MNsooner
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This is the first game of the season I got to see in person and likely will be the only one I get to see in person. I was incredibly lucky that this was the game I got to see because it was exciting, we played a good team and won. I saw a lot of positives from this game:
1. Willie Warren III - After spending most of the season oscillating between streaks of brilliance and streaks of intramural league quality basketball, he finally played an entire consistent game. He made free throws, got other players involved, and most importantly he was active on defense.
2. The Bench - They played 66 minutes without a turn over compared to our starters who turned the ball over once every 2 minutes. The bench had to have a big game and came up big.
a. Ryan Wright - Amazing defensive effort. He was physical active on the glass. He didn't fumble passes. He fouled at the right times and contested every shot in the paint. He constantly won the battle for position. Basically, he played the best 27 minutes of basketball he has played since he came to OU.
b. Bird - He played 38 minutes without a turnover. He looked gutsy out there. His defensive rotation were crisp, he was contesting every shot (and got two blocks to show for it). He was fighting through screens and was a huge part of our perimeter D which held them to a stifling 5 for 21 from the three. All the more impressive he fought for some hard rebounds. He didn't look like a freshman today.
c. Fitz - I don't have much to say here, but he played a minute. Defended alright and got a nice rebound. I thought Capel could have left him in longer than he did the way he was playing, but I can understand why Capel wouldn't trust him in a game like this yet.
3. Croc - I hope he is okay. He had definitely lost a step after hurting his ankle. However, he came in and gave Cade a few minutes to rest and still hustled for a loose ball on a bum ankle.
4. TMG - His on the ball defense has always been pretty good, but he has gotten better at off the ball defense. He was jumping passing lanes, and making help side rotations while still getting back to his man. He also played all 40 minutes without losing a step.
5. Cade Davis - 15 and 11. He beat his man off the dribble all night. He fought for rebounds. He was a disrupter on defense and played a gutsy 36 minutes. I loved the way he was playing. There were times when he was clearly the best player on the floor. He is proof that hard work pays off at the college level. Who was it that said he belonged on the Tulsa bench? On a side note, anyone else think he styles his hair like Wally Szczerbiak?
6. Home sweet home - We are a perfect 9-0 at home this season. I thought the game atmosphere was great. The student section was a bit sparse (although certainly loud), but I guess class hasn't started yet. Either way, we were engaged in the game and loud at the right moments. This team definitely fed off the crowd. One major negative was that the half time show got this song stuck in my head: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr_ZHvY3no8"]this song[/ame]
Somethings we should work on:
1. Tiny not getting pushed around - He was man handled in the paint. Frankly, someone his size should have no trouble playing physical. As a result of his lack of physicality he was constantly out of position. He needs to get physical and quickly. A&M is next and they are even more physical in the paint than Mizzou. He needs to get comfortable with banging in the paint or else the Big 12 conference schedule will be long for him.
2. Croc - Not exactly something we should work on, but I hope he is 100% Tuesday for the game against A&M.
3. 3s - I am fine with us taking a bunch of threes, but sometimes it seems like players are taking ill advised shots for no conceivable reason. TMG and WWIII are probably the worst offenders. By all means take open 3s if you are feeling your shot, but in my opinion deep threes early in the shot clock are bad shots and contested threes are almost always bad shots. We have gotten better about this I think, but it is something we need to keep working on.
4. Turnovers - Okay so Mizzou runs pressure defense and they are going to force some turnovers. However, 20 TOs is pretty unacceptable. TMG was the worst offender with 7, but Willie had 5 of his own. I know TMG is a freshman and playing Missouri really tests your guards ball handling, but a lot of their turnovers were unforced. So first and foremost, we need to cut out unforced turnovers. When you played 4 guards we should be able to move the ball without turning it over 20 times. Also, we just made bad decision under pressure a number of times. Bad passes and bad shots. The other unfortunate part was we never really punished them for their pressure defense. When their guards are defending you that far away from the basket any time you get some space you should go straight to the hoop and get some free throws.
