Shaka Smart at UT

[MichaelM]

That was a tough season, and the losses piled up. OU's SOS that season was #2 overall. Surprisingly, they were #60 in Sagarin and #65 in Kenpom. Their "luck factor" in Kenpom was #344 out of 351 teams, which means their record should have been considerably better than what it was. The issue with that OU team was that they couldn't put the ball in the basket consistently, and in particular, the team would have a scoring drought at the worst time. Seemed like they lost every game at the end of each game that year (of course, that is hyperbole, but just felt like they were snake bitten). But, ultimately, the record is what it is.

Especially after Woodard went down, they always seemed one point guard away from being a pretty good team. Then along came Trae Young.

 

[Zimwillett]

the 20 loss season wasn't terrible basketball .. it was a bunch of close loses of a team that just wasn't quite good enough ..

and i too was at every one of those games as i have been for about 20 years now ..

You and I often see eye to eye, but I can't follow you down that road. That was the first season I can remember since I was maybe 9 or 10 (I'm 40 now) that I voluntarily refused to watch OU basketball games. It was just too painful.

What I can say is that it probably requires a little perspective. Literally every Big 12 team not named Kansas has had some really awful years in the last 20. Texas lost 20 games a couple of years ago. OSU had 20+ losses in two of their last four. There were stretches of 4 or 5 years where K-State and ISU were sub .500 and missing the tournament.

I'm not saying that those other teams' bad years are any consolation to OU's bad years. I'm not saying that makes OU's failures acceptable. What I am saying is that we, as obviously hardcore OU fans, tend to get down into this stuff at a granular level and miss the forest for the trees. OU is a very good basketball program, but not a blue blood. As such, like every other program not named Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, etc., there are just going to be some years like that.

The hope is that whoever the coach is at the time is good enough to avert a years' long nosedive into multiple years of average to bad play. To me, it remains to be seen whether Lon can do it or not. I have a little patience left, but it is starting to wear thin.

 

[Sooner04]

the 20 loss season wasn't terrible basketball .. it was a bunch of close loses of a team that just wasn't quite good enough ..

and i too was at every one of those games as i have been for about 20 years now ..

Your memory is saving you from recalling:

20-point loss to Wisconsin in Madison
26-point loss to Baylor in Norman
32-point loss to Florida in Norman
16-point loss to Iowa State in Ames
19-point loss to TCU in Kansas City

That was a bad basketball team. Not an ounce of leadership either pre or post Woodard checkout.

 

[thebigabd]

Your memory is saving you from recalling:

20-point loss to Wisconsin in Madison
26-point loss to Baylor in Norman
32-point loss to Florida in Norman
16-point loss to Iowa State in Ames
19-point loss to TCU in Kansas City

That was a bad basketball team. Not an ounce of leadership either pre or post Woodard checkout.

Good point... It does seem like Krugers teams can get their ass kicked every now and then.

25 to Gonzaga
20 to ISU
20 to St. Louis
38 to Missouri
20 to Kansas
21 to WVU
48 to Villanova (biggest ass kicking in NCAA Tournament History I believe)
20 to Wisconsin
26 to Baylor
32 to Florida
19 to TCU
20 to KSU
30 to Kansas
20 to Baylor
20 to Wisconsin
30 to Baylor
17 to ISU

He has lost 3 games to Baylor by an average of 25ppg, lol. Something about Scott Drew against Lon... I think they swept us this year too.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Your memory is saving you from recalling:

20-point loss to Wisconsin in Madison
26-point loss to Baylor in Norman
32-point loss to Florida in Norman
16-point loss to Iowa State in Ames
19-point loss to TCU in Kansas City

That was a bad basketball team. Not an ounce of leadership either pre or post Woodard checkout.

Yes we had some poor showings. But as the actual stats show. They were much better then their record

 

[Sooner04]

At some point you've got to win some games. Otherwise you are what you are. They found ways to lose I never thought possible. They were a rudderless ship.

 

[Zimwillett]

Good point... It does seem like Krugers teams can get their ass kicked every now and then.

25 to Gonzaga
20 to ISU
20 to St. Louis
38 to Missouri
20 to Kansas
21 to WVU
48 to Villanova (biggest ass kicking in NCAA Tournament History I believe)
20 to Wisconsin
26 to Baylor
32 to Florida
19 to TCU
20 to KSU
30 to Kansas
20 to Baylor
20 to Wisconsin
30 to Baylor
17 to ISU

He has lost 3 games to Baylor by an average of 25ppg, lol. Something about Scott Drew against Lon... I think they swept us this year too.

Those games seriously sucked. I hated every single one of them, but I think it's a little unfair to present it this way. That's 17 games. Lon has coached 263 at OU. So he gets blown out roughly 6% of the time? Not sure how that compares to other coaches, but my guess is it's on par. Moreover, at least some of those games encompass his first season when Jeff Capel left him with a smoldering crater to deal with.

Again, please trust me when I say I was just as frustrated as you were leaving the arena losing by 30 to Baylor. I just don't want anyone to get the impression that Kruger's teams get blown out all the time. That's not really the case.

Edit: Miscounted the # of games...percentage remains basically the same.

 

[152219]

At some point you've got to win some games. Otherwise you are what you are. They found ways to lose I never thought possible. They were a rudderless ship.

