Purdue should be the model for this program

[thebigabd]

Nice to see a coach out there bucking the modern trend of "small ball"... They are led by Isaac Haas, a 7'2'' 290 old school center... but he is out with an injury for the tournament so they just go ahead and start a 7'3'' 250 backup center who comes in and really impacted the game today. Sometimes with these huge centers the stats don't always show the impact, because they change so many shots and draw a lot of attention.

Check out the recruiting rankings for Purdue, who are making their 2nd straight Sweet 16 appearance.

Carson Edwards (5'11'' leading scoring) - #91 player - 4 star
Isaac Haas (7'2'' center next leading scoring) - #71 overall player - 4 star
Vince Edwards (6'6'' wing next leading scorer) - #124 overall player - 3 star
Dakota Mathias (6'4'' sg) - #147 overall player - 3 star
PJ Thompson (5'11'' pg)- Unranked - 3 star
Matt Haarms (7'3'' center)--- 3 star guy

Purdue has some nice talent, but their success isn't really predicated on that... It's good coaching, tough basketball, and a roster that makes sense. People have roles, they play a particular brand of basketball, and they do all the gritty stuff well. I think they are still the best offensive team in the Big 10 this year despite not having any star players.

Good, fundamental basketball players + excellent coaching. That's the recipe.

 

[mict085]

Maybe we should just hire their coach.

 

[WTSooner]

I agree that our emphasis should be to get a system on both ends of the floor, stick to that system, recruit to that system, and win games as a hard-nosed team that executes.

 

[sperry]

You don't even understand why Purdue is good. And it's not because of those 7 footers.

I'll help you out though: https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/stat/three-point-pct

 

[cvangild]

Or just find better shooters...

We are two years removed from being in the final four guys. Lon knows what he's doing...we just got to shoot the ball better...AND play hard, consistent defense and rebound. If we hit more than 4-20 from the 3 pt line the other day, we win that game easily because the guys actually played with effort on the boards and guarded.

But it was a combination of us missing open 3's and RI having guys who were shooting 28% from the 3 pt line going 3/3 in the 2nd half.

Now I don't know if some of the guys on the team are good enough to do that. CJ's shooting is very inconsistent and KM had a disappointing season as did Doolittle. The 1st semester suspension killed his season. I do feel he has played well recently.

I don't know all the answers, but if we ran off Dante last year...I wouldn't have a problem with Freeman & Lazenby moving on IF we can replace them with upgraded talent. You have to do what you have to do. If Freeman isn't hitting shots, he's worthless out there.

I do think with 1 or 2 pieces...we could be better than some think next year. GOT to have solid PG play though...I wish Harmon was going to be here next year!!!!

 

[CoachTalk]

Pure shooters we need. Pure shooters

 

[hoopsaustin]

Or just find better shooters...

We are two years removed from being in the final four guys. Lon knows what he's doing...we just got to shoot the ball better...AND play hard, consistent defense and rebound. If we hit more than 4-20 from the 3 pt line the other day, we win that game easily because the guys actually played with effort on the boards and guarded.

But it was a combination of us missing open 3's and RI having guys who were shooting 28% from the 3 pt line going 3/3 in the 2nd half.

Now I don't know if some of the guys on the team are good enough to do that. CJ's shooting is very inconsistent and KM had a disappointing season as did Doolittle. The 1st semester suspension killed his season. I do feel he has played well recently.

I don't know all the answers, but if we ran off Dante last year...I wouldn't have a problem with Freeman & Lazenby moving on IF we can replace them with upgraded talent. You have to do what you have to do. If Freeman isn't hitting shots, he's worthless out there.

I do think with 1 or 2 pieces...we could be better than some think next year. GOT to have solid PG play though...I wish Harmon was going to be here next year!!!!

That's not a problem. Just find any D1 guys.. not NOC-enid types

 

[WTSooner]

Pure shooters we need. Pure shooters

Shooters that can also defend.

And to the post referencing Buddy above, that isn't going to happen very often. Buddy had a historically good shooting season his senior year. Nobody shoots that volume at that percentage for an entire season. Easily the best in OU history, and I'm guessing one of the best ever in college basketball. And it took THAT kind of season to get us to the FF, where we got hammered.

 

[skyvue]

where we got hammered.

