OSU beats UCO 89-80

[bgrch1350]

and you would be wrong .. sutton was not a very good coach ..

i think OSU is a borderline tourney team by years end .. Ford is a very good coach ... as he showed last season ..

and they have some very good players .. that said they lose all 4 to OU and texas

I think its hard to tell how good of a coach Sutton would have been when only holding the reins for 2 years and in his 1st year starting out 17-0 before Obi got hurt. I was at the game downtown when OSU beat Pitt, and he sure looked like he could coach a team against a good opponent.

When Curry and Cooper both bolted unexpectedly, it killed them in his 2nd season. Their only post presence and their dynamic scorer both being counted on, leave the way they did, killed any chance they had. Not many coach's could have done much better with that team that season.

And I don't know what Ford proved last season...besides that he could win with very talented/experience guards in Anderson, Eaton, Harris, and Muonelo. So far in his 2nd season as OSU's head coach he hasn't recruited near the talent that Sutton was bringing in.

 

[elmocarp]

I'm not trying to defend it, it was a horrible performance. I was trying to figure out why you were making the points in the paint...point and figured it had something to do with post defense. Which it really didn't, it was a lot of breakway layups. Not saying that's any better, by no means.

I just don't get what the points in the paint stat MEANS as far as the game goes. As I said, OU only outscored their opponent by 6 in the paint and destroyed their opponent by 30 or whatever it was. I don't see any correlation between points in the paint comparisons and the final scores.

I even said in an earlier post, if the PG play never improves from this point it will be an ugly season. This was a disappointing start to the season,but at least they didn't pull a Syracuse.

Totally agree with all this...well said...

 

[seniorsooner]

OSU is going to have to show me they can do it without Eaton. If anyone in Orange thinks that is not going to be a HUGE loss for them they are in for a rude awakening. That being said, I don't place much stock in anything that happened in one solitary exhibition game.

 

[MVPx2]

I really believe OSU was better off with Sean Sutton as their coach. Fords system is better suited for a mid-major team. I think they could have been so much better last year with Sean plus Thomas and Adams.

QUOTE]

Yeah....you pretty much lose all credibility with that one.

 

[Seymore Cox]

I really believe OSU was better off with Sean Sutton as their coach. Fords system is better suited for a mid-major team. I think they could have been so much better last year with Sean plus Thomas and Adams.

QUOTE]

Yeah....you pretty much lose all credibility with that one.

ding ding effin ding.

 

[Dignon003]

Ford said quite plainly that the PG's were not ready. We did not run many if any set plays. He wanted to get them in a game and get their feet wet. He is having to be pretty patient here and he's not good at that.

Pilgrim, Anderson and Obi were really good. I think you'll see a big step up tomorrow night. I would not put too much stock in an exhibition game.

OSU will be fine. 22 or so wins on the year would be what I expect.

 

[Seymore Cox]

There is talent at the PG positon. They have the ability to be pretty solid by years end. Right the the frosh are lost and look to have trouble remembering which sets are which. By the way Pilgrim is a man.

If we can get solid pg play OSU will be better this year than last.

There is talent at the PG position, but the problem is you have two shoot first PGs, and one guy who isn't even a real PG. Dowell, the fourth only got 3 minutes so he must be behind the curve. Page's Bball IQ is high enough to be an effective PG, he's just limited physically.

 

[Dignon003]

Anyone who thinks that we were better off with Sean is smoking crack.

The players didn't want to play for him. X's and O's he had right, everything else was a mess. The 2 1/2 years under Sean almost killed our program.

Eaton and Harris were both better under Ford as was Obi. Our assistant coaches are better under Ford. Sean is a great assistant coach but he's not head coach material.

Who lost more?

OU - Blake, Taylor, A. Johnson and Patillo
OSU - Eaton, Harris, Anthony Brown and Malcom Kirkland.

 

[Sam]

Anyone who thinks that we were better off with Sean is smoking crack.

The players didn't want to play for him. X's and O's he had right, everything else was a mess. The 2 1/2 years under Sean almost killed our program.

Eaton and Harris were both better under Ford as was Obi. Our assistant coaches are better under Ford. Sean is a great assistant coach but he's not head coach material.

Who lost more?

OU - Blake, Taylor, A. Johnson and Patillo
OSU - Eaton, Harris, Anthony Brown and Malcom Kirkland.

I clearly think OSU was better off with Sean, much easier to beat them with Rat Boy at the helm.

Also who replaced what they lost better though?

 

[BigTime]

I clearly think OSU was better off with Sean, much easier to beat them with Rat Boy at the helm.

Also who replaced what they lost better though?

ding ding ding....tell him what he won, Bob Barry Senior!

