Reaves shot 26% from 3 against high majors at WSU

[Hollisp]

Every year, some player gets singled out as the guy to blame for the fact that we're not undefeated and ranked in the top 5 nationally. Reaves clearly has been afforded that special honor this season.

So far, Reaves has contributed much more to the team than have Bieniemy, Harmon or any of our bench players. I wouldn't say he's the least of our worries, but he's pretty close.

This

 

[daqman]

Every year, some player gets singled out as the guy to blame for the fact that we're not undefeated and ranked in the top 5 nationally. Reaves clearly has been afforded that special honor this season.

So far, Reaves has contributed much more to the team than have Bieniemy, Harmon or any of our bench players. I wouldn't say he's the least of our worries, but he's pretty close.

Everyone not named Doolittle has been a disappointment. I blame Lon.

 

[WichitaSooner]

His struggles seem to be rooted in his lack of skills/athleticism.

Then you haven't been paying close enough attention. His shot selection has been awful. If you think he isn't a good athlete, you are judging him based off the fact he is a white, somewhat lanky kid. Watch him dunk. Watch some of the difficult shots he hits. The problem is, he is taking way too many of those difficult shots.

 

[daqman]

Then you haven't been paying close enough attention. His shot selection has been awful. If you think he isn't a good athlete, you are judging him based off the fact he is a white, somewhat lanky kid. Watch him dunk. Watch some of the difficult shots he hits. The problem is, he is taking way too many of those difficult shots.

I'm judging him based on his lack of ball skills and quickness that doesn't allow him to create spacing from defenders guarding him. Out of frustration/impatience, he then jacks up a contested 3. Has nothing to do with his skin color or his ability to dunk.

 

[oudna]

Everyone not named Doolittle has been a disappointment. I blame Lon.

Reaves has been a much better player than I anticipated.

It’s just strange the one thing I thought he’d bring (3-point shooting), he hasn’t delivered.

 

[BoulderSooner]

His struggles seem to be rooted in his lack of skills/athleticism.

this is a laughable post

 

[vbdad]

He needs to quit looking to be fouled on three pointers. He is obviously contorting his body looking for contact. It has his shot off balance and little chance of being good. He has turned it over to much trying for spectacular plays. He isn’t our problem though.

The bench and fifth starter have been terrible. I was very excited about their athleticism and potential in the preseason. So far there has been little production. Fortunately Kuath and Harmon have shown flashes the last two weeks. I bet Kuath gets beat up by KU. JB has also begun to play which helps us.
Hill, Williams and Victor have been huge disappointments. All have ability but are providing nothing on the court.

 

[BCSooners]

I'm judging him based on his lack of ball skills and quickness that doesn't allow him to create spacing from defenders guarding him. Out of frustration/impatience, he then jacks up a contested 3. Has nothing to do with his skin color or his ability to dunk.

Strongly disagree. I think he needs to use a shot fake almost every time he catches on the perimeter. He always catches and immediately puts the ball on the floor and he rises up getting ready to try and make a highlight move, needs to stay lower to the ground & make harder, straighter drives and make a move at the rim. He's also turned down some open looks off the catch, makes me think he's trying to prove he's more than what Marshall let him do.

 

[Soonerinkc]

reaves is not the one who designed the offense to have 4 players standing behind the 3 pt. Line and one guy trying to go one on one. The lack of offensive flow drives me nuts.

amen!

 

[Soonerinkc]

So far, Reaves has contributed much more to the team than have Bieniemy, Harmon or any of our bench players. I wouldn't say he's the least of our worries, but he's pretty close.

yup...

he's def not the worse, but being a starter playing a ton of minutes he "seems" more of the problem...(his balls to the walls type of attack against a 2 or more guys)...

Hopefully JB has turned the corner. Harmon def regressed at isu after a pretty good outing at horns...but that's our freshman.

 

[stormspencer]

He needs to quit looking to be fouled on three pointers. He is obviously contorting his body looking for contact. It has his shot off balance and little chance of being good. He has turned it over to much trying for spectacular plays. He isn’t our problem though.

