Lazenby vs. McGusty - Australia

[MisterF]

I talked to guy that grew up playing against Ty. He said Ty was a great small school HS player. But at JC he took his game to another level. Said he learned to get to the rack and finish there. This guy ( who starts on a college team) believes he will help OU this year. After watching these last three games, I'm glad OU has him.

 

[Soonerinkc]

I agree not 12 guys will play...prob get to 8 or 9 with solid minutes.

HOPEFULLY the other 3-4 are ready to help out.

As I said, lots of fouls to give..

Funny, we had 5 guys start and play the majority of time for 3 years...now we have 12 guys...lol (yes not all are "starters")

 

[WaymanFan]

This is the most depth at OU since perhaps ever.

A good question to ask Lon is has he ever had this much depth.

Assuming this plays out well during the season, this may be the most depth Lon has had as a coach...but not OU.

The benchmark for depth is the 1989-1990 OU team. For you youngsters, we had a guy named Terrance Mullins. As a freshman 2-guard, he was the only sub who played in the 1988 title game. Two years later, he got an occasional "DNP - Coaches Decision" or was the 10th or 11th guy on the court for OU. Terry Evans and Smokey McCovery were the PGs. Skeeter Henry was the starting 2-guard and Michael Harris replaced Mullins halfway into the season as the first 2-guard off the bench. Damon Patterson, Jackie Jones and William Davis rounded out the starting five with Kermit Holmes, Roland Ware and Anthony Martin backing them up. Unless one of those 10 players ahead of Mullins was injured, they all found their way on the court during the second half of that season.

 

[usedtobe1]

We can't go 12 deep. There just aren't enough minutes. And I feel that Freeman will probably be one that doesn't seem much.

We know that the following will receive a large chunk of the minutes:
Trae
Kam
Odomes
Doolittle
Lattin

Key reserves:
James
McNease
Shepard

That's 8 already

So you are left with limited minutes for Ty, Polla, Manek, and Freeman

It's a good problem to have but running 12 deep isn't going to happen

Sometimes kids get "recruited over", and I agree the rotation will get smaller during conference games.... especially close to tournament time. Usually it's 8-9 players with mop up duty for another player or two. As deep as this squad appears, we only graduate Lattin after this season. Next year we will add Bienemy to the wing rotation and that cat is a very good player. Plus we have another open scholarship right now.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a transfer or two after this season for someone who wants more playing time. Players like Lazenby may not see time for a game or two and then come in and have 10 points off the bench when he has a hot hand.... I'm just using him as an example.

 

[PlanoGuy]

Hopefully, McGusty doesn't experience a sophomore slump like James

 

[oketex]

I think this team can be really good, now I'm not saying final 4 but I see us winning 20 + games and making the 2nd round of the dance.

 

[CoachTalk]

Hopefully, McGusty doesn't experience a sophomore slump like James

Easy!!! We don't like negative talk!

 

[tmeyer3307]

If we legit have 10-12 guys that could play 10 plus minutes a game, then why not press and play more like WV. I just really think 8-9 guys will get all the minutes and the bottom 2-3 will play early and in blowouts.

 

[Stikboy]

If we legit have 10-12 guys that could play 10 plus minutes a game, then why not press and play more like WV. I just really think 8-9 guys will get all the minutes and the bottom 2-3 will play early and in blowouts.

Amen! Who wouldn't like more steals, dunks, and points?

 

[sheepdogs1]

If we legit have 10-12 guys that could play 10 plus minutes a game, then why not press and play more like WV. I just really think 8-9 guys will get all the minutes and the bottom 2-3 will play early and in blowouts.

It would likely affect the continuity on offense to a degree.

 

[coolm]

If we legit have 10-12 guys that could play 10 plus minutes a game, then why not press and play more like WV. I just really think 8-9 guys will get all the minutes and the bottom 2-3 will play early and in blowouts.

because thats not this coach's style. There are reasons and advantages to his style as well.

 

[MsProudSooner]

because thats not this coach's style. There are reasons and advantages to his style as well.

Didn't it become Huggins' style because his teams were so offensively challenged?

 

[usedtobe1]

Didn't it become Huggins' style because his teams were so offensively challenged?

