Singing some praise for this team prior to conference

[coolm]

or "why I think this could be a second-weekend group".

1. I like how they score.

We get a few baskets from runouts. A few from general fouls. A few from set plays. And then the rest is filled in by whoever is on that day ... usually 2 or 3 of the following:
- CJ driving
- CJ shooting
- Calixte shooting/driving
- Miles driving and shooting ft's
- Odomes drives left
- Doolittle post moves
- Manek hits 3's
- Freeman hits 3's
The guys don't get flustered when something hasn't started yet. They just keep moving it around until one of these takes hold.

2. I like how they defend. Starting positionally - they communicate very well. Miles and Calixte both have been all over that since day 1. That communication builds confidence in one another and we see some of them "exploring the space" with those long arms and getting into the passing lanes and the catches. They put some decent pressure just in their normal defense and they can play tight. Plus it's a lot of fun watching Jamal play the perimeter. His opponent almost always underestimates his length. That kid has these loooooong arms and he messes with the ballhandler. They gamble some on D and it pays off plus their base defense is good now.

3. I like their rebounding and team chemistry. Manek has done a good job learning to control some space and Freeman's feet move better now. These things have helped our interior and the graduate xfers helped our esprit de corps. These guys like each other and it shows in their play.

with this and their maturity I could see them making the second weekend of the ncaa's.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Good stuff.

I like that this team appears to be a "tough out." They have handled adversity well and they finish strong during "winning time" at the end of games.

This OU team has made me a big fan of Grad Transfers. The maturity and intangibles those guys have brought to the team have made a huge positive difference.

 

[cvangild]

Very pleased so far! I do feel we will go through some scoring droughts that may cost us in the Big 12. It would be really nice if Manek and Doolittle can be more consistent. CJ has been GREAT so far...but he will be focused on much more in the Big 12...and it will be difficult for him to maintain a 18 PPG average. We need Manek's 3 pt shooting to improve. Freeman will most likely not continue to hit nearly 50% of his 3's. Hopefully Odomes can also continue to bring in a spark.

I will say this...I don't se this team finishing like last year's team did!! What were we like 14-2?? And finished horribly. This team's toughness and solid defense/rebounding will not allow that to happen. And I guess it's best to go play at Lawrence first and get it out of the way!!! They aren't playing as well as they will be later in the season. If we play well, we can give them everything they want.

 

[AdaSooner]

Good stuff.

I like that this team appears to be a "tough out." They have handled adversity well and they finish strong during "winning time" at the end of games.

This OU team has made me a big fan of Grad Transfers. The maturity and intangibles those guys have brought to the team have made a huge positive difference.

+ 1 Traveler!

Gotta say that some here, including you and me, thought this team would be pretty darned good when others didn’t buy into what we were trying to sell—namely toughness and a vastly improved defense. Sure is good to see the number of believers continue to grow with every win!

That said, I wasn’t smart enough to predict that this team would be 11-1 right now. I’ll be the first to admit that this group of warriors have exceeded my expectations, and then some. I couldn’t be happier with the way they have performed so far!

I think it’s safe to say this team is deeper than most of us dreamed possible. When players are injured or having a bad day, someone always steps up their game to offset the loss, and it’s almost never the same players. That’s one of the things that makes them so much fun to watch. The team chemistry may actually be better than our final four team.

 

[OUSKINS]

I’m absolutely thrilled with what I see and will admit I’m also totally surprised. I thought our upside this year would have been about 17/18 wins and being a bubble team for the Dance. I thought a competitive season and an NIT berth was most likely. And with our class coming in next year I would have been OK with that.

Now, that is all out the window. This doesn’t look to me like a team over-achieving. This just looks like a damn good team, period. No doubt they have a flaw they can’t fix and that’s a lack of a true star player—Someone that can go toe to toe with an opposing star or carry us for a prolonged period. Otherwise, this team does everything well. Literally. They rebound well, they defend well, the shoot it well, they attack the paint well, they share the ball, they play with great energy. They have been a joy to watch and in that regard it’s a total 180 from what they were at the end of last year.

I’m very excited about B12 play and I’m confident too. This is gonna be a really good season.

 

[j2d2]

I was hopeful pre-season when Kruger said that he was placing a big emphasis on defense. I thought that he meant what he waid unlike Sherri who always says that before every season then does absolutely nothing about it.

 

[opsooner]

I started to see something in this team when they were in Bahamas. Lots of balance with interior D still being my biggest concern.

Would love to see 10-8 in conference or better but 9-9 would be fine. Just can’t have the dropoff we had last year but I don’t think we will.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[scrybe]

I was hopeful pre-season when Kruger said that he was placing a big emphasis on defense. I thought that he meant what he waid unlike Sherri who always says that before every season then does absolutely nothing about it.

LOL. You can't resist getting in a few shots at Sherri even when you're posting on the men's board.

 

[usedtobe1]

Good stuff.This OU team has made me a big fan of Grad Transfers. The maturity and intangibles those guys have brought to the team have made a huge positive difference.

It’s not just grad transfers.... just transfers in general. I know you go to some practices and I hear Austin Reaves is tearing it up. He could be our best player next season.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

It’s not just grad transfers.... just transfers in general. I know you go to some practices and I hear Austin Reaves is tearing it up. He could be our best player next season.

Yes. It is more precise to say that I am a fan of transfers in general.

• They have been to college and know what they are looking for in a school.
• With that college experience, they want to be here at OU.
• They have a history of playing college ball that can be analyzed by our coaches to better determine a player's "fit" into the OU program.

Unfortunately, I have not been to practice this season, but I watched enough WSU games over the past two seasons to know that I am going to like watching Austin Reaves in Crimson and Cream.

 

[inoref]

Overall the team has played well. I hope they keep it up in big12 play

 

[Soonerinkc]

Going to the ku game...hopefully a good game. May not win but dont think we'll get blown out either.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Going to the ku game...hopefully a good game. May not win but dont think we'll get blown out either.

Good luck. Have fun.