Recruiting Question

[Matthew G]

That’s just it, Matthew. OU doesn’t have a Paschall or a Bridges on their roster. Freeman was supposed to be a stretch four who could also post defenders up inside. Two and a half seasons later and he is spending more time on the bench than on the floor. Lattin was reportedly working on his perimeter shot in practice. What we saw in games didn’t leave us begging for more. Manek may be our best chance for a four who can step out and make shots from the perimeter. He just needs to add more weight to his slender frame.

Another reason I like Trice is that he is a departure from the tall, skinny recruits our coaches seem to have an obsession for lately. He’s more like the kind of players I have missed the most, Ryan Spangler and TaShawn Thomas. I couldn’t care less if he doesn’t score from behind the arc. We’ve got plenty of “designated shooters.” I want players who can bang inside and fight for rebounds and 50-50 balls, something we haven’t had nearly enough of the last two years. If they can score, I see that as a bonus.

This is why I wish we had a 5 who was a banger. Having a 5 and 4 who can't shoot doesn't bode well. With Muni as the C, and Trice as the PF, OU's playing with 3 guards, and that 3rd guard can't be Odomes, because he can't shoot either. That's the fear. It's more to do with the roster we currently have. If Muni is going to be the guy who can't shoot, he has to be our rebounder, and then we need Doolittle, who has the frame to rebound and did well at it, to turn into a shooter.



Like I've said, my fear with Trice is that he doesn't shoot, so we now are relying on 3 guards to hopefully just be catch and shoot guys because the lane will be clogged with Trice and Muni.

 

[AdaSooner]

If we have plenty of designated shooters on this team name one besides James and Manek? Also Manek and Trice are both PF's. If you have two bigs that cannot score outside the paint then the interior will be clogged and your guards cannot penetrate. Also if you have only one perimeter shooter (james) on the floor you are in big trouble. Look at the majority of the teams in NCAA tourney. Shooters and spreading the floor are the way the game is headed. Having two interior players who are Non shooters who clog the floor are not.

You missed my point. A “designated shooter” is not necessarily a player who makes shots.

That’s one more reason why a guy like Trice would be a nice addition. Rebounding misses and scoring on put backs are his specialties. He could have a field day with the way our players shoot.

 

[OU92Grad]

You missed my point. A “designated shooter” is not necessarily a player who makes shots.

That’s one more reason why a guy like Trice would be a nice addition. Rebounding misses and scoring on put backs are his specialties. He could have a field day with the way our players shoot.

I see your reasoning but how are our current guards gonna get shots off? Mcgusty and Odomes are drivers and there will be no lanes available with two interior offensive players and their defenders clogging up the lanes

 

[OU92Grad]

This is why I wish we had a 5 who was a banger. Having a 5 and 4 who can't shoot doesn't bode well. With Muni as the C, and Trice as the PF, OU's playing with 3 guards, and that 3rd guard can't be Odomes, because he can't shoot either. That's the fear. It's more to do with the roster we currently have. If Muni is going to be the guy who can't shoot, he has to be our rebounder, and then we need Doolittle, who has the frame to rebound and did well at it, to turn into a shooter.



Like I've said, my fear with Trice is that he doesn't shoot, so we now are relying on 3 guards to hopefully just be catch and shoot guys because the lane will be clogged with Trice and Muni.

I agree with your logic

 

[okhoops918]

In what world has Kruger ever had a bruiser or tough hard nosed players?

That's just not his style of coaching and system. What you get with Kruger is what you get.

Fast paced, open basketball that is exciting offensively but leaves alot to be desired when it comes to crunch time or tight games it doesnt bode well.

When you have Cousins, Hield, and the best offensive rebounder in Big 12 history Spangler its not a bad strategy or when you have a Trae Young (until teams figure it out).

Without that it will get ugly (again)

 

[CoachTalk]

In what world has Kruger ever had a bruiser or tough hard nosed players?

That's just not his style of coaching and system. What you get with Kruger is what you get.

Fast paced, open basketball that is exciting offensively but leaves alot to be desired when it comes to crunch time or tight games it doesnt bode well.

When you have Cousins, Hield, and the best offensive rebounder in Big 12 history Spangler its not a bad strategy or when you have a Trae Young (until teams figure it out).

