Rothstein Files: 6 BCS team's primed to make a Jump

[BigTime]

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/11...-primed-to-make-a-jump-in-college-basketball/

 

[Chaser728]

Wow, NCAA Tourney prediction? Is this the first prediction in Sports Media predicting we would get into the dance?

 

[AdaSooner]

Our entire starting five is back from last year, plus we finally have the depth Kruger needs to play an up tempo game on offense and press more on defense. More importantly, perhaps, the additions to our roster are an upgrade to any player we lost on last year's team.

We'll have to get better than the performance we saw in last week's exhibition game. But Rothstein's right in that the tools are there for a return to the dance.

 

[garyeb2]

OU didn't look lilke a tournament team against Washburn. OU didn't look like a tournament team in practice yesterday. And I don't think that is realistic to think that they would. And I don't think that is the objective

I'm pretty sure that the objective of the staff is to look like a tournament team on the 1st of January. Fitz is better this year. He is markedly better. So is Pledger. He lost the weight,got in shape, and is in my opinion working his butt off for the first time. Cam is better. By the end of the year it could be much much better.

But, that is not enough. It was never going to be enough. What will be enough is getting the 3 freshman guards and MBaye Big 12 ready and tourney ready by Jan. 1st. If someone wanted to say that OU would have a better chance of winning the Old Spice Classic with Grooms as the starting point guard, not only would I agree, I would add that they would have have a better chance with Fitz starting and M'Baye on the bench.

Fitz has looked better virtually every day. But, they have to get M'Baye ready. He is going to be so much better in some amount of time. Same with Cousins. He is going to be a really good player for OU in some amount of time. The only way to compress that time frame is to get them in there and get them ready. Hornbeak has shown to be the steadiest of the three and Buddy mayby still a step behind.

I'm on board. I think that they will acheive their goals. They may take a hit or two between now and Jan. But, this is going to be a pretty good basketball team in 6 weeks.

 

[BoulderSooner]

disagree washburn is a good team we we dominated .... this is a tourney team .. and is going to have a very good year with pledger osby mbaye and fitz leading the way and with grooms getting major min at the point

 

[garyeb2]

disagree washburn is a good team we we dominated .... this is a tourney team .. and is going to have a very good year with pledger osby mbaye and fitz leading the way and with grooms getting major min at the point

A lot of people feel exactly as you do. Thanks for being civil.

 

[Sam]

Some very good points Gary. For me, this team's ceiling is tied around the advancement of the freshman trio.

The biggest thing to remember, that I know can be shocking, this team should look a lot better in a few months and its a little knee jerky to rely too much on the returns of the exhibition games. There are some things though that I've noticed that are caused for worry and could develop into trends.

The talented level is upgraded a lot thanks to the newcomers. That doesn't mean I'm writing off the returning players as I do think experience is a very key factor, but if the newcomers rise to the occasion that should lead to a very good team.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I saw part of the practice yesterday. The player that stood out for me was Clark who seemed to reach a new level even though he still misses too many open shots and seems awkward in time trying to penetrate. But if he can make the lineup he brings a lot to the table on defense and the boards. But only if he stops disapearing at times.

Unfortunately for Sam, Grooms has not shown any improvement on his outside shot. He still misses too many open shots and I have not seen him hit many shots beyond 5 feet from the hoop. He still is slick with the ball but probably dribbles too much. Pretty lethal if you let him get inside with the ball.

Turnovers are going to be key for Cousins. He is doing a good job of hitting the open man but seemed to have the jitters against Washburn. He hits the open shots and that will be key.

Heild along with Clark is the wild card. He plays a lot bigger than his heigth and can score from anywhere. Still makes some glaring freshman mistakes and that will delay his starting. Like his rebounding.

I don't see anyway that M'Baye doesn't play as much as anyone. He is very quick for a big man and his shot seems to be coming along. Looks to be very good on defense. Jury out on rebounding. The emergence of the freshman guards has moved him inside where we are the thinnest. But I think he could have been an effective #3.

We know what we will get from Osby and Pledger. I think both will have a good year.

I don't see Fitz cracking the starting lineup this year. He will get a lot of time because we don't have a strong 4th big. Again we know what to expect from him along with what appears to be better defense.

 

[CoachTalk]

Kansas only beat washburn by 12. So no need to panic about that performance, new guys, new roles, this will take some time and be a whole lot better from now to christmas and christmas to late Feb- March!

 

[AdaSooner]

Kansas only beat washburn by 12. So no need to panic about that performance, new guys, new roles, this will take some time and be a whole lot better from now to christmas and christmas to late Feb- March!

Agreed. Anyone who saw the game knows that Washburn didn't exactly throw in the towel. The Ichabods have a scrappy team and their kids play hard. They were not the usual second-level pushovers everyone thought we'd see.

Truth is, OU was totally outplayed at times. And, that's where we have to improve. Our players can't assume that any team we face will lay down and hand the victory to us on a silver platter. That's the kind of attitude that will result in losses in close games we should win, just like last year.

 

[DenverSooner]

disagree washburn is a good team we we dominated .... this is a tourney team .. and is going to have a very good year with pledger osby mbaye and fitz leading the way and with grooms getting major min at the point

Washburn is a very good D-II team. In my opinion they would be average at best in D-I.

 

[luckyc1423]

Our entire starting five is back from last year, plus we finally have the depth Kruger needs to play an up tempo game on offense and press more on defense. More importantly, perhaps, the additions to our roster are an upgrade to any player we lost on last year's team.

We'll have to get better than the performance we saw in last week's exhibition game. But Rothstein's right in that the tools are there for a return to the dance.

I dont know if bragging about returning our entire starting 5 from a team that was sub 500 is something to be excited about.

However, the new additions make me pumped!!