Roster Changeups

[SoonerBounce13]

I think it was a mistake to not ride with Calixte and Reynolds and sacrifice this season so Bieniemy can get experience.

I like Lon, but it seems he makes weird adjustments and roster decisions.

I realize that there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes but it seems every year there is a player that plays hard and doesn't get the minutes he deserves from my perspective. And it is usually Odomes.

At some point you have to stop sacrificing seasons to gain the young guys experience.

I am getting a little tired of starting hot and then tanking in the conference. I kind of saw it coming with this team though.

 

[Soonerinkc]

no offense intended but not sure what ya mean with JB....he's been starting...gaining experience. My issue is after the osu game he quit shooting. He's the one I WANT shooting...at least outside shots...more than odomes.

It's frustrating...but we have guys make really bone headed mistakes every game...like really bad mistakes.

Not all the shots will fall, ya won't get all the rebounds...but last night in the last 2 minutes we really crapped all over ourselves...AGAIN.

I would say a large % of off rebounds we give up are due to not blocking out the right way. Not sure if that's effort, coaching...or both but man it's frustrating to give up off rebounds right under the bucket with more of us than them.

 

[BoulderSooner]

OU 2-6 with bieniemy as the starter

OU 13-4 with Calixte as the starter

that is what he means and i have to agree

 

[WichitaSooner]

If you are saying that we should have played those guys more and JB less because it would have helped us win more this season, I couldn't disagree more. I really like Reynolds energy and he was good early in the season, but let's be honest, he has been terrible since conference started. Calixte at least offers some offense but he just isn't a solid point guard because of the turnovers. Simply put, Bieniemy is already better than both of them. Lon absolutely didn't make the lineup change with next year in mind, he did it because it is our best chance to win this season. I really can't understand why so many of you focus on JB and his scoring. As a point guard, he provides a lot of value regardless of whether he scores 10 or only a couple. The guys who are killing us are the guys who not only aren't scoring, but also don't give us anything from a ball handling and passing perspective. You can win with a point guard who doesn't shoot much. You can't win with a shooting guard who can't shoot, and that's what we have had the past two months.

 

[tmeyer3307]

Reynolds is not Big 12 good. He should of never been added to the roster. Calixte is a decent back up, but JB is not just gaining experience out there. He is our best decision maker, best ball handler also our best on ball defender. At this point him and Doolittle should be the only guys playing 34-36 mins a game.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

no offense intended but not sure what ya mean with JB....he's been starting...gaining experience. My issue is after the osu game he quit shooting. He's the one I WANT shooting...at least outside shots...more than odomes.

It's frustrating...but we have guys make really bone headed mistakes every game...like really bad mistakes.

Not all the shots will fall, ya won't get all the rebounds...but last night in the last 2 minutes we really crapped all over ourselves...AGAIN.

I would say a large % of off rebounds we give up are due to not blocking out the right way. Not sure if that's effort, coaching...or both but man it's frustrating to give up off rebounds right under the bucket with more of us than them.

I don't think JB should be starting. He is good off the bench. I like Calixte's experience to run the offense.

I feel Lon is sacrificing this season to gain JB some experience

 

[SoonerBounce13]

OU 2-6 with bieniemy as the starter

OU 13-4 with Calixte as the starter

that is what he means and i have to agree

precisely. I thought it was a weird mood when Lon made it. Is Calixte great? No, but I didn't see anything that made me think he should be benched in favor of JB.

 

[WichitaSooner]

OU 2-6 with bieniemy as the starter

OU 13-4 with Calixte as the starter

that is what he means and i have to agree

If only things were this simple. If any of you follow baseball, Jacob deGrom was the best pitcher on the planet last season and yet the Mets were under .500 when he started because they didn't hit, field, or get anything resembling competent relief pitching in his days. Should the Mets have stopped using him when he clearly wasn't the problem? Is JB the reason James suddenly reverted to form and can't make a shot, or that our bigs are no longer rebounding, or that Reynolds hasn't made a single offensive contribution in weeks? I get trying to come up with reasons for the collapse and trying to find someone to blame, but I think people are off on this one. And let's be honest, Lon put Calixte back in the starting lineup recently and he scored three points in two games and missed a ton of shots. All the people who bag on JB for his scoring didn't say a word about that.

