Position battles next year

[greenbug]

Do you guys chum around or something? If you have some special knowledge then please fess up - because he has neither said nor done anything to indicate that.

He HAS, however, said it will be defense first. Oh, and he's coached like that in the past.

The best players will play. Watch and see. This will be based on the best UNIT that we can put on the floor. The unit that gives us the best combination of scoring, defense, and rebounding. It will not be based solely on one aspect such as defense.

 

[coolm]

That doesn't mean sticking the 5 best defenders on the court.

no, you're exactly right. Much more than that it means the guys who communicate well and play defense as a group the best. That's why I say the guys with the most experience together often have a huge leg up on the competition.

 

[greenbug]

That doesn't mean sticking the 5 best defenders on the court.

Agree.

 

[WTSooner]

oh I disagree on this....newell has the most capabilities to be a lock down defender...fitz and blair are our worst defenders

newell with alittle bit of coaching will easily be our best on the ball defender

There is WAY more to being a good defender than having "quick feet."

And no, Newell was far and away a worse defender than Blair/Fitz last year. He was terrible. I'm not trying to bash the kid, but he was really, really bad. Both as an individual defender, and as a team defender.

He reminds me of Bobby Maze, with a slightly better offensive game. Bobby eventually scored the ball well at TN, mostly b/c of their system, but he was never the defender people said he would become. But he was super athletic too.

 

[greenbug]

I think Pledger will benefit from a new coach that actually runs some semblance of an offensive system.

I've been thinking the same thing. I look for him to have a very good year.

 

[suncoastsooner]

If I were coach (I can dream, right?):

PG - Sam Grooms (just don't see how he doesn't beat out Blair for the spot)

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble about this Grooms kid but I think you may be making a mighty huge assumption here. I am hearing less than glowing reports on him here locally. Protects the ball very well and distributes around the perimeter well but other than that was nothing to really discuss. Third best PG in his own five team conference from what I have heard. Humose at GCC and Sostoric at NWFSC who are both freshmen were the PGs that the conference were concerned with (Sostoric was injured most of the season though). His defense was at best description very suspect in conference play.

He was only on a team that made the JUCO tournament because NWFSC played 2/3 of their conference schedule missing Hall and/or Clark and Chipola still only beat them out by one game and lost two of three head to heads. In one of those three head to heads Grooms gave up 2 late 3s at home for NWFSC to seal the deal.

 

[SoonerWarVet]

The Bigs: I haven't seen him play but I'll take Capel's word that Osby is the real deal, so he's a starter. Fitz is our most productive returning player; he's had two years of experience and should be better than last year...he's a starter. Cam is the player with the most upside that I've seen (again, I haven't seen Osby), he's had a year of experience and typically the best thing for Freshmen is that they become Sophmores; he's a starter.

The 1 and 2 positions are harder for me.

Pledger has two years of experience; like Fitz, he was in better shape this year than last year and should show more improvement next year; he's getting a coach who really cares about defense (Pledger's problem) and he's a streaky shooter. Newell is faster and, like Clark, the jump from Freshman to Sophmore is often significant. I think Pledger's two years gives him the leg up on the "2" position.

The PG: I want either Blair or Grooms to be better than what OU had last year. I just hope that there's a battle royal between the two--iron sharpens iron. I'll go with Blair though; he's a known commodity.
Blair
Pledger
Clark
Osby
Fitz

Please elaborate on how Blair is a known commodity.

 

[WTSooner]

Please elaborate on how Blair is a known commodity.

He has two years of starting as a D1 pg under his belt?

 

[campbest]

Please elaborate on how Blair is a known commodity.

What WT said.

Personally, I am not very high on this signing...we'll have to see what happens.

 

[stoopified]

Goff won't start. If he can't start at JUCO how can he start over a guy that scored 13 a game last year at the div 1 level?

Blair
Pledger
Clark
Osby
Fitz

Who says he didn't start?Goff averaged 9 PPG and 6rpg not because he didn't start but because the Hutch coach played 10-11 players regularly.The PG at Hutch averaged 36 minutes a game and EVERYONE else between 12-20 minutes a game. I have no idea what kind of player Goff will be atOU but don't prejudge him based on juco stats.

 

[BoulderSooner]

osby is a wing ... will he play some 4 during small ball ... maybe .. but he will spend a lot of time on the out side

 

[WTSooner]

osby is a wing ... will he play some 4 during small ball ... maybe .. but he will spend a lot of time on the out side

This simply is not going to happen. And when it doesn't, I hope you come back and admit that you were dead wrong.

He will play a post position almost all the time, although he may float outside offensively. That isn't unique. Tons of 4's do that in today's game. Eduardo did that. Gray was good out to 15-18 feet. Ace was amazing at it. Osby will be a lot like Ace (though not as good), I'm hoping. Ace never played a single minute at the 3 spot.

Ace - 6'8, 245#
Osby - 6"8, 225#

 

[luckyc1423]

This simply is not going to happen. And when it doesn't, I hope you come back and admit that you were dead wrong.

He will play a post position almost all the time, although he may float outside offensively. That isn't unique. Tons of 4's do that in today's game. Eduardo did that. Gray was good out to 15-18 feet. Ace was amazing at it. Osby will be a lot like Ace (though not as good), I'm hoping. Ace never played a single minute at the 3 spot.