 

[HoHum]

The bench is better. I'd take Pilgrim over Brown any day. And if Pilgrim is able to start, he's a better 4 than Obi or Anderson, and it will create a trickle down effect.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

Ratty McCheese got what he deserved and was never going to live up to the level shown by Jeff Capel; however, seems to me that Ratty could recruit good [not great] players. When you get so many bad apples, wonder what "promises" were not kept that got them all there in the first place?

Anyone else find it ironic just how quickly oSu fell off the map after they decided that it was their job to turn in OU for "texting"? Started the ball rolling for Kelvin to move on to Indiana, to be replaced by Jeff Capel, who is now arguably the hottest young coach in the country both on and off the court. Tell you what, OU has fantastic leadership at the top...St. Eddie and Ratty thought that by getting rid of Kelvin they would make their lives easier, instead they both ended up unemployed and disgraced...damn that karma.

As to what oSu did vs. UCO, it was an exhibition. Pretty certain that guys got opportunities to work out some bugs, etc. and will be better in their next "real" game. Either way, it isn't really that oSu sucks, it is just that Ford's "system" is geared for a mid-major and so I expect that there will be times against mid-majors [or D-2 schools] they will struggle because they are not able to effectively make team pay for a lack of size inside. JMHO.

 

[Dignon003]

Who replaced what they lost better? I think it's a bit too early to tell. I think that Eaton and Harris are tough to replace as are both Griffin's. It kind of depends on who does what job.

Blake and Eaton were the catalysts for both teams last year the teams success depended largely on these two players. Taylor and Harris were the senior leaders. Collected and consistent.

OSU lost some defense and some hustle. OU lost some toughness and athleticism. Both lost leadership.

Blake - Gallon = Down grade
Taylor - Wright = Down grade
Patillo - Pledger/Fitzgerald tough to answer.
Johnson - TMG = Probably a push today, but will be an upgrade.

Eaton - Penn = Down grade
Harris - Obi/Page/Anderson = Tough to answer
Anthony Brown - Pilgrim = Upgrade
Malcolm Kirkland - Akol/Walker/Shaw = who knows. Likely an upgrade

 

[JDM Sooner]

Who replaced what they lost better? I think it's a bit too early to tell.

That is assuming they were on an equal level last year. Its much easier to replace an Eaton or Harris than it is to replace a once in a decade player like Blake, and even if you did reload better, that doesn't make you a better team.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

If a guy is a terrible player and you replace him with only a slightly less terrible player then yes, there is an upgrade, but is that something you want to hang your hat on?

Same thing goes the other way, if you lose the POY nationally and replace him with a 5-Star McDaa MVP that plays the same position, is it really that much of a given that there will be a substantial downgrade?

I can agree that with lost athletisim in the post, but seemed to have gained it on the perimeter...along with the potential for better shooting as well. Guess what I am saying is that Eaton and Harris were cummulatively nowhere close to the players that Blake and Taylor were/are overall, but if you have a system that relies on guard play, losing two senior guards is going to have an impact.

 

[Dignon003]

If a guy is a terrible player and you replace him with only a slightly less terrible player then yes, there is an upgrade, but is that something you want to hang your hat on?

Same thing goes the other way, if you lose the POY nationally and replace him with a 5-Star McDaa MVP that plays the same position, is it really that much of a given that there will be a substantial downgrade?

I can agree that with lost athletisim in the post, but seemed to have gained it on the perimeter...along with the potential for better shooting as well. Guess what I am saying is that Eaton and Harris were cummulatively nowhere close to the players that Blake and Taylor were/are overall, but if you have a system that relies on guard play, losing two senior guards is going to have an impact.

I expect an impact, however I think it is foolish for OU fans to believe that they won't feel one as well.

 

[Dignon003]

That is assuming they were on an equal level last year. Its much easier to replace an Eaton or Harris than it is to replace a once in a decade player like Blake, and even if you did reload better, that doesn't make you a better team.

I never said we reloaded better or that we were the better team. Although the two teams were a lot closer than most on this board would like to admit.

I fully agree on replacing Blake. That's why I'm curious to think why OU fans are expecting an easy sweep.

 

[Seymore Cox]

OSU is probably more talented than last year, but it probably won't show until late, late in the season.

 

[earlpearl]

In my opinion a great point guard is more valuable than a great center. I will take a talented backcourt and a serviceable center over a superstar center any day. I will concede this point. The sooners could be better this year if all the hype is true about your backcourt players.

Osu on the other hand has added much need depth at the point guard position and upgraded the frontline quite a bit. IMO Ford knows how to coach a point guard. At the first of last year Eaton was no better than he was as a frosh. Ford took him and made a very formidable player out of him (granted he had the tools to do so). I have not seen any of the freshman guards play this year but if they have tools I guarantee you Ford can make them into something.

As for defensive liability because of heighth I do not buy it. One of OSU best defensive teams under Sutton was when Alexander, Sutton and Williams played together.

 

[Dignon003]

OSU plays much better tonight winning 97-55. Pilgrim, Anderson and Penn lead the way.