Is this team done?

[soonerrhea]

A couple of weeks ago I would have told you that I thought this team was a lock for a sweet 16 and if they got a favorable matchup they could make a run at a final four. Now, I don't know if I could confidently say that we will actually win a game in the tournament. A few weeks ago we were ranked in the top five and with a tough game in Hilton, which is a place we have not win in the Lon Kruger era, and a trip to Lubbock next week we could easily drop out of the top 25. I don't have much confidence that this team has the mental toughness to win a game on the road. If that trend continues, we are looking dead in the eye at 19-11 overall and 9-9 in conference. Where we thought a top 4 seed was possible may now look more like a 7-10 seed.

When you watch this team, they aren't having fun playing basketball. You're hard-pressed to see anyone smiling on the court. Trae is not getting the support that he needs for this team to be successful. Game in and game out we are getting absolutely nothing from McGusty and Doolittle. James has not played well since Kansas and Manek is so up and down we don't know what to expect. They just have the look of a team that is defeated. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[ousooners1baby]

You could not have posted any more of my feelings than you did. Only thing else you could have said was that you struggle even watching them now and you feel ashamed for it.

 

[AdaSooner]

Wish I could say I disagree with you but I can’t. Just when I think the players are ready to turn their season around (see Khadeem’s boast about a change in the defense two weeks ago), I see more of the same mental errors, turnovers, ill-advised shots and underachieving players who are capable of so much more.

Tomorrow’s road game at ISU may give us the answer to your question. It would go a long way to proving this can be the same team we saw early in the season when they pulled together and found a way to beat some good teams on the road and at neutral sites.

I have no idea what to expect? I just hope we see a determined team with a new focus on playing as one unit, and one that defends like their season depended on it, because in reality, it could do just that.

 

[CoachTalk]

I think there are more issues chemistry wise than most realize. LK is a wizard at times, but if things don't get fixed quick. Wheels may be off.

I hope we dont waste a talent like TY.

 

[AdaSooner]

I think there are more issues chemistry wise than most realize. LK is a wizard at times, but if things don't get fixed quick. Wheels may be off.

I hope we dont waste a talent like TY.

The chemistry issues are all too obvious (see McGusty and Doolittle’s performances lately).

Having said that, fixing chemistry issues is one of the reasons LK and his staff make the big bucks. Tomorrow’s game will be a good test for them, too.

 

[scrybe]

Sounds like some of us are ready to give up on this team.

We're all concerned, but I'm not willing to jump ship just yet.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I think there are more issues chemistry wise than most realize. LK is a wizard at times, but if things don't get fixed quick. Wheels may be off.

I hope we dont waste a talent like TY.

If the chemistry issues are based on players not being happy with Trae's game or the attention he gets, that is just sad. He makes the game so much easier for his teammates. If you are a big, you'll get several chances a game to get uncontested dunks if you simply catch his passes cleanly. If you are a shooter, he'll get you several open shots a game. Regardless of what position you play, run the floor in transition and you can expect to score. I'm guessing the chemistry was fine the first two months of the season, so things could swing back the other way if the wins start coming. Tomorrow is huge . . . a three-game skid heading to Tech would really be trouble.

 

[hoopsaustin]

If the chemistry issues are based on players not being happy with Trae's game or the attention he gets, that is just sad. He makes the game so much easier for his teammates. If you are a big, you'll get several chances a game to get uncontested dunks if you simply catch his passes cleanly. If you are a shooter, he'll get you several open shots a game. Regardless of what position you play, run the floor in transition and you can expect to score. I'm guessing the chemistry was fine the first two months of the season, so things could swing back the other way if the wins start coming. Tomorrow is huge . . . a three-game skid heading to Tech would really be trouble.

Spot on

 

[hoopsaustin]

And prolly so OP, but I'm not giving up on them

 

[skyvue]

I don't have any idea what's ahead for this team, but as some have suggested we overreacted to the earlier success, it's entirely possible some are overreacting to the current struggles.

The 2016 team had a stretch, beginning on Feb 6, that saw the team go 3-4. Of course that was a very experienced team, loaded with upperclassmen. But the point is, a rough midseason patch doesn't necessarily mean the team's dead in the water. I sure do wish at least one of our next two games was at home, though.

 

[CoachTalk]

I am no way giving up. Just stating facts.

We are still an elite 8 caliber team if we play to our abilities.

 

[AdaSooner]

Oh, I’m not ready to give upon this team. I am ready to see the results of a renewed effort to stop the bleeding.

