Next Year

[sybarite]

I think Sherri thinks that Kay Kay is on the verge of greatness. I have seen the athleticism. But,, I haven't seen anything to suggest that Kay Kay is putting it together. I'm not competent to coach OU, but I would be playing Gibbs. I would get the same number of fouls, but a lot more rebounds and intimidation.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I just don't see Kaylon being on the verge of greatness, especially if her basketball IQ doesn't increase substantially. It's beyond ridiculous that she's committing the same silly fouls over and over and over again and it's hurting the team. If it just hurt Kaylon, that would be one thing. But, when it hurts the team, that is when something has to change.

I don't know if Sherri runs her butt off during practice but I sure don't see any reason why she shouldn't.

 

[Mac]

I think we’ll see

Ortiz
Little
Carter
Campbell
Pierre-Louis

Pierre-Louis isn’t ranked that high, she’s lower then Griffin was coming out of high school, I still think she will have a big impact if she comes and can rebound and play with energy Ill take that… I thought she was more of a “big girl” l like the twins and Olajuwon but she seems to have fit college ready body. I would like to see Pierre-Louis and Kay Kay start together, but then we won’t have much of a back up post. Campbell is good for us but she is an undersized 4 and hasn’t developed much in her 1st 3 year. Carter has been impressive if she get’s in the gym and works hard she could be an all big 12 guard. Little is my pick for big 12 new comer of the year next season she will surprise some of you, remember she has been a winner and has an SEC championship under her belt, even when her shot isn’t falling she can still make an impact, I expect her to be a caption next year and our vocal leader along with Ortiz. Ortiz should blossom in to a star for us, she should have been a McDonalds All American (could be a while before we see one on our roster again) because she is a proven winner and is having an outstanding season. Thought she could only be about 5’3 I think she will remind some of us of Jenna Plumley, I’m sure next season Sherri will be using the word “swag” again. We will have a little bit of a droop off on the bench unless Kornet, Wyatt, or Kellogg steps up. Manning is an unknown at this point, coming back from 2 ACL’s could be a challenge, I thought she was really something when she did get to play, she also seems to have a great work ethic and it was rubbing off on the rest of the team. I’m not sure what to expect from Penzo, originally I thought Sherri offered her to help get Pierre-Louis, but she could very well have a big impact on us. I’m not making a big deal about her being on the all tournament team with Cox only because they had to spread out the awards, she was 5th on her team in scoring but 1st in rebounds, and second in assists.

 

[Mark]

How tall is Gabbi I heard from 5'4 to 5'9

 

[SoonerNorm]

I believe Gabbi is about 5'6".

 

[SoonerNorm]

This is what Gabbi's coach said about her in March 2013:

"She's 5-foot-7 and jumps out of the gym."

 

[Mac]

A friend of mine sent me the following information that I thought is very interesting:

I started looking to next year and what the top teams had returning for 2014-15.

Team----------Returning Scoring-----Returning RBs

Texas-----------------92.1%---------------87.8%
OSU-------------------69.1%--------------78.9%
Baylor-----------------56.7%--------------83.6%
OU---------------------47.1%-------------63.3%
WVU-------------------44.4%--------------52.6%

Texas loses 3 seniors but returns 9 of their top 10. OSU loses 3 including Bias and Suttles. Baylor loses Sims and Robertson. WVU loses 5 of their top 8. OU loses 4 and 3 are starters.

As of today Texas has the most talent coming in next year and I suspect will be the conference favorite next year with the class they have coming in.

Thoughts?

Texas should be good next season, but I don’t see anyone on there roster who will be the best player on the floor at any given night, everyone has been high on Ariel Atkins, she could be an All big 12 player for 4 years. If she is the real deal then Texas will be hard to beat next year. The one thing Texas has going for itself right now is recruiting, and I don’t see any signs of them slowing down, if they keep getting top 20 players they will be a top 5 team rather we want to admit or not. Talent can win you games look at UNC.

We lacked that this year - a true 4 - and IMO it crushed this team. Nicole has been very good and has developed nicely, but she may have been better if she had a partner inside. We've got too many of the same players (lots of wing types) and precious few who can contribute in the aforementioned role. Here's hoping our young PFs develop into quality contributors during the off season.

Sherri hasn’t signed a true wing since Amanda Thompson and she was more of an undersized 4. we have 2 many shooting guards that are tall and said to be good shooters coming out of high school, then they get her and cant hit anything.

