Some observations on the Harvard game

[j2d2]

We get challenged then score a bunch of points as a result of fast breaks. Then we play faster than our ability and turn the ball over 4-5-6 times in a row and let the other team back in the game.
We need a better half court game.
We must be setting a record for getting our shots blocked.
Our turnovers come from everyone and are not a result of the other team's aggressive play-just our ineptness.
Woodard played and shot well.
Buddy has turned the ball over three times per game the last two games. Isiah three.
We need to rebound better.
Probably played pretty well for the travel involved and the three games in a row. I'm sure the team will learn a lot from this tourney.

 

[AdaSooner]

We get challenged then score a bunch of points as a result of fast breaks. Then we play faster than our ability and turn the ball over 4-5-6 times in a row and let the other team back in the game.
We need a better half court game.
We must be setting a record for getting our shots blocked.
Our turnovers come from everyone and are not a result of the other team's aggressive play-just our ineptness.
Woodard played and shot well.
Buddy has turned the ball over three times per game the last two games. Isiah three.
We need to rebound better.
Probably played pretty well for the travel involved and the three games in a row. I'm sure the team will learn a lot from this tourney.

Does your list mean you didn't observe anything positive? If that is the case, you were watching a different game than the one I saw.

Sure, there were a few weaknesses that need to be addressed in team meetings and in practice sessions. But to create a long list of negatives after a game OU won by 12 is not my idea of constructive criticism.

 

[StatGeek]

Does your list mean you didn't observe anything positive? If that is the case, you were watching a different game than the one I saw.

Sure, there were a few weaknesses that need to be addressed in team meetings and in practice sessions. But to create a long list of negatives after a game OU won by 12 is not my idea of constructive criticism.

I could not agree more Ada.

 

[MercedeSooner]

85 Bears.

 

[skyvue]

Does your list mean you didn't observe anything positive? If that is the case, you were watching a different game than the one I saw.

I'm with you, Ada.

That's two games in a row that j2d2 presented us with a long list of the things the teams did wrong while securing a victory. Which he's entitled to do, of course, but I wonder if he enjoys the wins on any level.

We're 11-0. If a Sooner fan can't find a way to enjoy a winning streak like that, well, that's a shame. They're missing out.

 

[j2d2]

I think critical observation is more useful as a basis for improvement than uncritical adulation. Most learn more from mistakes than successes. Because I want so much for this team to succeed, I list the things that I very much want them to improve upon to insure that they do as well as their abilities can take them. It's interesting to see if others agree with what I see as areas that warrant improvement.

 

[JBaker]

We beat them by twice as many points as Kansas did in Lawrence.
Rough first half on both ends. Mostly great second half. I'll take it.

 

[WaymanFan]

I'm ecstatic we're 11-0! I'm not sure if we ever went a full season without losing a non-conference game (we have one left). We didn't in 1990 because I remember losing to Arizona.

Here are a few positive-negative observations I made from yesterday. Negatives aside, we'll know in the next 10 days how close we are to being a national title-contender.


Positive: When we're on a roll like early in the second half, we may be the most explosive team in America.

Negative: When we weren't on a roll, this team often played completely out of control.

Positive: Prior to this tournament, the bench looked like they could be OU's best since the 1990 team.

Negative: We will not win a single conference road game if our bench plays as bad as they did yesterday. They were painful to watch.

Positive: I cannot remember when was the last time we had so many players who can drive to the basket and lay it in...this is a team which doesn't have to settle for jump shots.

Negative: Our fast break had way too many empty possessions yesterday.

Positive: Ryan Spangler's improved outside shooting.

Negative: Ryan Spangler's offensive disappearance for long stretches.

 

[Seymore Cox]

They're a national contender if they can establish an inside game and stop taking bad shots. We do have one problem. Our center has to guard forwards because our forward can't guard them.

 

[sybarite]

I've seen enough of j2d2 on the women's board to consider him a pretty positive poster. The observations were interesting. I think this team is so good that paying attention to detail will win a national title. Nearly everything that I see wrong in games is something that concentration or a minor adjustment can correct in time to win our first national title.

If I were to talk to someone after a game, it would be a reminder. They know what to do, and they do it most of the time. Bad streaks or bad games are usually because they get sidetracked or lose focus. This team probably only had good focus for about five minutes yesterday. Yet, that was enough for a 27-2 run. If you are that good, you can probably win when not even having focus most of the time. But, there are those times when you will need it. No need to tell them. They know. Reminders.

 

[Larry72]

The most important thing in last nights game was the Pressure D to start the 2nd half.
It upset Harvard and lead to 2 major runs. When everyone played strong the result was super impressive.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Friendly Suggestion: I think if j2d2 would use a different thread title next time, then his valid criticisms would not come off in such a negative manner. I would suggest something like:

"Areas for Improvement"

**********

https://admin.xosn.com/pdf9/4289706.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=31000&

We’re going to have a lot of close ballgames in Big 12 play. It will be tough and having that experience in the nonconference is very important. I thought the guys responded well. It got to the point where the game could go either way and guys stepped up and made shots. Often times it was Buddy (Hield), but Jordan (Woodard), Isaiah (Cousins) and Ryan (Spangler) have all made big plays. Khadeem (Lattin) is really coming on now, and guys off the bench are getting better. We have to keep making progress.