I thought it was because he didn't have any big men and had lots of quick guards. Kind of like Nolan Richardson and his "40 minutes of hell" style.

 

[AdaSooner]

Didn't it become Huggins' style because his teams were so offensively challenged?

Tough, hard nosed defense has been a Bob Huggins trademark for a long time. His team's at Cincy were known for their rebounding and for going toe to toe with every opponent they faced. They pressed quite a bit in the half court back then, but pressing full court for all or most of forty minutes is something new for a Huggins coached team.

You may be right that his team was offensively challenged when he went to the full court press. My guess is he continued to use it because it worked. Huggins has always been good at adapting his style to his players. It works for him, but I can't see Coach Kruger copying WVU's style, can you? For one thing, players like Polla, Freeman, and possibly others, would be lost in the full court press. Foul prone players like Lattin wouldn't stay on the floor long enough to break a sweat.

While our depth could be a real asset this season, I don't believe we'll see a full court press for more than a possession or two in certain situations, and even then it will not be a true press involving the entire team.

 

[TheMont]

I like Ty, Polla, and Manek a lot. They have pretty unique skillsets and high ceilings. There's gonna be moments where we need them this upcoming season, but knowing Lon's style of play... 7-8 guys are going to get the bulk of the minutes.

Trae
Kam
Odomes
Doolittle
Lattin
McNease
Shep
CJ

I think that will be the main rotation by the time B12 play starts.

Though the others will likel have moments where they shine (especially Polla since Muni and Khadeem are foul-prone)

 

[trevahoma]

As much as I like Manek, he's the only one I could see red-shirting.

 

[coolm]

I dont know what Huggy's reason was for going to that style.

I have listened to Nolan Richardson and Kelvin both discuss that and one of their key factors dealt with control. You can't control how well you shoot at home and on the road but you can control defensive intensity and that travels well. Billy Tubbs useta say the same about physical conditioning.

To me it's consistency also. Defense travels. FG percentages can be fickle. And like you guys said offense requires specific skills where defense can be boiled down to coaching, intensity, and athleticism.

 

[okhoops918]

don't think Ty will play much. Manek playing time will depend on Freeman.

I don't like how we will have to choose betwee a frosh Manek, limited Freeman, or playing undersized with an Odomes at the 4.

I'm not sure playing Lattin at the 4 is a good decision as he can't guard most 4's.

I think the weakness for this team comes at the 4/5 spots. We will have one of the best PG's in the league and a solid option at the 2/3.

 

[AdaSooner]

As much as I like Manek, he's the only one I could see red-shirting.

I think we can all agree that Young, Lattin, James, McGusty, Odomes, Doolittle and McNeace (who already used his redshirt) will not redshirt this season. Freeman won't either because he burned his redshirt in the second semester last year. Shepherd has already proven his worth as our backup point guard, so I think he'll play.

That leaves Lazenby, Polla and Manek as our only candidates. So, why don't we focus on those three for a moment. Is Polla really a legitimate candidate? For one thing he is a unique player due to his size and skill set. Would it be wise to let him watch from the bench the entire season? Not in my opinion. My memory is not as good as it used to be, but I haven't forgotten how our post players were abused by the bigs on other teams last season. Polla is the answer to turning the tide in our favor for a change.

Now, we're down to Lazenby and Manek. Should we burn a shirt on one or both players who impressed me a lot in the first three games of the tour? I wish the answer to that question was as easy as it may appear at first glance, but it's not. Ty and Brady have a chance to be lite scorers who can rack up points from nearly any position on the floor. Can we afford to let them sit this season? Redshirting one or both may depend on if they can defend at this level?

I agree with those that say twelve is too many. I can see Lon going with ten and trimming that number to eight or nine in hard fought, tight games on the road, for example. Ten is doable. Twelve is not. What we have here is a dilemma, sports fans. I've got to admit that I don't have the answer to my own question. I'm just glad Lon and his staff get paid the big bucks to answer it for me.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Such a problem .. having a bunch of good players. To get back to the elite level of a couple of years ago, we need 3 of them to blossom into outstanding players. I think this is possible by Trae's sophomore season.

In the meantime, it should be lots of fun being a Sooner basketball fan. Competition facilitates development. The fellows at the end of the bench appear to be capable of becoming game day contributors.