Proud of these guys

[SoonerBounce13]

That was a gutsy performance by these young men. You could tell they were giving it their all and left it all on the floor. Tough loss but let’s get healthy and see what we can do

 

[stormspencer]

Damn straight. Love this team.

 

[DSMok1]

Defense is about effort, toughness, and discipline. Over the past nine games, since Christmas, OU has had the number six defense in the country, and within a couple of points of number one. That's something we haven't had in years. It's great to watch!

Source: https://www.barttorvik.com/trank.php?sort=AdjDE&begin=20201225&end=20210501&conlimit=All&lastx=0&year=2021&top=0&venue=All&type=All&mingames=0&quad=5&rpi=#

 

[Sooner Season]

This is NOT meant to start a coaching debate, just an observation, but this team reminds me of the Kelvin Sampson teams in his heyday. Tough, gritty, hard nosed defense, not to pretty to watch on offense but giving themselves a chance to win every game because teams can't separate from them. I fully expected a double digit loss last night and they had several opportunities to allow that to happen but they weren't going to have it. Proud of their effort and determination.

 

[BoulderSooner]

This is NOT meant to start a coaching debate, just an observation, but this team reminds me of the Kelvin Sampson teams in his heyday. Tough, gritty, hard nosed defense, not to pretty to watch on offense but giving themselves a chance to win every game because teams can't separate from them. I fully expected a double digit loss last night and they had several opportunities to allow that to happen but they weren't going to have it. Proud of their effort and determination.

except this OU team is a very very good offensive team

 

[MsProudSooner]

This is NOT meant to start a coaching debate, just an observation, but this team reminds me of the Kelvin Sampson teams in his heyday. Tough, gritty, hard nosed defense, not to pretty to watch on offense but giving themselves a chance to win every game because teams can't separate from them. I fully expected a double digit loss last night and they had several opportunities to allow that to happen but they weren't going to have it. Proud of their effort and determination.

I had the same thought last night.

We've all talked about Harkless on defense, but we need to give Gibson some credit. He was a pest all night long!

 

[CoachTalk]

except this OU team is a very very good offensive team

Except last night.... LOL

 

[sheepdogs1]

I had the same thought last night.

We've all talked about Harkless on defense, but we need to give Gibson some credit. He was a pest all night long!

I know I'll get called out on this (hello!), but the way Gibson positions himself on defense with the way he holds his hands out to his side and leans forward is eerily similar to Mookie Blaylock.

 

[Sooner04]

except this OU team is a very very good offensive team

By which metric?

 

[jaymOU]

I had the same thought last night.

We've all talked about Harkless on defense, but we need to give Gibson some credit. He was a pest all night long!

Gibson was better on McClung last night than Harkless. In fact, Harkless could not stay in front of McClung in the last 4 minutes and that was a critical element in the game.

 

[AdaSooner]

This is NOT meant to start a coaching debate, just an observation, but this team reminds me of the Kelvin Sampson teams in his heyday. Tough, gritty, hard nosed defense, not to pretty to watch on offense but giving themselves a chance to win every game because teams can't separate from them. I fully expected a double digit loss last night and they had several opportunities to allow that to happen but they weren't going to have it. Proud of their effort and determination.

No need to explain. Every OU fan in the Sampson era knew that great defense was a Sampson trademark. This team reminds me of those teams. Harkless is the catalyst, and rightly so. But he’s not the only good defender on this team.

I have said more than once that this is the best defensive team we’ve had in years, and I stand by that claim. Better than our Final Four team? Yes, deeper too. Defensively. Just not nearly as good on offense, thanks to four special players: Hield, Cousins, Spangler and Woodard.

We should all be proud of this team! When they were down by ten in the final minutes, they didn’t quit. That’s the sign of a good team!

 

[CoachTalk]

Gibson was better on McClung last night than Harkless. In fact, Harkless could not stay in front of McClung in the last 4 minutes and that was a critical element in the game.

those are crap fouls. Mcclung got every call. Tech fouled 1 time the last 9 mins...

 

[skyvue]

those are crap fouls. Mcclung got every call. Tech fouled 1 time the last 9 mins...

And zero times in the first 16 minutes.

 

[Sooner04]

The officiating last night down the stretch proved once again why it's so difficult to win on the road. Tech's gritty, and they do a lot of things just a little bit better than us. Full strength? Probably a toss up. Our defensive transformation has closed the gap quickly.

Beard's a damn good coach.

 

[Stikboy]

If there's one team I hate not being at full strength for, it's Tech. Can't stand them. Hopefully we can get them in the conference tourney.

 

[MsProudSooner]

It's a shame that these guys can't have a fuller house at LNC due to the pandemic. They deserve it.

 

[Sooner Season]

except this OU team is a very very good offensive team

Uh, no, not really.

 

[steverocks35]

So I went and checked some Texas Tech message boards. Guess what they were complaining about? The officiating.

If you look at the box score we only committed 5 more fouls than them. It's not like there was a huge disparity. They were the more aggressive team taking it to the basket so of course they were going to get more calls. We launched 22 three-point shots and they only took 14.

 

[oufanfrmks]

I agree, they are a fun team to watch. I love watching the young guys play their tails off. I've been hoping the defensive toughness would rub off on Manek. It has in spurts, but other times you just look and wonder what the hell he was doing. There was one play in particular last night right before half he just stood under the basket and watched. He's tall enough to at least try to defend/block the shot at the rim. I don't remember who the player was on the bench when this happened, but you could see his frustration as well. I like Brady and the potential he brings on offense, but overall I think we're a better team with him playing limited minutes. Glad to have Reeves and Williams back this weekend!

 

[WichitaSooner]

By which metric?

Top 30 in KenPom despite Harkless missing the first few games, Reaves, Williams, Hill, and Manek missing two each. I know we aren’t alone in having had those issues, but all our guys who have missed time due to Covid are key players. Top 30 may not be “great,” but it is certainly good, especially compared to most of the Sampson teams, which I think was the point of the comment.