The bench

[BigTime]

several of you disagreed with my assessment a few weeks ago regarding the OU bench. I stated that we have the best bench since the 08-09 squad and that was a strength of this team.

I stand by that and will take it a step further that this is the best post bench since the elite 8 Sampson squad.

The bench:

Walker - perfect back-up PG. Scorer. Better defender than I thought he would be. Good FT shooter. Strong. Can play some off guard as well.

Booker - Been a tough start for Frank. BUT, we saw what he could do last year and he will get out of this funk.

Lattin - Just short enough to keep him here for 4 years but long enough to be guard 5s. Great energy off the bench. Has offensive game. Rim protector.

Bennett - Rim protector. Improved his FT shooting. Seems to be improved as a post defender and rebounder as well.

Really a solid 9 man rotation which is all you need for most games including in the tournament.

Just need to stay healthy!

Thoughts?

 

[opsooner]

You are not going very far out on a limb when you talk about our best post bench in a long time. We've had no one notable off the bench in a long time; perhaps when we had Osby+Fitz+M'Baye you can make a case (for M'Baye). We are in much better shape with Bennett in there to help protect the rim and Lattin is getting better (as you'd expect a frosh to do) but I still get concerned about our offense when both Thomas and Spangler are out.

I definitely agree with you that this is the most solid Top 9 we have had in a very long time. Every one of them can contribute positively.

 

[catoosanumber22]

Agree totally, Lattin really excites me, better athlete and as much/ maybe more potential than Longar. only thing Longar has on him is an inch or two and a much sweeter name

 

[DenverSooner]

It is a real shame that Buford cannot play. He would make the bench even better.

 

[AdaSooner]

It is a real shame that Buford cannot play. He would make the bench even better.

Don't forget about Bola Alade. Something tells me he is going to surprise some people.

 

[WaymanFan]

I stand by that and will take it a step further that this is the best post bench since the elite 8 Sampson squad.

I don't remember much positive about Sampson's Elite 8 team in terms of the post-depth. That was definitely a guard-oriented team with Hollis, Quannas, Ebi, DeAngelo and Blake (Johnston).

If Lattin keeps getting better and DJ keeps playing like he has of late, this could be our best post-depth since 1990 (William Davis, Jackie Jones, Anthony Martin, Rolando Ware and Kermit Holmes).

 

[Sooner04]

If Lattin keeps getting better and DJ keeps playing like he has of late, this could be our best post-depth since 1990 (William Davis, Jackie Jones, Anthony Martin, Rolando Ware and Kermit Holmes).

Would you also lump Slim Patterson in with that group?

That is quite a stockpile.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I think the bench has good potential particularly if Booker gets it going. But at this time they seem to be a little out of sync when Kruger starts substituting.

We should be there by conference time.

 

[JDSooners]

think we could have used more guards coming off the bench yesterday
I thought we were screwed when cousins pulled anderson down.
had no idea booker didnt make trip until they said something
the big run could have been prevented if they had fresher bodies

think ryan and thomas are this years team so they are big man heavy, and could use more guards
Previous games had ryan in immediate foul trouble, so lattin and bennett didnt really need to be in this game

 

[jerry]

Booker is key. We need scoring off the bench. Walker and Lattin were fine against TU and ORU, but they looked way overmatched last night against Washington.

 

[bgrch1350]

several of you disagreed with my assessment a few weeks ago regarding the OU bench. I stated that we have the best bench since the 08-09 squad and that was a strength of this team.

I stand by that and will take it a step further that this is the best post bench since the elite 8 Sampson squad.

The bench:

Walker - perfect back-up PG. Scorer. Better defender than I thought he would be. Good FT shooter. Strong. Can play some off guard as well.

Booker - Been a tough start for Frank. BUT, we saw what he could do last year and he will get out of this funk.

Lattin - Just short enough to keep him here for 4 years but long enough to be guard 5s. Great energy off the bench. Has offensive game. Rim protector.

Bennett - Rim protector. Improved his FT shooting. Seems to be improved as a post defender and rebounder as well.

Really a solid 9 man rotation which is all you need for most games including in the tournament.

Just need to stay healthy!

Thoughts?

Our bench has been better the last 2 years. Had Newell not transferred the year before you would have to go back 3 years to find an ou teams bench that this bench was better then.

The test of a good bench is how much playing time they get against a quality opponent. We're down a man which would mean more minutes for the other 3 players. Lattin and Bennett get 6 mins a piece. And walker got 16. Had Spangler not got hurt then less minutes for the 2 post players. 4 pts between the 3.

We might have the worst bench in the big 12.

 

[DenverSooner]

In my opinion lack of production from the bench is why OU lost last night. I like the bench but OU needs offensive production from the bench.

 

[Laxtothemax12]

I agree with your post, BT, but the bench-posts combined for only 12 minutes last night..we can't have that in Big 12 play. Look at Khadeem's numbers from last night; if he gets starter minutes (30), he was on pace for 10 pts, 10 rebs, and 10 blocks. Why didn't he play a little more, not strong enough yet?

 

[SoonerinNC]

Only 28 minutes from the bench against Washington. Message there.

 

[jerry]

Only 28 minutes from the bench against Washington. Message there.

Yep, Lon doesn't trust them against good competition.