Transfer Portal 2027

OU record in SEC games:

When Atak logged minutes: 2-7

When Atak didn’t log minutes: 7-5

It’s too simplistic to say, “they’re bad when he plays, and good when he doesn’t,” and I’m not trying to bash the kid. I’m a fan.

But this team had success late largely because it started defending at a requisite level. He’s truly elite playing off his jumper, and I do think he can improve defensively. I wanted him to stay. But he was good for 3-4 horrible defensive plays for every shot he made. There’s a limit to what you can put up with. For example, Pack isn’t great on that end, but he looks like Gary Payton next to Atak.

There are enough real reasons to be pissed off at Porter Moser. This is dumb though. Sounds like the parents’ section at a JV game in here.
 
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OU record in SEC games:

When Atak logged minutes: 2-7

When Atak didn’t log minutes: 7-5

It’s too simplistic to say, “they’re bad when he plays, and good when he doesn’t,” and I’m not trying to bash the kid. I’m a fan.

But this team had success late largely because it started defending at a requisite level. He’s truly elite playing off his jumper, and I do think he can improve defensively. I wanted him to stay. But he was good for 3-4 horrible defensive plays for every shot he made. There’s a limit to what you can put up with. For example, Pack isn’t great on that end, but he looks like Gary Payton next to Atak.

There are enough real reasons to be pissed off at Porter Moser. This is dumb though. Sounds like the parents’ section at a JV game in here.
Plenty of 41% 3 shooters, if we want one, that can actually do the other complimentary things in basketball too imo
 
OU record in SEC games:

When Atak logged minutes: 2-7

When Atak didn’t log minutes: 7-5

It’s too simplistic to say, “they’re bad when he plays, and good when he doesn’t,” and I’m not trying to bash the kid. I’m a fan.

But this team had success late largely because it started defending at a requisite level. He’s truly elite playing off his jumper, and I do think he can improve defensively. I wanted him to stay. But he was good for 3-4 horrible defensive plays for every shot he made. There’s a limit to what you can put up with. For example, Pack isn’t great on that end, but he looks like Gary Payton next to Atak.

There are enough real reasons to be pissed off at Porter Moser. This is dumb though. Sounds like the parents’ section at a JV game in here.
Not a fan of plus minus I guess. When he was on the game OU was winning. When he wasn’t they were losing.
 
Yeah those schools are way worse at choosing players then OU is
Well see. That definitely means they can never get 1 wrong

and what does our staff know? They've only seen him play first-hand for 2 years vs the other staffs seeing parts of a 20 something min highlights only tape
 
Well see. That definitely means they can never get 1 wrong

and what does our staff know? They've only seen him play first-hand for 2 years vs the other staffs seeing parts of a 20 something min highlights only tape
Well, Moser isn’t exactly an ace evaluator. The guy expected Jeff N to be our best player last year and wasted the first three months of this season playing him regular rotation minutes, and spent two full seasons starting Sam Godwin. He played Elvis more than Duke last season. And on and on.

If the price got to a point we legitimately didn’t think makes sense, I understand. But, they better be able to find quality players they can get in our budget.

And I imagine you’re exaggerating, but to be clear, there is no way on earth other teams have just watched highlights of him. They have seen every possession he played this season on video, and obviously the SEC teams in the mix also saw him in person (or not, depending on how Moser’s substitution coin landed on a given night). That’s precisely what a GM does, and why we needed one long before now. And Atak may well be the kind of player who is better on a good team than he was here. For instance, a team that is otherwise good defensively would be able to overcome one weak defender who makes 40 percent of his threes with his size and lightning quick release.
 
Not a fan of plus minus I guess. When he was on the game OU was winning. When he wasn’t they were losing.
Not really. It doesn’t account for several things. Matchups, for one. Maybe I’m coaching UConn & I want to stagger minutes so that Jayden Ross is guarding Yaxel Lendeborg any time he’s on the court at the same time as Mara & Johnson. So maybe one of Mullins or Ball is out of the game for those minutes so that we’re not getting fried on the defensive end & on the glass. Ross ends up playing harder minutes. It doesn’t tell you how much is mop up minutes. It doesn’t account for things that happen during play that might have nothing to do with the player. Maybe I’m going offense/defense with Pack & Jones like we did several times this season, where by design, Pack’s +/- can only go up, & Jones’ go down. Maybe I’ve got Davis or Jones only playing Acuff minutes and sitting while he’s out.

Atak was huge in the games vs Ole Miss & Georgia. I think most would agree those were his best two games of conference play & he had a huge effect on us winning. However, here’s the +/- for those games:

Ole Miss:

Davis +24
Wague +21
Jones +16
Brown +12
Pack +12
Reid +4
Atak +4
Rogers -2
Nwankwo -4
Elatontsev -7

UGA:

Forsythe +19
Jones +15
Elatontsev +13
Pack +12
Davis +7
Atak +6
Wague +4
Brown +4
Reid 0

I would argue his +/- isn’t indicative of his positive impact on those games compared to his teammates, just as I would argue there are several times when the opposite is true.

It’s a flawed stat.

More simply though, were we better or worse when they shortened the rotation? I think it’s pretty obvious. It’s also obvious that he has a hard time staying with people defensively on and off ball, and on the glass. He gets beat both physically and mentally on that end more consistently than anyone else on the roster that played real minutes.

And still, I wish we could’ve kept him because I do think he can improve there and he’s special offensively. I just don’t think it’s some travesty or he was done wrong by being squeezed out of the rotation late while we were winning games.
 
Plenty of 41% 3 shooters, if we want one, that can actually do the other complimentary things in basketball too imo
Not a lot of them have his length and ability to catch & release quickly & effectively over defenders like that though. He’s also got no conscience, which is exactly what you want in a specialist with his ability.

My hope was that we could keep him and grow the other aspects of his game. He has the length to bother people defensively if he could work more on his mind, eyes, & feet at that end. 80% of defense is keeping yourself in the right position *before* you have to turn to your athletic ability. Plenty of below average athletes are plus defenders because they’re prepared and focused on the right things. See: any Ben McCollum coached team. Those Wichita State teams under Gregg Marshall. Virginia under Tony Bennett. Hell, Porter’s Loyola teams had a lot of that in them. Obviously those guys have/had some really good athletes as well but they were all so good fundamentally & schematically that the non-athletes were also really good on defense.
 
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