Sooner04
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To hear some folks tell it, Romero Osby nearly saved Jeff Capel's job. Osby was a fine player, and a really good building block to the establishment of Lon's program here at Oklahoma. Above all else, though, Romero Osby was a LEADER. Ro answered the bell for his team, and the rest of those guys got in line. The 2010 and 2011 seasons were an unmitigated disaster. A stain on the rich legacy of Sooner hoops that some of us feared would never be fully washed away. But 2012 laid the groundwork for something different, and Osby played a HUGE part in that. Taking that group out of the abyss and leading them back to the NCAA Tournament is something I'll always treasure in my fandom.
If Romero Osby almost saved Jeff Capel's job then you can easily make the argument that Capel's shoddy treatment of Ryan Spangler was justifiable cause for showing the North Carolinian the door. One of the toughest players this state ever produced sat 20 miles away by car (15 by passenger pigeon) and the big Ardmoreite (he was born there.....like me!) wanted nothing more than to don the crimson and cream. It was a slam dunk. The easiest recruiting pitch since Lee Roy and Dewey followed Lucious to Norman. By the grace of the Holy we were able to bring him back into the fold. Buddy Hield got all the headlines. Isaiah Cousins locked down the perimeter, but Ryan Spangler steered the ship. I've been attending games since I was in utero, and I'd place money on NO ONE leaving more out on the floor than Ryan Spangler. What a warrior.
But college only allows so much eligibility. Who would be the guy to take charge? A few instances in that Final Four season brought me pause.
January 18, 2016: We lose a tough, hard-fought game in Ames. Afterward, deep in the bowels of Hilton Coliseum, the victorious Cyclones are looking to gloat. But they don't come after any of our seniors. The relationship there is one of respect, a bond forged by some wildly entertaining games between our top-ranked Sooners and the Mayor's Cyclones. No, the guys in cardinal and gold are looking for one player in particular. The loudest and most vocal member of our roster is who they're after. Khadeem Lattin. Of the starters, he is by FAR the least of the cogs. Why is he the one running his mouth?
January 23, 2016: In Waco and still number 1, our starters exit the floor on top of the world. They've just put on a clinic that caused several outlets to deem them the Golden State Warriors of the college game. With just a few minutes left to play, it's and 82-58 laugher. On comes Christian James and Rashard Odomes and Jamuni McNeace alongside Dante Buford and Dinjyl Walker. In those few minutes.....let's say three.....those five, four of whom would be counted on for BIG production the next season, put on the worst stretch of basketball I've ever seen from a Sooner team. Baylor scored 14 points in a blink. It was so bad that Lon briefly considered throwing the starters back in there. I remember thinking to myself......this is the future?
April 2, 2016: A Murphy's Law game if there ever was one. Villanova beat us like rented mules for all the nation to see. There was nowhere to hide. In that vein, it's not surprising that the cameras caught a tender moment on the crimson bench. With time running down, a Sooner player (I believe it was McNeace) reached over to give Lattin a little rub on the back of his head. Khadeem proceeded to snap the guy's hand away in a flash. As the game ended, and the teams approached mid-court to exchange handshakes, Lattin flew off the floor straight to the locker room. This is our guy the next year? This is the standard?
Straight south from there it went. A 20-loss season. Jordan Woodard's unexplained sabbatical. The team, for a brief spell during conference play, deciding to base their behavior and preparation on the goings on of DANTE BUFORD?! What a mess! Turnover on the roster and turnover in the front office with two trusted Lieutenants (Henson and Hill) departing for top jobs elsewhere. Where is the leadership?
2018 started off extraordinarily well, but the Trae Young experiment took on water as the team established itself as a Schooner-sized sieve on defense. Kristian Doolittle was booted from school over academic misconduct and never looked right upon his return. Mutiny abounded. McGusty's mom threw a fit in Kruger's offense over her son's playing time. Transfers piled up like bags in a garbage strike. We limped into the Dance, and were promptly shown the door. It was a precipitous fall from a top-5 national ranking in January,
Amazingly, from those smoldering ashes a decent 2019 was had. Unfortunately, the same issues that have plagued each Sooner team since the 2016 Final Four again crept up. Shoddy late-game play. Defensive breakdowns. An alarming inability to win on the road. More roster dissension. Our center checked out. Transfers everywhere.
Why should I go down the wormhole again? Why should I expect 2020 to be any different? We've leaked oil compared to the rest of the conference. We have the worst conference record in the league over the last three years. Who is going to step up and demand that we get the next stop? Who is going to demand the ball in crunch time and deliver? Who is going to put in the work in the gym when nobody but your teammates is watching?
Will it be Doolittle? Will it be a newcomer? Will any of our assistants take charge and be the bad cop that has been desperately needed since Steve Henson departed? It's those questions that I ponder when I'm out driving around or staring at the ceiling. Is there a Romero Osby in the lot? Is there a Ryan Spangler in the middle....the spoke at the center of everything?
