Second half of games (Sunshine pumpers beware)

[TINY]

Yes, in the final few seconds. Is fouling out a bad thing?

There is no question that CJ had his worst game of the season from the perimeter. I said on the game thread that he was trying too hard to force the action, which led to some bad shots. But if I wanted to single someone out, I could name at least two or three players who deserved it more.

Strong moore for sure. Or better yet Lon for playing him as long as he did.

 

[oudna]

23 min for Strong is a smh

 

[Stikboy]

Lon must think that having Woodard off the ball is a must, and that means living with Strong I guess. If so, that is not a good sign.

 

[SoonerBred]

The 3 straight layups we gave up at the 4 minute remaining mark were mind-boggling. We let them drive right to the basket and score. That made it difficult to come back when we gave up those easy buckets down the stretch. Long break layup came right after the timeout. Have to work on our discipline late in games.

 

[OKUman]

The 3 straight layups we gave up at the 4 minute remaining mark were mind-boggling. We let them drive right to the basket and score. That made it difficult to come back when we gave up those easy buckets down the stretch. Long break layup came right after the timeout. Have to work on our discipline late in games.

And don't forget that inbound play pass d over our heads for a layup. Why does Jordon dribble down and throw up a wild three with out and passing? And he misses most of them.

 

[Chaser728]

Can anyone explain why every 2nd half we make about 5 field goals? Three games against good teams, 3 halftime leads blown because of abysmal offense. It's hard to watch frankly. James was terrible today man.

I just see a long year ahead for this team. Might struggle to 20 wins with the closing ability of this team.

Also sad that OKC is now a new home for WSU fans who outnumbered OU :facepalm

I consider myself to be a "sunshine pumper" and while I don't agree we blew three half-time leads as someone pointed out earlier; I do believe this could be a long and bumpy year. I thought we could get to 5th or maybe even 4th in the league, but this could be a year more like Buddy and Iasiahs sophomore year... Remember that loss to UW in Vegas? Yuck.

2 thoughts:
1. It's early and we're young with a great coach.
2. I hope the results don't scare away Trae.

 

[inoref]

I have a feeling James and Lon might have some issues before end of season..just saying

 

[sooner333]

\I thought we could get to 5th or maybe even 4th in the league, but this could be a year more like Buddy and Iasiahs sophomore year... Remember that loss to UW in Vegas? Yuck.

OU was a 5 seed that year. I don't see that happening this year.

It could be more like their freshman year where we were the 10 seed. That might be a realistic upside scenario at this point. This team could get it and do better than that, but I think an NIT bid is more likely than getting a top 8 seed.

 

[inoref]

Wasn't the Shockers as young as OU ? I thought I remember them saying something about their youth.

 

[TINY]

Wasn't the Shockers as young as OU ? I thought I remember them saying something about their youth.

Pretty much. They lost 3 long time starters just like we did.

 

[Chaser728]

OU was a 5 seed that year. I don't see that happening this year.

It could be more like their freshman year where we were the 10 seed. That might be a realistic upside scenario at this point. This team could get it and do better than that, but I think an NIT bid is more likely than getting a top 8 seed.

You're right, good call. I forgot about that. Didn't we lose to NDSU that year? I guess though I would say it could be a similar feel. See the potential, but youth rears its ugly but exciting head often...

 

[Chaser728]

Pretty much. They lost 3 long time starters just like we did.

I was thinking after looking at their roster that they are pretty heavy on juniors.

 

[sdcloud9]

Two Juco transfers play a ton for them.

I have a good friend that follows them closely, his description of the Shockers was like that mine of the Sooners.

A good team at times but a team that struggles to score the ball.

He said WSU would be the 6th or 7th best team in the Big 12.

 

[Laxtothemax12]

You're being too tough on CJ. The only thing he didn't do was shoot the ball well from the perimeter. When the shots weren't falling he started to drive inside, which allowed him to score 8 of his 15 points from the free throw line. He also added 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. Except for his poor shooting percentage from the perimeter, I fail to see why you think he had such a horrible game?

By the way, you don't bench a player who is averaging 62% for the season from behind the arc because he's having an off night.

Some of his shots were really forced. Like a "WTF was that?" kind of shot. When it's not your day, add value somewhere else; not going 3/18 or whatever it ended up being.

