Saturday's scrimmage

[AdaSooner]

A few thoughts I had after finally sitting down to watch the replay of Saturday's scrimmage:

Andrew Fitzgerald: Drew has lost the equivalent of a small person since arriving at OU three years ago. He is a streamlined version of his old self, and it shows in the way he's playing now. I expect him to have a very good season. He's so much quicker on defense and on moves to the basket, I thought I was watching a totally different player at times.

Steven Pledger: Steven looks to be in the best shape of his career. Maybe I'm seeing him through crimson coloried glasses, but it appears to me that he has picked up at least a half step on defense. The shots he took throughout the scrimmage were in the flow of the offense, nothing forced or hurried. His shot looked silky smooth.

Our Freshmen Guards: I think OU fans will be pleasantly surprised by what they'll see when Cousins, Hield and Hornbeak take the floor. There is little doubt in my mind that all three of these kids will play a significant role in our nine man rotation. I wouldn't be shocked if one or more starts at some point of the season. All I know is that last year's starters had better toe the mark if they want to keep their job.

Sam Grooms I was impressed by the decisions Sam made. He didn't shoot much, but I liked the way he finished at the rim on a few drives down the lane. The three freshmen guards were a good test on defense for what he'll face in Big 12 competition. That's one more thing fans will appreciate in Hornbeak, Cousins and Hield.

Amath M'Baye: Amath seems to be finding his groove now. His shot looks good. I'd just like to see him finish stronger in traffic on the inside.

Neal and Arent I'm not sure what to make of these two? Tyler and Casey have improved some since last year. Just not enough to make me think that one or both can be counted on to contribute on a regular basis, and be consistent in doing it. Sure hope I'm wrong.

 

[TheGimper]

Neal and Arent I'm not sure what to make of these two? Tyler and Casey have improved some since last year. Just not enough to make me think that one or both can be counted on to contribute on a regular basis, and be consistent in doing it. Sure hope I'm wrong.

Luckily we won't have to count on Tyler or Casey on a regular basis.

 

[garyeb2]

A few thoughts I had after finally sitting down to watch the replay of Saturday's scrimmage:

Andrew Fitzgerald: Drew has lost the equivalent of a small person since arriving at OU three years ago. He is a streamlined version of his old self, and it shows in the way he's playing now. I expect him to have a very good season. He's so much quicker on defense and on moves to the basket, I thought I was watching a totally different player at times.

Steven Pledger: Steven looks to be in the best shape of his career. Maybe I'm seeing him through crimson coloried glasses, but it appears to me that he has picked up at least a half step on defense. The shots he took throughout the scrimmage were in the flow of the offense, nothing forced or hurried. His shot looked silky smooth.

Our Freshmen Guards: I think OU fans will be pleasantly surprised by what they'll see when Cousins, Hield and Hornbeak take the floor. There is little doubt in my mind that all three of these kids will play a significant role in our nine man rotation. I wouldn't be shocked if one or more starts at some point of the season. All I know is that last year's starters had better toe the mark if they want to keep their job.

Sam Grooms I was impressed by the decisions Sam made. He didn't shoot much, but I liked the way he finished at the rim on a few drives down the lane. The three freshmen guards were a good test on defense for what he'll face in Big 12 competition. That's one more thing fans will appreciate in Hornbeak, Cousins and Hield.

Amath M'Baye: Amath seems to be finding his groove now. His shot looks good. I'd just like to see him finish stronger in traffic on the inside.

Neal and Arent I'm not sure what to make of these two? Tyler and Casey have improved some since last year. Just not enough to make me think that one or both can be counted on to contribute on a regular basis, and be consistent in doing it. Sure hope I'm wrong.

I'm not making predictions on what will happen in the future. I am reporting what I have seen over the last week and drawing conclusions from that. Cousins is the starting point and that cake seems to be baked. He gets the first and the most of the 1st team reps.

Hornbeak has been the the first at the #2. Pledger has been the 3rd guard and Osby and M'baye are the bigs. Up until today the first rotation move has been Heild in at the #2 and Hornbeak sliding over to the #1. Fitz would get in pretty quickly too. The 7 man rotation over the last several day has been easy to spot.

Today, that changed alittle. The first rotantion move was Cam in for Pledger. Heild in for Hornbeak came alittle later. Fitz was in early and often. They always spend alittle bit of time working with all three bigs in. During that time today Cousins and Pledger were the guards. It is something they work on but there is little to indicate that is the go to lineup.

As of today, the evidence indicates Cousins, Hornbeak, Pledger, Osby, and M'baye to be the 1st bunch to hit the floor Friday night. Fitz, Cam, And Heild fill out the 8 man rotation with Grooms, Tyler, and Arent playing as needed.

Yours looks like a good capsule to me. I'm just trying to add alittle recent practice context.

 

[Stikboy]

Thanks guys. So, as much as Heild seems to be scoring, the other two frosh seem to be ahead of him? Or is Kruger purposely using his scoring punch off the bench? Hope Heild gets lots of minutes... Kind of hard to believe how far Grooms is down the bench. Hope his morale is still good...

