Thoughts on the game

[cowboysooner]

Most of the kids looked about like they did in the scrimmage i watched — meaning they looked pretty good.

Moore and sam are improved

Miles, elvis snd goodine are solid, experienced all round players that can shoot the 3

Taylor looked better in the scimmage

Jadon jones didn’t play but but I think he might be the 3d best player behind moore and feats. He can really shoot the 3

Have no idea what is going on with luke and yaya. Yaya didn’t even play in the team scrimmage and luke only played a little.

Cole looked good and under control in the scrimmage but out of control tonight. Hadn’t played much in the last couple years though so to be expected. When joness is back and the roster is condensed i’m not dure how much cole and Taylor play

 

[WichitaSooner]

Keita didn’t play at all in the scrimmage? That’s bizarre unless he is hurt. I don’t see him contributing this season, or ever, but in a scrimmage where you obviously need bodies, I can’t think of any reason he wouldn’t play other than injury.

As for Luke, I just don’t see him being good enough to ever make a real impact. When he played last year, even in moments where he held his own, it was clear that he isn’t athletic, and his shot isn’t nearly as good as some want to believe. The question I have is, will he get minutes when Sam and Mo are in foul trouble, or will they just use Moore at the 5. I’d hope for the latter.

Taylor plays a different style than I expected. I don’t know why, but I had him pegged as more of a power forward type. Apparently I didn’t do my homework on him because he spent more time playing a finesse game tonight. He didn’t do it particularly effectively, but it was just a different style of play than I had in mind for him.

I think we will really struggle against decent teams when we aren’t making shots. Fears was very good but I think the overall (lack of) athleticism of our guards will hold us back, and even though we’ve heard that Sam has expanded his offensive game, I didn’t see any evidence of that tonight. He will still likely score mainly off putbacks, rolls to the rim, and an occasional shot from about 10-12 feet.

I liked Moore’s shot selection. The open corner three is the one he should stick to. He makes that at a good clip.

 

[pnkranger]

Better than last year because:

3 point guards
Godwin and Moore much improved / know their roles
Fears is more dynamic than any guard we had last year
Overall experience
Shooting is improved

Not significantly better than last year because:

Guard athleticism is not elite overall
Post depth
Defense is =

 

[pnkranger]

btw -- after I posted this: Oweh and Uzan both played great in openers:

Oweh had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and only missed 1 shot
Uzan had 8 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, and 4 steals

So who knows...

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Lets remember that oweh averaged over 15 ppg while being pretty efficient (over 60% from field and over 60% from 3) in November and December last year as well.
I think he will come back to earth a big.

I expect los to be much improved

 

[WichitaSooner]

Better than last year because:

3 point guards
Godwin and Moore much improved / know their roles
Fears is more dynamic than any guard we had last year
Overall experience
Shooting is improved

Not significantly better than last year because:

Guard athleticism is not elite overall
Post depth
Defense is =

I’m curious where you saw tangible signs of Sam being meaningfully better than last season. Did he do anything last night that he couldn’t do last year? As for the guards, this time last year, and even well into December, people were gaga over the combo of Los and JM, and Oweh was lights out. That’s why people really need to keep in mind the level of competition when trying to evaluate these games. The earliest we will know whether we have three guys capable of being effective point guards will be Atlantis.

 

[CoachTalk]

I’m curious where you saw tangible signs of Sam being meaningfully better than last season. Did he do anything last night that he couldn’t do last year? As for the guards, this time last year, and even well into December, people were gaga over the combo of Los and JM, and Oweh was lights out. That’s why people really need to keep in mind the level of competition when trying to evaluate these games. The earliest we will know whether we have three guys capable of being effective point guards will be Atlantis.

Yeah and Don’t smile today either pnkranger!

 

[SoonerDutch]

I’m curious where you saw tangible signs of Sam being meaningfully better than last season. Did he do anything last night that he couldn’t do last year? As for the guards, this time last year, and even well into December, people were gaga over the combo of Los and JM, and Oweh was lights out. That’s why people really need to keep in mind the level of competition when trying to evaluate these games. The earliest we will know whether we have three guys capable of being effective point guards will be Atlantis.

I’m not incredibly optimistic either. Fears is definitely impressive. Moore is better too. If shooting is consistently better maybe OU steals a few more games to get an at large bid that they couldn’t get last year.

I’d admit Godwin is better as well, just don’t see him holding up against quality front courts. Sam is still the best we have down there, which is even more concerning. Hope to be wrong about the depth.

