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Manning hopes OU women receive test in exhibition vs. UCO
BASKETBALL
Maddie Manning wasn’t kidding.
When Oklahoma takes on Central Oklahoma in an exhibition Friday (7 p.m. Lloyd Noble Center), the OU guard hopes her team is exposed.
Not too much, but some.
“I hope we have some things that we can watch film on and get back into the gym and learn, because we have our first game next Friday,” Manning said. “Just [hope] that we can be sharp. A lot of times you come out here and people throw the ball all over the place. I hope that we’re focused.”
Division II UCO went 25-8 last season and earned an NCAA tournament berth, the fifth under coach Guy Hardaker.
“Guy does a great job with ‘em. They know exactly how*they want to play,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “They’re real good in transition, they duck their head and get to the rim and have real good spotup shooters.”
It’s still likely the No. 22 Sooners, who practiced on Lloyd Noble Center’s main floor Thursday, will have a major advantage.
Each OU player is likely to see the floor not just Friday, but every night.
Two offseason transfers and a knee injury to guard Morgan Rich have trimmed the roster to nine, and Coale expects she’ll play each one.
“I can’t imagine we wouldn’t,” she said. “We’ll play. We’ll play to win every game and put the guys on the floor that need to be playing. By the way they’ve practiced to this point, I can’t imagine that all nine wouldn’t play.”
Guard spots opened up when Chelsea Dungee transferred to Arkansas and Peyton Little graduated. It appears senior Lanesia Williams may start there, while freshman Ana Llanusa — one of OU’s three freshmen slated for their debuts — could play her way into a role.
“[Williams] has worked her tail off and does deserve the opportunity to be out there first,” Coale said. “Her speed is great, she’s really bought into defense. She’s one of those who I think is really falling in love
with what she can do defensively.”
OU hosts Southwestern Oklahoma State Nov. 7, then holds its regular season opener Nov. 10 vs. Belmont.
Feelin’ 22: OU is No. 22 in the Associated Press preseason poll, marking the program’s 39th consecutive week in the rankings.
“I think more than anything it’s a reflection of the teams that have come before. You get ranked in the preseason, really — no matter what your recruiting class looks like — you really get ranked high because of what your program does in the past,” Coale said.
The poll didn’t so much as cause a stir in Lloyd Noble Center, which had rails receiving fresh coats of paint Thursday with the season near.
“It’s much nicer to be where you want to be at the end than the beginning, so I don’t know if they even know anything about [the rankings],” Coale said. “I didn’t even know until somebody asked me on the radio.”
Big 12 teams in the poll included No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Baylor and No. 13 West Virginia.
Offense to defense: Chad Thrailkill will continue serving as a defensive coordinator and Jan Ross
will work as offensive coordinator. OU began designating those roles last season for the first time.
“It’s been really nice, because it’s so specific,” Manning said. “Before, one coach would have the whole scout. Now, TK (Thrailkill) doesn’t even watch our offensive possessions. He only watches our defense and he figures out a game plan just against their offense, and vice versa for the offense.”
BASKETBALL
Maddie Manning wasn’t kidding.
When Oklahoma takes on Central Oklahoma in an exhibition Friday (7 p.m. Lloyd Noble Center), the OU guard hopes her team is exposed.
Not too much, but some.
“I hope we have some things that we can watch film on and get back into the gym and learn, because we have our first game next Friday,” Manning said. “Just [hope] that we can be sharp. A lot of times you come out here and people throw the ball all over the place. I hope that we’re focused.”
Division II UCO went 25-8 last season and earned an NCAA tournament berth, the fifth under coach Guy Hardaker.
“Guy does a great job with ‘em. They know exactly how*they want to play,” OU coach Sherri Coale said. “They’re real good in transition, they duck their head and get to the rim and have real good spotup shooters.”
It’s still likely the No. 22 Sooners, who practiced on Lloyd Noble Center’s main floor Thursday, will have a major advantage.
Each OU player is likely to see the floor not just Friday, but every night.
Two offseason transfers and a knee injury to guard Morgan Rich have trimmed the roster to nine, and Coale expects she’ll play each one.
“I can’t imagine we wouldn’t,” she said. “We’ll play. We’ll play to win every game and put the guys on the floor that need to be playing. By the way they’ve practiced to this point, I can’t imagine that all nine wouldn’t play.”
Guard spots opened up when Chelsea Dungee transferred to Arkansas and Peyton Little graduated. It appears senior Lanesia Williams may start there, while freshman Ana Llanusa — one of OU’s three freshmen slated for their debuts — could play her way into a role.
“[Williams] has worked her tail off and does deserve the opportunity to be out there first,” Coale said. “Her speed is great, she’s really bought into defense. She’s one of those who I think is really falling in love
with what she can do defensively.”
OU hosts Southwestern Oklahoma State Nov. 7, then holds its regular season opener Nov. 10 vs. Belmont.
Feelin’ 22: OU is No. 22 in the Associated Press preseason poll, marking the program’s 39th consecutive week in the rankings.
“I think more than anything it’s a reflection of the teams that have come before. You get ranked in the preseason, really — no matter what your recruiting class looks like — you really get ranked high because of what your program does in the past,” Coale said.
The poll didn’t so much as cause a stir in Lloyd Noble Center, which had rails receiving fresh coats of paint Thursday with the season near.
“It’s much nicer to be where you want to be at the end than the beginning, so I don’t know if they even know anything about [the rankings],” Coale said. “I didn’t even know until somebody asked me on the radio.”
Big 12 teams in the poll included No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Baylor and No. 13 West Virginia.
Offense to defense: Chad Thrailkill will continue serving as a defensive coordinator and Jan Ross
will work as offensive coordinator. OU began designating those roles last season for the first time.
“It’s been really nice, because it’s so specific,” Manning said. “Before, one coach would have the whole scout. Now, TK (Thrailkill) doesn’t even watch our offensive possessions. He only watches our defense and he figures out a game plan just against their offense, and vice versa for the offense.”