 

[garyeb2]

Thanks guys. So, as much as Heild seems to be scoring, the other two frosh seem to be ahead of him? Or is Kruger purposely using his scoring punch off the bench? Hope Heild gets lots of minutes... Kind of hard to believe how far Grooms is down the bench. Hope his morale is still good...

I'm having alittle struggle with that one too. I have nothing bad to say about Hornbeak. He is pretty good and makes, hardly any or none at all, mistakes on either end of the court. I'm basing that on how infrequently Kruger has to stop play and coach him up. He seems perfectly intune with the speed of the game.

Buddy, on the other hand still wants to get going alittle too fast. I don't think he is losing ground, I think he is gaining ground everyday. It may be that Hornbeak's all around game is currently more "mature" than Heild's.

 

[BigTime]

I'm not making predictions on what will happen in the future. I am reporting what I have seen over the last week and drawing conclusions from that. Cousins is the starting point and that cake seems to be baked. He gets the first and the most of the 1st team reps.

Hornbeak has been the the first at the #2. Pledger has been the 3rd guard and Osby and M'baye are the bigs. Up until today the first rotation move has been Heild in at the #2 and Hornbeak sliding over to the #1. Fitz would get in pretty quickly too. The 7 man rotation over the last several day has been easy to spot.

Today, that changed alittle. The first rotantion move was Cam in for Pledger. Heild in for Hornbeak came alittle later. Fitz was in early and often. They always spend alittle bit of time working with all three bigs in. During that time today Cousins and Pledger were the guards. It is something they work on but there is little to indicate that is the go to lineup.

As of today, the evidence indicates Cousins, Hornbeak, Pledger, Osby, and M'baye to be the 1st bunch to hit the floor Friday night. Fitz, Cam, And Heild fill out the 8 man rotation with Grooms, Tyler, and Arent playing as needed.

Yours looks like a good capsule to me. I'm just trying to add alittle recent practice context.

I am not sure yet if Kruger is just letting the two freshman PGs learn the system and gain experience with the big boys, while having Grooms and Cam (who has also spent significant time with the whites) give the reds a challenge.

 

[BigTime]

I'm not making predictions on what will happen in the future. I am reporting what I have seen over the last week and drawing conclusions from that. Cousins is the starting point and that cake seems to be baked. He gets the first and the most of the 1st team reps.

Hornbeak has been the the first at the #2. Pledger has been the 3rd guard and Osby and M'baye are the bigs. Up until today the first rotation move has been Heild in at the #2 and Hornbeak sliding over to the #1. Fitz would get in pretty quickly too. The 7 man rotation over the last several day has been easy to spot.

Today, that changed alittle. The first rotantion move was Cam in for Pledger. Heild in for Hornbeak came alittle later. Fitz was in early and often. They always spend alittle bit of time working with all three bigs in. During that time today Cousins and Pledger were the guards. It is something they work on but there is little to indicate that is the go to lineup.

As of today, the evidence indicates Cousins, Hornbeak, Pledger, Osby, and M'baye to be the 1st bunch to hit the floor Friday night. Fitz, Cam, And Heild fill out the 8 man rotation with Grooms, Tyler, and Arent playing as needed.

Yours looks like a good capsule to me. I'm just trying to add alittle recent practice context.

I am not sure yet if Kruger is just letting the two freshman PGs learn the system and gain experience with the big boys, while having Grooms and Cam (who has also spent significant time with the whites) give the reds a challenge.

 

[CoachTalk]

I know scouts watch practice all the time but the Chicago bulls were at practice today I believe.

 

[TheGimper]

I am not sure yet if Kruger is just letting the two freshman PGs learn the system and gain experience with the big boys, while having Grooms and Cam (who has also spent significant time with the whites) give the reds a challenge.

We probably won't know what our consistent rotation is in until the Old Spice Classic. Last season, Kruger liked to mix and match a lot of line-ups until we faced our first real competition.

 

[garyeb2]

I am not sure yet if Kruger is just letting the two freshman PGs learn the system and gain experience with the big boys, while having Grooms and Cam (who has also spent significant time with the whites) give the reds a challenge.

That could certainly be possible. But, you know, the current rotation is an accurate reflection of everything Kruger has said. He said he could see two or three new starters. He said he was going to push the tempo on offense and attact on defense. Cousins with either Hornbeak or Heild gives him two ball handlers and two quick & long peremeter defenders.

 

[BigTime]

That could certainly be possible. But, you know, the current rotation is an accurate reflection of everything Kruger has said. He said he could see two or three new starters. He said he was going to push the tempo on offense and attact on defense. Cousins with either Hornbeak or Heild gives him two ball handlers and two quick & long peremeter defenders.

You may be right. We will find out soon enough. The three freshmen have certainly impressed me and are further along than I thought they would be - during practice and the two scrimmages.

I love watching Cousins defend and pulling up and knocking down jumpers.

If Grooms does come off the bench/split 50/50 minutes with the freshmen then we will be in even better shape than I thought.

