The Reason We Lost To Iowa State

[cowboysooner]

Simple really, we missed too many easy shots that we would normally make. Of course, there are all kinds of things we could have done better, but that is always the case. If we hit a few of the bunnies, we win easily.

It seems to me the board goes up and down with this team. But, for me, they have played about the way they should have and could have reasonably been expected to play.

First, they played the dumbest wackiest schedule in history. The roadtrip from hell in the middle and one really good team after the next. This was done to a team that had little if any experience. Numerous freshman, little and manning hadn't played in over a year, and carter/wyatt/kornet really hadn't played that much. So, we struggled early, but through it all, we have consistently improved. KK is much improved, Carter has proven to have greatly improved albeit a little inconsistent. The freshman are talented but play like freshman at times, particularly on the road. Little and Manning are finally getting their sea legs.

Baylor was not too upsetting to me, as it was a road game. It happens. Our mens team isn't what they played like at WVU.

I really like this team. I like watching them. I'm not really sure if they have much of a ceiling, other than lack of game experience. Sherri has managed her talent this year better than in past years. In fact, she has done an exceptional job in my opinion. And, I have complained in the past about some of her personnel decisions but this year there are no complaints by me.

In fact, this is, IMO, Sherri's best coaching job in years. And she has been really good in the past overall.

I will have really high expectations for next year. And with Mulkey, Dungee and Llanusa committed, if she can keep them, it looks good going forward.

BTW, I know a basketball guy that has seen Mulkey play numerous times in person over the last couple of years, and he says we (ou fans) don't seem to realize just how good she really is. He says she will be a program changer. Nobody else seems to be saying that, but it will be interesting to see what she looks like when she gets here.

 

[sybarite]

Simple really, we missed too many easy shots that we would normally make. Of course, there are all kinds of things we could have done better, but that is always the case. If we hit a few of the bunnies, we win easily.

It seems to me the board goes up and down with this team. But, for me, they have played about the way they should have and could have reasonably been expected to play.

First, they played the dumbest wackiest schedule in history. The roadtrip from hell in the middle and one really good team after the next. This was done to a team that had little if any experience. Numerous freshman, little and manning hadn't played in over a year, and carter/wyatt/kornet really hadn't played that much. So, we struggled early, but through it all, we have consistently improved. KK is much improved, Carter has proven to have greatly improved albeit a little inconsistent. The freshman are talented but play like freshman at times, particularly on the road. Little and Manning are finally getting their sea legs.

Baylor was not too upsetting to me, as it was a road game. It happens. Our mens team isn't what they played like at WVU.

I really like this team. I like watching them. I'm not really sure if they have much of a ceiling, other than lack of game experience. Sherri has managed her talent this year better than in past years. In fact, she has done an exceptional job in my opinion. And, I have complained in the past about some of her personnel decisions but this year there are no complaints by me.

In fact, this is, IMO, Sherri's best coaching job in years. And she has been really good in the past overall.

I will have really high expectations for next year. And with Mulkey, Dungee and Llanusa committed, if she can keep them, it looks good going forward.

BTW, I know a basketball guy that has seen Mulkey play numerous times in person over the last couple of years, and he says we (ou fans) don't seem to realize just how good she really is. He says she will be a program changer. Nobody else seems to be saying that, but it will be interesting to see what she looks like when she gets here.

Outstanding post!!! Let me get back to this later.

 

[tycat947]

Simple really, we missed too many easy shots that we would normally make. Of course, there are all kinds of things we could have done better, but that is always the case. If we hit a few of the bunnies, we win easily.

It seems to me the board goes up and down with this team. But, for me, they have played about the way they should have and could have reasonably been expected to play.

First, they played the dumbest wackiest schedule in history. The roadtrip from hell in the middle and one really good team after the next. This was done to a team that had little if any experience. Numerous freshman, little and manning hadn't played in over a year, and carter/wyatt/kornet really hadn't played that much. So, we struggled early, but through it all, we have consistently improved. KK is much improved, Carter has proven to have greatly improved albeit a little inconsistent. The freshman are talented but play like freshman at times, particularly on the road. Little and Manning are finally getting their sea legs.

Baylor was not too upsetting to me, as it was a road game. It happens. Our mens team isn't what they played like at WVU.

I really like this team. I like watching them. I'm not really sure if they have much of a ceiling, other than lack of game experience. Sherri has managed her talent this year better than in past years. In fact, she has done an exceptional job in my opinion. And, I have complained in the past about some of her personnel decisions but this year there are no complaints by me.

