This is two games against crap teams that OU has not looked good...

[thebigabd]

I know they are young, but they are going to be young all year and they wont be able to pull away from good or decent experienced teams like they have been.

In the first game against Popcorn State they were within 5 points with 13 minutes left in the game before OU went on a run and blew them out...

Tonight OU was unable to pull away and they hung around within 9 or 10 points the entire second half.

ULM is picked 5th in a 7 team conference this year, and went 10-20 last season with the same cast of players. I mean, they hung around the entire game. This team beat OU on the glass tonight and had they not put OU on the line 30 times could have been even more in the game.

This team needs to grow up REALLY fast, because they dont have the non-conference to do that. OU plays a brutal schedule and they will get beat quite a bit if they dont get significantly better in a hurry.

 

[soonerczech]

And Kentucky needed a last second shot to avoid OT against a pathetic team. And UCLA has already lost to a pathetic team. And Mich St. has lost in previous years to bad teams. It happens.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

We looked pretty average outside of WW tonight.

I didn't get to watch much of the game, but I think we are going to struggle with an inside game, with keeping bigs out of foul trouble, with rebounding, and with defense, most notably inside. There will be improvement, and ups and downs, but I think we're playing a little short stacked in some of those areas.

WW looked good. The frosh are going to have to grow up quickly.

 

[seniorsooner]

This may not be what we all want to hear, but it is 100% true.

 

[Sooner79]

Have to agree.

 

[stormspencer]

I agree with everything you said....and I'm very concerned.

 

[McJacknife]

ULM is picked 5th in a 7 team conference this year

5th in a 13 team conference.




I see where you are going with this... We're sloppy and young. Hopefully we can nix the sloppy play soon.

 

[duncansooner]

Good freaking grief. Basically 4 true frosh playing alot. What do you expect? Lots of teams struggle early in the year, and if anyone expected this team to be final 4 ready now was smoking something

 

[NashSooner57]

We played a decent team tonight that liked to slow the game down. This is just a learning experience for these young players. We may struggle early on but I expect these guys to play very well as the season goes on. Young teams play as good as the competion a lot of the time.

 

[ADCS]

In other news, we're green and raw.

We'll be fine.

 

[sybarite]

If you are depending on four freshmen, you can expect a bumpy ride. You hope that they learn from every bump rather than getting discouraged. By the end of the year, we could be seventh in the Big Twelve or in the nation.

 

[Tony]

I think this team is going to be really good at the end of games.

 

[campbest]

Young team...we're going to win some games we shouldn't and we're going to lose some games we shouldn't.

With that said, the interior is a MAJOR concern. We just got out-rebounded by Louisiana-Monroe, only reason we won this game is because WW and because we shot a crap ton more free throws than them.

 

[PeteHoops]

What do you expect 2 games into the year with a young team, final four caliber play? We have not looked stellar, but have you watched any bball this year? All teams look rusty its early. This is absolutely ridiculous two games in. Plus ULM is the kind of team that will make you struggle they slow the game down and it takes you out of rhythm. We will be fine, turnovers killed us early which we will have to cut down on, but it is too early to be so critical.

 

[mizzOUstu702]

And Kentucky needed a last second shot to avoid OT against a pathetic team. And UCLA has already lost to a pathetic team. And Mich St. has lost in previous years to bad teams. It happens.

This.

The good news is we can only go up from here. The bad news is how long will that take? I think the team will start to gel by the time conference play comes around. I don't think we'll be undefeated before then, but not many teams will be (we weren't last year).

ULM is picked 5th in a 7 team conference this year, and went 10-20 last season with the same cast of players.

Exactly. The same cast of players--it just means they're a little more seasoned, and definitely more gelled than our young team is. Pure talent won us the game tonight--outside of a handful of plays, there wasn't a whole lot of team chemistry. I think with the trip to Alaska and some other tough road games (VCU), we'll start to see this team start to lean on each other.

Again, it can only go up from here!

 

[TucsonSooner]

2 games, won them both and people are concerned. I'm shocked to be honest because this is going to be a very good year with a very young team. I bet by January they will be very tough to beat.

 

[TulsaSooner]

yes, pete is correct ULM came in with a gameplan against us to milk the shot clock every possession. fortunately for them they were able to make baskets on a lot of those. moreover we turned the ball over way too much tonight but we are playing several freshman so what do we expect, give it time. it is where we are come conference time and postseason play that matters. also, how about the free throw percentage thus far?

 

[NickZepp]

I'm not concerned. We have a young team and will have our ups and downs. But we've won both games pretty easily. We need to improve in some areas. But I didn't expect to win 30 games with all the guys we lost from last year. We really have 2 guys that played a ton last year back this year. Ryan Wright and Cade Davis were usually burried pretty deep on the bench. Give these guys more playing time they'll be fine.

 

[thebigabd]

Basically 4 true frosh playing alot.

Young team

If you are depending on four freshmen, you can expect a bumpy ride.

What I am saying is there are games coming up VERY SOON against Arizona, Houston (neutral court), at Utah, UTEP (neutral court), at Gonzaga, at VCU, Arkansas, etc.

OU might get thumped a few more times than predicted in the preseason in the above mentioned games. I mean, we had people predicting blowouts against good and experienced Houston and UTEP teams. That is not going to happen. Maybe they will grow up fast, but I am not seeing a whole lot of wins against the above mentioned teams based on what I have seen so far.

We will see how they improve, and im sure they will... but it could be a long process and they might get beat by double digits a few times before conference play.

 

[MsProudSooner]

A team that has 4 freshmen who are expected to be key players is going to be erratic early in the season. Anyone who expected a finished product on November 17th is being unreasonable.

This team and individual players within the team are going to look disorganized one minute and like world beaters the next. The players who have been through the wars, Tony, Cade, Ryan and Willie are going to have to serve as good examples for the new guys.

The fans are going to have to follow the advice of good coaches. Don't get too up when things go well and don't get too down when things don't go well.