This Trae Young thing is great, but.......

[152219]

Two things that Young needs to improve offensively IMO.

1. Cutting down his turnover rate
2. Finishing better at the rim. Part of this is because he isn't getting the fouls called that he was getting in OOC games because the Big 12 refs allow rougher play at the rim. Like I said in another thread, Young could use some weight training and gain about 10 pounds of muscle so he can take those shots to the body at the rim better and still finish.

 

[stormspencer]

No rushed deep 3s - check
No early 3s in the shot clock - check
Get teammates involved early and often - check
Good decision making/cut down silly TOs - check
And teammates make shots/plays - check

And it's a W.

 

[greenbug]

Awesome game tonight. Keep it up Trae.

 

[thebigabd]

Now he's cookin with peanut oil.

26 on 9 shots. Huge development.

 

[TINY]

He didn’t shoot nearly enough and we would have probably lost if not for hack a dok. He needs to shoot more than 9 times.

 

[MercedeSooner]

He didn’t shoot nearly enough and we would have probably lost if not for hack a dok. He needs to shoot more than 9 times.

I agree, think he overdid it a bit in the 1st half. He doesn't need to take 38 shots but if he took 20 a game I think this team will be much better for it.

 

[stormspencer]

He didn’t shoot nearly enough and we would have probably lost if not for hack a dok. He needs to shoot more than 9 times.

KU was guarding him very well....and Trae pretty much refused to force it tonight.....which is a huge step in maturity. He took advantage of what the defense gave him (driving) and distributed the ball very effectively. Very few teams we play are as good as KU is defensively.....thus, most other teams won't be able to have a constant hand in his face and he will get loose for more open shots than he did tonight.

 

[thebigabd]

He didn’t shoot nearly enough and we would have probably lost if not for hack a dok. He needs to shoot more than 9 times.

I will buy that... he took what they gave him and they beat a top 5 team, so its hard to complain, but you could see that he was trying to play differently.

Clearly he read my post and it had an impact on him.

(I do not actually believe that)

 

[Stikboy]

KU was guarding him very well....and Trae pretty much refused to force it tonight.....which is a huge step in maturity. He took advantage of what the defense gave him (driving) and distributed the ball very effectively. Very few teams we play are as good as KU is defensively.....thus, most other teams won't be able to have a constant hand in his face and he will get loose for more open shots than he did tonight.

Totally agree. He didn't force it and was very efficient. Was so proud of him and his team first attitude. Couldn't believe the 9 shots either. I don't care how many shots he takes as long as they're not forced, and like you said, it's what the D is giving him...

 

[Maverick008]

Now he's cookin with peanut oil.

26 on 9 shots. Huge development.

On 10-12 from the FT line. IF they don't call half of what they did (see the WVU game) OU doesn't win this game. Honestly, it needs to be somewhere in between. I'm all for not launching 35 footers 5+ times a game but there were some shots by others tonight that had less chance of going in than even a guarded 3 by TY IMO. Again, if "Dok" even hits 50% of his FT's down the stretch then OU probably loses that game.

I loved the "pass first" approach especially to start the game but TY doesn't have to completely dial it back to the point he doesn't look at all. Grahm did a good job of staying tight for the most part but there were a few times TY came off screens and it was clear that shooting wasn't 1st, 2nd or 3rd in his mind and that can't be the case.

Big win for the team for sure but they have to (and I believe they will) continue to keep working towards a middle ground of getting guys involved but also TY looking to shoot/score when it does present itself.

On a side note, the thing that killed me the most and almost cost OU the game IMO was the STANDING around when shots went up and watching others go for loose balls. I counted at least three if not four possesions that KU got 2nd chance points from OU players standing basically with their hands on their hips watching the ball bounce around. Against teams like that, you have to make sure you out work them for everything and it was evident that some of the guys weren't playing that way. That has to improve as well for this team to take that next step.

 

[sperry]

He didn’t shoot nearly enough and we would have probably lost if not for hack a dok. He needs to shoot more than 9 times.

Great minds think alike. 39 shots was definitely too many, but 9 isn't close to enough. 17-20 is probably the sweet spot, with no more than 2-3 of those being the outrageously deep pull up 3s.

 

[thebigabd]

Maybe I'm not crazy?

 

[SoonerBounce13]

props to pointing this out nearly a month ago when things didn't look nearly as bleak.
Body language is bad for everyone.

 

[ousooners1baby]

Yes. Props to big but there were a few that pointed it out.