Reserves are the problem

[SoonerNorm]

Any coach will tell you it is hard to win with just a starting five, unless your name is Geno. You have to have a strong bench. In just about any given game, one or more starters will struggle. That is why it is imperative to have a strong bench with players who can come in and make a difference by providing a spark to get the offense or defense going.

I pulled up the last 5 games to see what kind of production we are getting from the bench. Here are the stats from the top 5 reserves:

Players		Minutes   Scoring   Rebs   T.O.   PF   Asst

Manning		   75        21      10     8     13     3
ViVi               48        17      18     5      6     0
T'ona              27         5       7     2      1	 4
Derica             27         8       4     2      1     1
Kornet             22         5       1     0      1     0

While we have certainly had our fair share of starters who have struggled, the bench as not been strong and Sherri hasn't had the luxury of going to her bench for a spark. While these players are able to give the starters a breather, there is often a drop-off in talent. That drop-off often causes us to lose ground. In a close game, that can be a killer. I would probably run our players in the ground in close games and only go to the bench when someone is injured or gets into foul trouble because the bench is not providing the help one would expect from a total roster of 15.

 

[SoonerNorm]

With Whitney, our roster is actually 16 with 15 being on ships.

 

[soonerstar]

With Whitney, our roster is actually 16 with 15 being on ships.

Norm, I thought we have 14 players who suit up, plus Penzo who is injured.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Norm, I thought we have 14 players who suit up, plus Penzo who is injured.

Yes, I was thinking we had a full roster but on second thought you are probably right.

 

[Soonercuda]

In those 5 games the OU Bench scored 58 our opponent's bench scored 49. I don't think our reserves are any more of a problem than most teams.

 

[SoonerNorm]

In those 5 games the OU Bench scored 58 our opponent's bench scored 49. I don't think our reserves are any more of a problem than most teams.

Maddie has scored more bench points than anyone else and she has only averaged 4 points per game. To me, that's a significant problem.

 

[bluesooner17]

Just my opinion, but your bench as your starters have to grow into their positions and that takes playing time. As much as the way Sherri played our early part of the schedule she really didn't establish any bench roles. Case in point is as much as Nicole had ups and downs in the early part of the season she showed quite promise that with direction and playing time she could come off the bench and help, but in most games she get 3 minutes if she doesn't hit her shots and maybe 5 if she does. As much as a coach is in charge of developing starters the coach has to develop a bench and not sure Sherri does that very well. According to her she has shooters (Nicole & Derica) on the bench, but rarely use them as in the Kansas game. Any shooter knows you need to get into a rhythm yet Nicole or Derica are rarely given a chance. Come in hot or you go to the bench in a hurry. You can see the frustration in Vivi eyes when she comes out, because she isn't given a chance to develop during a game. Where she seemed to do well against Kansas she never received good minutes.

 

[sybarite]

You don't necessarily use your bench for points. Sometimes, you use it for defensive intensity or energy. The last five games includes K-State, and for some reason, Maddie doesn't play against K-State.

We bring in Vivi to get some boards and play a little defense while Kay Kay sits out fouls or gets a little rest. Any offense that she produces is gravy. She actually produces a surprise or two along the way. Last night, she hit free throws and a gimme.

Maddie is often used to put the clamps on someone. She came into the first game against OSU to shut down Donohoe, which she did. Donohoe simply couldn't shoot over Maddie. She came in against TCU to provide some disruption to their offense. She did. She may come in for Gioya, or it might be for Sharane. That's a bit of flexibility. A couple of nights ago, she came in for Kay Kay. Usually, she isn't asked to score. Last night, apparently someone told her to do something. When nothing was happening anywhere else, she scored four straight points to get some life into us.

T'Ona is there to give a rest to Gabbi. For the most part, she does it. She has some weaknesses. When she plays within herself and pays attention to her passes, she is useful.

These three are becoming out bench at crunch time. Nicole gets a little time on the floor. But, LaNesia and McKenna have kind of played their way to the bench by trying to do what they can't. Derica doesn't get a lot of time. We have three that are reasonably dependable. Do most teams have three?

As this team has come together, each of these has stepped up. At mid-year, Maddie and Vivi were not even on the radar. Now, unless Kay Kay gets two fouls, Maddie is the first person off the bench. Usually, she is a step up for someone who isn't performing. Gioya or Sharane is dead. Vivi has come on to be OK. At times, she is a turnover machine. Then, she surprises you, and she has done some good stuff at some critical times. She was useful last night.

We really began without even having a starting five. Now, we know who the starters are, and we have three reserves. That's not all that bad for a young developing team. I wonder how confident Baylor is about that rubber match?

 

[Oliver Hardy]

After Kansas and last night, Syb, I'd say very confident because our win against them looks like a fluke.


