"Rest" as heard on the radio

[jaymOU]

Grain of salt as I only overheard these comments while half-heartedly listening to the Morning Animals on the morning commute, but was something said by LK about needing to play more players? Reducing the number of minutes the core four and Lattin are playing?

Always wonder about this. Tubbs and Kelvin never really played more than seven guys - to any real extent.

Do you need to play more than 7 or 8?

I think Walker, Manyang, James and Buford are all capable of giving some solid minutes - but I am not sold on how much "rest" the core four need.

I'd love to have a shooter off the bench, like Tim Heskett, Kelly Newton or, hey, even Frank Booker.

Sounds like Grandstaff or Freeman could maybe fill that role next year.

 

[CoachTalk]

These guys will be fine. Plenty of time to rest in april and May. Coach Kruger knows what he is doing.

 

[MNsooner]

It'd be a great luxury for us if we could rest our guys some during the conference season. I hope we have a few blow-outs where our bench can hold the lead for extended play. It's as much about getting those guys experience as it is about resting the starters. At the end of the day, we're playing for a conference championship and 1 seed. We're going to play our best players for a lot of minutes to get those goals. I think it'd be a mistake to do otherwise.

 

[oudna]

Grain of salt as I only overheard these comments while half-heartedly listening to the Morning Animals on the morning commute, but was something said by LK about needing to play more players? Reducing the number of minutes the core four and Lattin are playing?

Always wonder about this. Tubbs and Kelvin never really played more than seven guys - to any real extent.

Do you need to play more than 7 or 8?

I think Walker, Manyang, James and Buford are all capable of giving some solid minutes - but I am not sold on how much "rest" the core four need.

I'd love to have a shooter off the bench, like Tim Heskett, Kelly Newton or, hey, even Frank Booker.

Sounds like Grandstaff or Freeman could maybe fill that role next year.

I seem to remember a few Tubbs seasons where we'd play 10 guys.

 

[inoref]

Maybe they get a chance to play more guys later on..I think if not it could come back and bite them.

 

[Zimwillett]

I feel like this "rest" issue is overblown. Very few teams in the NCAA go more than 8 or 9 deep, and most teams' key players are 30+ minutes per game. That's right where OU is, and that's including a very rare 55 minute 3 OT game. Plus, OU only has two more Saturday-Monday turnarounds the rest of the season (Jan. 16 WVU to Jan. 18 @ ISU and Feb. 6 @ KSU to Feb. 8 Texas). They get at least three days rest, and usually more, between every other game. That should be more than enough.

The only guy I'd like to see with less wear and tear is Spangler. We saw him wear down a little last season, but that has as much to do with the physical nature of his play than his actual minutes on the floor.

 

[Larry72]

The last 2 games, the subs come in and are unproductive. Hopefully they relax and quit pressing. Just play aggressive D and avoid TOs.

 

[MisterF]

I agree about not worrying about rest to much.... But this team has a player that has looked pooped two years in a row coming down the stretch.

 

[WaymanFan]

These guys will be fine. Plenty of time to rest in april and May. Coach Kruger knows what he is doing.

I hope you're right...but the past two seasons Ryan Spangler needed to start resting in February.

 

[skyvue]

I think Spangler was more injured/beat up than worn out. Which is not to say rest wouldn't have helped, but an injury won't really get better unless you sit out altogether for a while.

 

[WaymanFan]

I think Spangler was more injured/beat up than worn out. Which is not to say rest wouldn't have helped, but an injury won't really get better unless you sit out altogether for a while.

If it was once in the past two years, I'd agree...but it was BOTH years. I could be wrong, but he clearly looked worn down to me. If he plays this March the way he did the previous two Marchs', we're in serious trouble. Two years ago, he had Romero Osby to take the pressure off him. Last year, he had Tashawn Thomas. It's all on him this year. Khadeem has been doing great, but I think most of his points for the rest of this year will be from rebounds, tip-ins and alley-oops. We need an ENERGIZED Ryan Spangler.

 

[StatGeek]

I feel like this "rest" issue is overblown. Very few teams in the NCAA go more than 8 or 9 deep, and most teams' key players are 30+ minutes per game. That's right where OU is, and that's including a very rare 55 minute 3 OT game. Plus, OU only has two more Saturday-Monday turnarounds the rest of the season (Jan. 16 WVU to Jan. 18 @ ISU and Feb. 6 @ KSU to Feb. 8 Texas). They get at least three days rest, and usually more, between every other game. That should be more than enough.

The only guy I'd like to see with less wear and tear is Spangler. We saw him wear down a little last season, but that has as much to do with the physical nature of his play than his actual minutes on the floor.

I agree.

Rest is a media issue way more than an actual issue that affects quality of play.

 

[Northbase]

Would love to see all the 2nd teamers in the game tomorrow night during a blow-out!:woot

 

[SoonerSunshine]

Not worried about the rest. I was more interested in seeing the young guys get some more time on the court to develop. All these older guys played a lot when they were freshman.

 

[IndySooner]

I'm worried about these guys' legs come March.