 

[NormanPride]

I kept forgetting Fears was a freshman. He had really impressive control of the game, and was obviously a level above the competition. That's encouraging!

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Fears should be getting ALOT of run during this non conference. Needs to work out some kinks and get adjusted to college game. Very high potential

 

[Jaymou13]

Fears is the most talented guard at OU since Trae. Very impressed

Wague was active and athletic. Liked his energy

Goodine has a confident 3 ball

Elvis - was okay. Not a starter IMO

Miles - looked great in 2nd half.

Moore and Sam are as good or better than last year

If Jones is the best shooter on the team, call me encouraged!

I’m cautiously optimistic

 

[CoachTalk]

I don’t get the Sam hate. Blows my mind. No ego. Great rebounder. GREAT.

Trash guy every possession. Requires no shots.
Gonna play hard every single possession.

He plays for every team in America. Everyone of them. Houston. KU. Zags.

All of them.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I don’t get the Sam hate. Blows my mind. No ego. Great rebounder. GREAT.

Trash guy every possession. Requires no shots.
Gonna play hard every single possession.

He plays for every team in America. Everyone of them. Houston. KU. Zags.

All of them.

You don't "get it" because it doesn't exist. It is a fictional thing that the sunshine pumpers have made up. When people accurately point out that we would be better served if Sam were a high quality backup rather than a guy we will need to start and play 30 minutes a game, you pretend that is "hate." As for your latter point. how many minutes would he play, and how many starts would he get, for top teams?

 

[daqman]

I don’t get the Sam hate. Blows my mind. No ego. Great rebounder. GREAT.

Trash guy every possession. Requires no shots.
Gonna play hard every single possession.

He plays for every team in America. Everyone of them. Houston. KU. Zags.

All of them.

i'm not familiar with the rosters of every team in america....but sam was the least talented big man in the big 12 last season.
so he may "play for every team in america"....but he's not going to start for "every team in america".
and i anticipate he's going to struggle against big men in the sec.
from what i saw last night....post play will continue to be our weak link.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

i'm not familiar with the rosters of every team in america....but sam was the least talented big man in the big 12 last season.
so he may "play for every team in america"....but he's not going to start for "every team in america".
and i anticipate he's going to struggle against big men in the sec.
from what i saw last night....post play will continue to be our weak link.

this is the example of "hate" that coach was speaking about. For some reason people really devalue Sam

 

[WichitaSooner]

this is the example of "hate" that coach was speaking about. For some reason people really devalue Sam

No, it is an opinion, backed by a fair amount of evidence, that our post game has not been up to par relative to our peers, and Sam has obviously been a big part of our post game. Acknowledging that an area of our team is a weakness isn't hate.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

No, it is an opinion, backed by a fair amount of evidence, that our post game has not been up to par relative to our peers, and Sam has obviously been a big part of our post game. Acknowledging that an area of our team is a weakness isn't hate.

It is why I put it in quotes. Hate meaning he doesn't get the respect he deserves.

 

[TEvans4Three]

this is the example of "hate" that coach was speaking about. For some reason people really devalue Sam

I am one of these "haters". Fully admit.

Love the kid, happy he is a Sooner, but man do I wish we had Achor Achor or another solid 5 starting in front of him. As an off the bench big, sparking a 2nd unit, give me all the Sam please. As my starting 5 with Wague as his backup in SEC play? Oof.

I see us playing a lot of smallball with his early foul trouble this year.

Maybe I am just projecting at our massive failure to acquire a proper (big) need in the portal.

 

[steverocks35]

As others have said, it's hard to tell too much about the team based on the level of competition, but we seemed to play cohesively. I like Fears. I think we are going to get killed in the paint this year though. It's our biggest weakness.

On a side note, late in the 2nd half I flipped over to the Thunder game and was jolted by the difference in optics. It looks like our team is playing in a dungeon compared to them. Bad lighting, decrepit looking seats and structure. I realize it's not really fair to compare a mid-tier NCAA team to an NBA team but this is getting downright embarrassing. If I was a recruit it would be a big reason to pass on the Sooners and apply elsewhere.

 

[BossFan64]

You don't "get it" because it doesn't exist. It is a fictional thing that the sunshine pumpers have made up. When people accurately point out that we would be better served if Sam were a high quality backup rather than a guy we will need to start and play 30 minutes a game, you pretend that is "hate." As for your latter point. how many minutes would he play, and how many starts would he get, for top teams?

Maybe hate is a little strong, but disrespect isn’t. Sam plays hard, rebounds well, and has improved over his time at OU. He’s not a star, but a team needs players like Sam to be successful.