Thomas is not as good as I thought he would be

[WaymanFan]

I'd hate to think where we would be right now without Thomas. Many, including me, thought we would still make the NCAA Tournament without him. In fairness to us fans, we expected Woodard to be slightly better, and he's been worse. We expected Spangler to elevate his game, and he's been pretty much the same as last year. We also thought we would get a little more from our bench than we have. Thank heavens for Thomas.

 

[DenverSooner]

He's better than I expected, better dribbler, better passer and very smart on shot selection. He may not be Ace McGhee but he's almost exactly Romero Osby. He's a smart player and once he gets past the tendency to defer to his teammates, he can take over a game.

If I were Lon, I'd double TTs touches.

McGhee averaged 12.9 and 4.4 rebounds his first season at OU. Thomas is averaging 11.6 and 5.9 boards. Thomas is on pace to block more shots and get more steals than McGhee did his first season but his turn overs are worse. I would also contend Thomas has played better lately with the exception of the last game. McGhee's senior year was pretty special. He averaged 16 ppg and 7.7 rebounds.

 

[sheepdogs1]

He's better than I expected, better dribbler, better passer and very smart on shot selection. He may not be Ace McGhee but he's almost exactly Romero Osby. He's a smart player and once he gets past the tendency to defer to his teammates, he can take over a game.

If I were Lon, I'd double TTs touches.

When Osby played on the team we ran a fast paced tempo offense. Osby played just as much minutes in these games as any other player on the team. Thomas would not be able to post the type of minutes played for he would get tuckered out too easily. That type of offense would allow him to have better spacing to move offensively but again, he would tire out rather quickly and for this reason alone he is not the same player.

Perhaps one of the reasons why we do not push the ball up the court as in past seasons is due to this particular aspect.

 

[jackson_supersooner]

He is literally EXACTLY what I thought he would be. You don't expect a guy fr Houston to step into the big 12 and average the same production he did in a conference not NEARLY as competitive....12 points and 6 Rebs is about EXACTLY what I thought he would be. Great player. Def underutilized.

 

[inoref]

I think he's okay, a bit on the slow side. When he wants he can rebound.

 

[SKSooner]

I think we will be just fine as a team, but I have been a little disappointed with Thomas. I think he's a really good player, but I don't think we are getting as much out of him as we can. I really think he needs to take it up another level, because he has the talent.

 

[cowboysooner]

Man, some of you guys are tough. I have been pleasantly surprised at just how good Thomas is. He has been terrific. I don't normally expect much from a transfer and take the preseason hype with a grain of salt. But,. Thomas has exceeded my expectations. I think as he becomes acclimated he will be even better.

I certainly don't think he has been the problem. We have lost 3 games at the buzzer and lost two other times to really good teams on the road. But for the close games, where it would have been nice to win one or two, we are about where we should be. The talent is going in the right direction. We'll be fine.

 

[snydrosooner]

The way we use Thomas at times is the problem. These three below are the problems I see as it relates to Thomas

1) Our guards cannot get the ball to him
2) Our Guards don't want to get the ball too him, and
3) Thomas stops trying so hard at posting up because he is not getting the ball when open.

 

[AdaSooner]

Going into the season I thought he would be another ace mcghee, but he's nowhere close to that. He is a very average big 12 player

Thomas is far from an "average" player. I'd dare say every team in the Big 12 would be thrilled to have him on their roster. Is he a big who can take the team on his shoulders and carry them to a win in every game? Maybe not. But you'd be hard pressed to name more than two or three post players in the conference who fit that description.

I agree with those who say TaShawn is underutilized, mainly because our guards do a poor job of getting him the ball. Some might say he doesn't work hard enough to seal off a defender, and to some extent they would be right. Spangler is guilty of that sometimes, too. But when bigs continue to get good position and the ball arrives late or doesn't arrive at all, because the guards are too busy passing it around in a semi-circle, trying to get a shot from three, it's easy to see why our bigs get tired of jockeying for position.