5. :ed - He didn't call a particularly bad game or anything. I just wish we could we get some kind of arena camera on him so I can see all of his exaggerated gestures on the big screen. He is like the basketball version of a rodeo clown.
1. Willie Warren III - After spending most of the season oscillating between streaks of brilliance and streaks of intramural league quality basketball, he finally played an entire consistent game. He made free throws, got other players involved, and most importantly he was active on defense.
2. The Bench - They played 66 minutes without a turn over compared to our starters who turned the ball over once every 2 minutes. The bench had to have a big game and came up big.
a. Ryan Wright - Amazing defensive effort. He was physical active on the glass. He didn't fumble passes. He fouled at the right times and contested every shot in the paint. He constantly won the battle for position. Basically, he played the best 27 minutes of basketball he has played since he came to OU.
b. Bird - He played 38 minutes without a turnover. He looked gutsy out there. His defensive rotation were crisp, he was contesting every shot (and got two blocks to show for it). He was fighting through screens and was a huge part of our perimeter D which held them to a stifling 5 for 21 from the three. All the more impressive he fought for some hard rebounds. He didn't look like a freshman today.
c. Fitz - I don't have much to say here, but he played a minute. Defended alright and got a nice rebound. I thought Capel could have left him in longer than he did the way he was playing, but I can understand why Capel wouldn't trust him in a game like this yet.
3. Croc - I hope he is okay. He had definitely lost a step after hurting his ankle. However, he came in and gave Cade a few minutes to rest and still hustled for a loose ball on a bum ankle.
4. TMG - His on the ball defense has always been pretty good, but he has gotten better at off the ball defense. He was jumping passing lanes, and making help side rotations while still getting back to his man. He also played all 40 minutes without losing a step.
5. Cade Davis - 15 and 11. He beat his man off the dribble all night. He fought for rebounds. He was a disrupter on defense and played a gutsy 36 minutes. I loved the way he was playing. There were times when he was clearly the best player on the floor. He is proof that hard work pays off at the college level. Who was it that said he belonged on the Tulsa bench? On a side note, anyone else think he styles his hair like Wally Szczerbiak?
6. Home sweet home - We are a perfect 9-0 at home this season. I thought the game atmosphere was great. The student section was a bit sparse (although certainly loud), but I guess class hasn't started yet. Either way, we were engaged in the game and loud at the right moments. This team definitely fed off the crowd. One major negative was that the half time show got this song stuck in my head: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr_ZHvY3no8"]this song[/ame]
Somethings we should work on:
1. Tiny not getting pushed around - He was man handled in the paint. Frankly, someone his size should have no trouble playing physical. As a result of his lack of physicality he was constantly out of position. He needs to get physical and quickly. A&M is next and they are even more physical in the paint than Mizzou. He needs to get comfortable with banging in the paint or else the Big 12 conference schedule will be long for him.
2. Croc - Not exactly something we should work on, but I hope he is 100% Tuesday for the game against A&M.
3. 3s - I am fine with us taking a bunch of threes, but sometimes it seems like players are taking ill advised shots for no conceivable reason. TMG and WWIII are probably the worst offenders. By all means take open 3s if you are feeling your shot, but in my opinion deep threes early in the shot clock are bad shots and contested threes are almost always bad shots. We have gotten better about this I think, but it is something we need to keep working on.
4. Turnovers - Okay so Mizzou runs pressure defense and they are going to force some turnovers. However, 20 TOs is pretty unacceptable. TMG was the worst offender with 7, but Willie had 5 of his own. I know TMG is a freshman and playing Missouri really tests your guards ball handling, but a lot of their turnovers were unforced. So first and foremost, we need to cut out unforced turnovers. When you played 4 guards we should be able to move the ball without turning it over 20 times. Also, we just made bad decision under pressure a number of times. Bad passes and bad shots. The other unfortunate part was we never really punished them for their pressure defense. When their guards are defending you that far away from the basket any time you get some space you should go straight to the hoop and get some free throws.
5. :ed - He didn't call a particularly bad game or anything. I just wish we could we get some kind of arena camera on him so I can see all of his exaggerated gestures on the big screen. He is like the basketball version of a rodeo clown.
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