TMG and WW are not good on the court together

[Seymore Cox]

They're toxic. It's too much reckless ballhandling out there. Neither guy values the ball and we need someone that does. This is where AJs abscense is missed. I hope they develop well together. Right now they shouldn't be on the court together for extended minutes.

 

[OklahomaLibertarian]

It's all about defense from this point forward. If you play defense, those turnovers arent as micro-analyzed.

 

[MO]

Maybe, but perhaps they are both best suited to play the same position, PG. They will figure it out. It's early.

I think they need a point guard that can get the ball to Pledger and Davis on the outside instead of taking one on one to the basket every time.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

WW is NOT suited to be a point guard.

 

[Seymore Cox]

WW is NOT suited to be a point guard.

TMG is in the same boat. he's just shorter.....

 

[sheepdogs]

You'd think as fast as Tommy is that he could make a steal every once in a while, but noooooooooooooooooooooo.

 

[Seymore Cox]

two shoot first guys out there. WW might be less of a shoot first guy than Tommy.

 

[soonerczech]

So, you're going from TMG, the first true PG Capel has had, to TMG, a guy NOT suited to be the team's PG? TMG needs to be the PG and WW needs to learn to move w/o the ball in his hands and get to spots and take some mid-range jumpers. If he keeps playing like he is, his draft stock will suffer. He's shooting 20% from 3 and not much better overall. Without his 11 assist game, he's averaging more TOs than assists. I've seen him dribble the ball off his foot or leg 2 or 3 teams in every game so far. TMG needs to be handling the ball. Other guys need to do a better job of making passing angles for him. This definitely looks to be a long season now.

 

[FaithfulSooner]

This is funny. TMG will be fine. He is making bone-headed freshman mistakes. The kid is learning to play on the D-1 level. He will learn that this is not aau. Every possession counts. This kid has all the tools to be a very good point guard. He's just young. It's just going to take some time. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

 

[MO]

WW is a point guard. He just doesn't know the position yet. If WW sticks in the NBA (and he should), it will be at the point.

 

[Seymore Cox]

So, you're going from TMG, the first true PG Capel has had, to TMG, a guy NOT suited to be the team's PG? TMG needs to be the PG and WW needs to learn to move w/o the ball in his hands and get to spots and take some mid-range jumpers. If he keeps playing like he is, his draft stock will suffer. He's shooting 20% from 3 and not much better overall. Without his 11 assist game, he's averaging more TOs than assists. I've seen him dribble the ball off his foot or leg 2 or 3 teams in every game so far. TMG needs to be handling the ball. Other guys need to do a better job of making passing angles for him. This definitely looks to be a long season now.

Yeah, because TMG is not playing the role of a pg. He and WW are both taking the spread the court out, overdribble and create a shot attempt first role. And both guys are TO magnets. TMG made 2 crucial TOs where he was trying to get his own shot and got stuck in no mans land. AJ and Quannas to go back a few years, scored when the defense permitted and got everyone else involved and settled down. When UofH would have went on that run, AJ would have pulled it out and tried to find a high percentage shot, not push tempo for something that wasnt there.

 

[sdcloud9]

We gave up 100 points.

I think the issues are on the defensive end.

 

[sooner333]

The problem won't be fixed with just one of them out there...the one that's in will still be doing those things. But, if it allows us to see Pledger and Davis on the floor together more, it might be a good thing, if not for the reasons suggested.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Turnovers arent a defensive problem. Bad shot selection, and giving them rebound break opportunities aren't a defensive problem. It's fair to say OU has problems in all phases. Our Point total doesn't mean we were an effecient offensive team. The fact that we shot 50 percent, but still gave up so many points off turnovers is disturbing.

 

[Sawyer]

We gave up 100 points.

I think the issues are on the defensive end.

When you give up 100 points, it's not just a defensive problem.

I didn't see the game, but it's very obvious from looking at the stats and reading the comments here that Houston completely dictated the pace of the game. Good point guards can do that. Houston doesn't score 100 if OU has guards who can control the pace, slow things down, and force Houston to play a style they're not entirely comfortable with.

You see it all the time in college basketball, especially when you have two teams that play entirely different styles of basketball. The team that dictates the pace on offense is often the team that wins. Doc Sadler and Nebraska have been in the bottom two Big 12 teams over the past 3 years, but he's 5-2 against Mike Anderson and Mizzou because they play such a slow style of basketball, and for whatever reason he's always able to put teams on the floor that take MU completely out of what they do (and his success against Anderson goes back to C-USA, as well).

Defense obviously plays a role in that, as well. If the other team is trying to run and you can't stop them, it's going to be a fast paced game, at least at times. But with quality point guard play on your own offensive end you can really change that.

 

[sdcloud9]

Sawyer, you are right, there are other things at play here.

My point should have been that 93 points should be enough points to win a ball game and giving up 100 is plain awful.

 

[AdaSooner]

Come on, guys! It's way too early to give up on a kid who is barely out of high school. TMG has not made the adjustment to the speed and physicality of the college game yet, or to the way Coach Capel wants him to run the offense. He will be fine when he does.

I agree that Tommy and Willie need to play better and learn to value the ball if we are to have any success this season. I just think it's too soon to make the assumption that they're not very good together or that the turnovers we saw last night will continue.

 

[Cheno]

Mario Chalmers looked HORRIBLE his freshmen year over Thanksgiving in the Maui Inv. He couldn't even get it across court vs pressure. He turned out pretty good. TMG will be fine. In fact he will be outstanding.
It may be a long year but the future is bright.

 

[suncoastsooner]

I'm just as discouraged as anyone and that's why I avoided posting after the game despite being wide awake.

First of all TMG is just a true freshman he is going to develop but he is definitely a PG. He's playing like most true freshman, a little reckless, not accustomed to the talent level and speed on the court compared to high school, and trying to find what he excels at doing at this level as opposed to what he could get away with at the previous level. He will be a fine and effective player one day but he just simply isn't a one and done guy and if that's what you were expecting your expectations were too high.

While there may be some validity to not wanting to get him and WW too much time together right now because they are both a little reckless with the rock in their possession we're in sort of a situation where it is a little unavoidable at times. Willie Warren is still the best player we have and needs to log between 30 and 36 minutes a game. TMG is also the only true PG we have that has a real consistent chance at this level. All that combined with our deficiencies in the post means that they are going to have to be on the court at the same time. Hopefully they can both improve in their ball control, TMG can develop overall by conference, and they gel together.