UConn play USF yesterday. UConn runs the motion offense just as Bobby Knight designed it. I notice that in the half court their players rarely took more than two dribbles with the ball. A player would have the ball on the perimeter, and the other players would run multiple screens. The ball would move to the player coming off the screen and then it would continue, few dribbles. So I've wondered. Sherri has run the motion offense her entire career. Why does Morgan seem so often to just be dribbling around waiting for the play to develop? I recall that Sunny Hardeman would bring the ball up, pass it immediately to the wing, and then run through the post as the screening began. No dribbling around. So, I would be interested in the observations of those who are familiar with the motion offense as to why this team seems not to be running it very efficiently.

 

[sybarite]

I think we began to stand around a bit more when we had Courtney. But, this year, is is flagrant.

 

[j2d2]

A good part of the time while Morgan is dribbling no one else is moving like they should. We seem to watch the game more than play in it sometimes.

 

[sybarite]

I think we have commented frequently that it appears often to be a motionless offense.

 

[keysersose]

I think we began to stand around a bit more when we had Courtney. But, this year, is is flagrant.

I recall that in Courtney's sophomore year Sherri went to what she called "motion skewed" because she thought the offense should run through her. This left the perimeter shooters standing around and by mid season she benched Brown and Welch in favor of Plumley and Thompson. It was said that Plumley could feed the post while Brown could not. This led to two disappointing seasons.

 

[Soonerbay]

I recall that in Courtney's sophomore year Sherri went to what she called "motion skewed" because she thought the offense should run through her. This left the perimeter shooters standing around and by mid season she benched Brown and Welch in favor of Plumley and Thompson. It was said that Plumley could feed the post while Brown could not. This led to two disappointing seasons.

Part of that problem was because CP's teammates were standing around watching her rather than running the offense. One of the comments that Geno made after a UCONN game went something like...CP was the only one that came to play. Everybody else was standing around looking at her.

Plumley and Co. did a poor job of feeding her the ball for the most part...especially that dumb, dumb bounce pass to her ankles. The other part of the problem was SC deciding to give her upperclassmen most of the critical minutes from 2005-2007 rather than letting the uppers start and put AP on the floor with CP. They came to OU with chemistry already built in, but was not used to its full advantage until 2007-08. Then SC (allegedly) tried to make them leaders (there were not any seniors on the team) rather than allow Hand to lead when they obviously did not want the role. They finally figured that out after the 2007-08 season that included some ridiculous loses.

 

[keysersose]

I seem to recall that there were 6 seniors that year who had been recruited to run the 4 x 1 motion offense. They had run it for their entire careers at OU, if not before. They were not great athletes but they were heady players and good shooters. They ran the motion until they got a clean shot. With CP in the post her freshman year, running that offense, they ran the table in the Big 12 and if not for a poor first five minutes against Stanford, could have made it to the championship game. So, the following year, SC changes the offense. This left the seniors standing around alright; no one knew what they were supposed to do. As appears to be the case now.

 

[badger]

to sit the starters and use the younger players for a few games?

Sit them entirely? No, but I heartily endorse giving more players a chance to play.

I think we're beyond saving a tourney bid at this point (unless we run the table at the Big 12 tourney i guess) so maybe it's time to think of the future rather than the present