Pledger or Willis

[BigTime]

* Ht:6'4"
* Wt:221 lbs
* Shooting:Outstanding
* Class:2009 (High School)

* Ht:6'6"
* Wt:170 lbs
* Scoring: Really Good
* Class:2008 (High School)

Who gets more minutes next year? Why? Discuss.

 

[thebigabd]

great topic, and I have no idea!

Pledger is kind of an X-factor.. he is supposed to be an elite shooter and that always helps freshman get on the floor. The other thing is, he is 6'4'' 220 which gives him a 50 pound weight advantage over Ray Willis. Thats probably not THAT significant for the shooting guard spot in college basketball, as length and ball-handling ability are far more important than weight.

Willis is supposed to be able to score in bunches, but we have never seen that as this level since we only saw him against Maine for a few minutes.

Im gonna go with the experience though and say Willis gets more minutes.

 

[red recluse]

basketball i.q. and defense. we know they can both score. as i said previous, i believe bird will wind up getting more minutes because defensive effort and situational awareness will be what separates pledger from willis.

 

[OUsky]

Im gonna go with the experience though and say Willis gets more minutes.

This.

 

[FaithfulSooner]

Very good question. I really think that the competition between these two will be top notch. I really like the things that I'm hearing about Ray on the court and off. I think a fire has been lit under his you know what. Steven on the other hand is a very talented young man that if he shoots well and continues to play the game with great effort in every facet. He could beat Ray out on these intangibles alone. Steven is a shooter, but I've watched alot of video on him to where he was more than willing to do whatever it took to help his team win. Ray must show us more effort on the defensive end of the court, and also sell himself out to the team. I hope both of them will just go at it everyday in practice to where Coach Capel has a hard time figuring out who to play. This will only make our team better. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!:clap

 

[OKURanger]

The competition between the two would make attending practices very interesting. This might also cause some of our recruits to wonder if they should come to OU or not; they probably won't be starting their first year.

For this season, I think Willis has the edge. He knows the system better.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

I would lean towards Pledger, but Capel has shown a propensity to play the "older" guys, and Willis could show more effort this year. No way of knowing, really, until they get on the court.

 

[luckyc1423]

I really like both of these guys...but I am a huge Willis fan...I am learning towards Pledger redshirting...

 

[SuperFresh2]

Word on the street is that Pledger has suprised virtually everyone with what he brings to the table since the day he stepped on campus. People think he's just a shooter because of his rep, but from what I've heard and read, he has shown up with a chip on his shoulder and is all about business. Word is that he has demonstrated he has handles, can play d, suprising athleticism, BB IQ, plus he has a pro body right now which suits him on the glass. Shooting ability is the great equalizer and he has that as well, so combine all that and I think you have your answer.

I've further heard that he has had the best summer of anyone on the squad regardless of position, and I think that if the rumors are true that WW runs the point, I think you see Steven as the starting 2 sooner rather than later. Mark it down- we got a "diamond in the rough" with Pledger, Fellas.

Sorry Lucky- no chance he redshirts this year, IMHO.

 

[DenverSooner]

Word on the street is that Pledger has suprised virtually everyone with what he brings to the table since the day he stepped on campus. People think he's just a shooter because of his rep, but from what I've heard and read, he has shown up with a chip on his shoulder and is all about business. Word is that he has demonstrated he has handles, can play d, suprising athleticism, BB IQ, plus he has a pro body right now which suits him on the glass. Shooting ability is the great equalizer and he has that as well, so combine all that and I think you have your answer.

I've further heard that he has had the best summer of anyone on the squad regardless of position, and I think that if the rumors are true that WW runs the point, I think you see Steven as the starting 2 sooner rather than later. Mark it down- we got a "diamond in the rough" with Pledger, Fellas.

Sorry Lucky- no chance he redshirts this year, IMHO.

That is great news. The fact that OU could have a top 100 high school player on the bench as a sophomore (and really not even getting mintues) speaks volumes about where the program is going. That is KU, DUKE or UNC type of bench depth. This simply was not the case under Tubbs or Sampson. Heck OU was lucky to get top 100 players out of high school back then (particularly guys that were not from Oklahoma or Texas).

 

[Mr.B!!!]

I'm going to go with Pledger over Willis on this one. Both are true "2" guards but based on size alone, I'm guessing that Pledger has the ability to guard the "3" a little better if it is a true SF that he is up against. In either instance, both are behind Willie Warren, Tony Crocker, TMG and Cade Davis...unless there is an injury, one of them really blows up or we go to a line up that is: Post (Gallon), Small Forward (Crocker), Shooting Guard (Pledger/Willis), Combo Guard (Willie) and Point Guard (TMG), then where things stand right now I'm not expecting either of them to average more that 5-8 minutes per game.

FWIW, the same way I wanted to see a line-up of Longar, Blake Griffin, Keith Clark, Taylor Griffin and Austin Johnson season before last (happened for a few minutes if I recall) rebound and bang down low, I'd sure enjoy seeing Gallon running with four guards out there for about 10 minutes in the course of a non-conference game just to see how it would look (TMG, Warren, Pledger and Willis).

 

[SoonerfanTU]

FWIW, the same way I wanted to see a line-up of Longar, Blake Griffin, Keith Clark, Taylor Griffin and Austin Johnson

 

[MNsooner]

My thoughts exactly.

 

[FaithfulSooner]

I really want to Ray do well. He's had a rough start, but you just get this feeling that he will and can give a better account of himself on the court and off the court. In other words I think Ray is a good kid. The ideal situation would be for the upper classmen to go as hard as he can and send the message to the rookie that he has no chance. However, I want both of them to push each other all season, so neither one of them gets the big head. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

 

[Mr.B!!!]

My thoughts exactly.

From a "fans" point of view, not full time! Sure, weak on shooting but they could board with anyone...and it wasn't like we were getting lights out 3 poin shooting from anyone at the time.

 

[AdaSooner]

I love Ray's game and want him to do well, but my money is on Steven Pledger.

OU will need a perimeter shooter with a proven stroke. Steven shot better than 50% from behind the arc in high school for two straight seasons. Enough said. But, he can also do a lot more than shoot from the perimeter, as evidenced by his attention to expanding his game last year to driving with the ball and hitting pull up jumpers or finishing at the rim. Ray will have an advantage in height, but I think Steven's D-1 ready body at 221 pounds will more than make up for it.

 

[thebigabd]

OU will need a perimeter shooter with a proven stroke. Steven shot better than 50% from behind the arc in high school for two straight seasons. Enough said.

Im pretty sure Willis shot a great percentage in high school.

 

[SuperFresh2]

I definitely hear ya Big. Even though I know where I'd put my money, Ray brought talent with him when he stepped on campus last year, and I wish him all the best personally and athletically- he's one of ours.

Time will tell and it will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Go Sooners!

 

[SoonerfanTU]

From a "fans" point of view, not full time! Sure, weak on shooting but they could board with anyone...and it wasn't like we were getting lights out 3 poin shooting from anyone at the time.

But they couldn't shoot. Didn't handle the ball well. And surely wouldn't be able to defend at all. There are no rebounds if the other team doesn't miss.