NIT OU vs St Bonaventure 7pm CST on ESPNU

[BCSooners]

Yeah. But how much better can Cortes get when he's afraid to shoot, isn't athletic, can't dribble well, and is a turnover prone PG?

He's athletic, can dribble, very good passer, took his freshman lumps. If he puts the work in I think he'll be a good 2 year starter.

 

[hoopsaustin]

Yeah. But how much better can Cortes get when he's afraid to shoot, isn't athletic, can't dribble well, and is a turnover prone PG?

3 of those 4 are easily fixable with time, experience, and practice.. its like your confused about what a freshman is

 

[WichitaSooner]

Was Cousins athletic? Because he sure is/was compared to Bijan.

He's also got 3 inches in height. I hate comparisons like that. The man was a 2nd round pick. You think Cortes is going to be a 2nd round pick? I will gladly put some money that Cortes doesn't get drafted if someone wants to bet.

And did you see Cousins as a second round pick after his freshman season when he was so bad that he turned the ball over nearly every time he handled the ball? Look back at his freshman year and see if you can find any games where he was a key reason we won. Cortes had a couple of those games this year, and clearly showed that he is a skilled, albeit somewhat reckless, passer.

And I never said anything about him being drafted. The question you posed was whether Cortes could reasonably be expected to improve. He doesn't have to turn into a draft pick in order to be a capable starting pint guard. The team that just won the Big 12 for the millionth time starts a guy who will never sniff the league.

 

[jaymOU]

And did you see Cousins as a second round pick after his freshman season when he was so bad that he turned the ball over nearly every time he handled the ball? Look back at his freshman year and see if you can find any games where he was a key reason we won. Cortes had a couple of those games this year, and clearly showed that he is a skilled, albeit somewhat reckless, passer.

And I never said anything about him being drafted. The question you posed was whether Cortes could reasonably be expected to improve. He doesn't have to turn into a draft pick in order to be a capable starting pint guard. The team that just won the Big 12 for the millionth time starts a guy who will never sniff the league.

I hope you are right about Bijan but to compare him to Cousins is not looking at apples to apples. Cousins had never played the point, Bijan has only played the point. Cousins was uber-athletic - great speed and change of direction as well as being a big leaper. Bijan is none of those things.

Bijan has a chance to contribute and I hope he is a gym-rat, like Cousins, but I don't see him being a starter next year.

Bijan should improve, but if OU wants to be a tourney team next year - Mo Gibson is your point guard or the point guard is not on the roster.

 

[steverocks35]

Will Cortes improve? Of course he will.

Will he improve enough to be a starter or a big contributor?

It's possible, but right now I don't see that happening. I'll be happy to eat crow if I'm wrong.

 

[jaymOU]

Will Cortes improve? Of course he will.

Will he improve enough to be a starter or a big contributor?

It's possible, but right now I don't see that happening. I'll be happy to eat crow if I'm wrong.

Agree Steve. Hoping to be wrong, but he's not a starter next year if OU is a tourney team.

 

[WTSooner]

yeah you should watch his high school highlights .. .he is athletic he can shoot and he is a very very good passer ..

He is not athletic. I'm sorry, but that is painfully obvious.

He has some solid skills. That is the only thing that make him playable. He doesn't have the quickness or overall athleticism to compete again top tier guards. Might he "learn ways" to make it work over the next several years to the level of a solid backup? Maybe.

I'm not saying the kid has to leave. If Moser thinks he can be a solid backup pg, I'm not against that right now. But I have my doubts.

 

[inoref]

He literally didn't want to play in the NIT. Mo had to convince him to do so.

I say he got his wish...But anyway time to move on and get better.

 

[TarheelstateSooner]

I hope you are right about Bijan but to compare him to Cousins is not looking at apples to apples. Cousins had never played the point, Bijan has only played the point. Cousins was uber-athletic - great speed and change of direction as well as being a big leaper. Bijan is none of those things.

Bijan has a chance to contribute and I hope he is a gym-rat, like Cousins, but I don't see him being a starter next year.

Bijan should improve, but if OU wants to be a tourney team next year - Mo Gibson is your point guard or the point guard is not on the roster.

Preach. I despise the comparison to Cousins. It's just a really, really, bad one. Bijan has literally played PG from the get go while Cousins was switched to PG. Again, a pretty horrible comparison.

 

[TarheelstateSooner]

3 of those 4 are easily fixable with time, experience, and practice.. its like your confused about what a freshman is

It's like you're making excuses. If they are so easily fixable, why was he still struggling in the NIT? The man had two TO's against Mount St. Mary's in 5 minutes of PT. You act like he's going to fix everything and be some starter eventually. I don't think so.