In fact, this is, IMO, Sherri's best coaching job in years. And she has been really good in the past overall.

I will have really high expectations for next year. And with Mulkey, Dungee and Llanusa committed, if she can keep them, it looks good going forward.

BTW, I know a basketball guy that has seen Mulkey play numerous times in person over the last couple of years, and he says we (ou fans) don't seem to realize just how good she really is. He says she will be a program changer. Nobody else seems to be saying that, but it will be interesting to see what she looks like when she gets here.

Good post!

I was concerned about that road trip as well. It could have crushed this team but they grew and IMO they wouldn't be in second place right now without that trip to grow. I think this year has created a strong foundation for getting this program back into the Top 10-15 in the next few years and hopefully higher. There is a lot of good talent and depth on this team and with the future recruits coming in, I expect the play to be elevated more.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

Nice post. I recently posted that Sherri could be turning in her best season of coaching that she ever has.

Just a little more consistency out of the players every game and it will be just that.

Except for that 5 guard crap in the last 2 minutes Tuesday night, I have loved the way Sherri has subbed this year.

Sherri is getting very close to getting the max out of this group. The girls just need to get more consistent game to game.

 

[MsProudSooner]

I agree that she's done a very good job with this group. I would rate this year up there with some of the years we had to deal with so many injuries.

I really didn't know what to expect of this team when the season started. Based on what other people said about them in pre-conference, I think they've exceeded expectations thus far.

 

[sybarite]

I like what has happened this year. It was kind of a rebuilding year from the year that shouldn't have been. But, I think that last year demonstrated the need to find out what you have. At the beginning of the year, I certainly wasn't sure. Let's walk individually by some of the key pieces of the team.

Kay Kay: Sherri liked Kay Kay. I hadn't seen why. She seemed to have some ability. But, she was the most error-prone interior prospect that I can remember at OU. She would look like a star on one play. Then, you wouldn't notice her for two games, except for her mistakes. Even early in this year, I still wasn't getting what Sherri was seeing. Was there a different Kay Kay in practice? After being sat down against Arkansas, she began to emerge, inconsistently. She seemed to dominate the TCUs that had no interior while struggling against those teams that had a post. I thought her game against TCU was the best that she has played, offensively. She didn't catch and shoot all that well. But, she got offensive boards and putbacks. I am still waiting on her defense. But, she is improving, and she is pretty valuable as a scorer, especially for a team that has some outside shooters. She is not good at stopping the dribble drive. But, she is now showing me what Sherri saw.

Gioya: I must admit that I thought Sherri had missed on this one. Gioya had shown more ability to make something happen than anyone we had last year, which wasn't saying much. But, she was error-prone and didn't hit her shots with any regularity. Her six or seven game stretch in January showed me what can be. She can be the guard that I always wanted---someone like a Candace Wiggins---that can score from anywhere on the floor. She can also rebound better than the average guard, and does play some good defense. Now, if she would just quit fouling and get back to shooting well she would be what we need---a scorer who is such a threat that she can make the team successful by letting everyone else get their shots. Right now, she needs to be benched. But, she can be a superstar.

Peyton: I thought she was supposed to be the scoring guard type, someone who is like what we saw for a while with Gioya. But, she had no shot early. She seemed a step slow. I was wondering why A&M had not started her and why she had shot less than thirty percent from three with A&M. Then, Peyton began to show what she could do. As Sherri says, she is deceptively quick. There haven't been many times when she was caught when she stole the ball and headed downcourt. Even T'Ona, with her quickness and speed, gets caught. Peyton doesn't--at least often. She is so quick that she moves before they expect it, and she is behind the defense and on her way. She is an outstanding rebounder. I don't know about her defense other than as a thief. She is the best catch and shoot player we have had in the past couple of years. She can hit, especially if not given time to think. Those two threes she hit on passes from Sharane and Maddie against TCU went from disaster to three in a millisecond. Great assists by Sharane and Maddie on those, beautiful quick release on a three by Peyton. She is worth fifteen points every night, twenty on a good night. You are always surprised at how she gets them. She isn't who I thought she was. She is probably better for a team.

Gabbi: Gabbi is showing that she is what it takes to be a great D-1 point guard. I don't know if she is a great pro prospect. She is a great D-1 prospect. She has learned extremely rapidly. Iowa State was probably her worst game in some time, probably due to the fact that she was guarding a pretty fair senior. She wasn't as good on offense as she has been. But, for the most part, Gabbi's stupid passes have stopped. Her picking up the dribble only to get trapped has stopped. He bad free throw shooting---well, she may now be the best on the team. She seems to score big points. She didn't against ISU, and we lost. She had saved our necks in a couple of games with timely threes. As the announcers on TV say, she puts energy into just catching a pass. She is everywhere, and she brings it.

