Turnovers.....

[sybarite]

When did you ever see a UConn team with a "deer in the headlights look?" When the coaching philosophy is grounded in the power of positive thinking, rather than discipline, you end up with a herd of deer.

Against ND.

 

[ou4ever]

There's a saying in sports that goes something like "Be quick, but don't hurry!". I thought that this was good advice for the way OU played in the first half. Trying way too hard to be quick, rushing shots, throwing the ball away, etc. Confidence and experience takes away the 'hurry'. I think that will come as the season goes along.

 

[Soonerbay]

Against ND.

But not when it mattered the most!

 

[soonerstar]

In the post game press conference Sunday, Duke coach McCallie said her turnover threshold is 10. Anything over that is too many. They had 17 against OU. Has anyone heard Coale say what number she would like to stay below?

 

[badger]

I used to bemoan turnovers. It's an ugly stat and we sure dominate that line.

But think back to Capel's final years as our mens coach (argh), where it seemed like everyone was too afraid to take the shot, even if they were open, even if they'd probably make it. Pass-pass-pass till the shot clock expired.

I don't want our players to be so afraid of turnovers that they are indecisive.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I used to be amazed at watching the KU men's team pass the ball. They could move the ball around the top of the circle more efficiently than just about any team I've ever seen. Every player knew what they were going to do with the ball before they received it. After 4 or 5 quick sharp passes, someone was taking an open shot.

 

[tycat947]

In the post game press conference Sunday, Duke coach McCallie said her turnover threshold is 10. Anything over that is too many. They had 17 against OU. Has anyone heard Coale say what number she would like to stay below?

I think I heard her on one of the OU coaches show this year say 12. If we were at 12 against Louisville I think we win. 12 against Duke and we potentially could have won and definitely would have been a much closer game. Disappointing that the upperclassmen seemed to have more but, of course, they were handling the ball a lot more. #3 Tennessee is averaging 16.9 turnovers per game (8) and their opponents are averaging 18.0. We are averaging 16.7 per game (9) and our opponents are averaging 18.1. We are shooting at around 46% after 9 games and UT is around 44%.

We've played 2 strong, potential Final 4 teams and competed very well most of the time in those games. We have a lot of youth intertwined with our experience. I believe we will improve on the turnovers but know that we can have lapses along the way. This non-conference season is going to make us a lot stronger. Most weaknesses will be improved. The biggest IMO is the rebounding but we may be making some strides on that as well. Duke outrebounded us by 2, 31-29, and they were significantly taller than we were. Seeing them on ground level showed they were probably 2 to 3 inches taller per player other than Nicole G. I think we'll be fine eventually.

 

[soonerstar]

12 has always been the number I wish we could stay at or below. Hope the tough non conference games help in the long run. I had rather lose to the likes of Louisville and Duke instead of playing Arkie-Pine Bluff, U-Mass at Lowell and similiar teams that Okie Lite plays each year. Hopefully, Gabby Ortiz will be a whiz ball handler and help cut the turnovers down next year.

 

[SoonerSpock]

For the ten seasons 2004-10 the Guys averaged 17.1 TOs per season. Their best season was 2005 when they averaged 16.1 TOs. Their worst seasons were 2007-08 when they averaged 18.4 for both seasons. This year they are averaging 16.7 TOs YTD.

Their approaching 12 TOs per game (25% reduction) will not happen ever unless players face consequences for unforced turnovers and history says that will not happen either.

http://soonerstats.com/basketball/women/seasons/index.cfm?decade=all#.Uqe5JSvnZdg

 

[soonerstar]

You are spot on about there needing to be consequences for unforced turnovers. If it has not happened in 18 years, it is not going to happen.

 

[keysersose]

Against ND.

I think of a deer in the headlights when a team is getting blown out or about to be blown out. I seem to recall that the UCONN ND games were all pretty close. OU has been blown out many times by many teams. The only OU team that consistently put the headlights on the opponent was Stacey Dales's team. When Duke ran out on us in the first half, my thought was, "that reminds me of what Stacey Dales and her team used to do (including to Duke in the 2002 semifinal). The only other player that I think of as having Dales's combination of ability and mental toughness has been Whitney Hand. The current team lacks that mentality I think, but then so have the others.

 

[sybarite]

In the first couple of games between UConn and ND last year, UConn lost as much as ND won. At the time, Stewart had not yet emerged, and UConn played stiff. ND took it to them. UConn appeared to be uncertain as to how to proceed. They stood around like we did against Duke, not sure whether to shoot or not, making passes simply to avoid shooting.

 

[badger]

You are spot on about there needing to be consequences for unforced turnovers. If it has not happened in 18 years, it is not going to happen.

If the punishment is bench time, we'd at least see a bigger than 6-player rotation, heh

 

[soonerstar]

It would not have been feasible last year.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Some of the turnovers seem to be totally uncalled for. That and the eternal bounce pass at Griffins knees that she never catches.

I have seen that Sherri says that she challenges her players to take risks and that will lead to more turnovers. But it is a little upsetting to see senior starters make careless passes.

I suppose that Sherri's tendency to play her most experienced players 35-40 minutes a game and no obvious consequence for sloppy play also has something to do with some of the turnovers. Tired players will turn over the ball more.

 

[badger]

It would not have been feasible last year.

If you turn the ball over too often, we're sending you to the volleyball team!

 

[ou4ever]

Why try to demean the volleyball team? I wish our BB players were at least half as tough as most college volleyball players. Carlee Roethlisberger was one tough girl!