Transfer Portal 2027
- Thread starter TEvans4Three
- Start date
cmdsooner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2024
- Messages
- 751
- Reaction score
- 2,194
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.
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.
Last edited:
hoopsaustin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
- Messages
- 12,598
- Reaction score
- 5,966
Good. Let him walk then
hoopsaustin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
- Messages
- 12,598
- Reaction score
- 5,966
hoopsaustin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
- Messages
- 12,598
- Reaction score
- 5,966
Plenty of 41% 3 shooters, if we want one, that can actually do the other complimentary things in basketball too imo
BoulderSooner
Owner/Operator
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 20,026
- Reaction score
- 12,376
Yeah those schools are way worse at choosing players then OU is
BoulderSooner
Owner/Operator
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 20,026
- Reaction score
- 12,376
Not a fan of plus minus I guess. When he was in the game OU was winning. When he wasn’t they were losing.
Last edited:
hoopsaustin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
- Messages
- 12,598
- Reaction score
- 5,966
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
WichitaSooner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2015
- Messages
- 12,254
- Reaction score
- 9,524
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.
cmdsooner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2024
- Messages
- 751
- Reaction score
- 2,194
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.
cmdsooner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2024
- Messages
- 751
- Reaction score
- 2,194
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.
pnkranger
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 4,272
- Reaction score
- 1,315
I love Atak. I love his energy, his youthful impact on the game, his willingness to score 18 points in 16 minutes when the shot is really falling, his ability to get a shot off anytime.
But beyond 41% 3 point shooting, he was a zero (or negative impact) in all other areas. Bad rebounder, bad defender, not passing the ball. As far as I remember, he had two shots all year that were not threes or long jumpers. That's not winning basketball. Would love to have him back to see him grow, but I think we can replace his overall impact with a more balanced player.
But beyond 41% 3 point shooting, he was a zero (or negative impact) in all other areas. Bad rebounder, bad defender, not passing the ball. As far as I remember, he had two shots all year that were not threes or long jumpers. That's not winning basketball. Would love to have him back to see him grow, but I think we can replace his overall impact with a more balanced player.
NorthCarolinaSooner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2009
- Messages
- 1,242
- Reaction score
- 1,287
I completely agree on a lot of the complaints about PM...however, the hand wringing that goes on and the whining about "retention" as a big knock on him is simply a waste of time. They project 3000+ NCAA players to be in the portal.
Major D1 starters WAY better than Atak are in the portal already. This isn't a PM issue..it is a College sports issue.
Yeah. A lot to blame on Moser but we have no clue why Atak is leaving. It could be anything at this point.
But, it is a big loss. Not necessarily because he was all around great last year but because his potential. There are plenty of coaches out there that could get Atak to play better defense next year. If that happens he’ll be elite.
WTSooner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2011
- Messages
- 12,705
- Reaction score
- 2,025
He will not be elite.
But you did hit on something that is correct, he might can go elsewhere and look better or develop more. Why? Maybe better coaching, but certainly because he can go somewhere and be surrounded by better, more complete players, and that can mask some of his inefficiencies.
WTSooner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2011
- Messages
- 12,705
- Reaction score
- 2,025
I'm not a huge fan of the +/- stat either, but this one is pretty telling.
BoulderSooner
Owner/Operator
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 20,026
- Reaction score
- 12,376
the giant yo yo with his min has to be a factor ..
Seymore Cox
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 9,299
- Reaction score
- 460
That will change with Forsythe. A kid that probably needs to move on to thrive at another level, but Porter uses him as the local fan favorite to keep the fans from going all the way in on him.
BoulderSooner
Owner/Operator
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 20,026
- Reaction score
- 12,376
IF he stays