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[Sooners4Life0101]

We just flat out haven't played good...

Maddie's contribution is always beyond the stat sheet- She always plays within the offense so if they don't call her number she probably won't score. Other than Maddie we don't have great scorers off the bench really, but they usually give us some strong minutes. The team collectively just hasn't played well the last two games. But that happens.

 

[sybarite]

After Kansas and last night, Syb, I'd say very confident because our win against them looks like a fluke.


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While we were losing to Kansas, they were losing to Iowa State. While we were fighting with OSU, they were struggling with Tech. They aren't exactly closing strong.

 

[tycat947]

While we were losing to Kansas, they were losing to Iowa State. While we were fighting with OSU, they were struggling with Tech. They aren't exactly closing strong.

Yes, I don't see anyone in Big 12 closing particularly strong. It says a lot that when you are playing bad and on the road and you can still win against the preseason #4 conference team when you were preseason #5. At least we didn't give up a 20 point lead in the 2nd half after a 22 point unanswered run!

 

[sybarite]

When I watch reruns, I tend to watch things that I didn't see the first time. Who is blocking out? Who isn't? Who is clogging the lanes? Who isn't? Who is leaving their assignment open?

What I found interesting last night was that the driving was often stopped by one of two players. As soon as someone took a step like they might drive, Sharane tended to jump in the middle of the lane just above the charge circle. They might be at the top of the key. She is already there. They tended to stop as soon as they saw her in the lane.

When the player Maddie was guarding got the ball, Maddie might have been helping elsewhere. She seemed to take less than a second to get right in front of her assignment, with arms exended. They didn't shoot, and they didn't drive. They looked to pass off. Her fouls tended to be some rather curious calls, often when she really wasn't directly involved with the play. I think the officials blew a couple of calls. In one case, Kay Kay was called for a foul for blocking down with her hands. It was Gioya. Kay Kay's hands were straight up. Gioya's did clobber the wrists.

Sharane, Gabbi, and Peyton tend to block out. Kay Kay and Gioya weren't.

 

[Mac]

The eye test says Vivi is our best bench player, can't wait until she's close to 100% healthy... I thought she could have taken Kay Kays spot at the start of the season, we'll have to see if they can push each other to a new level next year, could be a good battle this summer...

 

[SoonerShamrock]

Norm, you and SoonerStar are both correct. We DO have 15 on 'ships (Whitney Richie is on the Coleman scholarship, see p. 28 of the Media Guide) and we have 14 who suit up.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Norm, you and SoonerStar are both correct. We DO have 15 on 'ships (Whitney Richie is on the Coleman scholarship, see p. 28 of the Media Guide) and we have 14 who suit up.

Okay, thanks! Speaking of Richie, I really admire her and greatly appreciate her contribution to this team.

 

[YCN]

What I've really liked this season is that OU has played it's reserves more than any other conference team. That may hinder us a bit this season, but when almost everyone is seeing game time in every game, the eventual outcome over time has to be a greater good for the whole team. You can't really advance your game that much without game time, because it's not the same experience in practice.

I'm looking for OU to be really good in the upcoming years.

 

[soonerstar]

What I've really liked this season is that OU has played it's reserves more than any other conference team. That may hinder us a bit this season, but when almost everyone is seeing game time in every game, the eventual outcome over time has to be a greater good for the whole team. You can't really advance your game that much without game time, because it's not the same experience in practice.

I'm looking for OU to be really good in the upcoming years.

+1

 

[sybarite]

I think Baylor played its reserves more than usual as well. The interesting aspect of the Baylor team is that the people that we have heard of as being shooters have the lowest FG% on the team:
.410 Ieshia Small
.393 Imani Wright
.397 Kristi Wallace.

 

[sybarite]

Maddie Manning
Total/non-conference/conference

Games 27/10/17
Minutes 351/90/261
Average 13.0/9.0/15.4
FG-FGA 32-73/9-21/23-52
FG% 43.8/42.8/44.2
3Pt FG-FGA 8-20/2-4/6-16
3Pt FG% 40.0%/50%/37.5%
FT-FTA 45-59/4-7/41-52
FT% 76.3%/57.1%/78.8%
OR-DR-REB 10-40-50/5-6-11/5-34-39
REB/G 1.9/1.1/2.3
PF 45/15/30
DISQ 3/0/3
ASST 27/9/18
TO 47/15/32
BL 13/0/13
ST 14/5/9
PT 117/24/93
PPG 4.3/2.4/5.5

The point of this is to show the difference between early-season contribution of some of our bench and what they did during their conference season. Maddie only played 9.0 minutes per game in non-conference season. That rose to 15.4 during the conference season. All of her blocks were in conference play, and she finished only one behind Kay Kay and two behind Vivi in blocks.