Practice Observations 10/29/2011

[Sam]

They went for two hours this morning including a 20 minute run complete with 3 refs.

The red team was
Grooms
Newell
Clark
Osby
Fitz

Then Neal on the bench.

Rest of the team was on White.

Arent and Blair both switched from White to Red during the game.

No one switched from Red to White.

- Grooms, looks up the court often and tried to push it as much as possible. Was mainly a distributor but did get his floater going today after a rough shooting performance Friday.

- Pledger, shot well, got open off screams or faking inside than popping back out. Did finish well in transition too. If I was guessing, he was the leading scorer in this "game".

- Blair, has continued to be strong and use his size when attacking the rim. Pressure does still bother him at times.

- Clark, another good practice, hes been very consistent lately. Been looking for his shot more, especially in attacking the hoop. Liking his aggressiveness on both ends of the court. Likely is the most talented player that is eligible, will be interesting to see how his practice form translates comes game time.

- Osby, didn't cover it yesterday, but he shot the best Ive seen him from three on Friday. Today he spent more time inside battling. Hes getting meaner down low, which I think is crucial for him and the team.

- Newell, very aggressive off the bounce, continues to be best slasher on the team. Has been able to finish in traffic too.

- Washington, hit the glass hard on both ends, thats his role. Also knocked down a nice jumper.

- Arent, big body type, works hard on the glass and down low. Didn't score much.

- Fitz, about the same. Shows off a nice jumper, occasional post move, etc.

- Kruger, kid can play a little bit. Knocked a three, is smart with his movements off the ball. Not bad a for a walk on.

- M'baye just continues to flash big time potential, one possession grabs the D board, takes it length of the court, defense collapses, kicks it to Washington for a baseline jumper (he made it). Next time down he hustled down court, got his spot on the perimeter and buried a three. He has good vision for a man his size. He's been playing a lot more on the wing lately, including battles with Clark.

Red team won 41-36 FWIW.

 

[AdaSooner]

Outstanding report, Sam! :clap

The team as a whole seems to be improving with every practice. I'm especially pleased that Romero is developing a mean streak, Pledger continues to shoot well, and Clark is showing his potential on both ends of the court. I having a feeling this group is going to be exciting to watch.

If you had to pick a starting lineup based on what you have seen in practices, who would be in your top five? Which players do you see as the first three off the bench?

 

[Sooner23]

These practice reports are awesome. Thanks Sam.

 

[bocabull]

The red team was
Grooms
Newell
Clark
Osby
Fitz

Then Neal on the bench.

Even if it's only a scrimmage you would think Kruger wanted his starting backcourt with his starting front court. We know for a fact the red had the starting front court. There was just a recent article stating that Neal could be our 6th man too.

This could be our top 6 with Pledger & Blair as #7 and #8. Without a doubt those are the 6 best eligible athletes on the team and if you want to run you play the best athletes.

 

[AdaSooner]

Even if it's only a scrimmage you would think Kruger wanted his starting backcourt with his starting front court. We know for a fact the red had the starting front court. There was just a recent article stating that Neal could be our 6th man too.

This could be our top 6 with Pledger & Blair as #7 and #8. Without a doubt those are the 6 best eligible athletes on the team and if you want to run you play the best athletes.

If that's our starting lineup, Pledger being replaced by Newell comes as a surprise to me. I figured it would be the other way around. Maybe LK is experimenting with putting more speed and quickness on the floor, or perhaps he wants Pledger to be our offensive spark off the bench?

My guess is that this lineup means very little at this point, except that Coach is still trying to find the best combination of players who will start and those who are better at coming off the bench.

It won't be long before we'll know what it means.

 

[WTSooner]

This could be our top 6 with Pledger & Blair as #7 and #8. Without a doubt those are the 6 best eligible athletes on the team and if you want to run you play the best athletes.

Not a chance. Everything I'm reading, Pledger is by far still our best offensive guard, and only "true" outside threat. Not sure why LK split them up how he did, but I don't see any way Pledger isn't our starting 2 guard.