 

[WTSooner]

precisely. I thought it was a weird mood when Lon made it. Is Calixte great? No, but I didn't see anything that made me think he should be benched in favor of JB.

Yep, it was a panic move by Lon at THAT time, and it's been followed up by more of the same. I'm not saying I wouldn't have made a switch at some point, but not when he did it.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Per 40
Calixte: 13 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.3 apg, 3.6 topg, 35% from 3 and 78% FT
Bieniemy: 7.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.5 topg, 39% from 3, 55% FT
Reynolds: 14.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.6apg, 2.6 topg, 21% from 3, 75% FT

I just don't see the need to change things up when the season was going good.
Yes Calixte turns the ball over too much. But he is a better scorer and play maker imo.

The real crime is Odomes. The guy gives effort, makes plays, but only averages 16 mpg.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Oh well, I guess I will get used to this new norm of OU looking fantastic against the non conference teams and a bottom dweller in the big 12.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Yep, it was a panic move by Lon at THAT time, and it's been followed up by more of the same. I'm not saying I wouldn't have made a switch at some point, but not when he did it.

What, specifically, is Calixte better at than JB at the point? Far worse ball handler and decision maker, which are the two primary jobs of a lead guard. Calixte is good defensively and a better scorer at this stage, but those are things that don't depend on him playing the point. Calixte is an off guard and I think even he might consider that his better position.

 

[WTSooner]

What, specifically, is Calixte better at than JB at the point? Far worse ball handler and decision maker, which are the two primary jobs of a lead guard.

And that is where you are wrong.

If OU was full of scorers, I'd agree with you. But we're not. So we need a more offensive minded point guard on the floor. You can't put JB on the court with Odomes, and to a lesser extent with Doolittle and Manek, and expect the offense to be anything but terrible. Calixte hasn't been shooting it good, and he may turn it over some, but the offense was better with him on the court, at least, before Lon jacked with team chemistry. I don't care what JB does outside of scoring, when his scoring has been as bad as it has been, he's a liability. He is also a true freshman.

Your support of every move Lon makes is weird dude. Just strange.

 

[WichitaSooner]

And that is where you are wrong.

If OU was full of scorers, I'd agree with you. But we're not. So we need a more offensive minded point guard on the floor. You can't put JB on the court with Odomes, and to a lesser extent with Doolittle and Manek, and expect the offense to be anything but terrible. Calixte hasn't been shooting it good, and he may turn it over some, but the offense was better with him on the court, at least, before Lon jacked with team chemistry. I don't care what JB does outside of scoring, when his scoring has been as bad as it has been, he's a liability. He is also a true freshman.

Your support of every move Lon makes is weird dude. Just strange.

And your inability to read is concerning. I have repeatedly questioned lineup decisions. I'd play Calixte, sit James, and play RO far more. I also would never put Reynolds in unless it was due to foul trouble or for a quick breather. And I would give Polla more minutes in games where it is clear that none of the other forwards are competing on the glass. It's just that unlike some of you, I don't question EVERY. SINGLE. DECISION. And yes, I completely disagree that the offense was better with Calixte. Maybe in November and December, but once league play started, the nightly barrage of early turnovers by Calixte became a huge issue. I know this is not something that I can prove, but I bet if you polled the other nine Big 12 coaches, they would all say that Bieniemy runs the offense better than Calixte.

