OU vs Duke on ESPN#

[SOONERGRAD]

Duke had a huge advantage in athleticism. Their players jumped. Like actually got off the floor! They did spin moves, fade aways, beat us to rebounds on free throws, you name it, they could do it.

Something we need to recruit, other than just shooters and one dimensional players.

 

[womenssports]

Well. We must have won. We had fewer turnovers.

Our interior didn't show up. I think it is time to sit Kay Kay, even if we have no other post available. She just isn't doing the job against any type of decent competition. Never has. I thought we would suffer on interior defense without Griffin. We have.

57-22, Really? And, we only lost by twenty? 57-22? Our leading rebounder is a 5-8 guard with 5? Second was a 5-10 guard with four?

Kornet didn't have a good day. But, she tried. Peyton and Sharane have to take more than ten shots between them. Zero for Kay Kay? Zero points?

Got some work to do, some changes to make.

I did not see Peyton nor Sharane pass up any shots...maybe passed up trying to do shoot something besides a three......not sure, because not sure they had the opportunity. We also do not have an interior offense. Playing teams we really were better than we had some plays for the interior ....and not talking just the post but for others to get to the basket. Duke was definitely a much better team and really had the advantage in the post and at forward.

Saw Kay-Kay running the floor. Not giving up on her yet. Still hope Vivi continues to improve because see her really making an impact.

 

[womenssports]

Carter got most of her points against Duke scrubs at the end.

I was not talking about her scoring if you were responding to my post, I just like her play. I do think she has the potential of being a really good player. I didn't even see her score at the end..haven't looked at the stats.

Not meaning to sound argumentative, just clarifying what I meant regarding Gioya.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Something we need to recruit, other than just shooters and one dimensional players.

You bet, we have to go after better athletes with skill.

 

[womenssports]

Something we need to recruit, other than just shooters and one dimensional players.

Hmm, think we have some decent athletes....better than last year and than some teams since the 2002 season, but we rely on threes for offense and that is NOT a good thing when you cannot rebound...for whatever reason. Do believe many teams would have a difficult time rebounding against Duke.

 

[Sweetest OU Girl]

Well. We must have won. We had fewer turnovers.

Our interior didn't show up. I think it is time to sit Kay Kay, even if we have no other post available. She just isn't doing the job against any type of decent competition. Never has. I thought we would suffer on interior defense without Griffin. We have.

57-22, Really? And, we only lost by twenty? 57-22? Our leading rebounder is a 5-8 guard with 5? Second was a 5-10 guard with four?

Kornet didn't have a good day. But, she tried. Peyton and Sharane have to take more than ten shots between them. Zero for Kay Kay? Zero points?

Got some work to do, some changes to make.

I actually felt better about this game than several of the earlier ones.

Did you catch the comment by the female announcer about us being the midst of a 7 game road trip? Her comment? "I have never heard of such a thing." We even start the Big-12 playing a majority of our first several games on the road. It's been that way for a few years.

Syb, the reason we had fewer turnovers is because they did not pressure us - not at all. Not on the inbound or even after we crossed center court. I did get frustrated by Maddie (one of my personal favorites) when she kept trying to toss that bounce pass around the girl guarding her and kept getting it stolen. Why would she keep doing that?

But overall, they were simply too tall for us. Without a doubt they were very effective at blocking out, but even when they did not, they could keep reaching over our backs and taking the ball. Probably some of those were fouls, but you are not going to get those calls on the court of an opponent. Add the height advantage to them being a bit quicker than we are and what you saw is about the best you could expect.

 

[womenssports]

Okay, none of my friends follow OU so have no one to discuss game with. Do not mean to offend, nor do I believe I am necessarily correct on all or anything but it's no fun to just watch without trying to figure out what is going on.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

This has all the makings of becoming the worst season in Sherri's history.

