+++++Oklahoma [2-1] vs Portland [2-2] Game Thread++++++

[Northbase]

Trae was fantastic. Nice job by Freeman hitting all those shots at the top of the key to keep Portland off our back. Nice jump hook by Polla! Christian disappears again. dang.

 

[stormspencer]

That was quite possibly the strangest 8+ minutes of basketball that I've seen us play in quite a while. Everything worked out though. I don't have a lot of hair left, but it may all be gone by March.

 

[sheepdogs1]

Walton I think is lost...too much acid back in the day.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

He actually speaks more clearly now as compared to when he first came out of college for you would have thought he was a caveman.

 

[MichaelM]

Is Giles on scholarship?

SS.com says he was a 3 star but elected to walk on here. He's a legacy.

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=211670111&DB_OEM_ID=31000

 

[AdaSooner]

Took Lazenby and McNeace out. Really need Odomes to get back and Doolittle to get eligible. That will mean Polla and Lazenby don't have to play.

I’m all for that. Sit McNeace, too, if he continues to sleep walk through many more games.

 

[NickZepp]

I'm still not sure we are any good. But I like Trae Young.

 

[okienole3]

SS.com says he was a 3 star but elected to walk on here. He's a legacy.

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=211670111&DB_OEM_ID=31000

Yeah, but he was only walk-on that made the trip.

 

[Stikboy]

Glad we have Trae. Can't wait to get Doo back.

 

[sheepdogs1]

I’m all for that. Sit McNeace, too, if he continues to sleep walk through many more games.

Consistency is not his thing. He has little basketball experience compared to most and it shows with respect to basketball smarts.

 

[CoachTalk]

Yeah, but he was only walk-on that made the trip.

Walkons rotate trips I think.

 

[oudna]

I can’t believe how good this kid is

 

[oudna]

I'm still not sure we are any good. But I like Trae Young.

“Are” isn’t important right now.

We will be.

 

[skyvue]

Loved seeing Freeman hit some midrange shots that kept us from imploding. Would like to see that same approach from other players when we're not hitting our threes (which we haven't for two games in a row now).

 

[AdaSooner]

Consistency is not his thing. He has little basketball experience compared to most and it shows with respect to basketball smarts.

Oh, I know. That’s why I have always defended Jmuni when he catches too much heat. My main gripe with him now is a lack of effort, which is why I said he is “sleep walking” to describe what I have seen in the last two games. He has so much potential, it would be a shame if he doesn’t figure it out soon.

 

[OU92Grad]

Found out Manek is battling food poisoning or something. Very surprised he was able to even play. Didn’t warm up before the game or at halftime. Outstanding effort to come out and hit two threes to start the game when our offense was stagnant.

 

[AdaSooner]

I'm still not sure we are any good. But I like Trae Young.

Well, that’s a good start, Nick. Shows you may be well on your way to being a bonafide basketball fan.

 

[OULad]

As I said before we are going to be fine. We arent final four material but 20 wins and getting into the NCAA's seems likely. Getting back Doolittle and just the natural progression of the Freshmen, we will be a lot better but mid December.

 

[chuckb]

Loved seeing Freeman hit some midrange shots that kept us from imploding. Would like to see that same approach from other players when we're not hitting our threes (which we haven't for two games in a row now).

Freeman has improved. We really need the shooters to come around but I think they will. I expect Doolittle to be a big improvement defensively and on the glass. Hopefully it won't take him long to get up to game speed.

 

[usedtobe1]

Found out Manek is battling food poisoning or something. Very surprised he was able to even play. Didn’t warm up before the game or at halftime. Outstanding effort to come out and hit two threes to start the game when our offense was stagnant.

OK, that makes sense. I couldn't figure out why Brady wasn't playing more. He didn't play the last 10 minutes of the first half, and when Freeman got his 2nd foul, they had to play James at the PF spot. He didn't play much in the second half either.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Thought it was a pretty ugly game. Portland is the type of team that can make you look ugly. Slowdown offense with lots of movement and laying back to stop the running offense.

Most significant part of the game to me was that unlike against Arkansas, when Trey got out of control, he did the things he must do to take control of the game in tough situations. Stayed within himself, played with confidence and with the help of Freeman blew Portland out of the gym. He may have an opportunity to do the same against Oregon, a much better team.

I am growing in respect for Freeman. He seems to have found his legs and if he can keep hitting the treys and the shots from the free throw line area he may move up in the rotations.

Defense gave up more wide open shots than against Arkansas. Hard for me to tell if it was better or worse tonight. The difference in opponent scoring had a lot more to do with the type of game than in the quality of defense. On balance I thought we did a little better against Arkansas. More energy and less wide open shots.

Key questions to me are:
1) Do we have an outside offense other than with Young. We have not proven that against quality competition.

2) Will McNease ever realize his potential. Does Polla offer an option if not. Polla has awesome stats in trash time but I thought he looked weak on defense in his first time on the court tonight.

3) Is McGusty in a sophomore slump or is he plateauing out. He seems a little out of sync in the offensive flow.

4) How well will we rebound. Better tonight but still too many second chance points. Seems at times our desire to block shots leaves us vulnerable to offensive rebounds and putbackss. Rebounding may be the most crucial thing to this team. Doolittle may help.