Woodard losing the ball in the backcourt with less than 20 seconds to go against Okie State is one of those. Too many bad memories from that year.

 

[Zimwillett]

Woodard losing the ball in the backcourt with less than 20 seconds to go against Okie State is one of those. Too many bad memories from that year.

I just remember getting the overwhelming sense that team quit. That's where I draw the line. I feel like I'm pretty reasonable, and I will suffer through all manner of mistakes and poor play if I feel like the team is giving effort. I draw the line when they quit. I can spend my time doing other stuff.

 

[thebigabd]

Those games seriously sucked. I hated every single one of them, but I think it's a little unfair to present it this way. That's 17 games. Lon has coached 263 at OU. So he gets blown out roughly 6% of the time? Not sure how that compares to other coaches, but my guess is it's on par. Moreover, at least some of those games encompass his first season when Jeff Capel left him with a smoldering crater to deal with.

Again, please trust me when I say I was just as frustrated as you were leaving the arena losing by 30 to Baylor. I just don't want anyone to get the impression that Kruger's teams get blown out all the time. That's not really the case.

Edit: Miscounted the # of games...percentage remains basically the same.

Yea, getting blown out 6-7 percent of the time isn't a huge deal. I wasn't trying to make it a big deal. I was just stating that some of the margins are huge. It may be equally bad under Sampson, but losing by 48, 36, 38, etc is pretty odd for high level basketball I would imagine. I could be totally wrong on that though.

 

[152219]

I just remember getting the overwhelming sense that team quit. That's where I draw the line. I feel like I'm pretty reasonable, and I will suffer through all manner of mistakes and poor play if I feel like the team is giving effort. I draw the line when they quit. I can spend my time doing other stuff.

They beat Texas at home, then blew a game at OSU in which they led for 80% of the game, lost by 6 at #9 Baylor, whipped KSU, played #1 KU tough in Lawrence and led a good portion of that game, and beat TCU to end the season. I thought maybe the team could make at least a mini-run in the Big 12 tourney and then they threw up an absolute stink bomb against TCU. Embarrassing.

 

[Sooner04]

Yea, getting blown out 6-7 percent of the time isn't a huge deal. I wasn't trying to make it a big deal. I was just stating that some of the margins are huge. It may be equally bad under Sampson, but losing by 48, 36, 38, etc is pretty odd for high level basketball I would imagine. I could be totally wrong on that though.

After a brief search....Kelvin's worst losses:

29 - 2004 in Austin (I was there. It was awful.)
28 - 2001 in Stillwater (I was there, everyone knows the backstory.)
27 - 1997 in Ames (Dedric Willoughby.)
27 - 2004 in Storrs (eventual national champion Huskies of UConn.)
24 - 2006 in OKC to West Virginia (Pittsnogle! Bookout quit the team for a stretch.)
24 - 2006 in Austin (LaMarcus Aldridge. We stayed on the bus.)

They beat Texas at home, then blew a game at OSU in which they led for 80% of the game, lost by 6 at #9 Baylor, whipped KSU, played #1 KU tough in Lawrence and led a good portion of that game, and beat TCU to end the season. I thought maybe the team could make at least a mini-run in the Big 12 tourney and then they threw up an absolute stink bomb against TCU. Embarrassing.

Weird thing about that O-State game in Stillwater: Dante Buford was kicking their butts all over the place. Then, in crunch time, Kruger sits him and we can't hold the lead. Never a word on why or how, I just remember how ticked Dante looked on TV. That was a dumpster fire of a season if there ever was one. Blew a six-point lead at home in OT against Iowa State. The debacle in Austin. Just dreadful. Not one iota of leadership or accountability from the top on down.

 

[Zimwillett]

Yea, getting blown out 6-7 percent of the time isn't a huge deal. I wasn't trying to make it a big deal. I was just stating that some of the margins are huge. It may be equally bad under Sampson, but losing by 48, 36, 38, etc is pretty odd for high level basketball I would imagine. I could be totally wrong on that though.

I'm with you. I do give a little slack on the 44 point loss to Nova. That was just a perfect storm and it turns out Villanova was insanely talented (4 or 5 NBA players).

The others...no idea. I know 100% it sucks every time it happens. I honestly do not know whether losing 6% of your games in that fashion is out of the norm or not. If it is, I think it's something that is worthy of legitimate criticism. If not, so be it. It's just one of those things that happens from time to time.

 

[TINY]

Good point... It does seem like Krugers teams can get their ass kicked every now and then.

48 to Villanova (biggest ass kicking in NCAA Tournament History I believe)

It was the biggest ass kicking in Final 4 history but not in terms of overall tournament history. A small, but important distinction.

 

[61sooner]

Anything interesting to say about Smart and his future, non-future at Texas?
How many years does he have left to improve enough to be retained to the end of his contract?
Thought that was what this thread was about.

 

[Max Power]

Anything interesting to say about Smart and his future, non-future at Texas?
How many years does he have left to improve enough to be retained to the end of his contract?
Thought that was what this thread was about.

He will be back next year for sure because the buyout is almost 13 million. The next year the boy out is a little less than 10 million do he prolly back again. So he probably has 2 seasons to turn it around.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Give lon the extension!!!!