The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[WTSooner]

Pretty good assessment!

Agreed. My list would look a lot like his did.

 

[coolm]

I would have to agree with Big's. I was VERY disappointed in our transition D. That was a horrid effort. I was also disappointed in the lack of ooomph from our interior players other than Spangler. They outhustled and outworked us for a bunch of offensive boards. James did look very good out there though during his time.

 

[Max Power]

completely disagree with your bad ... look at Kentucky the point and the 2 played 40 and 38 min ..

in college basketball with all the breaks .. the best players should play a bunch in big games .. if OU has a big lead sure give them a break otherwise I want those 4 on the floor ..

My Bad on the minutes played is a direct result of the poor effort on D and rebounding. We do those two things better, we have a bigger lead, and our guys get some rest. We have had a problem with our guys wearing down at the end of the year and them playing 35+ min is not the answer to stopping that trend. That's why I listed it as a bad. The bad was a direct result of the Ugly.

 

[BCSooners]

I understand completely what he is doing, I just disagree that even if it works perfectly, that it provides a tangible difference in how the OU team will perform. And if it doesn't work perfectly, well, I think it hurts us.

The shot clock is a major reason for this move. Get the ball in the hands of one of your better "scorers" as early as possible. I just don't like it though. Everybody said Woodard is shooting it better this year. If that is the case, I think that alone would have solved the "sagging defense" problem from last year.

Coaches aren't infallible. Sometimes they make moves that have logic, and with good intentions, and they fail. I just hope at some point they switch Woodard back to pg. I think OU is better that way.

He's a much improved set shooter, Cousins is still a much better shooter off the dribble. And since he's bringing the ball up now Woodard can spot up more and Cousins already has a head of steam attacking the basket.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

the ugly Cousins at PG it needs to be over now ... it not only hurts us at the point .. it hurts cousins scoring .. he is not and will never be a natural PG .. (I had a conversation with a former kruger player about this during the game) ..

Way too early to determine this.

Of all the things that could be called ugly in this game, I don't see this as one.

I was pleasantly surprised with cousins at the 1

 

[Northbase]

No matter your personal thoughts on CJ Cole, he would not be in the game if he did not deserve to be in the game. He would not be in the game if Lon thought he did not earn the time, and demonstrate an ability to contribute to the team. He would never see the court. Obviously, that is not the case. He earned it. Will we see more of him? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[BCSooners]

No matter your personal thoughts on CJ Cole, he would not be in the game if he did not deserve to be in the game. He would not be in the game if Lon thought he did not earn the time, and demonstrate an ability to contribute to the team. He would never see the court. Obviously, that is not the case. He earned it. Will we see more of him? Maybe, maybe not.

Hopefully not

 

[WTSooner]

He's a much improved set shooter, Cousins is still a much better shooter off the dribble. And since he's bringing the ball up now Woodard can spot up more and Cousins already has a head of steam attacking the basket.

You realize that isn't how the offense works though, right? Almost never will Cousins simply bring the ball up the floor and penetrate without first making a pass to the wing to initiate the offense. And at the same time, he isn't going to bring the ball up the floor and shoot a 3 point shot off the dribble without a pass.

 

[WTSooner]

No matter your personal thoughts on CJ Cole, he would not be in the game if he did not deserve to be in the game. He would not be in the game if Lon thought he did not earn the time, and demonstrate an ability to contribute to the team. He would never see the court. Obviously, that is not the case. He earned it. Will we see more of him? Maybe, maybe not.

We were in massive first half foul trouble, and we don't have a 5th scholarship big. If Manyang was available, Cole wouldn't have played. If we didn't have foul troubles, Cole wouldn't have played.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Well, you're consistent.

I'm not sure most of you understand what Lon is trying to do by moving Woodard off the ball. It's not a demotion to Jordan, but more of an opportunity to keep the opposing defense moving once the ball gets out to the wings. I think most of you are thinking Lon just came up with this one night while staring at the ceiling, and that is simply not the case.

the former ou player I was talking to about it thinks it is to help cousins draft stock ..

 

[WTSooner]

the former ou player I was talking to about it thinks it is to help cousins draft stock ..

We'll never find out if that is true, but I won't be happy if it is.

I think it's an experiment relating to the shorter shot clock. Get the ball in the hands of a "scorer" more quickly. Problem is, Cousins is usually bringing the ball up the court, and handing it off or passing to Woodard who is coming from the wing towards the top of the key, and that pass is initiating our offense. So the ball is back in Woodard's hands.

I wish somebody would just come out and ask him. Not sure what kind of answer we'd get, but I'd love to know what Lon is publicly willing to say about it.

 

[BoulderSooner]

My Bad on the minutes played is a direct result of the poor effort on D and rebounding. We do those two things better, we have a bigger lead, and our guys get some rest. We have had a problem with our guys wearing down at the end of the year and them playing 35+ min is not the answer to stopping that trend. That's why I listed it as a bad. The bad was a direct result of the Ugly.

that makes sense

 

[BCSooners]

You realize that isn't how the offense works though, right? Almost never will Cousins simply bring the ball up the floor and penetrate without first making a pass to the wing to initiate the offense. And at the same time, he isn't going to bring the ball up the floor and shoot a 3 point shot off the dribble without a pass.

That's how all offense works in transition, and if it's not in transition then why does it matter who brings the ball up? Also Cousins dominated late in the 1st half by bringing the ball up and going straight at a defender. He also brought the ball up without a pass yesterday and drained a 3 because the defense was sagging.

 

[j2d2]

Woodard had a good game at the off-guard position and Cousins was so-so. If their positions had been reversed I think Cousins would have had as good a game, if not better, than Woodard had. This has been been true in the games played, so far as far as I can judge(I'm not a basketball guru). I still dont know Why their positions have been reversed. Cousins isa better 3 point shooter and Woodard a slightly better distributor.

 

[BigTime]

No matter your personal thoughts on CJ Cole, he would not be in the game if he did not deserve to be in the game. He would not be in the game if Lon thought he did not earn the time, and demonstrate an ability to contribute to the team. He would never see the court. Obviously, that is not the case. He earned it. Will we see more of him? Maybe, maybe not.

I hope not except for blowouts. Seems like a great kid. Also seemed very out of place even compared to Lattin and McNease (who really struggled) yesterday in Memphis. His post defense was atrocious and the Memphis bigs abused him.