How was that post negative about OU basketball? We could be the ‘96 Bulls and I’d think it’s ridiculous to base any predictions on a scrimmage on Oct. 9. My comment was directed at how silly I think the post was, not our team. It’s a scrimmage. A lot of times the teams don’t even play by traditional rules. They might have segments where they work on specific scenarios. They may allow unlimited fouls. Guys, like Jones, may not play when they would have played if it was a real game.
Am I mildly encouraged that we went toe to toe with a team that is expected to be really good? Sure. But drawing conclusions on these things is silly. That’s why I made the joke yesterday about Sam. He WAS our leading scorer in at least one of those last year, and the talk was about how his offensive game had expanded. Then the lights turned on, the popcorn stands opened, the fans showed up for the real games, and he couldn’t/didn’t make (or event attempt) a shot from outside five feet.
But to play along with your question, it’s the same answer I always give. Be competitive in our conference, rather than finishing near the bottom of a large league. Don’t collapse around the time people start taking down their Christmas decorations. And win an NCAA tournament game for the first time since the event was played in a Covid bubble, Lon was our coach, and Reaves was our best player.