Many of us knew Kay-Kay wasn't going to cut the mustard this season, especially against quality competition. No surprise. I agree with Syb and when Syb says a girl needs to be benched, you know she needs to be riding the pine.

I get this feeling this season is going to be like watching a train wreck and hanging around to see how many lifeless bodies they pull from the carnage.

You just can't stop watching.


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[SoonerNorm]

A 4 guard offense can normally execute pretty well against opponents that are similar in size and athleticism. But, when going up against a team like Duke, we were dominated on both ends of the court. I thought Sherri might go with two bigs at the same time but she didn't. Don't know if it would have helped but it wouldn't hurt to have tried.

 

[sybarite]

I still think we'll be in the top four of the Big Twelve. Not every game will be on the road.

 

[OKUman]

Duke had a huge advantage in athleticism. Their players jumped. Like actually got off the floor! They did spin moves, fade aways, beat us to rebounds on free throws, you name it, they could do it.

Well I guess the real question is why they have better athleticism. Could it be the players she recruits? Of course it is. Do we ever get a look from some of these top players? And yes I know about how our new players were rated, but as you can see those ratings we a bit off.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

I have to disagree, Syb, based upon what I've seen so far. I'd say we'd be lucky to finish 6th, but there is a lot of basketball still to play.

This is the year, I believe where we really see if Sherri has anything left in the tank to take this program back into the championship hunt.


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[sybarite]

I have to disagree, Syb, based upon what I've seen so far. I'd say we'd be lucky to finish 6th, but there is a lot of basketball still to play.

This is the year, I believe where we really see if Sherri has anything left in the tank to take this program back into the championship hunt.


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Well. That is kind of like you, and I tend to be more like me. I'll save my pessimism for football.

We have a senior---one. Although a good kid, and I do love zoologists, she is not the on the floor leader type. She is basically a role player who has been asked to assume a responsibility for scoring that really isn't in her skill set. She's a rather small forward, and she's having to play like a big one.

We also have a couple of juniors. Although Sherri really has been in love with what she has seen of Kay Kay, I don't know that I have seen the same player except when it wasn't all that important. Kay Kay seems timid when we play a top twenty-five team. She gets flustered, doesn't think when shooting, and tends to want to get rid of the ball rather than to do something good with it. She has never been a defensive player. I guess she is OK against weak opposition. But, I think people underrated Griffin on defense, and overrated what looked like a more athletic Kay Kay. Athletic players have to play basketball, not just be there.

It took a while for Nicole to find a role. But, she is still our best firebrand on the court that actually sees the court. This is the first year that she has started, and it is really also the first year that Kay Kay has started with the exception of a couple of games. She is learning on the fly, but she is learning fast because she does work on the court.

Therein lies a problem for some of our players. You get open shots if you work for them. You get rebounds if you work for them. If Gabbi can consistently lead the team in rebounds at 5-8, maybe we need a 6-2 Gabbi. It's hustle and work. Nina Davis is no giant.

That is not a lot of upperclass experience. It means that we have a lot of developing to do. I have been encouraged by what I have seen this year. I could care less that we are 5-4 right now. I have seen some things work out well. There are some things that have regressed, and that concerns me. I think right now that Peyton is going backwards, and Sharane is losing a little aggressiveness.

But, I am very pleased at the effort of Derica and Gabbi. LaNesia has been a very pleasant surprise. Vivi is doing well, and she is coming off an ACL tear. I've been pretty happy with McKenna. There is room for growth.

Last year, I was concerned because I didn't see where the upside was coming from. I had hopes. But, I had seen four years of Aaryn, Morgan, and Nicole Griffin. It wasn't going to get any better. Sharane was as good as she would likely get. I didn't see an upside unless it came from Gioya or Kornet. They have the right attitude. Gioya really needs polish. She can. But, she needs to polish what she does. It only works in trash time.

I see a lot more upside this year. We can fill in the holes that I didn't see being filled last year. Give me seven or eight who want to play, and we'll do OK.

