Predictions for the offense next year

[EufaulaSooner]

1) We will not have much of an inside game. It will consist basically of Gallon (even though he doesn't seem to be a traditional post-up guy), maybe a few chances per game by Allen, and possibly Fitzgerald. That's it.

2) We will be very much a jump shooting team, and we will be good at it. We will take (and hit) a lot of threes. Willie will be more aggressive offensively, which will result in many threes. Crocker does little else offensively. I think TMG will be a very good 3-point shooter. We know Cade can get on a roll. Pledger has been praised for his 3-point shooting for years. Even Gallon will be a very good 3-point shooter at the 4, which will be quite a novelty with his size.

 

[shytnik]

I know that we won't be primarily an inside team, but I think our inside game might be a little better than that. True Tiny is not a traditional inside post up player, but he does alright. Fitzgerald is a pretty good post player and rumor has it that Allen has made huge strides in his game during the off season. I think we are primarily a jump shooting team, but as defenders have to come out and guard the shooters better, it makes it easier on the bigs to get open inside. Should be fun to see how this one plays out though.

 

[sharp1]

I think our offense will be what Memphis did last year, drive, draw and kick it out...We will be a outside in team early until Tiny learns his role and Orlando and Ryan get comfortable...We have the piece's in place to do some damage to the scoreboard...we just have to be ready defend

 

[SoonerNorm]

Since our strength appears to be predominately at the guard positions, I wonder if Capel might run some 4 guard offense at times to take advantage of our speed, shooting, and scoring on the perimeter.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

The one "play" I'm excited to see is TMG or WW running a pick and pop with Tiny. Same stuff we used to run with Ace. That is going to be unstopable.

 

[sharp1]

I still dont see TMG and WW playing together much....I think the ball will be in Willies hands most of the time...Which player on thei team complements WW skill set the best?

 

[Cheno]

I still dont see TMG and WW playing together much....

You don't think our two best guards will play much together? You don't think TMG will play but 5-6 minutes per game cuz WW is sure playing 34-35.

I think we'll see more uptempo because TMG likes to push and Tiny really likes to get out and run. I think this team will need to get more points in transition with the limited post scoring that will be on hand. Also agree on the pick and pop/roll that we will see with the guards and Tiny. I think we may see more pro type sets.

 

[AdaSooner]

I still dont see TMG and WW playing together much....I think the ball will be in Willies hands most of the time...Which player on thei team complements WW skill set the best?

I agree with the second part, but not the first. Playing with TMG will not limit WW's touches. As I see it, they're pretty much interchangeable at the point position. TMG will simply move to the two spot when Willie is running the offense.

I think both players will start along with Crocker to begin the season. Beyond that, who knows? It may depend on match ups and who has the hot hand from the perimeter, which means that Davis, Pledger and Willis will be in the mix at some point.

I agree with shytnik about our offensive production from the post positions. We'll definitely miss Blake (understatement of the century). But, Tiny will not be easy to stop down low, plus he can step out and consistently hit shots from the perimeter. If he gets any help at all from a combination of Wright, Allen and Fitz, our post offense will be a lot better than most people think.

 

[Sid]

I agree with shytnik about our offensive production from the post positions. We'll definitely miss Blake (understatement of the century). But, Tiny will not be easy to stop down low, plus he can step out and consistently hit shots from the perimeter. If he gets any help at all from a combination of Wright, Allen and Fitz, our post offense will be a lot better than most people think.

I think the Sooner offense has a chance to be better this year. Instead of being just a one man show, they will be much more versatile and they will have the ability to put more pressure on opposing defenses. When I think about the 2009 offense, words like creating, spacing, penetration, transition, up-tempo and pick/roll immediately pop into my mind.

TU brings up a good point about the pick/pop play with Tiny. I also agree with Cheno, the offense will play at a faster tempo and force their opponents to play transition defense. If CD or SP can step up and consistently knock down the outside shot, the Sooners will be tough to stop on offense. I hope the new S&C coach does a better job of getting the guys in shape and preparing them to play at a faster tempo this season.

:willie922_jpg_xs::tmg:tiny

 

[j2d2]

Of course everybody's thinking about offense. What about defense and rebounding? We are not going to be able to run if we dont rebound and rebound really well.

 

[sanguinetti]

i think we may have some nights where we struggle to score the ball....at least early on.

Willie is going to see a lot of hard doubles until the other 4 guys show they can put the biscuit in the basket.

 

[AdaSooner]

Of course everybody's thinking about offense. What about defense and rebounding? We are not going to be able to run if we dont rebound and rebound really well.

Defense is a legitimate concern to be sure, and the jury is still out on how good this team will be defensively. But, keep in mind that, aside from Blake, who was a machine on the boards, OU was not a good rebounding team last year. Taylor averaged 5.8 rpg, but no other player was better than 3.6 rpg. Those are not impressive numbers. Even with Blake's superman-like performance on the boards, we barely out-rebounded our opponents by an average of 5.5 rpg.

I'll add that we were also not very good at taking advantage of the outlet pass after some of those rebounds to get our transition game underway. I believe we will be much improved in that area this season. We'll have the depth and a covey of guards and wings who can score in a lot of ways, with an up tempo game being triggered by one of the best passing big men (Tiny) that I have seen in sometime. Fitz is also known as a great re bounder, which is one of the reasons I have him penciled in as starting or getting starter-like minutes by the midway point of the season.