By a team we had hammered just weeks before. Your implication that it was a fluke that we made it to the Final Four, that our decisive loss proved we didn't belong there, is misguided. We had a terrible game and Nova had a great one. It happens (just ask Arizona and Virginia). If both OU and Nova had shot as well in that game as they did the rest of the tourney, OU wins. That's how much of an anomaly that game was.

 

[WTSooner]

By a team we had hammered just weeks before. Your implication that it was a fluke that we made it to the Final Four, that our decisive loss proved we didn't belong there, is misguided. We had a terrible game and Nova had a great one. It happens (just ask Arizona and Virginia). If both OU and Nova had shot as well in that game as they did the rest of the tourney, OU wins. That's how much of an anomaly that game was.

lol, weeks.

Those games were 5 days away from being FOUR full months apart.

Zona and Virginia didn't just have the worse loss in FF history. And neither lost by 40 points.

 

[skyvue]

lol, weeks.

Those games were 5 days away from being FOUR full months apart.

Zona and Virginia didn't just have the worse loss in FF history. And neither lost by 40 points.

Had I said months instead of weeks, would your reaction to my post had been any different? No. It's a minor detail that allows you to ignore my larger point.

And then you go on to downplay the first 16/1 upset in the history of the men's tourney. I guarantee you, in years to come, UVA's loss will be referenced much more often than our FF loss was. It won't even be closer. That was a MUCH bigger deal, in the grand scheme of things, than our FF loss.

I've noted, since our loss to Nova, that commentators never mention that we got beaten so badly. I've been pleasantly surprised; I thought it would come up at least occasionally. I've heard at least a dozen commentators --- and probably twice that -- mention our FF appearance in one context or another over the past two years, but they never mention that aspact of it. They certainly don't make a big deal of it.

Making the Final Four matters. It's an accomplishment in its own right, and any knowledgable observer recognizes that. OU darned well that Final Four appearance. It wasn't a fluke. We had a terrible game once we got there, but that doesn't negate what came before.

 

[thebigabd]

That's not a problem. Just find any D1 guys.. not NOC-enid types

This... It's really in Freeman and Lazenbys best interest to transfer out.

 

[WaymanFan]

lol, weeks.

Those games were 5 days away from being FOUR full months apart.

Zona and Virginia didn't just have the worse loss in FF history. And neither lost by 40 points.

Ask 1000 Virginia fans if they would rather lose by 40 in the Final Four or be the first #1 seed to lose to a #16. Good luck finding even one who wouldn’t switch places with us.

 

[sperry]

This... It's really in Freeman and Lazenbys best interest to transfer out.

Maybe. I think Freeman, yes. For Lazenby, would he rather go score 5 a game off the bench at an Oral Roberts level program or be a practice player at a big time school like OU? If he wants a future in basketball, it's in coaching, and OU serves that purpose better.

Freeman is the same deal. He could probably get consistent bench minutes at a lower tier D1 school, but he also doesn't have a redshirt on the table because he arrived here in january for our final four run. He does always have the option of playing professionally in New Zealand, but he can do that at any point.

 

[WTSooner]

Ask 1000 Virginia fans if they would rather lose by 40 in the Final Four or be the first #1 seed to lose to a #16. Good luck finding even one who wouldn’t switch places with us.

That wasn't my point though.....so?

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

This... It's really in Freeman and Lazenbys best interest to transfer out.

I disagree, Freeman has already used his red shirt. He would lose a season of eligibility by transferring. As for Lazenby, he only has 1 year left and left other offers on the table knowing he'd be getting 5 or so minutes per game at OU. I think I read when he signed that it was always his dream to play at OU. It's in his interest, I think, to finish this out. But those 2 can decide what's in their own best interest. I'd just be surprised if either decided leaving is...unless Freeman can go back to New Zealand and play professionally. But I'd be surprised if he transferred.

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

Pure shooters we need. Pure shooters

Ryan Taylor.

 

[Sooner81]

Agree with many here that IF we had a few players besides TY who could make a wide open shot we would have won 25+ and still be playing. TY set them up time and time again in the system Lon uses and unfortunately the guys he recruited to be around TY couldn’t hit the ocean from the beach lol

 

[opsooner]

Pure shooters we need. Pure shooters

I am all for pure shooters but have no idea how they are going to get open in our offense. Unless you mean pure shooters + really good basketball players.


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[Sooner81]

I am all for pure shooters but have no idea how they are going to get open in our offense. Unless you mean pure shooters + really good basketball players.


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Honestly OP, TY got them TONS of wide open shots all year long even to the last game. We just had no one who could make one.