Thoughts on the Team

[cowboysooner]

First, I posted early in the season that I thought Sherri had a little better players t(the freshmen) than she has had lately. I still think that is true.

Second, I think if she continues to develop at a normal rate, Madi W will be one of the best Sherri has had.

Third, I think the starting lineup should be Murcer at the 1, Robertson and Pellington at the wings, Madi at the 4 and Lampkin/EJ at the 5. Nothing against the other kids, I just think this is the best lineup. When Ana returns, I would move Murcer to the bench.

Fourth and as to turnovers, there always has been and always will be a few more turnovers in the girls game. But, it would help if we would quit dribbling in the paint, making half court passes when the defense is already back, e.g. quit making passes for no discernible purpose, and go to the rim with a shot as a part of catching the ball in the paint. If a girl isn't in position to shoot , don't throw the ball to her, if she is in position, then there should be no hesitation, no dribbling, no waiting on a double team etc. This would also assist in offensive rebounding on the back side. Presently we just can't get any timing on this effort.

And finally, I think the kids are playing hard and giving good effort. I think they will improve and I still think we end up with a pretty good team by the end of the year. We will win our share of games.

 

[soonermike22]

Part of the problem with playing Lampkin/EJ instead of Mandy at the 5 is they have too many "oh no"s compared to the "oh wow". Mandy will never be a star, be quick, or look slick, but she is steady, rebounds well, knows where to be and hustles. Let Lampkin develop, maybe even Willlis and they may be better later, but not now. I think Tatum and Mercer are pretty close and a rotation of the two will be beneficial to the team. And when/if Ana comes back (healthy) it is going to be tough to pick for whom she plays, and how many minutes.
But a lot of good thoughts in your post

 

[TheMont]

Additionally, while Ana is out, Mandy is absolutely the leader on the floor. She communicates well and, as Sherri said in her coach's show at Rudy's, she's the only one who consistently exemplifies to the freshmen how hard you have to play at this level.

 

[inoref]

Yeah I believe they will get "better" Now I don't know for sure just how much better they can get. At the end of the day we still have the same person running the show and if we all
are going to be honest most of us not happy how the program has taken a turn over the last few years. Well maybe some are happy..dunno

 

[Soonerguy06]

Yeah I believe they will get "better" Now I don't know for sure just how much better they can get. At the end of the day we still have the same person running the show and if we all
are going to be honest most of us not happy how the program has taken a turn over the last few years. Well maybe some are happy..dunno

+1

Still don't think we make the tournament...UNLESS we somehow upset DePaul, maybe WVU, Texas and ISU (all of which we can).

Ana needs to come back strong for us and not have games in which she disappears, unlike last season.

 

[j2d2]

The talent on this team is better than we have had in recent years. I expect them to catch fire at some point - but when? Meantime they are not being taught defense(as usual) and need a strong team leader.

 

[sybarite]

Good stuff, cowboy, mike, and mont.

In a typical year recently, I get the feeling that we have three or four capable players who should start and are working with two or three that are borderline. We'd like it if they were just a bit better.

This year, I think we had two who were ready to play, one of whom is injured. We brought in four who are ready right now. Our top six (7 with Ana) is better right now than it has been. It is just raw. Eventually, Nydia and Aspen may be able to play on to it. I doubt that Mandy rises to that level of good. But, she is competent, the type who can give a good team some good minutes. You wish we had another "starter" right now. But, a lot of teams do.

I get the feeling that these were the go-to guys in HS. They aren't used to finding the hot hand. They were the only hot hand. They are having a little difficulty recognizing and getting it to the hot hand. But, they show flashes of what they can do.

If we reduce turnovers to sixteen and get our free throw shooting to 70%, we will be a player in the conference. How close can we come? We have yet to play a team that I don't think we couldn't beat in April. Will it develop this year? It's about the journey.

Add Liz, Gabby, and Chloe, and this will be so much fun.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

Sound thoughts by all who have posted. Level headed. Balanced and accurate.


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[tooney]

Sound thoughts by all who have posted. Level headed. Balanced and accurate.


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My turn now........maybe not as sound or balanced as others.

I see some talent........but I also see lots of problems. And those problems need to be addressed or we are in deep trouble.

We played a pretty poor team last time out. And we played poorly. Not for five minutes, nor 20, but nearly the whole game. I'm not sure we could have beaten anybody in the big 12 with that performance.

I know we should get better.....but every team should get better as the season moves along. We need to get a lot better!

 

[SKSooner]

I think we have some younger players who can really shoot the basketball. However, I am afraid our problems on defense are somewhat related to the fact some of our players have a lower ceiling when it comes to how effectively they can defend at the Division 1 level. We struggle to close gaps, even giving good effort. You need 4 really good defenders on the floor at a time to play good man to man defense, and I am not sure we have more than two right now.

We are averaging 80 points a game and have lost every single game against better competition. That’s scary.

The turnovers are dreadful. I don’t even know how to explain what I see there.

Sherri has some pieces here to build on but she needs more. I think she will get us back but it’s going to take 2 more years. We need Shaina and Ana to be all stars. They can’t just cap out at being decent players. We need them to develop into Danielle Robinson or Caufield.

Williams and Robertson are huge pieces to the puzzle. We need a few more!