 

[thebigabd]

Not a chance. Everything I'm reading, Pledger is by far still our best offensive guard, and only "true" outside threat. Not sure why LK split them up how he did, but I don't see any way Pledger isn't our starting 2 guard.

Maybe LK wants another ball-handler on the floor, a guy who can slash, and a can who can play defense in the starting spot instead of a guy who can only hit wide-open 3's sometimes?

 

[WTSooner]

Maybe LK wants another ball-handler on the floor, a guy who can slash, and a can who can play defense in the starting spot instead of a guy who can only hit wide-open 3's sometimes?

I love how you talk up the player you like, and exaggerate the negatives of those you don't.

Newell was the worst perimeter defender on the team last year. And it wasn't close.

 

[bocabull]

Newell was a true freshman who came from a small prep school. He had zero experience.

He's a better athlete than Pledger and it's not close. They will both play but if Newell beats him out for more minutes we will be a better team.

 

[OUsky]

Newell was the worst perimeter defender on the team last year. And it wasn't close.

They were all bad... it was called coaching. Now hopefully this year we learn who has what it takes to play defense.

 

[thebigabd]

Writing has been on the wall WTsooner.... Calvin is playing with the "starters" group, and Kruger has been praising Calvin since he got here. The first comment he made was that he was a great scorer and has a ton of ability.

He is a far superior athlete, a better ball-handler, much quicker, and Lon Kruger said the other day that Calvin AND Pledger are the best shooters on the team. If Calvin can do the one thing that Pledger is known for just as well, why would Pledger start over him?

I am not saying Pledger 100% absolutely will not start, im just saying that I am expecting Calvin to start and I think OU will be better off for it.

 

[WTSooner]

I am not saying Pledger 100% absolutely will not start, im just saying that I am expecting Calvin to start and I think OU will be better off for it.

Pledger will start more games. He'll play more minutes. And he'll average more points/minute. Wouldn't surprise me if he was our leading scorer this year.

This is one of those things that happens every year.....a few fans get behind a certain bench player, and pimp him as something he is not. I can list a player just about every season that this happens to. I suspect Newell may be that player this year.

And I don't care about who the better "athlete" is. I want the best basketball player. The list of great athletes that never lived up to their potential is a mile long.

 

[garyeb2]

Pledger will start more games. He'll play more minutes. And he'll average more points/minute. Wouldn't surprise me if he was our leading scorer this year.

This is one of those things that happens every year.....a few fans get behind a certain bench player, and pimp him as something he is not. I can list a player just about every season that this happens to. I suspect Newell may be that player this year.

And I don't care about who the better "athlete" is. I want the best basketball player. The list of great athletes that never lived up to their potential is a mile long.

Yea, I know. I gave them a chance to ban me from posting. But, they didn't. So, I'll tone it down and try to be more conscious of when I'm being a jerk.

Calvin and Tyler both have been performing too well in practice to deny them playing time. Sure. Pledger is a fine shooter. But, Calvin can score too. And given equal minutes, Calvin will score more points because he can get himself open more often. And as far as practice sessions go, no one has been more productive from 3 than Tyler

On defense in practice. Calvin has been a lock down defender on the guards his size. The taller players can get a shot off over him. Pledger is better in that area. But, the smaller- quicker guards are still blowing by him.

Calvin is a much improved player from last year. Kruger got to the tournament a couple years ago on the back of a quick 6' shooting guard named Wink Adams. (I think the name is right) Mayby he is seeing some of that kid in Calvin.

Early on, Calvin was rotating in behind both Pledger and Clark and thus getting the time he deserved with the ones. But,that left Tyler short in reps with the ones. Giving him only the minutes subing for Osby. If Kruger has made the decision to give the majority of the #2 minutes to Calvin, that frees him up to work Tyler in for both Clark and Osby. Thus giving him the minutes he has earned with outstanding practices. The cost of course, is more of Calvin and less of Pledger.

There will always be trade off's when rotating players in and out. There hasn't always been a clock on. And alot of the time the scrimages didn't go too long and I was keeping score in my head. But, I'm pretty sure that Saturday was the first time that the one's beat the two's.