Incidentally, that last foul that Moody scored on was on Moody for hooking--bad call.

Sharane: I think we are getting about what we could expect. She's a hard worker who gives her best. When she makes mistakes, it hurts. She hasn't been on her offensive game this year, until ISU. What a night! But, she gets the boards and works hard. She fouls because she is trying so hard. She cannot drive to the middle and outjump anyone. That shot will be blocked. She needs to shoot from just inside the free throw line.

Vivi: Did you really expect this much from someone who had surgery in April? She has shown that all she lacks is experience. She has strength. She moves better than I thought she would. She has a nice touch on about a ten foot jumper and should take it more, especially since her layups are 50:50. Her hands have surprised me. Like Courtney, they seem to find the ball. She just takes the ball away at times on blocks, like Courtney. She may be a star by the time she leaves. I look forward to her next year.

Kornet: Can still hit the three. She isn't our best defender. But, she does work hard on the boards. I have noticed that Sherri has been bringing her in at times to try to get control of the boards. She works them. Has always had more talent than she has shown. Would be nice if it were to come together for her.

Maddie: I was curious when Sherri referred to her as the next Stacy Dales when we recruited her. I wasn't expecting much from Iowa. I was really startled when I saw her on offense in Hawaii. She could do things that I hadn't seen anyone do at OU---ever. She can get up in the air---high. She had a nice running jumper that was way above the defenders. Haven't seen it since the ACL episodes. But, I have seen something that I had no idea about---actually two somethings, and both are exciting. If you are going to the games in person, you are missing out on the excitement of the commentators. They are jumping out of their chairs with excitement over her passing and her length. Her "length," which is defense to one and ability to pass to another, is the ability to reach around someone with her long arms to make an entry pass that is beyond their reach to defend. But, they are also excited that she sees the lanes. When she made a pass to Kay Kay on which Kay Kay scored against ISU, they laughed at how fast she got the pass through a lane that did not exist, remarking that it was thrown so hard at Kay Kay's face that it might have "killed" (if that is the word they used) her if she hadn't caught it. Kay Kay caught it to keep from being hit in the face and scored. It was so sudden that Kay Kay looked awkward. But, what is really surprising to the commentators, and to me, is that Maddie is a real problem on defense. She can jump up and catch your pass or shot, and, now, she is beginning to do it with some regularity. She has such long arms that she can reach out and steal it from you when you don't think she is close enough. She blocked a shot on Nina Davis, from behind. Her hands are at the ends of very long arms, and they just seem to find the ball. DVD her game and watch it. She has more ways to affect the flow of a game than anyone we have had. She was the primary reason that TCU was held in check for that 10-4 to 35-12 run. She stole three passes, blocked a shot, tipped two more that were stolen, and grabbed a rebound during that run.

This group has some stuff going for it. They don't all need to put it together for one game, unless we play UConn. But, they have it in them to be a lot better than we have been. I don't think we'll make the Final Four this year. We may well make the Elite Eight. Depends on how we play and who is in our bracket. But, I think the mentality of this group will enable them to develop. I fully expect to contend for the Final Four next year.

 

[AustinTXSooner]

Getting back to the thread title, I thought we lost because for a long span of the first half, we fell in love with the 3 and settled for that shot, without trying to take it inside first. A lot of them seemed really forced and out of rhythm.

 

[sybarite]

BTW, I know a basketball guy that has seen Mulkey play numerous times in person over the last couple of years, and he says we (ou fans) don't seem to realize just how good she really is. He says she will be a program changer. Nobody else seems to be saying that, but it will be interesting to see what she looks like when she gets here.

From what is shown in the videos that are on you tube, she seems to look awkward and immobile. Yet, she seems to be able to put her hands exactly where they should be to block a shot, even two or three shots in seconds. She also seems to have a delicate shooting touch. If you are 6-9, you don't have to slap down on a shot to block it, thereby eliminating the need to foul. You just put your hands up and let someone change their entire shooting trajectory to be able to shoot over you. There is also some indication that she is a good passer. If you are 6-9 and can shoot, who can block your shot?