Second, as far as a PF is concerned, I have no idea what Sherri really wants at that position. Does she want a taller Shaya type or does she want a guard type like Sharane? What I hope is, she wants a Lauren Cox type player and she signs her.

I feel the same way Sherri seems to always use a 3 guard line up, 4 sometimes and it’s the reason we have a hard time rebounding with other teams. I think Sherri or maybe I feel this way, would want a line up like Notre Dame, 3 guards and 2 athletic forwards with size, they would be fast enough for us to push the tempo yet big enough to guard the post. In 2016 I would like to see Sherri sign one true 4 and a combo forward/wing who can play the 3 and the 4.

 

[sybarite]

I'm impressed by Ariel Atkins. She's the first to impress me since they had the twins, the younger of which was good.

We may not begin the year with an established scorer. But, if the established scorer can't step up in big games to help you win, it's rather ineffective. I like the mentality of some of the players who were injured this year and who are coming in.

I really believe that if we had Maddie this year, we would have no more than two loses, if that.

 

[mikeareese]

Does anybody think with limited scholarships? That Coale took a big gamble on Gibbs. I am sure she is a good person. Gibbs in my opion is not D1.

 

[gosooner2]

I have no idea what will happen next year. We were preseason favs this year. I have a question for all of the fine folks on this board. I started watching women's basketball a few years ago when the men's game became "to me at least" almost unwatchable. I watch our players be almost the same players when they are seniors as they were when they were Freshmen or no more than Sophs. Vegas, Morgan, Sharene, and Griffin seem the same as they were when they were Sophomores. Griffin has progressed more than any of the others but she still does a lot of the same things. Courtney was Courtney when she was a freshman. Do our players progress less than other programs or are players so advanced now that they are what they are when they come out of High School, and if you cannot sign a top player you won't develop one? None of our freshman this year looks like an elite player to me. Is it coaching or is it like football has become to some extent with Johnny football and the guy at Florida State? I admit to having no knowledge about our new recruits. Ortiz could be the greatest or nothing for all I know. Just a question.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I have no idea what will happen next year. We were preseason favs this year. I have a question for all of the fine folks on this board. I started watching women's basketball a few years ago when the men's game became "to me at least" almost unwatchable. I watch our players be almost the same players when they are seniors as they were when they were Freshmen or no more than Sophs. Vegas, Morgan, Sharene, and Griffin seem the same as they were when they were Sophomores. Griffin has progressed more than any of the others but she still does a lot of the same things. Courtney was Courtney when she was a freshman. Do our players progress less than other programs or are players so advanced now that they are what they are when they come out of High School, and if you cannot sign a top player you won't develop one? None of our freshman this year looks like an elite player to me. Is it coaching or is it like football has become to some extent with Johnny football and the guy at Florida State? I admit to having no knowledge about our new recruits. Ortiz could be the greatest or nothing for all I know. Just a question.

You bring up an interesting question. We have had some players who improved but, as you mentioned, we have had plenty who seemed very much the same after 3 or 4 years as when they arrived. I have no real explanation why. All I know is, when you hear that someone is a gym rat we often see that player improve each year. I don't know which of our girls would be classified as gym rats, if any. Is it coaching? Is it lack of dedication and hard work by the players? Both?

I will be interested to read everyone's thoughts on this question.

 

[Three toe]

By all means, let's go through the weekly routine of trashing players and coaches.

 

[SoonerNorm]

By all means, let's go through the weekly routine of trashing players and coaches.

This isn't about trashing anyone. I suspect you would see the same thing with many teams although I really don't follow players from other teams like I do the Sooners.

 

[Mac]

You bring up an interesting question. We have had some players who improved but, as you mentioned, we have had plenty who seemed very much the same after 3 or 4 years as when they arrived. I have no real explanation why. All I know is, when you hear that someone is a gym rat we often see that player improve each year. I don't know which of our girls would be classified as gym rats, if any. Is it coaching? Is it lack of dedication and hard work by the players? Both?

I will be interested to read everyone's thoughts on this question.

I think Manning has been called a gym rat before in the past, that's why I think she would haven taken the team to a new level this year. I'm a WNBA fan as well as a college basketball fan, and it's been said that players don't seem to improve under Sherri, she's always done okay with Point guards(Hook wasn't driving to the basket when she 1st got here) but post players don't seem to improve. Not saying this is Sherri but some coaches just want to win, Amanda Thompson was a 6'post with guard skills coming out of high school, but she left OU with no real outside shot, I think if we had more girls going pro it would help the Program grow even more.

