Kruger's biggest coaching mistake this year

[SoonerMatt27]

http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27265

Yeah ABD, if you're gonna bump when you happen to be right(rarely), bump threads like this link and eat your own words. You did all the time with Austin Johnson and AJ did a excellent job of making you come off as a hater rather than a fan. I'm sure Cousins will do the same thing. Sending negative vibes your way since you love to do it to the players. :austin686_jpg_xs:

 

[Big Old Booger]

You guys are too hard on abd. He's a good poster, and is just providing his opinion.

 

[pnkranger]

Until Kruger gives me a reason to doubt him, I'm not willing to admit that he has made any mistakes this year.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Every coach makes mistakes but most good coaches NEVER knowingly play a player when there is not a good reason to play him. Sometimes a player just doesn't develop as expected. I believe that when Kruger puts a player on the court he expects him to produce in the long run if not immediately.

If Kruger didn't see some upside in Cousins then Cousins would be sitting over there with James F waiting to play the last minute of a blowout. Further Cousins would not be at OU.

I like all the players that Kruger brought in this year. He had to settle for some marginal guys his first year but I don't expect him to bring in many clunkers.

 

[stormspencer]

:fitz

Every coach makes mistakes but most good coaches NEVER knowingly play a player when there is not a good reason to play him. Sometimes a player just doesn't develop as expected. I believe that when Kruger puts a player on the court he expects him to produce in the long run if not immediately.

If Kruger didn't see some upside in Cousins then Cousins would be sitting over there with James F waiting to play the last minute of a blowout. Further Cousins would not be at OU.

I like all the players that Kruger brought in this year. He had to settle for some marginal guys his first year but I don't expect him to bring in many clunkers.

It just seems to me that Cousins is mentally fragile right now....and having him in the game during crucial possessions is very risky. I think coach Kruger has seen that and has begun to limit his PT based upon his growing inconsistency. Also, imho, I think that Kruger sees that playing Cousins in situations where he has a very limited chance for success (high pressure situations) is doing the kid a disservice right now. If Buddy wasn't hurt, i think he would barely see the floor except to briefly spell 1/2 guard positions. The kid is struggling right now and has been more of a liability the last two games unfortunately.

 

[pnkranger]

:fitz

It just seems to me that Cousins is mentally fragile right now....and having him in the game during crucial possessions is very risky. I think coach Kruger has seen that and has begun to limit his PT based upon his growing inconsistency. Also, imho, I think that Kruger sees that playing Cousins in situations where he has a very limited chance for success (high pressure situations) is doing the kid a disservice right now. If Buddy wasn't hurt, i think he would barely see the floor except to briefly spell 1/2 guard positions. The kid is struggling right now and has been more of a liability the last two games unfortunately.

I agree, but I also think it's important for him to find some success down the stretch to lead into next year. We're going to need him in a big way. If anyone can help him do this, it's Kruger.

 

[opsooner]

I agree, but I also think it's important for him to find some success down the stretch to lead into next year. We're going to need him in a big way. If anyone can help him do this, it's Kruger.

No doubt about that. There was never any mistake about getting Cousins a lot of playing time early (it was critical that Kruger did provide him that). The issue now is that he doesn't have the ball handling skills that a good PG needs to handle tight pressure without hurrying.

The way he handles pressure now is by beating it with speed and that's OK in some situations but most other times a good PG needs to be able to protect the ball in one-on-one situations, avoid 5-second call, and still minimize how much space he uses. It takes time to master this and it is not really a big surprise that he is not there yet. It is asking a lot of a freshman that is not a true PG.

We can blame Kruger for some of this (if we want) but he doesn't have a lot of options right now and in the long term this is all a benefit. Mostly, this is just the normal freshman progression and has caused no damage whatsoever to the team. Also, Cousins has shown that he can make some good things happen in certain situations where other guys have been ineffective.

You are right, the main thing now is to find ways to use Cousins where he can regain confidence because we do need him. I think this needs to be mostly away from PG right now but there are still times when he can be effective there - like when we really do need to hurry

 

[sharp1]

Since my opinions can sometimes be off, I do enjoy looking back on this thread and being spot on. Grooms has really come up big for us down the stretch.

Less we not forget he was a JUCO All-American, led the big12 in assist to T/O ratio(top 12 in the Country), and was 2nd in assist...to Pressy, He was the PG Roy Williams wanted at UNC before he signed with Ou/ JC...He was a pass first pg, whats wrong with that?

 

[thebigabd]

http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27265

What does that have to do with this? stay on track.