No Pledge?

[Hollisp]

Not that it matters bc it's a moot point. But no Pledger on the last play is a he's scratcher to me. Lon's answer to the ? Post game was basically that we was being defended well all game. That still doesn't make sense to me.

Either way. Tough loss. Rough frustrating night. We will be ok though.

 

[dksooner]

Because his effort was awful! Not a head acratcher

 

[Escape Goat]

The bigger question is why was James F not dressed?

 

[Hollisp]

Because his effort was awful! Not a head acratcher

Yea maybe. Still. Coaches are paid to win. Sending a message to a sr at this point in the season is not smart IMO. But I do see your point. Again though. Moot point. He would have never had the chance regardless.

 

[Hollisp]

The bigger question is why was James F not dressed?

Asked the same ? To my brother during the game. Anyone got an answer?

 

[jerry]

Because his effort was awful! Not a head acratcher

Agree. Sometimes he doesn't show up. Very poor effort.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Agree. Sometimes he doesn't show up. Very poor effort.

He completely disappeared today and that's what good defense does to Steven. His game is so limited but we knew that before the season started.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

The bigger question is why was James F not dressed?

Asked the same ? To my brother during the game. Anyone got an answer?

Bad back. Greatly shortened our bench.

 

[OklaSooners]

Because pledger sucks and half asses it the whole game. Good move by Kruger benching him the last 6 minutes.

I don't care if we lose, as long as there is 100% effort. Bench every Pledger, TMG type player we have.

 

[seniorsooner]

Is it just me or does it kind of look like his conditioning has taken a step back this year? Looks a little "thicker" to me.

 

[KBaden145]

Is it just me or does it kind of look like his conditioning has taken a step back this year? Looks a little "thicker" to me.

I think it is a question solely about effort. He had to go hard to see the floor. Good athletic defenders eat his lunch. He just does not have what it takes to get separation, especially when his effort is not like it should be. He put himself on the bench, in a manner of speaking.

 

[AdaSooner]

Not that it matters bc it's a moot point. But no Pledger on the last play is a he's scratcher to me. Lon's answer to the ? Post game was basically that we was being defended well all game. That still doesn't make sense to me.

Either way. Tough loss. Rough frustrating night. We will be ok though.

The answer to your question is simple: Pledger had 2 points on 1 of 4 from the field (0-3 from three), 1 rebound, a steal, 2 assists and 2 turnovers.

He hustled on defense, but did absolutely nothing on offense. If Coach Kruger said he was being well defended in his post game interivew, that's coach speak for my starting two guard had a bad game.

I was there. Will Spradling, a 6' 2" 180 featherweight, who appeared to be 20 to 30 pounds lighter and two to three inches shorter than Pledger covered him most of the game. He wasn't being double-teamed either. Yet, Steven made no attempt, not once, to drive on the smaller defender. He should have been able to rise up and shoot over the kid, but never even tried.

As most of you know, I have defended Bird numerous times over the years, but not this time. He had a horrible game. The only mistake Kruger made in sitting him on the bench is not pulling him out sooner.

 

[JBaker]

Watch the game back.
Watch what Spradling did without the ball for KSU.
Then watch what Pledger did without the ball on our possessions.

That's why Pledger was benched for the final stretch of the game.

 

[AdaSooner]

Watch the game back.
Watch what Spradling did without the ball for KSU.
Then watch what Pledger did without the ball on our possessions.

That's why Pledger was benched for the final stretch of the game.

Oh, I know exactly what you're talking about. It was a pathetic performance, and that's putting it mildly.

What I don't understand is how the same player can be aggressive in taking the defender off of the dribble on the road against Baylor, and then all but disappear in a game at home we needed to win in the worst way? :facepalm

 

[WTSooner]

Watch the game back.
Watch what Spradling did without the ball for KSU.
Then watch what Pledger did without the ball on our possessions.

That's why Pledger was benched for the final stretch of the game.

I'm sorry, but this is simply not true. Not trying to single you out, but I've read a lot of comments about Pledger moving without the ball.