 

[cowboysooner]

syb, like I said, I haven't seen her play. But, I asked the guy I know how tall she really was and he said that she is much taller than what was normally listed. Said, unlike with boys, the Girls really don't like to inflate their heights and in fact, often under sell their size. I don't know if this is true.

He thought she was at least 6'10 and thought there was a good chance she would be the woman's game first legit 7 footer. Maybe someone on here that knows her or her family can chime in and get us the straight scoop.

He acts like she will be the dominant player in college basketball and expressed concern that we might not be able to keep the commitment as her senior year approaches. Again, I don't know and he might not know what he is talking about. (his daughter played against her a number of times and that is how he came to watch her).

BTW, he said some glowing things about Llaunsa as well. He thinks if she grows a couple of inches, the national powers will be all over her, if they aren't. He isn't as high on Dungee although said she was good.

 

[sybarite]

I have seen other sources that say she is more like 6-10. I have seen none that claim 7-0. I think she is pretty solid. Since her aunt and mother had been through college recruiting and basketball, I think they had a feel for what they were doing the entire time. Her mother seems very astute.

I find it interesting that Dungee has fallen so much since she changed her commitment to OU. She's gone from something like #2 to about #30. I have seen her only in the title game against Cordell, which doesn't count because Cordell had no way to deal with her. But, it seems to me that if a player is selected from about forty kids who have been chosen to try out for a U-16 team, the person (or persons) who selected them must have thought they were one of the top twelve of that group of forty. Of course, the coach of that team that presumably made the selections was Danielle Robinson's highschool coach. I would think she might have seen a quality guard before. Apparently, some people think they are better than the selection group who watched her compete for the job.

 

[SoonerNorm]

syb, like I said, I haven't seen her play. But, I asked the guy I know how tall she really was and he said that she is much taller than what was normally listed. Said, unlike with boys, the Girls really don't like to inflate their heights and in fact, often under sell their size. I don't know if this is true.

He thought she was at least 6'10 and thought there was a good chance she would be the woman's game first legit 7 footer. Maybe someone on here that knows her or her family can chime in and get us the straight scoop.

He acts like she will be the dominant player in college basketball and expressed concern that we might not be able to keep the commitment as her senior year approaches. Again, I don't know and he might not know what he is talking about. (his daughter played against her a number of times and that is how he came to watch her).

BTW, he said some glowing things about Llaunsa as well. He thinks if she grows a couple of inches, the national powers will be all over her, if they aren't. He isn't as high on Dungee although said she was good.

I wasn't that impressed in the one ballgame I watched but, I plan to watch her in person to get a better idea of her overall game. To me, she lacked a quick first step and she wasn't their best defender the night I watched. However, my opinion could change dramatically if she has a better game next time.

I would be interested in what SoonerGrad, Mystery32, and any others who have seen her play think about her.

 

[sybarite]

http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/sapulpa-chieftains-(sapulpa,ok)/girls-basketball/schedule.htm

This link shows that Sapulpa box scores. Dungee's first game was 1/22 against the Oklahoma City Storm. It took a game or two to get started, but in the past six or seven games, she has been #1 of 2 in scoring every game, as well as rebounding. Seems to be able to have some assists and steals as well. Looks like she can hit the three, at least in recent games.

OKC Storm: 8 of 12 for 18, 2 of 2 from the line, 7 reb, 3 st, 3 asst
Washington: 3 of 6 for 8, 2 of 2 from the line, 3 reb, 2 asst.
Midwest City: 5 of 9 for 11, 1 of 2 from the line, 5 reb, 1 asst
Sand Springs Page: 8 of 11 for 24, 0 of 1 from three, 8 of 12 from the line, 3 reb, 2 st

Bixby: 5 of 10 for 18, 0 of 1 from three, 8 of 8 from the line, 5 reb, 1 asst, 2st
Muskogee: 5 of 15 for 14, 1 of 5 from three, 3 of 5 from the line, 2 reb, 1 st
Union: 6 of 10 for 17, 4 of 4 from three, 1 of 2 from the line, 7 reb, 1 asst, 2st
Owasso; 4 of 14 for 13, 0 of 2 from three, 5 of 6 from the line, 8 reb, 1 asst, 2 st
Jenks: 5 of 12 for 16, 1 of 1 from three, 5 of 8 from the line, 4 reb, 2 asst, 2st
Kelley; 5 of 10 for 15, 5 of 6 from the line, 5 reb, 5 asst, 3 st

54-109 for 154 in 10 games, 6-14 from three, 40-53 from the line, 53 reb, 17 assists, 16 steals