 

[CMSOONER]

OU 2-6 with bieniemy as the starter

OU 13-4 with Calixte as the starter

that is what he means and i have to agree

OU would still have won with JB starting against:

Pittsburg State
Texas-Rio Grande Valley
UTSA
Wofford
Dayton
North Texas

 

[thebigabd]

Against TCU I would go with:

PG: Aaron Calixte
SG: Christian James
SG: Rashard Odomes
PF: Brady Manek
C: Hannes Polla

Odomes, Doo, and Polla give you the best rebounding group... Bring Doo as the 6th man in for Manek and Polla (starter minutes) and let him do his thing. Rotate the guards as needed.

Primary objective: Win the rebounding battle and play defense. The team can't shoot anyway so having Odomes in there is good for defense, rebounding, etc.

Try to win the game 50-45... I am not sure Lon knows how to do that. When you can't shoot you need to intentionally make the game ugly. Sampson knew how to do that better than anyone. Milk the clock out, run sets, rebound the ball, dedicate energy to defense and turnovers... Sampson used to say sometimes his best offense was missing a shot because they were always so good at rebounding.

Let Polla go out there and beat the crap out of somebody... rebound... set hard screens.. etc.

 

[Soonerinkc]

Against TCU I would go with:

PG: Aaron Calixte
SG: Christian James
SG: Rashard Odomes
PF: Brady Manek
C: Hannes Polla

Odomes, Doo, and Polla give you the best rebounding group... Bring Doo as the 6th man in for Manek and Polla (starter minutes) and let him do his thing. Rotate the guards as needed.

Primary objective: Win the rebounding battle and play defense. The team can't shoot anyway so having Odomes in there is good for defense, rebounding, etc.

Try to win the game 50-45... I am not sure Lon knows how to do that. When you can't shoot you need to intentionally make the game ugly. Sampson knew how to do that better than anyone. Milk the clock out, run sets, rebound the ball, dedicate energy to defense and turnovers... Sampson used to say sometimes his best offense was missing a shot because they were always so good at rebounding.

Let Polla go out there and beat the crap out of somebody... rebound... set hard screens.. etc.

I'd prob put Doo out there instead of Manek...neither box out well, but Doo adds more post offense.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Against TCU I would go with:

PG: Aaron Calixte
SG: Christian James
SG: Rashard Odomes
PF: Brady Manek
C: Hannes Polla

Odomes, Doo, and Polla give you the best rebounding group... Bring Doo as the 6th man in for Manek and Polla (starter minutes) and let him do his thing. Rotate the guards as needed.

Primary objective: Win the rebounding battle and play defense. The team can't shoot anyway so having Odomes in there is good for defense, rebounding, etc.

Try to win the game 50-45... I am not sure Lon knows how to do that. When you can't shoot you need to intentionally make the game ugly. Sampson knew how to do that better than anyone. Milk the clock out, run sets, rebound the ball, dedicate energy to defense and turnovers... Sampson used to say sometimes his best offense was missing a shot because they were always so good at rebounding.

Let Polla go out there and beat the crap out of somebody... rebound... set hard screens.. etc.

This lineup would put our two most consistent players on the bench and would have a starting PG who doesn't take care of the ball, a SG who can't shoot, and a center who is best when he can come in and play defense, rebound, and foul as needed in short bursts. This (unlike the decision to start JB) would truly be a panic move. I'm fine with giving Polla a longer look to see if he can help, but I think starting him would be a bit much.

 

[oudna]

Didn’t understand handing the team over to Bienemy when they did. I questioned it from day one.

 

[sheepdogs1]

This lineup would put our two most consistent players on the bench and would have a starting PG who doesn't take care of the ball, a SG who can't shoot, and a center who is best when he can come in and play defense, rebound, and foul as needed in short bursts. This (unlike the decision to start JB) would truly be a panic move. I'm fine with giving Polla a longer look to see if he can help, but I think starting him would be a bit much.

Two teams face off against each other and after the game the stats indicate team A had 5 turnovers while team B had 10 turnovers. Which team scored the most?