First, his "benching" had something to do with that play where he was trying to post his defender on the wing to get the ball, and M'Baye threw it out of bounds. Pledger reacted poorly, didn't hustle the next possession, and I believe was pulled for the remainder of the game. His benching had nothing to do with the first 30 minutes of the ball game.

But more importantly, his moving without the ball. You guys realize we do not run a motion offense, right? That is what KSU runs, and that is why Spradling does what he does. That is a part of the KSU offense. OU does not run that offense. OU pretty much does one of three things on offense. We run our weave on the perimeter, and usually look to feed the post. We run Pledger off a baseline screen, in which case, Pledger is working VERY hard to get open. Or we run iso for Hield/M'Baye/Osby.

When we run iso, it is VERY obvious to me to Pledger's role in that offense is to stand in the corner, pulling his man out there with him, which opens up the court more. That is important b/c the guys we are iso'ing for don't handle the ball all that well. The less traffic, the better. But you can tell LK has told Pledger to go stand in the corner on these plays. It happens EVERY time. So why are the posters on this board jumping on Steven for doing EXACTLY what he is coached to do? And in some ways, that is great coaching. If you can give your offense a 4 on 4 instead of a 5 on 5, it gives your guys more room to operate. Do you guys really think that Pledger just goes to the corner and stands on his own? I haven't seen a single coach yell at him to move all season, especially when he's done this. Do you really think the coaches wouldn't be yelling at him if that wasn't what he was suppose to be doing?

Some of you guys are way over-thinking some of this stuff.

 

[AdaSooner]

WT, if you'll read my post again, you'll see that my biggest gripe centers around Steven's passive approach to the game on offense. He got the ball several times on the wing or the baseline with one defender on him, usually Spradling. There were times he actually had a better shot when the ball was passed to him, than three of the four he took running off of screens. I was screaming, "drive on the guy, Bird!"

I can assure you that Will Spradling is 6' 0 to 6' 1" at best. If he weighs 180 pounds, Pledger is at least 240. The difference in their size was that obvious. In other words, he couldn't have asked for a better match up to take his defender off of the dribble, or as I said before, rise up and shoot over him. Not only didn't he do those things, he never even tried.

I have no idea what was wrong with Steven tonight? He was a totally different player than the one we saw against Baylor. Believe me, there is no defense for the way he played.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I'm sorry, but this is simply not true. Not trying to single you out, but I've read a lot of comments about Pledger moving without the ball.

First, his "benching" had something to do with that play where he was trying to post his defender on the wing to get the ball, and M'Baye threw it out of bounds. Pledger reacted poorly, didn't hustle the next possession, and I believe was pulled for the remainder of the game. His benching had nothing to do with the first 30 minutes of the ball game.

But more importantly, his moving without the ball. You guys realize we do not run a motion offense, right? That is what KSU runs, and that is why Spradling does what he does. That is a part of the KSU offense. OU does not run that offense. OU pretty much does one of three things on offense. We run our weave on the perimeter, and usually look to feed the post. We run Pledger off a baseline screen, in which case, Pledger is working VERY hard to get open. Or we run iso for Hield/M'Baye/Osby.

When we run iso, it is VERY obvious to me to Pledger's role in that offense is to stand in the corner, pulling his man out there with him, which opens up the court more. That is important b/c the guys we are iso'ing for don't handle the ball all that well. The less traffic, the better. But you can tell LK has told Pledger to go stand in the corner on these plays. It happens EVERY time. So why are the posters on this board jumping on Steven for doing EXACTLY what he is coached to do? And in some ways, that is great coaching. If you can give your offense a 4 on 4 instead of a 5 on 5, it gives your guys more room to operate. Do you guys really think that Pledger just goes to the corner and stands on his own? I haven't seen a single coach yell at him to move all season, especially when he's done this. Do you really think the coaches wouldn't be yelling at him if that wasn't what he was suppose to be doing?

Some of you guys are way over-thinking some of this stuff.

smh if that is why he was pulled. He's a senior not a freshman.

 

[WTSooner]

WT, if you'll read my post again, you'll see that my biggest gripe centers around Steven's passive approach to the game on offense. He got the ball several times on the wing or the baseline with one defender on him, usually Spradling. There were times he actually had a better shot when the ball was passed to him, than three of the four he took running off of screens. I was screaming, "drive on the guy, Bird!"