 

[Chaser728]

I understand the frustration and even concerns from OP... but to assume we will only continue to struggle as we currently are is the a bit over the top... it’s an overreaction much like our expectations for a final four run when we were doing so well in December and early Janurary. LKs the man and this team has the talent to do something the rest of the way... let’s see what happens.

 

[stormspencer]

I think there are more issues chemistry wise than most realize. LK is a wizard at times, but if things don't get fixed quick. Wheels may be off.

I hope we dont waste a talent like TY.

When I hear Coachtalk say this.....I'm deeply concerned about our prospects this season. I'm not giving up, but it sure makes me want to lower the bar even more.

 

[Capel's Mustache]

A couple of weeks ago I would have told you that I thought this team was a lock for a sweet 16 and if they got a favorable matchup they could make a run at a final four. Now, I don't know if I could confidently say that we will actually win a game in the tournament. A few weeks ago we were ranked in the top five and with a tough game in Hilton, which is a place we have not win in the Lon Kruger era, and a trip to Lubbock next week we could easily drop out of the top 25. I don't have much confidence that this team has the mental toughness to win a game on the road. If that trend continues, we are looking dead in the eye at 19-11 overall and 9-9 in conference. Where we thought a top 4 seed was possible may now look more like a 7-10 seed.

When you watch this team, they aren't having fun playing basketball. You're hard-pressed to see anyone smiling on the court. Trae is not getting the support that he needs for this team to be successful. Game in and game out we are getting absolutely nothing from McGusty and Doolittle. James has not played well since Kansas and Manek is so up and down we don't know what to expect. They just have the look of a team that is defeated. Hope I'm wrong.

IMO OP nailed it. I got so much joy out of watching them earlier in the season. Now it’s just painful. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to play through it. You can see it on their faces.

 

[sheepdogs1]

If they play like hey did in the opening stanza of the West Virginia game then yes, but if they were to play like they did in the second half then no.

 

[MsProudSooner]

If coaches could write a script for how they would prefer a season to go, it would go something like this: On a scale of 1 - 10, start the season at about a 6 and steadily improve to the point where you are playing your best at the end of the year.

This team started out playing at a fairly high level and have slumped lately. From what I've read, it's much more difficult to regain that high level of play when you start out playing well than it is to steadily improve over the course of the year. That doesn't mean they won't play better going forward. It just means it's a challenge.

Lot's of people are forgetting that this team starts two freshmen who, for the most part, haven't played like freshmen at all. The season becomes a grind about this time -, especially for freshmen.

We know that CJ has been ill because he missed a game with 'flu-like' symptoms. We don't know how many other players have had the same 'flu-like' symptoms but haven't missed any games. Hopefully, whatever it is has run its course and everyone is on the mend.

We all knew the conference would be a meat grinder, this year. There are no 'easy' games.

So, no, I don't think they are 'done'. They could use a few good breaks, but I don't think they are done.

 

[WichitaSooner]

If the chemistry issues don't improve, obviously it will be very difficult to get back on track. One thing I will say -- the football team was not at all enjoyable to watch for a four or five game stretch early in conference play. Blown leads, awful defense, not putting away inferior opponents, etc. Seemed like they could only win if they scored 7 almost every possession. While the defense never got to the level it needed to be, the team clearly improved and was much more fun to watch down the stretch -- right up till the second half of the Rose Bowl! Not a guarantee this happens to the basketball team, but shows that a rough patch doesn't have to spell doom for the rest of the season.

 

[Chaser728]

If the chemistry issues don't improve, obviously it will be very difficult to get back on track. One thing I will say -- the football team was not at all enjoyable to watch for a four or five game stretch early in conference play. Blown leads, awful defense, not putting away inferior opponents, etc. Seemed like they could only win if they scored 7 almost every possession. While the defense never got to the level it needed to be, the team clearly improved and was much more fun to watch down the stretch -- right up till the second half of the Rose Bowl! Not a guarantee this happens to the basketball team, but shows that a rough patch doesn't have to spell doom for the rest of the season.

Well said.

 

[steverocks35]

What I see is a team that doesn't do the little things. We don't get on the floor after loose balls. We are late to rotate to shooters. We close out way too hard on guys that are not great shooters. We miss layup after layup and uncontested three-pointers. We don't get offensive rebounds. I wish I had a nickel for every rebound that gets tipped away from us or jarred out of our hands. We commit silly turnovers. I don't know what's going to happen, but it's awfully late in the season for a team to change how it plays.

By the way, I was looking over the West Virginia boxscore. We missed 31 shots and had 7 total offensive rebounds. That's beyond pathetic. West Virginia had 15 offensive rebounds. It was the difference in the game.