The bench and fifth starter have been terrible. I was very excited about their athleticism and potential in the preseason. So far there has been little production. Fortunately Kuath and Harmon have shown flashes the last two weeks. I bet Kuath gets beat up by KU. JB has also begun to play which helps us.
Hill, Williams and Victor have been huge disappointments. All have ability but are providing nothing on the court.

Agree 100%. Reaves, although inconsistent and needs to improve mentally, is down the list of concerns for me.

Like you said, it's players 5-8 on this roster who have rarely contributed...even in the "hustle stats" categories. At least one of Harmon, Hill or Williams needs to be a helluva lot better for this team to make any noticeable improvement.

And I won't even touch on team defense right now.....ugh.:eddie187_jpg_xs:

 

[thebigabd]

This makes no sense to me. So shots only count if they are against "high majors?" By this logic, shots made against WSU don't count. Or, you know, Gonzaga, the current number 1 team in America, plus several other ranked teams in any given week.

That was in the thread title, but the content showed more. It was ranked teams, NCAA Tournament games, high majors, etc.

But those of us who saw him at WSU told everyone coming into the year that it would be absolutely wrong to pigeon hole him as a sniper.

He was billed as an elite shooter, period. Straight from soonersports.com...

“He's a terrific young player who shoots the ball well while also being able to create for others. He's a versatile talent who fits exactly what we need.”

Reaves is a proven shooter and threat from behind the arc, going 54-of-127 (.425) from 3-point range last season and 28-of-55 (.509) in his freshman year. He led the American Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage during conference play in 2017-18 by shooting at a .451 clip (37-for-82).

So the point of the stats I pulled was to show how he did against higher level competition. Came out at 26%. He's shooting 26% this year.

The Oklahoman did an interview with Reaves, and they asked him why he was transferring to OU. It was pretty clear... Paraphrasing, he said WSU didn't allow him to play his game, and OU would. He didn't want to have the role he had. He also cited roster turnover, like he thought the team was going to bad or something. The funny part about that is Wichita State is the #16 team in the country this year and are 15-1... Likely a 3-4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Direct quotes:

“I just didn't feel like I was able to play my game there at Wichita."- Austin Reaves

“I knew the style would really fit the way I played"- Austin Reaves

So it sounds like he was assigned a role as shooter at WSU, and he came to a place where he could play more free, lead the team in shot attempts, etc.

Every year, some player gets singled out as the guy to blame for the fact that we're not undefeated and ranked in the top 5 nationally. Reaves clearly has been afforded that special honor this season.

So far, Reaves has contributed much more to the team than have Bieniemy, Harmon or any of our bench players. I wouldn't say he's the least of our worries, but he's pretty close.

I don't know that anyone is blaming Reaves for OU's problems. OU's problems are far more systemic than any individual player, who is a good player being asked to do more than he should...

 

[cowboysooner]

VBDAD's thought are mine exactly. Reaves isn't the only one looking for a foul instead of just playing ball.

Like Vbdad, I love the size and athletic type of players on the team, but just haven't seen the consistent production needed. However, I accept that most of the kids are new, and five are freshman and so accept that the production might be spotty this year.

I like this team and nothing they have done has changed my mind. I think the future is bright. As for this year, the kids just need to keep plugging along and find a way to get in the tournament. Will be tough this year. But, I have seen flashes from all of the newcomers and Reaves that demonstrates they can be good players if they develop.

Also, am I the only person that thinks we are being substantially better defensively when we play zone. Seems obvious to me.

 

[thebigabd]

VBDAD's thought are mine exactly. Reaves isn't the only one looking for a foul instead of just playing ball.

Like Vbdad, I love the size and athletic type of players on the team, but just haven't seen the consistent production needed. However, I accept that most of the kids are new, and five are freshman and so accept that the production might be spotty this year.

I like this team and nothing they have done has changed my mind. I think the future is bright. As for this year, the kids just need to keep plugging along and find a way to get in the tournament. Will be tough this year. But, I have seen flashes from all of the newcomers and Reaves that demonstrates they can be good players if they develop.

Also, am I the only person that thinks we are being substantially better defensively when we play zone. Seems obvious to me.

Yea, much better while playing zone... Should just play it full time.

 

[cvangild]

Reaves has been a much better player than I anticipated.

