this feels almost like that '88 season

[DenverSooner]

OU actually did not dominate everyone in 88. There were several wins by five or less and a few others under 10. OU also lost three conference games that season. OU was very strong that year but I think our minds tend to remember things better than they really were.

 

[WTSooner]

True. Selvy didn't put up numbers but was really good. 02 team shouldn't be overlooked at all. But I still feel a better back court wins a lot of games in college basketball. Basically Quannis got hurt and that team lost to an Indiana team they were better than. Buddy can have a down game and Woodard or Cousins can come in and score just as much any given game.

And White, Ere, and Ace carried that 2002 team at times.

Selvy averaged 7 pts and 5 boards a game off the bench. Detrick averaged 9 pts and 4 boards off the bench.

It's an argument that cannot be won. Both were/are great teams, that did it very differently. According to Ken Pom, the 2002 OU team finished with the 3rd best defense in the country and the 17th best offense. The current team is ranked 7th on O and 10th on D.

I will say this.....this year's team came out of the gates playing like a top team, while the 2002 team had to build up to that.

 

[NickZepp]

We aren't really dominating anyone this year like 88 was. 24 of the 35 wins were by 15 or more in 88. We've got 7 so far out of 16 wins. Maybe we'll get 10 or 12 possibly 15 out of 35 wins. Doubt we see close to 20.

 

[WTSooner]

We aren't really dominating anyone this year like 88 was. 24 of the 35 wins were by 15 or more in 88. We've got 7 so far out of 16 wins. Maybe we'll get 10 or 12 possibly 15 out of 35 wins. Doubt we see close to 20.

Don't get caught up in the margin. Different style of ball back then and different era. Just like football. Trying to compare stats like that over 2-3 decades just doesn't hold up very well.

 

[oudna]

Don't get caught up in the margin. Different style of ball back then and different era. Just like football. Trying to compare stats like that over 2-3 decades just doesn't hold up very well.

Yep

Like saying our 08 football was superior to 70s or 80s teams because of so many blowouts

Different game

 

[NickZepp]

True but that team dominated a lot of teams like we won't see.

 

[DenverSooner]

We aren't really dominating anyone this year like 88 was. 24 of the 35 wins were by 15 or more in 88. We've got 7 so far out of 16 wins. Maybe we'll get 10 or 12 possibly 15 out of 35 wins. Doubt we see close to 20.

sone of that might be the differences in the coaches and changed in the number of scholarships. But that 1988 team was extremely good. The front court was much better than this team.

 

[OklahomaLibertarian]

The game has changed a lot since 1988. The bad teams today are better than the bad teams of 1988. The game is much more physical today.

This current OU team plays much better team defense than tubbs' teams did. But there's a reason for that - the game has changed.

 

[inoref]

The game has changed a lot since 1988. The bad teams today are better than the bad teams of 1988. The game is much more physical today.

This current OU team plays much better team defense than tubbs' teams did. But there's a reason for that - the game has changed.

that Tubbs team would beat this year OU team badly..imo

 

[sanguinetti]

i don't really care for the comparison much and i'm a old timey Billy Ball fan, but Lon Kruger did himself have a pretty good team in 88. 3 Big 8 teams in the Elite 8 that year.

and Kelvin's Final Four team beat both teams that played in the other Final Four game. Maryland by double diggies in Norman, and Kansas just 3 weeks earlier in the conference tournament final.

i think this team has some work to do to be in that comparison just yet. work that is more than possible.

 

[Swans]

http://newsok.com/article/2497252


When I was at OU in the late 70s, Eddie Sutton had a team at Arkansas that our team reminds me of. They had a three guard lineup called the triplets and they were amazing to watch. I have never seen a backcourt as good as those guys until now.

 

[WaymanFan]

The game has changed a lot since 1988. The bad teams today are better than the bad teams of 1988. The game is much more physical today.

This current OU team plays much better team defense than tubbs' teams did. But there's a reason for that - the game has changed.

I agree with your first paragraph, but not your second, at least to how it pertains to 1988. Mookie Blaylock and Harvey Grant were the best inside-outside defensive combo in team history...not sure it's even close. Because of those two, that team found a way to play great team defense.

Here's an interesting tidbit few would have imagined when it comes to Billy Tubbs. He sent 8 players to the NBA (who played more than one season) and four of them were more noted for their defense (Grant, Blaylock, Bowie and Kurt Thomas) than their offense (Tisdale, Price, King and Lee Nailon).

As for the comparison, we had three NBA 1st round draft picks on the 1988 team...and it's without a doubt one of the 10 best college teams which did not win a title. This team would have to win the title before a comparison should even be uttered. However, I am seeing a lot of the 2002 team in this one.

 

[usedtobe1]

When I was at OU in the late 70s, Eddie Sutton had a team at Arkansas that our team reminds me of. They had a three guard lineup called the triplets and they were amazing to watch. I have never seen a backcourt as good as those guys until now.

Good analogy. Sidney Moncrief, Marvin Delph and Ron Brewer were all 6'4" and very good players. I was recruiting at the University of Arkansas and bought a scalper ticket to watch them play a ranked A&M team on a snowy night. I still remember the game.