Without that it will get ugly (again)

Kruger has had great hard noised bruisers on his good teams. This team lacked that. Do some research

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

I'll take a stretch 4 all day long. If they can rebound, even better, but stretch 4s are the way basketball is going. If you have 2 paint guys that are no threat to shoot, the defense is fairly easy. You just need a 5 guy that can box out, and the 4 guy has to be able to rebound as well.



I'll take guys like Paschall and Bridges from Nova that are offensive threats while also being able to rebound. Guys like Draymond Green or Melo as the 4 over playing 2 bigs who aren't threats. Floor spacing is key

I agree. Counting on big post-up guys is a bad idea unless you can routinely just get the best ones like Michigan St does. That said, i think there is a role for guys like Trice. He's definitely not a starter, but a ~15 minute guy who can get rebounds. Though he can't shoot, he can be used on the pick-&-roll and get layups and dunks when he rolls. He can get offensive boards when one of the shooters misses. Even though he wouldn't be a threat from deep, he can still be a threat because of how he gets to the rim off the p&r.

We want to be taking more 3's & dunks and less contested 2's so even though he's not a threat from 3 doesn't mean he's not an offensive threat.

 

[vbdad]

We’ve offered trice and are really pushing for him. We’ve been in touch with the Maine PG and the Evansville G, both grad transfers.

2 new offers in the 7 foot C and his teammate, a SG I believe, both are 2019 recruits, correct?

Who else have we been pursuing?

I don't think we have a chance for the Evansville point guard.

 

[AdaSooner]

I see your reasoning but how are our current guards gonna get shots off? Mcgusty and Odomes are drivers and there will be no lanes available with two interior offensive players and their defenders clogging up the lanes

Smart interior players will not clog up the lanes. Every post player worth their salt will simply clear out to open driving lanes, and then move into position to rebound a miss. Missed shots can open the door to a great opportunity for a put back layup or dunk.

 

[sperry]

Smart interior players will not clog up the lanes. Every post player worth their salt will simply clear out to open driving lanes, and then move into position to rebound a miss. Missed shots can open the door to a great opportunity for a put back layup or dunk.

If those interior players aren't good midrange shooters their defenders aren't going to follow them if they leave the paint.

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

Smart interior players will not clog up the lanes. Every post player worth their salt will simply clear out to open driving lanes, and then move into position to rebound a miss. Missed shots can open the door to a great opportunity for a put back layup or dunk.

It seems to me that, while you are both talking about bigs, you're talking about different kinds of bigs. Trice is 1 kind, the guy the team doesn't depend on to post up defenders and score with his back to the basket. He's the guy who works in the pick-&-roll and cleans up the offensive glass to get putbacks. He doesnt clog the lanes because he's not expecting the ball except on alley oops, on the pick-&- roll, and on the edge for ball reversal.

The other kind is the old school big who posts his man up for the purpose of shooting. He does clog the lane because he's the guy shooting the ball, not the guy rebounding others' misses. It's not about being smart or not. It's about what the big's role is.

We need a guy (or 2) like Trice. We don't need the other guy, IMO. The 2nd guy does clog the lanes and, though he scores often, he also makes it more difficult for others to score and is relatively easy to defend with a double-team or sometimes 1-on-1. The first guy helps himself and others get high value shots. The 2nd guy takes low value shots because hes taking well-defended 2's. We need more wide-open 2's and 3's.

 

[AdaSooner]

It seems to me that, while you are both talking about bigs, you're talking about different kinds of bigs. Trice is 1 kind, the guy the team doesn't depend on to post up defenders and score with his back to the basket. He's the guy who works in the pick-&-roll and cleans up the offensive glass to get putbacks. He doesnt clog the lanes because he's not expecting the ball except on alley oops, on the pick-&- roll, and on the edge for ball reversal.

The other kind is the old school big who posts his man up for the purpose of shooting. He does clog the lane because he's the guy shooting the ball, not the guy rebounding others' misses. It's not about being smart or not. It's about what the big's role is.

We need a guy (or 2) like Trice. We don't need the other guy, IMO. The 2nd guy does clog the lanes and, though he scores often, he also makes it more difficult for others to score and is relatively easy to defend with a double-team or sometimes 1-on-1. The first guy helps himself and others get high value shots. The 2nd guy takes low value shots because hes taking well-defended 2's. We need more wide-open 2's and 3's.