 

[AdaSooner]

Some of his shots were really forced. Like a "WTF was that?" kind of shot. When it's not your day, add value somewhere else; not going 3/18 or whatever it ended up being.

3 of 17 to be exact. You're right in that a lot of his shots were forced. I said as much on the game thread. You're wrong if you think he didn't add value. He drove the lane when his shots weren't falling to score from the free throw line. 15 points, 6 boards, 2 steals and a block is not a bad stat line.

Off night or not, shooters need to keep shooting. You definitely don't send them to the bench for anything more than a brief rest.

 

[bob the nailer]

Lets tap the brakes we have gone from a team with 4 3 yr starters to a team with a bunch of sophomores who really didn't play last year much, a juco and some freshmen. We will get better as the year progress, I agree we are a fringe tournament or NIT team, but if we get into the NCAA as a 12 for example #5 better look out we won't be playing like a 12 seed at that time.
And next year with or without trey we will be much better

 

[AdaSooner]

Lets tap the brakes we have gone from a team with 4 3 yr starters to a team with a bunch of sophomores who really didn't play last year much, a juco and some freshmen. We will get better as the year progress, I agree we are a fringe tournament or NIT team, but if we get into the NCAA as a 12 for example #5 better look out we won't be playing like a 12 seed at that time.
And next year with or without trey we will be much better

Agreed. You don't lose three senior starters and add a bunch of new faces without experiencing growing pains. A 10 to 12 seed might be all we can expect this season. Then again, our newbies could come together catch fire late and exceed expectations.

If not, I plan to enjoy watching them grow and look forward to next year when they will all be upperclassmen.

 

[stormspencer]

Agreed. You don't lose three senior starters and add a bunch of new faces without experiencing growing pains. A 10 to 12 seed might be all we can expect this season. Then again, our newbies could come together catch fire late and exceed expectations.

If not, I plan to enjoy watching them grow and look forward to next year when they will all be upperclassmen.

Ada, I wish that I could be optimistic like you. But I just don't get much enjoyment out of watching us lose....even if we are growing.

Right now, I don't see this team getting to .500 in the Big 12. The Big 12 is the best conference in the country....top to bottom per most metric measures out there. If we are to get to at least 9 wins, where are those wins going to come from?.....consider this (using Kenpom rating):

• KU (#4), WV (#9), and Baylor (#11) are all playing at a much higher level right now. One win against any of those teams is going to be extremely difficult.
• I have seen ISU (#29) a couple of times. I'm not that impressed with their offense, but they are improved on defense. This team doesn't present the same challenges as they did with Niang.
• Tech (#31), KSU (#34), OSU (#47) and TCU (#55) are all improved. Because of our inconsistency, I don't see us sweeping any of those teams as of now.
• Texas (#73) stinks right now due to their inexperience, but they are loaded at virtually every position except PG....which seems to be really hurting them. I could see us sweeping Texas in a couple of close games.

I'm trying to come at this with facts/metrics AND the eye test. OU (#40) is a "decent to good" team right now and I hope that we can find a way to steal a few on the road in conference, but with our holes and inexperience, it's going to be a bumpy ride. I know that we have some upside and will likely improve, but I'm nowhere near ready to say this team can make the tournament.....they are a bubble team at best.

 

[AdaSooner]

Stormspencer, you should know by now that I lean to the overly optimistic side more often than not. I'm also wrong sometimes.

Believe me, I know this team has weaknesses that must be overcome if we're to go dancing again this season. I just think it's way too early to give up on these kids. The talent is there. If they can find a way to play as well in the second half as they do in the first, anything can happen.

 

[stormspencer]

Stormspencer, you should know by now that I lean to the overly optimistic side more often than not. I'm also wrong sometimes.

Believe me, I know this team has weaknesses that must be overcome if we're to go dancing again this season. I just think it's way too early to give up on these kids. The talent is there. If they can find a way to play as well in the second half as they do in the first, anything can happen.

I hear ya buddy....this is just a tough spot for us fans after the success we've experienced over the last two years. I'm optimistic that we can improve.....I just hope that we improve enough to make the tournament. Otherwise, I will be fairly disappointed, but I also realize the long-term future is bright.