OU's depth

[AdaSooner]

I think it's safe to assume that Coach Kruger will not be shy about bringing players off the bench when he feels the team needs fresh legs. Ten players logged double figures in minutes tonight, with a low of 12 and a high of 24.

Coach also emptied the bench. T.J. and Honore' played 7 and 8 minutes respectively. I'll add that everyone on the team played hard and made the most of their time on the floor. That was just as true when our lead was 30 or more.

I'm impressed with our depth. This team goes at least nine players deep, ten in certain situations. And that doesn't count Honore', who has played quite well in limited minutes the past couple of games.

I wish everyone on the board could have seen this performance. What an improvement from the Utah State game!

 

[Mr.B!!!]

Idaho State

I see a solid D-1 rotation by the time January comes around. JMHO.

 

[ArdmoreSooner]

I think with the up tempo he has to play at least 8 to keep guys fresh and the pressure to be effective.:sherri175_jpg_xs:

 

[soonertboy824]

i think our 8th best player is comparable to our best player

 

[Escape Goat]

i think our 8th best player is comparable to our best player

That can be both good and bad. Time will tell which description fits best for OU this year.

 

[Bk2X]

Obviously we don't have a star lineup but at least we give ourselves a chance by hopefully outhussling our opponent. Totally different vibe out of this team than previous, sure is a breath of fresh air.

 

[j2d2]

I wonder how Tubbs kept that team running hard the whole game. Dnt remember him doing much substituting but my memory isnt reliable.

 

[WTSooner]

i think our 8th best player is comparable to our best player

I don't.

 

[NickZepp]

If any thing shows how not very deep we are it's the first game without our best player being so ugly. Even though we didn't really play that bad in the 2nd half. We still eeked out a close win and against a similar team in Coppin State with our best player we blew them out.

I wonder how Tubbs kept that team running hard the whole game. Dnt remember him doing much substituting but my memory isnt reliable.

In Tubbs best years we played 6 maybe 7 guys most of the time. Probably 8 at the most. In 88 our starting 5 all got over 1,000 minutes nobody else broke 400 minutes. The starting 5 scored 82% of all points. Only the starting 5 got over 400 points. Nobody else got 200. Our best bench player as far as minutes was Terrance Mullins who averaged 10.5 minutes per game, followed closely by Tyrone Jones at 10.3, Andre Wiley averaged 9 minutes a game. None of them averaged more than 6 points a game.

 

[AdaSooner]

I wonder how Tubbs kept that team running hard the whole game. Dnt remember him doing much substituting but my memory isnt reliable.

Most of Billy's teams went 8 to 9 players deep, sometimes more. He made sure of that by tapping the JUCO ranks to fill voids every season. That's a lot more difficult now, because the talent of talent is not the same today. Take a look at OU's roster in '88 and you'll see what I mean:

http://www.soonerstats.com/basketball/men/players/roster.cfm?SeasonID=1988

You bring up an interesting question about what Billy did to get his players in shape back then, aside from the obvious kick the ball out and run on every possession in games as well as practice. I seem to recall that he brought in aerobics instructors or ballet dancers (or it could have been both) to work with the team. I have no idea if he did it as a publicity stunt, or if the credit he gave the workouts was real?

Maybe someone with a better memory can shed some light on what I'm remembering as a somewhat unorthodox method of conditioning Tubbs used?

 

[AdaSooner]

If any thing shows how not very deep we are it's the first game without our best player being so ugly. Even though we didn't really play that bad in the 2nd half. We still eeked out a close win and against a similar team in Coppin State with our best player we blew them out.

In Tubbs best years we played 6 maybe 7 guys most of the time. Probably 8 at the most. In 88 our starting 5 all got over 1,000 minutes nobody else broke 400 minutes. The starting 5 scored 82% of all points. Only the starting 5 got over 400 points. Nobody else got 200. Our best bench player as far as minutes was Terrance Mullins who averaged 10.5 minutes per game, followed closely by Tyrone Jones at 10.3, Andre Wiley averaged 9 minutes a game. None of them averaged more than 6 points a game.

You're right about our starting five that year. But they scored a lot of points because they were all prolific scorers. There were still 4 players who averaged at least 8.6 minutes to give those five a breather on occasion.

If you'll check the stats most years, though, you'll find that Billy's teams usually had 8 to 10 players who averaged double figures in minutes played. Most of his teams were deep. They had to be to play at the pace he wanted.

 

[p230]

I think the main benifit this year will be down low. Fitz if not the best rebounder but a gassed/worn out or sitting with foul trouble Fitz is even worse. Obviously we are going to get minutes from Osby and anything from Casey and Puma will be gravy.

 

[AdaSooner]

I think the main benifit this year will be down low. Fitz if not the best rebounder but a gassed/worn out or sitting with foul trouble Fitz is even worse. Obviously we are going to get minutes from Osby and anything from Casey and Puma will be gravy.

Good point about Fitz. I have little doubt that fatigue had a lot to do with his foul trouble last year. This season he knows he can play hard and with more aggression, and come out for a breather when he gets tired. The eight rebounds he snagged in the Coppin State game is an example of what I mean.

I kept an eye on him during that game, mainly because I was trying to understand why he is such a poor rebounder. Little did I know that he would go after loose balls and boards like a man possessed, and rub my nose in my attempt to solve the mystery. lol

 

[WTSooner]

I kept an eye on him during that game, mainly because I was trying to understand why he is such a poor rebounder. Little did I know that he would go after loose balls and boards like a man possessed, and rub my nose in my attempt to solve the mystery. lol

How about you "keep an eye on him" for the rest of the season. Okay?

 

[AdaSooner]

How about you "keep an eye on him" for the rest of the season. Okay?

:ez-roll:

If you think it will help, I'll keep both eyes on him.

 

[DenverSooner]

i think our 8th best player is comparable to our best player

If you made this same statement with except for _______ I don't see much difference between our top 8 players I would probably think that was a good thing. I have some concerns this team doesn't have the Ryan Minor, Corey Brewer, Nolan Johnson, Hollis Price, etc. player that can carry the team during tough stretches.