Annabelle and BOB have highlighted the problems that I'm hoping has our coaching staff working overtime. Our problem is not Baylor. Our problem is not Kim Mulkey. And certainly our problem is not the officiating!!! Our problems are much closer to home.
Our problem is we have been passed. Baylor is not going to back off. Texas is recruting great players and they have a coach who knows the game. West Virginia will most likely be good for the forseeable future. We have to look up to see OSU as they are higher on the ladder than we are. We are tied with ISU for 5th in the conference. Some on this board complain that OU doesn't have much to offer to entice recruits to come to Norman. How would you like to sell going to Stillwater for 4 years???? Somehow they seem to do quite well.
We average 71.6 PPG. We lose 4 players who average 42.3 PPG. That means we are losing about 60% of our offense. I doubt that our incoming freshmen will bring 42 PPG with them. How much can our upperclassmen add to their scoring averages?
Some say recruiting is not the problem. Our roster is not balanced. Our roster is guard heavy, particularly shooting guard. We need a Nina Davis. Now, we need an Aaryn Ellengerg; someone who will fill up the basket. We need anyone who will go after rebounds like their hair is on fire. We need people over 6'3" who can jump over an envelope. Although I will agree that recruiting isn't the only problem we have, it definitely makes the top two.
The other problem is coaching. Sherri and her staff have got to get tougher working on fundamentals. If they are teaching them, fine...now, ENFORCE them. Players can turn the ball over 9 times in a game and nothing happens. Nothing. If Sherri's plans going forward are to use a zone more, then work on it in practice so that players know their roles in a zone and make sure they recover when the ball swings quickly to their side of the court. Leaving shooters wide open is hurting. Teach ball fakes until they are second nature. It isn't that hard. We were doing ball fakes in the 6th grade and I'm sure many of you were too. We aren't talking rocket science here, this is very basic fundamental basketball that would make us a better team. There are other fundamentals too that we have discussed. Look how much better Lon's team is playing and they are much better fundamentally than this team. I would say the little things matter, but the truth is, they are all big things because they can all help us win.
I absolutely hate that other teams are beating us. We owned the Big 12 years ago just like Baylor owns it now. I hate that. The good news is, it can be changed. That could be OU at the top of the Big 12 this year and most years. Just recruit better players and coach them better. If some (players and coaches) are not cutting the mustard, cut them lose and find those who will.
People can make excuses all they want and can blame whomever they want for our problems but the reality is, no one outside of Norman caused our problems. No one outside of Norman can fix our problems. I just hope that Sherri can make the changes needed to get us back to the top of the Big 12 soon.