 

[garyeb2]

You may be right. We will find out soon enough. The three freshmen have certainly impressed me and are further along than I thought they would be - during practice and the two scrimmages.

I love watching Cousins defend and pulling up and knocking down jumpers.

If Grooms does come off the bench/split 50/50 minutes with the freshmen then we will be in even better shape than I thought.

I don't think the up tempo talk is a bluff this season. He has the speed and bodies to to it.

 

[25mob]

i would really like to see Cousins, Hornbeak, Cam, M'baye and Osby as the starters. I think this lineup would be very good offensively and defensively. this should be a versatile lineup with all the players being pretty much interchangeable defensively with their assignments. what I mean by that is the guards can switch, the bigs can switch and Cam has the ability to guard on the perimeter and the size now to help the bigs down low. Both guards should be able to provide 3 point shooting so that the lane doesn't get clogged and have enough quickness to penetrate and push the tempo. this group should be able to pressure full court, trap, guard man to man, rebound and block shots.

for more offense OU can bring in Pledger, Hield and Fitz. Regardless of what coach Kruger does... his 8 man rotation should have a good balance of youth and experience this year.

 

[AdaSooner]

That could certainly be possible. But, you know, the current rotation is an accurate reflection of everything Kruger has said. He said he could see two or three new starters. He said he was going to push the tempo on offense and attact on defense. Cousins with either Hornbeak or Heild gives him two ball handlers and two quick & long peremeter defenders.

Gary, do you think that one or more of our freshmen guards could start by the beginning of conference play? They're competing at a higher level than I thought we'd see at this point of the season.

Of one thing I'm sure, though, they will all play and play often. Any question I might have had about our depth was answered in the practice I watched today. Kruger finally has the players he wanted to push the ball on offense and pressure full court on defense.

This team has the potential to be really good, providing they can come together and compete as one unit. It's going to be fun!

 

[garyeb2]

Gary, do you think that one or more of our freshmen guards could start by the beginning of conference play? They're competing at a higher level than I thought we'd see at this point of the season.

Of one thing I'm sure, though, they will all play and play often. Any question I might have had about our depth was answered in the practice I watched today. Kruger finally has the players he wanted to push the ball on offense and pressure full court on defense.

This team has the potential to be really good, providing they can come together and compete as one unit. It's going to be fun!

Well, here we go again. My opinion is that two of them will start from day one. Cousins at the point. Hornbeak and Heild competing for an edge in minutes at the #2. Both getting a bunch. Pledger and Cam competing for minutes at the 3rd guard spot with both getting a bunch. Fitz, Osby, and M'baye rotating and each getting plenty of minutes.

I think that they will have an 8 man rotation constantly going in and out. If one believes that Kruger is going to crank up the tempo, it cann't really be much different from that.

 

[Mutron76]

Thanks Gary and Ada. Good stuff.
:neal

 

[KBaden145]

Thanks guys!

 

[usedtobe1]

Just adding some random comments:

- Ada, you left off a capsule comment regarding Cam. Maybe you were ambivalent or just accidentally left him off. Can he go mix it up with the big boys?

- I think Pledger has to be part of the early season starters. They need his perimeter offense and maturity. You can't count on 2 freshman guards plus 2 bigs to score consistently. College ball is still a guard's game. Without Pledger, teams sill sag in the paint and dare the freshmen to beat them from the perimeter. Pledger will force teams to play an honest defense.

- I like the thought of Heild being instant offense off the bench.

- I would be shocked if Grooms is only the 3rd option at the point. I think Lon is making him work for his PT unless his outside game hasn't improved at all. Of course Lon set the precedent last year by sitting Carl Blair behind Grooms, so maybe this season Grooms gets bumped.

- November/December is the time to experiment with 9 or 10 players in various lineups, but they will be down to 7 or 8 in the rotation by January/February. My guess is 1 of the 3 freshmen will play themselves out of the final rotation.

- I don't blame them for redshirting Bennett. With Osby and M'Baye getting the start and Fitz getting starter minutes off the bench, there isn't much tme for a 2nd big off the bench..... maybe 3-4 minutes/game. Could Cam play the 4 in a pinch?

 

[DenverSooner]

Maybe I am crazy but I don't see how Grooms doesn't get regular minutes at PG even if he is the backup. I recognize his shooting is a liability but he led the Big XII in assist to turn over ratio. That is a key statistic for pgs. I am still not that familiar with Kruger but most coaches like pgs that don't make mistakes and Grooms certainly fits that description.

 

[garyeb2]

Maybe I am crazy but I don't see how Grooms doesn't get regular minutes at PG even if he is the backup. I recognize his shooting is a liability but he led the Big XII in assist to turn over ratio. That is a key statistic for pgs. I am still not that familiar with Kruger but most coaches like pgs that don't make mistakes and Grooms certainly fits that description.

I think Grooms will play alot too. If OU is indeed alot better this season, Grooms will be a contibutor to that. I just think that the starting point guard job is currently Cousins to lose.