Lattin and Manyang

[catoosanumber22]

Was extremely proud of these two for the way they cleaned up on the boards tonight, and the fact they both played limited minutes ( Lattin 11 ) and ( Manyang 10 ) makes it even more impressive. There is so much talent on this team, these two do not need to score a lot for this team to do deep into March. They combined to play 21 minutes and pulled down 15 boards, if they can do something similar to that against better competition consistently, then if my eyes they are doing exactly what we need and any scoring is a bonus. Both of them had a block as well.

 

[Stikboy]

I wanted to mention Lattin also. Even though he didn't have any field goals, he acquitted himself well. He got a ton of rebounds for his minutes, obstructed a few shots, and made a great pass. He's been down on himself the last few games, but he needs time.. He'll be alright.

 

[SoonerinNC]

There seems to be no question that the 5 newcomers have the skills to contribute.

Thier challenge is to learn how to use those skills to be productive at this level.

they will all get minutes in the blowouts but only those who have got it to the point that Kruger trusts them will get significant minutes in the tough games.

At Memphis only James and Buford appeared to have earned that trust. Hopefully by the time Wisconsin comes in more will get significant minutes.

Kruger's coaching style demands depth and if we can get to at least 9 solid performers by post season time will we go deep in the tournaments.

I can see 11 players who potentially can be productive contributors.

 

[AdaSooner]

There seems to be no question that the 5 newcomers have the skills to contribute.

Thier challenge is to learn how to use those skills to be productive at this level.

they will all get minutes in the blowouts but only those who have got it to the point that Kruger trusts them will get significant minutes in the tough games.

At Memphis only James and Buford appeared to have earned that trust. Hopefully by the time Wisconsin comes in more will get significant minutes.

Kruger's coaching style demands depth and if we can get to at least 9 solid performers by post season time will we go deep in the tournaments.

I can see 11 players who potentially can be productive contributors.

Spot on assessment, SoonerinNC!

This group of newcomers has well above average talent and tons of potential. They have all demonstrated the ability to contribute at one time or another this season, albeit in isolated situations and in limited minutes. The next step is to prove they can be more consistent when it counts, against the tougher teams on our schedule.

Do that and Kruger's biggest problem may be finding enough playing time for the 11 players on our roster with the potential to be part of his rotation. That's not a bad problem to have!

 

[usedtobe1]

I've always been a believer in a tight rotation for continuity reasons. You have maybe an 8 man rotation for most of your minutes, and then another couple of players can get mop up or emergency minutes every game or two.

It's going to be interesting to see who emerges for the Sooners in conference play. Questions I have are:
- With Cousins and Woodard at point, how much time will Walker get at PG? He's played a lot better so far than he did last year.
- Will James and Odomes pass Walker as backups at wing?
- Will James or Odomes pass one or the other as the 1st wing backup? Maybe depends on the situation.
- Who will be the first, second, and third choice in the pecking order between Lattin, Jamuni, and AK? Who is best defensively? Best rebounder?
- Is Buford the primary backup for Spangler?
- Will Buford play any wing? Or is he just a post player for now?
- Will OU go small with Spangler and Buford very often?
- Statement - I don't think OU will rotate 5 post players very often unless they have foul problems. Spangler will play at least 30 of the 80 post minutes every game.

I say they rotate 5 guards, and 4 post players, with 2 others getting sporadic minutes.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Kruger's pattern has been to go deep in the rotation at least in the first half even in tough games. I think he will go 10 deep and even rotate 5 in the post because:

He went 9 deep (9+ min/game or more) 2 years ago with Neal and Bennett being the last two off the bench before going to the walkons in blowouts. Fraschilla was 10th in minutes played.

Spangler and Cousins clearly wore down late last season and Spangler the year before. They both play so hard that 30+ minutes a game day in and day out is pretty wearing. If our backups develop to where there is not a big drop off I would not be suprised to see them log less than 30 minutes a game this year.

It will be interesting to see how Kruger's sub pattern develops. Against Memphis James and Buford were the key contributors while last night I think Odomes and McNease seemed to be the top producers per minutes played. With 5 new players it will take some time to sift it out as well as finding the role for Walker who seems to be improved this year but has not contributed nearly as much in real games as in the exhibitions.