There is are some reasons for that. The 2's always have the best player,M'buy, and the 2's are always much bigger than the 1's. But, still. The 1's winning the scrimage is a sign of a marked improvement since the beginning of practice. A very encouraging sign indeed. You can take the fact that Calvin was with the 1's and Pledger was with the 2's for whatever you want.

 

[WTSooner]

On defense in practice. Calvin has been a lock down defender on the guards his size. The taller players can get a shot off over him. Pledger is better in that area. But, the smaller- quicker guards are still blowing by him.

The bold part doesn't make sense. We don't have a player similiar to Newell for him to go up against. I'd imagine that 90% of the time he is guarding Pledger, a walk-on, or somebody that isn't his size. We all know Newell can stay in front of Pledger.

Time will tell. We have a game on Tuesday don't we? Let's as least wait until then before we crown somebody something I suspect they won't be.

 

[BigTime]

I'm kind of in the middle between the two sides on this argument.

First of all, its silly to act like Pledger won't start. He is our best shooter, our most experienced guard, and has gotten in better shape over the offseason. He will start and I bet he leads the team in scoring this year.

As for Newell, while I agree with WT that he left a lot to be desired last year on the defensive end, anybody that can't see his defensive potential is kidding themselves. The guy has quick hands, a strong frame, and quick feet. I contend that he wasn't put in the right positions to succeed last year and I doubt our last staff's ability to motivate on the defensive end of the floor. He was also a Freshman (Crock and Cade weren't lockdown defenders their freshman years either). I think Cal will be much better off in Kruger's system and with his coaching.

Grooms
Pledger
Cam

Carl Blair
Newell

I think that will be the rotation by the time these guys learn Kruger's system. I also don't see Tyler Neal getting big minutes at the 3 (or Osby for that matter).

 

[WTSooner]

BigTime, how good of a defender do you think Newell can be on the shooting guards we will go up against? He won't get to guard guys his own size in most cases. I just think it makes us really small in the back court when he is on the floor, both offensively and defensively. I see his upside, I see the things that he could possibly do well, I just think Pledger is a better "fit" right now. We have to have somebody in the game that can extend the defense. If Neal isn't starting.....and we all know Grooms/Blair and Cam aren't 3 point specialists.....that means defenses can sag off just about all our guards if Newell is playing. Let Pledger start and provide the deep threat, and let Newell and Neal come off the bench and compliment each other. Seems simple to me.

 

[garyeb2]

The bold part doesn't make sense. We don't have a player similiar to Newell for him to go up against. I'd imagine that 90% of the time he is guarding Pledger, a walk-on, or somebody that isn't his size. We all know Newell can stay in front of Pledger.

Time will tell. We have a game on Tuesday don't we? Let's as least wait until then before we crown somebody something I suspect they won't be.

That is fine. The rotation won't likely be set after one game. Practice and games are two different things. Time will tell.

And that is a good point you make about the walkons. So, would you concede that all of the reports of Pledger's shooting excellence during practice have occured while be guarded by mostly one of the three walkon guards.

All I am saying is that to dismiss Calvin's prospects of playing significant minutes and being a major contributor on a much improved team would be an oversight.

 

[Sam]

That is fine. The rotation won't likely be set after one game. Practice and games are two different things. Time will tell.

And that is a good point you make about the walkons. So, would you concede that all of the reports of Pledger's shooting excellence during practice have occured while be guarded by mostly one of the three walkon guards.

All I am saying is that to dismiss Calvin's prospects of playing significant minutes and being a major contributor on a much improved team would be an oversight.

Pledger played with the walk ons on his team yesterday and still the ball extremely well.

 

[garyeb2]

Pledger played with the walk ons on his team yesterday and still the ball extremely well.

I did say mostly. I did also say he was a fine shooter. No arguement on those points. If I was wanting to put together a big money HORSE game, Pledger would be my man.

 

[WTSooner]

And that is a good point you make about the walkons. So, would you concede that all of the reports of Pledger's shooting excellence during practice have occured while be guarded by mostly one of the three walkon guards.

I would think most of the time, Pledger and Newell guarded each other. They are the 2 scholarship "shooting guards" we have. Blair and Grooms probably guard each other a bunch. Cam and Neal. Osby and M'Baye.