Excellent points! You added to the reasons I want Austin Trice. We need a player like him.

 

[sperry]

It seems to me that, while you are both talking about bigs, you're talking about different kinds of bigs. Trice is 1 kind, the guy the team doesn't depend on to post up defenders and score with his back to the basket. He's the guy who works in the pick-&-roll and cleans up the offensive glass to get putbacks. He doesnt clog the lanes because he's not expecting the ball except on alley oops, on the pick-&- roll, and on the edge for ball reversal.

The other kind is the old school big who posts his man up for the purpose of shooting. He does clog the lane because he's the guy shooting the ball, not the guy rebounding others' misses. It's not about being smart or not. It's about what the big's role is.

We need a guy (or 2) like Trice. We don't need the other guy, IMO. The 2nd guy does clog the lanes and, though he scores often, he also makes it more difficult for others to score and is relatively easy to defend with a double-team or sometimes 1-on-1. The first guy helps himself and others get high value shots. The 2nd guy takes low value shots because hes taking well-defended 2's. We need more wide-open 2's and 3's.

You and I are of the exact same mindset about the role of a big at OU. If we ever have another Blake Griffin come through the program, you adapt to that. Otherwise, your big men need to be role players who understand how they can help the team and do not want or need shots.

 

[Ghost of Gar Heard]

You and I are of the exact same mindset about the role of a big at OU. If we ever have another Blake Griffin come through the program, you adapt to that. Otherwise, your big men need to be role players who understand how they can help the team and do not want or need shots.

Loyola & K St played a bunch of tonight's game with 10 guards on the court and K St beat Kentucky the other night by playing 5 guards a lot of the time.

 

[Matthew G]

Made the last 5 for McCullar. 4* guard in the 2019 class.

https://twitter.com/Kevin_McCullar/status/977719225782538240

 

[cjhsooner]

Made the last 5 for McCullar. 4* guard in the 2019 class.

https://twitter.com/Kevin_McCullar/status/977719225782538240

It is nice to be included in the top 5 for this kid, but if he chooses OU over TTU, he needs to be institutionalized...just look at the trajectory of the 2 programs. 1 could very well be in the Final Four tomorrow by this time, and the other could have a team next year win fewer than 12 games.

 

[CoachTalk]

It is nice to be included in the top 5 for this kid, but if he chooses OU over TTU, he needs to be institutionalized...just look at the trajectory of the 2 programs. 1 could very well be in the Final Four tomorrow by this time, and the other could have a team next year win fewer than 12 games.

It’s more than that. Kids that we need want to get us there. And want to take us there. We were in the tournament this year. Limped in but better than NIT CBI etc

 

[cvangild]

It is nice to be included in the top 5 for this kid, but if he chooses OU over TTU, he needs to be institutionalized...just look at the trajectory of the 2 programs. 1 could very well be in the Final Four tomorrow by this time, and the other could have a team next year win fewer than 12 games.

Stupid comment! It's not like we haven't been to a final four VERY recently!! To think TT is all the sudden a perennial top 10 program and OU is a bottom feeder is dumb. All it takes is a few pieces in b-ball to turn the corner quickly.

Heck this year's tournament is a perfect example!!!

 

[Matthew G]

It is nice to be included in the top 5 for this kid, but if he chooses OU over TTU, he needs to be institutionalized...just look at the trajectory of the 2 programs. 1 could very well be in the Final Four tomorrow by this time, and the other could have a team next year win fewer than 12 games.

This is a weird stupid take. I guess 5* recruits should have chosen OU over KU 2 years ago when we were in the final four then and they weren't?



Also, so you are on the record, fewer than 12 wins next year right?

 

[cjhsooner]

This is a weird stupid take. I guess 5* recruits should have chosen OU over KU 2 years ago when we were in the final four then and they weren't?



Also, so you are on the record, fewer than 12 wins next year right?

I said "could". Depending on who Kruger is able to get to fill Shepherd's spot, they could improve that number. To me, the talent just isn't there, and Bienemy is not bad, but he is 1 guy. Our other "guys" took steps back since December. So yeah, depending on any grad transfers OU gets, and who else leaves (I doubt Shepherd is the only transfer, but that is just my opinion), they could very easily struggle to get 12 wins.