I'm happy with what TaShawn Thomas has brought to this team. He's averaging 11.6 ppg and 5,9 rpg, not to mention the fact that he leads the team in blocked shots with 24. That doesn't count the shots he changes. Would I like to see him do more? Who wouldn't. But as Bounce13 said earlier, I shudder to think what this team would be without him.

 

[Max Power]

Thomas is far from an "average" player. I'd dare say every team in the Big 12 would be thrilled to have him on their roster. Is he a big who can take the team on his shoulders and carry them to a win in every game? Maybe not. But you'd be hard pressed to name more than two or three post players in the conference who fit that description.

I agree with those who say TaShawn is underutilized, mainly because our guards do a poor job of getting him the ball. Some might say he doesn't work hard enough to seal off a defender, and to some extent they would be right. Spangler is guilty of that sometimes, too. But when bigs continue to get good position and the ball arrives late or doesn't arrive at all, because the guards are too busy passing it around in a semi-circle, trying to get a shot from three, it's easy to see why our bigs get tired of jockeying for position.

I'm happy with what TaShawn Thomas has brought to this team. He's averaging 11.6 ppg and 5,9 rpg, not to mention the fact that he leads the team in blocked shots with 24. That doesn't count the shots he changes. Would I like to see him do more? Who wouldn't. But as Bounce13 said earlier, I shudder to think what this team would be without him.

To echo your thoughts, it is tough to battle for position down low for 30 min and if you wont get the ball its human nature to conserve you energy. Our guards need to feed the bigs and let them dictate if we kick out for open threes, hit cutters, or take it themselves. They are smart enough basketball wise to do that.

 

[AdaSooner]

To echo your thoughts, it is tough to battle for position down low for 30 min and if you wont get the ball its human nature to conserve you energy. Our guards need to feed the bigs and let them dictate if we kick out for open threes, hit cutters, or take it themselves. They are smart enough basketball wise to do that.

Of course they are. It's that guards like to dribble and shoot, OU's guards more than most. We have seen what this OU team can do when they run the offense through Thomas and Spangler.

The defensive pressure WVU, and to some extent, KSU, threw their way took them totally out of their offense. WVU had 16 steals, KSU had 7. It's not easy to get the ball to the right players when you're looking over your shoulder trying to see who is sneaking up behind you. This team needs to value the ball more when being pressured. One way to do that is to protect it as if every turnover could be the difference in a win or a loss. I would like to see them be stronger with the ball, not play like the boy who got sand kicked in his face.

 

[sperry]

Thomas is the best player on the team.

 

[DapperDan]

Thomas is the best player on the team.

Hammer, meet nail.

He is the best overall player on our team, and we are lucky to have him! I agree with some that we don't use him to the capacity that we potentially could, but he's still arguably the best big man we've had in the last 10 years, minus Blake of course.

 

[sybarite]

Usually takes a while to break in a new glove. When the team comes together, he'll have a defined role that he understands. Without him, we're probably hoping for the NCAAs. With him, we are looking at how high the seed.

 

[euphguy]

I've been impressed by the agility of Thomas. I think he adds a LOT to an otherwise lackluster (save for Spangler) frontcourt. Instead of complaining about him, think about where we would be WITHOUT him. I can only imagine.

 

[chuckb]

Thomas is the best player on the team.

No, he's not. He's a solid player but he's definitely not as good as Hield. If you want to put him above Cousins, that's your prerogative. I don't think I would. He's a very good player who could stand to play better defense and use his body better on offense.

 

[sdcloud9]

Post players need good guard play to be effective.

OU's guards are not the best at feeding the post but this is an issue throughout basketball in general, not just OU. Let's just hope they improve as the year goes along.

Woodard and the development of the bench are the keys to this season being good or potentially special, imo.

 

[bgrch1350]

Hammer, meet nail.

He is the best overall player on our team, and we are lucky to have him! I agree with some that we don't use him to the capacity that we potentially could, but he's still arguably the best big man we've had in the last 10 years, minus Blake of course.

Romero Osby is our best big behind Blake.