That's what's going to tell the tale of this season. On paper, this team is very "talented". But are they tough? Are they going to get a good look in a tight game in Stillwater? Will they withstand a second-half Jayhawk run in Norman? Will a loss turn into a three-game February losing streak? Will the home court be defended? Will we fold the tent at the first sight of the Sprint Center?
We're real close to finding out. But I'm very skeptical. We need to be better. Is there anyone on the roster to help make it so? I sure hope so.
Thank you for your time.
If Romero Osby almost saved Jeff Capel's job then you can easily make the argument that Capel's shoddy treatment of Ryan Spangler was justifiable cause for showing the North Carolinian the door. One of the toughest players this state ever produced sat 20 miles away by car (15 by passenger pigeon) and the big Ardmoreite (he was born there.....like me!) wanted nothing more than to don the crimson and cream. It was a slam dunk. The easiest recruiting pitch since Lee Roy and Dewey followed Lucious to Norman. By the grace of the Holy we were able to bring him back into the fold. Buddy Hield got all the headlines. Isaiah Cousins locked down the perimeter, but Ryan Spangler steered the ship. I've been attending games since I was in utero, and I'd place money on NO ONE leaving more out on the floor than Ryan Spangler. What a warrior.
But college only allows so much eligibility. Who would be the guy to take charge? A few instances in that Final Four season brought me pause.
January 18, 2016: We lose a tough, hard-fought game in Ames. Afterward, deep in the bowels of Hilton Coliseum, the victorious Cyclones are looking to gloat. But they don't come after any of our seniors. The relationship there is one of respect, a bond forged by some wildly entertaining games between our top-ranked Sooners and the Mayor's Cyclones. No, the guys in cardinal and gold are looking for one player in particular. The loudest and most vocal member of our roster is who they're after. Khadeem Lattin. Of the starters, he is by FAR the least of the cogs. Why is he the one running his mouth?
January 23, 2016: In Waco and still number 1, our starters exit the floor on top of the world. They've just put on a clinic that caused several outlets to deem them the Golden State Warriors of the college game. With just a few minutes left to play, it's and 82-58 laugher. On comes Christian James and Rashard Odomes and Jamuni McNeace alongside Dante Buford and Dinjyl Walker. In those few minutes.....let's say three.....those five, four of whom would be counted on for BIG production the next season, put on the worst stretch of basketball I've ever seen from a Sooner team. Baylor scored 14 points in a blink. It was so bad that Lon briefly considered throwing the starters back in there. I remember thinking to myself......this is the future?
April 2, 2016: A Murphy's Law game if there ever was one. Villanova beat us like rented mules for all the nation to see. There was nowhere to hide. In that vein, it's not surprising that the cameras caught a tender moment on the crimson bench. With time running down, a Sooner player (I believe it was McNeace) reached over to give Lattin a little rub on the back of his head. Khadeem proceeded to snap the guy's hand away in a flash. As the game ended, and the teams approached mid-court to exchange handshakes, Lattin flew off the floor straight to the locker room. This is our guy the next year? This is the standard?
Straight south from there it went. A 20-loss season. Jordan Woodard's unexplained sabbatical. The team, for a brief spell during conference play, deciding to base their behavior and preparation on the goings on of DANTE BUFORD?! What a mess! Turnover on the roster and turnover in the front office with two trusted Lieutenants (Henson and Hill) departing for top jobs elsewhere. Where is the leadership?
2018 started off extraordinarily well, but the Trae Young experiment took on water as the team established itself as a Schooner-sized sieve on defense. Kristian Doolittle was booted from school over academic misconduct and never looked right upon his return. Mutiny abounded. McGusty's mom threw a fit in Kruger's offense over her son's playing time. Transfers piled up like bags in a garbage strike. We limped into the Dance, and were promptly shown the door. It was a precipitous fall from a top-5 national ranking in January,
Amazingly, from those smoldering ashes a decent 2019 was had. Unfortunately, the same issues that have plagued each Sooner team since the 2016 Final Four again crept up. Shoddy late-game play. Defensive breakdowns. An alarming inability to win on the road. More roster dissension. Our center checked out. Transfers everywhere.
Why should I go down the wormhole again? Why should I expect 2020 to be any different? We've leaked oil compared to the rest of the conference. We have the worst conference record in the league over the last three years. Who is going to step up and demand that we get the next stop? Who is going to demand the ball in crunch time and deliver? Who is going to put in the work in the gym when nobody but your teammates is watching?
Will it be Doolittle? Will it be a newcomer? Will any of our assistants take charge and be the bad cop that has been desperately needed since Steve Henson departed? It's those questions that I ponder when I'm out driving around or staring at the ceiling. Is there a Romero Osby in the lot? Is there a Ryan Spangler in the middle....the spoke at the center of everything?
That's what's going to tell the tale of this season. On paper, this team is very "talented". But are they tough? Are they going to get a good look in a tight game in Stillwater? Will they withstand a second-half Jayhawk run in Norman? Will a loss turn into a three-game February losing streak? Will the home court be defended? Will we fold the tent at the first sight of the Sprint Center?
We're real close to finding out. But I'm very skeptical. We need to be better. Is there anyone on the roster to help make it so? I sure hope so.
Thank you for your time.
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