Steven Pledger: Best OU wing guard since Hollis...

Stats don't lie. Unless you can tell me why they don't tell "the whole story". Stop talking about potential. All we can do is measure on the floor production. And WW had better talent to help him out as well. I can't help it some of you refuse to see just how good of a season Pledger is having. His percentages are fantastic. If the season ended today, I could argue Pledger just had one of the top 2 three point shooting seasons in OU history.

You bring up a lot of good points. It's a shame that OU isn't winning more, because Pledger isn't getting the recognition he deserves.

It's hard to compare Pledger and Willie because they're two totally different players. WW was better at breaking opponents off the dribble and setting up other players, while Pledger is a better shooting option off the wing.

As far as stats are concerned, there's little that separates the two.
 
Crocker played really well for 4 seasons. Additionally, he is probably the best defender of the guys who are in the conversation.

Although he is not the best player, Godbold was one tough cookie. He could play shutdown D consistently.

At this point though, I think Pledger has a great shot at it. Let's see how he plays to end the season and over the next season. If he keeps playing at this level I think it will be no question at all.
 
Well, Hollis would have made that last shot last night!
 
Hollis And other sooners played on better teams.. That's what the other posters are saying and I agree as well. When you have abad team (evident by our records) the stats can be skewed.. Like Cade Davis... He wouldn't have played but spot minutes or a role player on good OU teams. He was our best player...
 
I don't know if he is the best since Hollis but he will likely finish his OU career in the Top 15 of all time scorers and has a chance to make the top 10. Soonerstats has him at 905 with a minimum of 8 games left. At 17.5 per game he will finish the year with 1,045 points (and that assumes it is up to date). OU will play at least 30 games next season. At 17.5 that is another 525. If he does that he will have 1,570 and be the 10th all time scorer at OU right in front of Don Siddle and just behind Eduardo.

For a guy that sucks and couldn't start on most teams that is pretty amazing. For a guy that came to OU and played behind a guy that played in the NBA (Willie Warren) that is even more impressive.
 
I think that I just said "view with a skeptical eye", not dimiss. I'm not the one that uses pure stats as proof of my opinion. It is others that do that. I'm just saying that when someone comes up (Pledger averages 17.8 per game,therefore, he is a great player) that makes no sense to me. Some guy that average 15 or even 12 could be a much better player. It all depends on the context those points were scored.

I'm not purely using stats either. The stats and my eyes tell me Steven Pledger is a darn good player. Hollis-good? No. But the notch right below that.
 
Who cares of WW tore it up in the D league? If Price didn't, does that make him a worse college player? Also, who is to say what Pledger will do after OU?
 
And of course WW would do better in professional ball. It fits his game better, and isn't always very structured. WW struggled trying to run sets. He wanted to free ball it.
 
Who cares of WW tore it up in the D league? If Price didn't, does that make him a worse college player? Also, who is to say what Pledger will do after OU?

Are you suggesting that Pledger will play in the NBA? I am not very good at identifying future professional basketball players and I am a fan of Pledger but I don't think he has that type of talent. I think he is too slow.
 
I agree that Steven is not in HP's league overall as a great college player, but I also didn't state that he was...Here's what has been suggested so far:

Tier 1
HP

Tier 2
WW -- Dynamic player, great scorer, and good passer but inconsistent defensively. Also struggled to be efficient without Blake Griffin in the middle (realize he was injured as well)
Pledger
Crocker -- Good defender and rebounder, but inconsistent offensively.

Tier 3
Everett
Alexander
McKenzie
Godbold
 
Based on the discussions, here's what I'm reading:

WW was the most talented, well-rounded guard at OU since Hollis Price

Steven Pledger will have the best career of any guard at OU since Hollis Price by next year (based on longevity and games played)

This season, Steven Pledger is having the best season by an OU guard since Hollis Price's senior campaign by a hair over WW's freshman season.
 
To honestly believe that Steven Pledger is better than Willie Warren - if Willie had stayed 4 years at OU (like Pledger will be) and stayed healthy his entire career - is rather ignorant.

Were if's and but's candy and nuts we would all have a Merry Christmas. No question Willie had more skills during his tenure at OU however his production for his career includes his sophomore year just as it does his freshman year. For certain his failure to contribute to the success of the Sooners as a soph has to be considered when evaluating him as a Sooner guard.

Pledger has done more with less and has been more productive overall with the opportunity to do even more. Steven for certain is getting better with more experience. The same cannot be said for Willie.
 
Speaking of Hollis, what happened after he got cut? Did he go play internationally?
 
Speaking of Hollis, what happened after he got cut? Did he go play internationally?

He was in France the last time I saw one of Nick's posts about ex-sooners overseas. This was last year or the year before.

I think he's made a lot of money.
 
I agree that Steven is not in HP's league overall as a great college player, but I also didn't state that he was...Here's what has been suggested so far:

Tier 1
HP

Tier 2
WW -- Dynamic player, great scorer, and good passer but inconsistent defensively. Also struggled to be efficient without Blake Griffin in the middle (realize he was injured as well)
Pledger
Crocker -- Good defender and rebounder, but inconsistent offensively.

Tier 3
Everett
Alexander
McKenzie
Godbold

IMO, Relly Rell was better than Crocker. Arguably the most important player on the 2005 Big 12 Championship team.
 
Were if's and but's candy and nuts we would all have a Merry Christmas. No question Willie had more skills during his tenure at OU however his production for his career includes his sophomore year just as it does his freshman year. For certain his failure to contribute to the success of the Sooners as a soph has to be considered when evaluating him as a Sooner guard.

Pledger has done more with less and has been more productive overall with the opportunity to do even more. Steven for certain is getting better with more experience. The same cannot be said for Willie.

Willie was also playing on a bum ankle the entire season...if fans are eager to note that Austin Johnson was always hurt, at least Willie deserves the same luxury.
 
He was in France the last time I saw one of Nick's posts about ex-sooners overseas. This was last year or the year before.

I think he's made a lot of money.

Good for him. He's the type kid that deserves some success. He and Eduardo might have been the hardest workers Samson had. Still bugs me that Kelvin had them going full tilt in practice the day before Indiana in the final 4 when Qannas White blew his ankle.
 
IMO, Relly Rell was better than Crocker. Arguably the most important player on the 2005 Big 12 Championship team.

I'd agree with this.

Crocker was a good player, but I don't think he ever improved offensively as his game his freshman year was much like his game his sr. year. I can't count how many times he turned it over because he was out of control driving to the bucket.

He was money in that Baylor game though. Wow, what a performance that was in a clutch situation. He was also money vs Syracuse in the sweet 16 and was a very good defender.

Everett was very important in 2005 and 2006.
 
Good for him. He's the type kid that deserves some success. He and Eduardo might have been the hardest workers Samson had. Still bugs me that Kelvin had them going full tilt in practice the day before Indiana in the final 4 when Qannas White blew his ankle.

I would agree.

Sampson had a lot of hard workers though. Hollis and Ed were 2 of the most talented so they are always remembered but Corey Brewer, Renzi Stone, Heskett, Nolan Johnson, etc., should also be mentioned. Those KS teams were always so gritty and part of that was due to how hard he worked them. Prima donna's didn't stick around long.
 
Crocker was not on Relly Rell's level...he was fun to watch.
 
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