 

[sybarite]

I think we have had some great players. Some of the players are among the best in history. Great players win a lot of games.

There is a difference between great players that emerges in championship level games. There are great players who have good games. There are also players who just refuse to lose. There is an attitude about some players that makes them special when everything is on the line.

I think Drob had a lot of this. She wasn't the superstar as a freshman. She was pretty green (as was Ny). But, she perfected some skills that made her deadly late in a game. She learned to shoot free throws and a short jumper. She is now better in the pros, a product of continuing to develop. I think the 2002 team had a lot of this. When we didn't have a lot else, I think that Maria V. and Jackson had this which enabled us to shock everyone with a Big Twelve tournament win. I thought it was interesting that we made it back to the Final Four with DRob, after Courtney left. It is also interesting that the greatest college (and maybe pro) player that I ever saw, Oscar Robertson, never won a title at Cincinnati. But, the next two years after he graduated, Cincy won the national title.

I look at who we have, and I think Gioya may have this. I'm pretty sure that it is strong in Maddie. Ortiz seems to be the type who loves to have the ball in her hands at the end of a game. That is the player that wins a title.

I think UConn has great players. But, it takes the emergence of one to win a title. Last year, Notre Dame was better than UConn in three games. Then, Breanna Stewart emerged at the right time. She was that type of player.

Maybe there are great players and superstars, those who really want to have the ball in the Finals.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I agree about DRob. She was a great player at OU and could have played for probably any team in the country. She was green her freshman year but after that she was all basketball player.

Courtney was a great player, no question about it.

Aaryn was also a little green her freshman year but she has been a really good player since. While some might not classify her as a great player, she has certainly helped us win a lot of basketball games in her career. We are going to miss her just like we missed DRob and Courtney after they left.

I don't know yet if we have anyone else on the roster who will be great players. I am certainly looking forward to see just how good Peyton, Maddie, and Gabbi can be in the next year or two.

 

[annabelle]

can Maddie stay healthy? how much does she have left of her original potential after two knee surgeries?? I think those are legit questions about her before projecting her into any starting lineup next yr.

 

[Mark]

I agree about DRob. She was a great player at OU and could have played for probably any team in the country. She was green her freshman year but after that she was all basketball player.

Courtney was a great player, no question about it

Aaryn was also a little green her freshman year but she has been a really good player since. While some might not classify her as a great player, she has certainly helped us win a lot of basketball games in her career. We are going to miss her just like we missed DRob and Courtney after they left.

I don't know yet if we have anyone else on the roster who will be great players. I am certainly looking forward to see just how good Peyton, Maddie, and Gabbi can be in the next year or two.

There is no question Drob would play in start for every team in the county even UConn. Drob as said that her last two schools was OU and Stanford I always said if Drob had went to Stanford that would have won at lease 1 NC. In fact every coach from Geno, Pat, Tara, Muffet , Jeff Walz, and Gary Blair has went out of there way to talk about great Drob is the only person I ever heard say something negative about is that women in wacko. Even players who play against Drob from Candace Parker, Maya Moore, and Sydney Colson has said good things about her both Odyssey Sims and Skylar Diggins said that Drob is the toughest person they ever had to guard. IMO she set the standard for PG at this program every PG we get here on out whether if that's Morgan T'Ona or Gabbi is going to be compare to her fair or unfair

 

[Soonerbay]

There is no question Drob would play in start for every team in the county even UConn. Drob as said that her last two schools was OU and Stanford I always said if Drob had went to Stanford that would have won at lease 1 NC. In fact every coach from Geno, Pat, Tara, Muffet , Jeff Walz, and Gary Blair has went out of there way to talk about great Drob is the only person I ever heard say something negative about is that women in wacko. Even players who play against Drob from Candace Parker, Maya Moore, and Sydney Colson has said good things about her both Odyssey Sims and Skylar Diggins said that Drob is the toughest person they ever had to guard. IMO she set the standard for PG at this program every PG we get here on out whether if that's Morgan T'Ona or Gabbi is going to be compare to her fair or unfair

I'm pretty sure that it was Cal that she was going to commit, then OU was a last minute visit.

 

[euphguy]

I completely forgot about Maddie and Peyton. If they are healthy, they could be the two best we have.

+1.