Coach Kruger is stating the obvious here. They have to have continuous improvement throughout the season to get to where they want to go.

 

[AdaSooner]

I think critical observation is more useful as a basis for improvement than uncritical adulation. Most learn more from mistakes than successes. Because I want so much for this team to succeed, I list the things that I very much want them to improve upon to insure that they do as well as their abilities can take them. It's interesting to see if others agree with what I see as areas that warrant improvement.

I wasn't picking on you, j2d2. You're a good poster, one of my favorites in fact, who has had a positive impact on this board since its inception more than six years ago. I was more surprised by your back to back list of negatives than anything. That's definitely not like you.

It's not that I disagree with what you said. On the contrary, I think most of us recognize that this team still has some work to do to compete for a conference title and make a deep run in March. Your post triggered a reaction that led to a number of well thought out areas where OU needs to improve. I think it's safe to say without any reservations whatsoever that our coaches not only know what has to be done, they will put a plan in place to hopefully correct them.

In truth, we all want the same thing for this team. This is the first time since the 2008-2009 season that OU has a chance to do something truly special, make it to the final four and beyond.

Guess I'm just a glass is half full kind of guy who feels it's best to find more positives than negatives when a team is off to an 11-0 start to the season. I'd dare say every Sooner fan on this board would have been thrilled to be in this position in the pre-season, with opponents like Memphis, Wisconsin, Villanova, Creighton and Washington State standing in our way to the perfect start of the non-conference portion of our season.

 

[sperry]

His criticisms are valid. As a whole, we did not play well the last two games of the tournament, and we will get beat if we play like that against good teams.


When you have a team this good, expectations change. You get a little nervous when you don't dominate teams that you're a lot better than.

 

[soonerjunky]

Too many turn overs has been a problem. Pushing too much at times. I think AK needs to emerge, I see the guards driving and trying to dump it to Lattin or AK and neither is ready for the pass. AK or even Lattin need to emerge and a lot of the problems will be fixed.
On a positive note Spangler has been good and so has Woodard. Buddy is the best player in the Big 12.

 

[skyvue]

His criticisms are valid.

No one said they aren't. But they are half (if that) the story. I'm just trying to understand a fan who sees (or wishes to discuss) only the team's shortcomings.

 

[chuckb]

Some criticism is valid but it's unreasonable to expect us to play a perfect game every time out. The one line in particular that's not valid IMO is the one that says that our turnovers are never created by the other team and are only a result of our ineptness. That's ridiculous. Harvard had issues offensively but they are a very good defensive team. We made some silly mistakes by playing too fast but they also forced some of our mistakes.

It is unreasonable to expect 0 turnovers for a game and unreasonable to suggest that the team is inept if it ever turns the ball over. It's also unreasonable to imply that we're so much better than our competition that they don't have the ability to force into turning the ball over.

I fail to see why, after every victory, there's a parade of threads complaining about why the victory should have been greater. The team did a lot of things well in Hawaii. An even-handed scrutiny of the game or tournament would have included some of them. And it's not even remotely objective to say that our turnovers only come from our own ineptness.

 

[tycat947]

No one said they aren't. But they are half (if that) the story. I'm just trying to understand a fan who sees (or wishes to discuss) only the team's shortcomings.

+1

 

[SoonerinNC]

We saw stretches in Hawaii of just how good we can be on both offense and defense. Second half against Washington State, Opening run against Hawaii and opening of the second half against Harvard.

It is not uncommon when playing a team you know you should beat to try to force it too much. The Sooners are not a 16 turnover team. But especially after building a lead they tended to play too fast and force too many things. And both Hawaii and Harvard had good defensive teams who got their hands on a lot of passes.

Also after a big run the other team will make adjustments and we have to adjust to their adjustments. We have been a little weak in doing that. And it is complicated by the beginning of bringing players off the bench. Last night none of the players off the bench got into the flow of the game.

And while I get a little weary of the complaints about Kruger's timeout strategy he may be missing the boat at times when the other teams do a good job of adjusting to what we are doing on the court. The players in the game may not pick that up as well as a coach on the bench. Also sometimes they need a reminder not to force it and play out of control.

The most apparent weaknesses at this time are controlling the opponents inside game and poor production by the bench players. Not only are they not contributing much individually but the team is playing much less efficient when they come into the game. Unfortunately the exhibitions and early games against cupcakes always result in unrealistic expectations for the young players. But I expected Odomes and James and even McNease to be much more effective by now.

Does not bode well for early games against Kansas and Iowa State. I'm sure all of the above will be firmly addressed in the next 8 days.

 

[DenverSooner]

Does your list mean you didn't observe anything positive? If that is the case, you were watching a different game than the one I saw.

Sure, there were a few weaknesses that need to be addressed in team meetings and in practice sessions. But to create a long list of negatives after a game OU won by 12 is not my idea of constructive criticism.

Exactly but I might add after OU wins a tournament and is also one of five remaining undefeated teams. There is very little to be negative about and we don't have to do it because we have a highly paid coaching staff that will help the guys identify these areas and improve