 

[rocjunkie]

I really like our team, and I like the potential talent associated with it. We have the talent to compete with any one, USF, Kentucky, Washington, Duke, etc. I have to agree with Syb on the last sentence of his above comment. We need eight kids that will totally buy in and come and play every single game for every minute they are on the floor. I don't care if they are Freshman or Seniors, it has to be about "want", "desire", and total "sell OUt" for their team mates. There are four that I think have done that so far this season. Nicole, Derica, Sharane, and LaNesia. Give me four more.

We started the season moving the ball and moving kids around the floor. We have now become a dribbling team, and against Duke's zone, it devastated us. Our kids need to get back to basic fundamentals. We have already discussed rebounding. As long as I am a fan, I will be redundant. How about faking a pass, how about a pump fake, move with out the ball, finish, finish, finish at the glass, play some inside out with the post, make the defense move, etc.... The kids are not stupid, but some times I wonder what the heck they discuss during film study, and actual time on the floor.

I have no idea where this team is going to finish the season, I see a possible 20-9 or a 14-15 and miss any post season play. Tonight was a really embarrassing rebounding performance. When an opponent has 23 offensive boards to your 23 total, is pretty poor fundamentals in my book, and I hope the girls are embarrassed and take it upon themselves to pull together and never let this happen again. This could be the beginning of a train wreck or the rise of a phoenix. Tuning in for a bumpy season.

 

[califca]

I don't believe this team is going anywhere. If they don't correct the turnovers were in for a long season.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I'm usually a glass half full person but I don't see how we are going to finish 5th much less 4th. This team has absolutely no identity. Don't know what to expect from who. And we seem to be fundamentally weak.

Tonight is an example of when the 4 guard system definitely doesn't work. Had we held our own on the boards we would have been in the game all the way. Duke had their warts too but when they get 4 chances on one possession you can't expect it to turn out good.

I can't understand why Campbell-Olds all of a sudden is not getting shots or getting to the hoop like she usually does. And Little seems to be totally out of sync. Was encouraged with the play of Ortiz and Derica definitely had a solid night all around.

 

[Mac]

The espn crew had some really nice things to say about Gabbi. She just needs time to learn the game, and the she could be a All Big 12 guard. While it's good that we can go 10 deep, Sherri is still playing to many players who can't get a rhythm together. I'm not sure why Williams and Williams are starting for OU, Louis and Little should start along with Ortiz, Olds, and Kornet. I know Little hasn't been playing great of late but I believe her time will come.. She got her shot blocked by Williams of Duke, then came right back and made a 3, started to clap her hands and get the team fired up, then the team made a silly mistake and we lost momentum, we need her attitude, confidence and for her to find her shot.

 

[SoonerNorm]

As Roc said, we lost last night because of rebounding. We have known all year rebounding was a problem but, the problem is magnified when we play an athletic team like Duke. They jump, we stand flat-footed waiting for the ball to come to us. We cannot expect Baylor or Texas to stand and wait for the ball because it won't happen. Nina Davis will eat us alive if we don't find players who are willing to block out then JUMP for the ball. Texas has athletes too who will make us look bad if we don't change our ways.

It starts with recruiting. We need better athletes with skill. This group will look good against the likes of TCU, Tech, and KSU, but we are going to struggle against athletic teams.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I sure hope we are building relationships with Cox and Holmes!

 

[garyeb2]

The players that we have are the players that they are. None of them are void of skills. I am sure that they are all dedicated good workers and compete as well as they can. However there is not a difference maker type talent on the roster.

As a group we are slow and limited athletically. The better teams will have better players and will wear our girls out. The mediocre results are a direct representation of the level of talent that has been brought into the program.

Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic won't help anymore than pathetic old men getting on a message board and bashing the girls individually. My guess is that they are all good kids doing the best they can and until evidence proves otherwise, I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Without an uptick of the talent on the roster, nothing will change. The kids aren't responsible for that.