 

[BCSooners]

When I look at Bijan's ceiling as a junior or senior I see the foreign PG from Arizona.

 

[TarheelstateSooner]

When I look at Bijan's ceiling as a junior or senior I see the foreign PG from Arizona.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4683634/bennedict-mathurin

You think his ceiling is that? My goodness.

I think his ceiling is Nate Britt from UNC. Backup PG his whole career, hits a rare shot on occasion.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/nate-britt-1.html

LITERALLY was the same player every, single, year. Perfect ceiling for Bijan. ldwt356:

 

[WichitaSooner]

Preach. I despise the comparison to Cousins. It's just a really, really, bad one. Bijan has literally played PG from the get go while Cousins was switched to PG. Again, a pretty horrible comparison.

Again, you are changing your argument. Your initial point was whether we can expect Bijan to improve. I brought up Cousins not to suggest that Bijan will end up being as good a player. but to show that even guys who have objectively awful freshman seasons can become good players. And Bijan didn't have a horrible season. Plus, Cousins did, in fact, handle the ball a fair amount as a freshman.

 

[TarheelstateSooner]

Again, you are changing your argument. Your initial point was whether we can expect Bijan to improve. I brought up Cousins not to suggest that Bijan will end up being as good a player. but to show that even guys who have objectively awful freshman seasons can become good players. And Bijan didn't have a horrible season. Plus, Cousins did, in fact, handle the ball a fair amount as a freshman.

He didn't have an awful season? Sure dude. Sure. He was pretty bad, and if you put his average for turnovers per 30 minutes it would increase to 5. He was a walking turnover. I think he'll improve like Nate Britt did at UNC (he didn't, he remained the same). That's a solid comparison. Backup PG that averaged 5 PPG per year at UNC. We can only hope Bijan reaches that ceiling.

 

[BCSooners]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4683634/bennedict-mathurin

You think his ceiling is that? My goodness.

I think his ceiling is Nate Britt from UNC. Backup PG his whole career, hits a rare shot on occasion.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/nate-britt-1.html

LITERALLY was the same player every, single, year. Perfect ceiling for Bijan. ldwt356:

Kerr Kriisa is Arizona's starting PG.

You compare him to Nate Britt because Britt was the same player every year? You really don't think he'll improve at all? Also Britt got better every year, but so did his team so his role stayed the same. That's why his stats didn't jump.

 

[TarheelstateSooner]

Kerr Kriisa is Arizona's starting PG.

You compare him to Nate Britt because Britt was the same player every year? You really don't think he'll improve at all? Also Britt got better every year, but so did his team so his role stayed the same. That's why his stats didn't jump.

I don't think Cortes will get much better than what he is. This year was pretty telling. Lack of athleticism will hinder him in Big 12 play, with OU not leaving until 2025. It seems.

 

[WichitaSooner]

He didn't have an awful season? Sure dude. Sure. He was pretty bad, and if you put his average for turnovers per 30 minutes it would increase to 5. He was a walking turnover. I think he'll improve like Nate Britt did at UNC (he didn't, he remained the same). That's a solid comparison. Backup PG that averaged 5 PPG per year at UNC. We can only hope Bijan reaches that ceiling.

Okay, "dude."

 

[BCSooners]

I don't think Cortes will get much better than what he is. This year was pretty telling. Lack of athleticism will hinder him in Big 12 play, with OU not leaving until 2025. It seems.

How did a freshman pg, who got more minutes than expected this year, who had ups & downs tell you he won't get better?

 

[steverocks35]

If the argument is "Cortes won't get better" I'm going to disagree with that, he will.

If the argument is "Cortes won't improve enough to be a starter in the Big 12" I'm going to say it's probable that he won't based on what I've seen.

I'm happy to be proven wrong.

 

[WichitaSooner]

How did a freshman pg, who got more minutes than expected this year, who had ups & downs tell you he won't get better?

Apparently, one example of a player in the Tarheel state who didn't improve much is enough to convince him that Bijan is doomed.

Every player is different. Some improve a ton, others a little, and there are some who stay the same. If Cortes was a kid with limited skills who looked overwhelmed every time he was on the floor, I would be worried. But he showed numerous times that he had ballhandling and passing skills. His weaknesses, specifically, his carelessness, are things you typically see with freshmen, and generally improve with experience. It's also worth remembering that right in the middle of conference play, he missed multiple games with a concussion, and he really never settled back in after he returned.