Sam
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- Nov 8, 2008
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Just some thoughts on the game after thinking it over.
Positives.
Tony Crocker - Played like a Senior plain and simple, even gave us good rebounding (6). Only committing one turnover too was especially big given the 15 total turnovers OU had. Also seemed like he showed leadership and was trying to encourage the younger guys or at least it looked like it from my view on the couch. If Tony gives similar effort (even when his jumper isn't falling) this could be a good sign if the young guys pick up their play.
Tiny Gallon and Tommy Mason-Griffin - both had some rough spots (TMG's two early fouls in the 1st half that had him on the bench. Also they combined for 7 turnovers), but given the fact that this was this 1st road game I thought they both showed great promise. TMG had 6 assists and showed some great quickness and smarts in pushing the ball when he could. Going to be awesome to watch him as he gets settled into the college game as he has some great natural instincts and tools. Also Tiny is MAN down low, you can tell all the rebound comments from Capel are sinking in. A double double today on the road shows a lot about Tiny's skills and mentality. These two young guys responded pretty well to a hostile environment which is a good sign for this year.
Cade Davis - He is a great spark off the bench plain and simple. Gotta love the passion and energy he brings off the bench. He's never going to be a star or anything but he is great role player for this team off the bench. Even if his three isn't falling he is still a good off the bench as you can count on him to give 110% when he is in. He is going to continue being a glue/energy guy off the bench for the final two years which weill be a great asset to the team.
Negatives
Willie Warren - Was he sick, was he hurt, was he stunned, confused, mind on a girl, idk? Just from what I saw from the TV feed I hadn't seen body language like that from him since the game at Texas Tech/some of Mizzou. I know his shot wasn't falling but he still has other aspects of his game. Willie is going to have to learn from this game and put it behind him quickly. He doesn't have time to pout, if this season is going to be as successful as some imagine it could be this needs to be nothing more than a bump in the road.
Team defense - besides Willie's suddenly disappearance this is by far and really the biggest issue. The team just looked lost most of the game, I know VCU was onfire from deep but they still got a ton of easy buckets. Can't blame it on the talent as we have individual athletes that are talented enough to be capable defenders. It was like they didn't know how to work together when dealing with screens and off the ball movement.
Team offense - It seemed like once OU got punched in the face in the early the gameplan just broke down. Unless it was a transition play OU just stood around way too much waiting on a three or hoping an individual player to step up. I'm not the best Xs and Os guy when it comes to hoops but it looked more like a pick up game than a college game. My amateur opinion/suggestion is Tiny needs to get more touches. I really don't think many players in the nation can match up with Tiny and the unique abilities (shooting, good quickness) and his size. He is a giant walking mismatch on offense, let the big man run.
Pledger and Fitzgerald - not really a true negative but it still kind of is. These are "true" freshman, they're going to explode every now and give production more like a JR or SR but this showed their youth. Pledger is going to have some game in conference where he goes 5-6 from and pushes up over the hump in some game we might deserve/should win. Fitz is going come in for a foul trouble Tiny or Ryan and produce a very tough 8 points and 8 rebound game, where he just does all the little things right. But in between they're going to have rough games like this because they're real freshman and not the elite ones like Tiny and TMG (not saying Tiny and TMG are going to be perfect but I'm predicting their performance this year will be similar to how Blake and Willie did last year and not say Crocker's freshman season).
Thats it, just wanted to get some thoughts off my chest before the San Diego rolls around at the wonderful time of 12:45 AM this Wednesday.
Positives.
Tony Crocker - Played like a Senior plain and simple, even gave us good rebounding (6). Only committing one turnover too was especially big given the 15 total turnovers OU had. Also seemed like he showed leadership and was trying to encourage the younger guys or at least it looked like it from my view on the couch. If Tony gives similar effort (even when his jumper isn't falling) this could be a good sign if the young guys pick up their play.
Tiny Gallon and Tommy Mason-Griffin - both had some rough spots (TMG's two early fouls in the 1st half that had him on the bench. Also they combined for 7 turnovers), but given the fact that this was this 1st road game I thought they both showed great promise. TMG had 6 assists and showed some great quickness and smarts in pushing the ball when he could. Going to be awesome to watch him as he gets settled into the college game as he has some great natural instincts and tools. Also Tiny is MAN down low, you can tell all the rebound comments from Capel are sinking in. A double double today on the road shows a lot about Tiny's skills and mentality. These two young guys responded pretty well to a hostile environment which is a good sign for this year.
Cade Davis - He is a great spark off the bench plain and simple. Gotta love the passion and energy he brings off the bench. He's never going to be a star or anything but he is great role player for this team off the bench. Even if his three isn't falling he is still a good off the bench as you can count on him to give 110% when he is in. He is going to continue being a glue/energy guy off the bench for the final two years which weill be a great asset to the team.
Negatives
Willie Warren - Was he sick, was he hurt, was he stunned, confused, mind on a girl, idk? Just from what I saw from the TV feed I hadn't seen body language like that from him since the game at Texas Tech/some of Mizzou. I know his shot wasn't falling but he still has other aspects of his game. Willie is going to have to learn from this game and put it behind him quickly. He doesn't have time to pout, if this season is going to be as successful as some imagine it could be this needs to be nothing more than a bump in the road.
Team defense - besides Willie's suddenly disappearance this is by far and really the biggest issue. The team just looked lost most of the game, I know VCU was onfire from deep but they still got a ton of easy buckets. Can't blame it on the talent as we have individual athletes that are talented enough to be capable defenders. It was like they didn't know how to work together when dealing with screens and off the ball movement.
Team offense - It seemed like once OU got punched in the face in the early the gameplan just broke down. Unless it was a transition play OU just stood around way too much waiting on a three or hoping an individual player to step up. I'm not the best Xs and Os guy when it comes to hoops but it looked more like a pick up game than a college game. My amateur opinion/suggestion is Tiny needs to get more touches. I really don't think many players in the nation can match up with Tiny and the unique abilities (shooting, good quickness) and his size. He is a giant walking mismatch on offense, let the big man run.
Pledger and Fitzgerald - not really a true negative but it still kind of is. These are "true" freshman, they're going to explode every now and give production more like a JR or SR but this showed their youth. Pledger is going to have some game in conference where he goes 5-6 from and pushes up over the hump in some game we might deserve/should win. Fitz is going come in for a foul trouble Tiny or Ryan and produce a very tough 8 points and 8 rebound game, where he just does all the little things right. But in between they're going to have rough games like this because they're real freshman and not the elite ones like Tiny and TMG (not saying Tiny and TMG are going to be perfect but I'm predicting their performance this year will be similar to how Blake and Willie did last year and not say Crocker's freshman season).
Thats it, just wanted to get some thoughts off my chest before the San Diego rolls around at the wonderful time of 12:45 AM this Wednesday.