Ace - 6'8, 245#
Osby - 6"8, 225#

man, you sure seem to know alot about osby...have you seen him play at m-state or out of highschool?

 

[WTSooner]

man, you sure seem to know alot about osby...have you seen him play at m-state or out of highschool?

It's a combination of things. I've seen video of him, yes. I also know a good bit about basketball in general, OU basketball, OU's team next year, Big 12 basketball, and college basketball. I'm sorry, but as athletic as Osby is, he is only athletic for a 6'8 guy. He isn't a 6'8 guy, with the athleticism to switch off, and guard pg's and sg's (which a true three has to be able to do). Seriously, somebody else asked this question a while back, and there really weren't any good answers. Name a college player that compares to Osby (size and skill-wise), that played mostly at the 3 spot. I'm guessing you can't, or can only come up with a couple. Guys like him play the 4 in college.

And besides, even if coach wanted him to play the 3, a lineup of Cam at the 2 and Osby at the 3 would be terrible. That just isn't going to be a good matchup against anybody. So by default, if both Cam and Osby are going to start, Osby is going to be at the 4.

Watch. That is exactly how it will play out.

 

[Tony]

Never understood the fascination of wanting to see people come back and admit they were wrong about something.

 

[luckyc1423]

It's a combination of things. I've seen video of him, yes. I also know a good bit about basketball in general, OU basketball, OU's team next year, Big 12 basketball, and college basketball. I'm sorry, but as athletic as Osby is, he is only athletic for a 6'8 guy. He isn't a 6'8 guy, with the athleticism to switch off, and guard pg's and sg's (which a true three has to be able to do). Seriously, somebody else asked this question a while back, and there really weren't any good answers. Name a college player that compares to Osby (size and skill-wise), that played mostly at the 3 spot. I'm guessing you can't, or can only come up with a couple. Guys like him play the 4 in college.

And besides, even if coach wanted him to play the 3, a lineup of Cam at the 2 and Osby at the 3 would be terrible. That just isn't going to be a good matchup against anybody. So by default, if both Cam and Osby are going to start, Osby is going to be at the 4.

Watch. That is exactly how it will play out.

cam at the 2 osby at the 3 with goff roaming center would make for an extrememly active and tall zone...i could easily see those three in a zone scheme together

 

[luckyc1423]

It's a combination of things. I've seen video of him, yes. I also know a good bit about basketball in general, OU basketball, OU's team next year, Big 12 basketball, and college basketball. I'm sorry, but as athletic as Osby is, he is only athletic for a 6'8 guy. He isn't a 6'8 guy, with the athleticism to switch off, and guard pg's and sg's (which a true three has to be able to do). Seriously, somebody else asked this question a while back, and there really weren't any good answers. Name a college player that compares to Osby (size and skill-wise), that played mostly at the 3 spot. I'm guessing you can't, or can only come up with a couple. Guys like him play the 4 in college.

And besides, even if coach wanted him to play the 3, a lineup of Cam at the 2 and Osby at the 3 would be terrible. That just isn't going to be a good matchup against anybody. So by default, if both Cam and Osby are going to start, Osby is going to be at the 4.

Watch. That is exactly how it will play out.

so your decision is based off of highlight videos? Or based off of what the normal trend is for height vs. position?

 

[WTSooner]

so your decision is based off of highlight videos? Or based off of what the normal trend is for height vs. position?

Read the first sentence of the post you just quoted. It's based on ALL of it. He has a little bit of wing to his offensive game. Yes. But defensively, not even close. And I don't think LK wants to start the program down the road of being a mostly zone team. If we play man, we need a more traditional lineup. Osby isn't going to out-quick most college 3's. He can out-quick a lot of college 4's though. Or extend them outside, which opens up options. I just see him having WAY more advantages playing the 4.

 

[luckyc1423]

It's a combination of things. I've seen video of him, yes. I also know a good bit about basketball in general, OU basketball, OU's team next year, Big 12 basketball, and college basketball. I'm sorry, but as athletic as Osby is, he is only athletic for a 6'8 guy. He isn't a 6'8 guy, with the athleticism to switch off, and guard pg's and sg's (which a true three has to be able to do). Seriously, somebody else asked this question a while back, and there really weren't any good answers. Name a college player that compares to Osby (size and skill-wise), that played mostly at the 3 spot. I'm guessing you can't, or can only come up with a couple. Guys like him play the 4 in college.And besides, even if coach wanted him to play the 3, a lineup of Cam at the 2 and Osby at the 3 would be terrible. That just isn't going to be a good matchup against anybody. So by default, if both Cam and Osby are going to start, Osby is going to be at the 4.

Watch. That is exactly how it will play out.

Doesnt baylor play 2 pf's and 1 center at a time...

41 jones anthony Anthony Jones F 82 6-10 5 jones iii perry Perry Jones III F 83 6-11 11 morgan j'mison J'mison Morgan F/C 83 6-11

Unless those three didnt really ever start together, thats three guys well above osby's height

 

[seniorsooner]

Never understood the fascination of wanting to see people come back and admit they were wrong about something.

I know more basketball than you