I can assure you that Will Spradling is 6' 0 to 6' 1" at best. If he weighs 180 pounds, Pledger is at least 240. The difference in their size was that obvious. In other words, he couldn't have asked for a better match up to take his defender off of the dribble, or as I said before, rise up and shoot over him. Not only didn't he do those things, he never even tried.

I have no idea what was wrong with Steven tonight? He was a totally different player than the one we saw against Baylor. Believe me, there is no defense for the way he played.

I understand what you are saying, but that is not his game. Do you really want Pledger squaring a guy up on the wing, and trying to make a move to get to the paint? We have other guys that are much more suited for that. I want Pledger shooting jumpers when they are available. And offensively, I don't want him doing much more. Quite honestly, I don't think Pledger is quick enough with the ball to get by Spradling on the wing. Spradling moves his feet fairly well. We all know foot speed isn't Pledger's forte. Against defenses that aren't always in the right spot (Baylor), we saw that Pledger was able to get some shots up off the bounce. I suspect against KSU that would be next to impossible for him, without forcing things. Like I said, if we need wings to drive the ball in order to score, we have better options in Hield, Hornbeak, Cousins, and probably even Cam.

Just my take. Didn't mean for it to turn into some big defense of Pledger's play tonight, I just don't think, for the most part, what he is doing or isn't doing on offense is as bad as some are making it out to be. Part of that standing around is coming straight from the coaches. Luckily we don't have a ton of games left against teams that can lock us down like that.

 

[AdaSooner]

I understand what you are saying, but that is not his game. Do you really want Pledger squaring a guy up on the wing, and trying to make a move to get to the paint? We have other guys that are much more suited for that. I want Pledger shooting jumpers when they are available. And offensively, I don't want him doing much more. Quite honestly, I don't think Pledger is quick enough with the ball to get by Spradling on the wing. Spradling moves his feet fairly well. We all know foot speed isn't Pledger's forte. Against defenses that aren't always in the right spot (Baylor), we saw that Pledger was able to get some shots up off the bounce. I suspect against KSU that would be next to impossible for him, without forcing things. Like I said, if we need wings to drive the ball in order to score, we have better options in Hield, Hornbeak, Cousins, and probably even Cam.

Just my take. Didn't mean for it to turn into some big defense of Pledger's play tonight, I just don't think, for the most part, what he is doing or isn't doing on offense is as bad as some are making it out to be. Part of that standing around is coming straight from the coaches. Luckily we don't have a ton of games left against teams that can lock us down like that.

I don't disagree with you at all. I have said numerous times that foot speed is not one of Steven's strengths. He's more of a catch and shoot player who needs space created by coming off of screens or in finding holes in an opponent's defense.

What I'm saying is that I don't recall a time when he made the attempt to beat a much smaller Will Spradling off of the dribble or shoot over him. It's not often Pledger goes up against a defender where he has a clear advantage in size. Maybe not footspeed, but a distinct difference in height and weight.

Judging by this quote from Coach Kruger in the footnotes of this morning's Oklahoman, Steven's inability to create shots on his own was the reason he sat for all but eight minutes of the second half. What he didn't say, is that Steven made no effort to do that, which is front and center of my gripe with the way he played.

LK also mentions his defense, and to be honest I didn't see any glaring weaknesses with that part of his game.

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-basketball-notebook-beating-oklahoma-big-for-kansas-state/article/3751578

WHERE'S PLEDGER?

Senior Steven Pledger had a rough night. The OU guard went 1-of-4 from the floor and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc. He played just eight minutes in the second half.

“Again, having trouble getting shots and getting separation from his man,” OU coach Lon Kruger said about his guard. “Then defensively had some trouble staying close to his men too.”

 

[MsProudSooner]

smh if that is why he was pulled. He's a senior not a freshman.

If you are saying that he's a senior and he shouldn't react that way, I completely agree. As a Senior, he's supposed to be an example hustling and finding other ways to contribute, even if his shot isn't falling.