Kruger in close games

[WichitaSooner]

There's been some talk on the board over the years suggesting that Lon is not a good/successful coach in close games. A guy with the Twitter handle hoopvision68 posted a graphic this week showing the winning percentage of coaches in games decided by less than 5 pts. Suffice it to say, Lon has a far, far above average record in those games. I tried finding a way to link to it but haven't figured it out yet. A couple interesting but not surprising things: Kelvin is in the top 10 of all coaches, and Self is second. Worth taking a look if you can find it.

 

[skyvue]

Is this it?

https://twitter.com/hoopvision68/status/1072161035400986624

 

[WichitaSooner]

Is this it?

https://twitter.com/hoopvision68/status/1072161035400986624

Yep, thanks Sky. I wish he has also reduced it to a list because it's hard to see exactly where guys rank, but it's still a cool graph.

 

[skyvue]

Yep, thanks Sky. I wish he has also reduced it to a list because it's hard to see exactly where guys rank, but it's still a cool graph.

Yeah, I'll admit I was wishing for a list when I was looking it over.

 

[Max Power]

Yeah, I'll admit I was wishing for a list when I was looking it over.

I noticed kelvin had a higher percentage. That probably where the naritive starts. It's not fair to lon but that's also human nature.

 

[AdaSooner]

I noticed kelvin had a higher percentage. That probably where the naritive starts. It's not fair to lon but that's also human nature.

Not surprising. Kelvin’s offense back in the day was brutal to watch sometimes. But his teams won a lot of games because they were always tough and they played great defense.

This year’s OU team reminds me of some of Kelvin’s teams over the years. This team is Lon Kruger at his best—the ability to mold a mixed blend of talent into an efficient basketball team.

 

[jaymOU]

Not surprising. Kelvin’s offense back in the day was brutal to watch sometimes. But his teams won a lot of games because they were always tough and they played great defense.

This year’s OU team reminds me of some of Kelvin’s teams over the years. This team is Lon Kruger at his best—the ability to mold a mixed blend of talent into an efficient basketball team.

I said this in an earlier thread somewhere. I completely agree. If OU can take care of the basketball and get a shot up as many possessions as possible, I think they will have a chance to beat some teams with overall more talent.

I like the pieces this team has

 

[AdaSooner]

I said this in an earlier thread somewhere. I completely agree. If OU can take care of the basketball and get a shot up as many possessions as possible, I think they will have a chance to beat some teams with overall more talent.

I like the pieces this team has

Agreed. When last year’s team got down to an opponent they tried to shoot their way back on top. If the shots weren’t falling (and most didn’t late in the season), they were done.

I don’t give up on this year’s team when they’re behind in the score, because I know they’re not going to give up on themselves. Unlike last year’s team, this team relies more on their defense to generate offense and to win games.

This team is also mentally tough. They remind me of our final four team when Buddy, Isaiah and Ryan—one of the toughest trios in my memory—were leading the way. Not saying this team is as good, just that there are some similarities in their determination and toughness.

 

[CMSOONER]

Not surprising. Kelvin’s offense back in the day was brutal to watch sometimes. But his teams won a lot of games because they were always tough and they played great defense.

This year’s OU team reminds me of some of Kelvin’s teams over the years. This team is Lon Kruger at his best—the ability to mold a mixed blend of talent into an efficient basketball team.

They were also really good FT shooting teams. That was the difference in closing out a lot of close wins.

 

[scrybe]

Agreed. When last year’s team got down to an opponent they tried to shoot their way back on top. If the shots weren’t falling (and most didn’t late in the season), they were done.

I don’t give up on this year’s team when they’re behind in the score, because I know they’re not going to give up on themselves. Unlike last year’s team, this team relies more on their defense to generate offense and to win games.

This team is also mentally tough. They remind me of our final four team when Buddy, Isaiah and Ryan—one of the toughest trios in my memory—were leading the way. Not saying this team is as good, just that there are some similarities in their determination and toughness to that team.

In all honesty, this year's Sooners haven't fallen behind very often. It's been their M.O. to jump out to early leads, then either hang on to that lead or actually increase the margin as the game progresses.

On the few occasions when the opponent has overtaken them, the Sooners have quickly responded (Wisconsin notwithstanding), regained the lead, then put even more distance between themselves and their opponent.

I agree wholeheartedly, Ada, with your statement that this team is mentally tough. That seems to be a trait shared by every team that plays good defense.

 

[AdaSooner]

In all honesty, this year's Sooners haven't fallen behind very often. It's been their M.O. to jump out to early leads, then either hang on to that lead or actually increase the margin as the game progresses.

On the few occasions when the opponent has overtaken them, the Sooners have quickly responded (Wisconsin notwithstanding), regained the lead, then put even more distance between themselves and their opponent.

I agree wholeheartedly, Ada, with your statement that this team is mentally tough. That seems to be a trait shared by every team that plays good defense.

Excellent point about teams that play good defense, scrybe! You’re right, mental toughness as well as good team chemistry are two ingredients that seem to be present when teams play solid defense.

You’re also right that this team hasn’t been behind in the score too often. Even in games where they have allowed comfortable leads to slip away, they almost always turn up the heat defensively to jump out ahead again. That, too, is a sign of the mental toughness I like so much about this year’s team!

 

[jaymOU]

Excellent point about teams that play good defense, scrybe! You’re right, mental toughness as well as good team chemistry are two ingredients that seem to be present when teams play solid defense.

You’re also right that this team hasn’t been behind in the score too often. Even in games where they have allowed comfortable leads to slip away, they almost always turn up the heat defensively to jump out ahead again. That, too, is a sign of the mental toughness I like so much about this year’s team!

Defense is so much about team work and trust - things teams with good chemistry (whatever that is) seem to have in common. Not to unlike the Thunder this year. They seems to have had a similar renaissance. Now the Thunder have two things OU doesn't have (superstars) but the way the teams play and get along seem to be similar

 

[AdaSooner]

Defense is so much about team work and trust - things teams with good chemistry (whatever that is) seem to have in common. Not to unlike the Thunder this year. They seems to have had a similar renaissance. Now the Thunder have two things OU doesn't have (superstars) but the way the teams play and get along seem to be similar

Agreed. Good points!