It’s just strange the one thing I thought he’d bring (3-point shooting), he hasn’t delivered.

Exactly. Reaves is much better than I was thinking he would be. He’s has the ability to take the ball to the hole...which I didn’t think he had...although I feel he doesn’t get near enough fouls calls go his way...I wonder if this is due to him “flopping” at times.

And to say reaves isn’t athletic like another poster mentioned above is ridiculous! He has some serious skill to his game...and anyone who knows the game can tell he can strike it...he just hasn’t made as many as I was expecting due to shot selection at time and just kind of being in a slump. He reminds me of a taller Brent Price...although Brent’s jump shot may be the purest looking jumper in OU history. He could flat out stroke it!! And that allowed him to play in the nba for 8+ years??

 

[hoopsaustin]

VBDAD's thought are mine exactly. Reaves isn't the only one looking for a foul instead of just playing ball.

Like Vbdad, I love the size and athletic type of players on the team, but just haven't seen the consistent production needed. However, I accept that most of the kids are new, and five are freshman and so accept that the production might be spotty this year.

I like this team and nothing they have done has changed my mind. I think the future is bright. As for this year, the kids just need to keep plugging along and find a way to get in the tournament. Will be tough this year. But, I have seen flashes from all of the newcomers and Reaves that demonstrates they can be good players if they develop.

Also, am I the only person that thinks we are being substantially better defensively when we play zone. Seems obvious to me.

They wont develop tho unless they do it themselves imo. The freshmen already learning the bad habits that all the rest of the team has. Frustrating

 

[steverocks35]

Exactly. Reaves is much better than I was thinking he would be. He’s has the ability to take the ball to the hole...which I didn’t think he had...although I feel he doesn’t get near enough fouls calls go his way...I wonder if this is due to him “flopping” at times.

And to say reaves isn’t athletic like another poster mentioned above is ridiculous! He has some serious skill to his game...and anyone who knows the game can tell he can strike it...he just hasn’t made as many as I was expecting due to shot selection at time and just kind of being in a slump. He reminds me of a taller Brent Price...although Brent’s jump shot may be the purest looking jumper in OU history. He could flat out stroke it!! And that allowed him to play in the nba for 8+ years??

Brent Price??? I know weed is legal now in Oklahoma but you should probably not go overboard lol

 

[opsooner]

I like Reaves. LK just needs to get him under control. We have way too much 1-1 with no screens and assists coming from it. We don’t have the athletes for that. If you can beat your guy off the dribble then you should get a decent shot or a decent assist opportunity. We just seem to go 1-1 and never look for an assist and take too many tough shots. That is not all on the players going 1-1 either. Guys have to get in better position to get the pass. But I have a difficult time understanding our offensive philosophy as well.

Even after the turd we laid at ISU I still think we can improve a lot and be a dangerous team but we need to show better shot selection and consistency, and keep the effort higher than it was at ISU. Really hoping we at least scare KU but mostly worried that their bigs are going to kill us or that we help so much we give wide open looks all night.


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[thebigabd]

I like Reaves. LK just needs to get him under control. We have way too much 1-1 with no screens and assists coming from it. We don’t have the athletes for that. If you can beat your guy off the dribble then you should get a decent shot or a decent assist opportunity. We just seem to go 1-1 and never look for an assist and take too many tough shots. That is not all on the players going 1-1 either. Guys have to get in better position to get the pass. But I have a difficult time understanding our offensive philosophy as well.

Even after the turd we laid at ISU I still think we can improve a lot and be a dangerous team but we need to show better shot selection and consistency, and keep the effort higher than it was at ISU. Really hoping we at least scare KU but mostly worried that their bigs are going to kill us or that we help so much we give wide open looks all night.


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I think OU will be pretty dangerous all year... mainly because of Manek and Doolittle being so difficult to deal with. Reaves obviously scores most of the points from the guard spot, but Manek and Doolittle are the real danger of this team.

 

[euphguy]

Reaves has been a much better player than I anticipated.

It’s just strange the one thing I thought he’d bring (3-point shooting), he hasn’t delivered.

+1. His agility was surprising to me. There are sometimes where I feel like he wants to go off, but in those times he does worse, in my opinion. I don't love his game yet, but I certainly don't hate it.