Walker

[Darwin]

Need them both. There are times they will need the most talented and times they will need the mature decision making. Together they give more rest to the starters.

 

[Larry72]

James is also passing better. He is a better rebounder and defender as well.
Walker could still be a better pick against WVU's press

 

[sperry]

You roll with Walker. I'm taking the senior over the freshman who has barely played in these big games down the stretch. James's time will come.

 

[BozemanSooner]

I disagree on this one. I love him because he is absolutely fearless. As others have said, he can force things, but I like his attitude and he knows his role.

 

[Larry72]

I agree that James should be the first off of the bench.

 

[usedtobe1]

I definitely see James as a starter next year. Third guard spot is probably between Grandstaff, Odomes, or McGusty.

Darrion Strong will be in the mix, too. The question is what do they do with Woodard? If they keep him at the wing, then Strong will be at the point. If the wing newcomers (including James, Grandstaff, McGusty, and Odomes) are so good that they need 2 of them on the floor in their rotations, then Woodard could move back to PG.

Changing topics to Walker vs James. I like James, too, but Walker does a better job running the point and has more confidence. I have to admit, I'm partial to James. They both have roles.

 

[kbsooner]

Last few games I noticed Walker has been quick in his release and tends to be a bit off balance on his threes. Needs to get his feet under him again...

 

[usedtobe1]

Last few games I noticed Walker has been quick in his release and tends to be a bit off balance on his threes. Needs to get his feet under him again...

I like Seymore's saying. Walker comes into the game "shot hunting".

 

[Mookie]

Today he was a liability and the same for the game at KU. He's been a decent spot player but has limitations.

It's nothing personal against the guy, I just think if this team wants to get where we want it to be we need James or another guard to take Walker's minutes.

football recruiting is over... here comes the clowns... it's hard to find a decent message board with reasonable fans..

oh well.. spring game will be soon. then the clowns will go back to the rivals board.


OU

 

[HandyMan]

I disagree on this one. I love him because he is absolutely fearless. As others have said, he can force things, but I like his attitude and he knows his role.

Agreed. He gives a certain spark with his attacking ability. I thought he was huge last year coming off the bench. It's nice that we have a better bench this year to sub him out if he gets careless. Coach Kruger is smart enough to pull him if he is hurting the team.

 

[HandyMan]

I'm not sure we can expect too much from a kid who has not seen the floor enough to improve his confidence or his position in our rotation. A little over 3 minutes in last night's game; zero minutes at LSU; 3 minutes against TTU; zero minutes in the WVU and OSU games.

Every game since McNeese State, when he scored 15 points and grabbed 2 rebounds and 1 steal in 18 minutes, is very similar to the stats I posted above. While it's true that he has to find a way to make the best of his time on the floor, the truth is he is not getting much of a chance to show what he can do or to improve his confidence.

Rashard will be fine. He just needs more playing time.

EDIT to correct something I said above: Odomes logged 15 minutes in the Incarnate Word game and 14 minutes against Central Arkansas and Villanova. All of the rest have been 6 minutes or less, with most in the 0 to 4 minutes time frame.

Ada - I agree 100% on the need for playing time to improve his game. My question about Odomes is why is he not getting more playing time? I thought he looked great early in the season and he obviously has the talent. Is it a lack of effort in practice/off the court issue/dog house type of thing with him? I had wondered if maybe he had been nursing an injury from his lack of playing time these past few weeks.

 

[OUBig12Champs]

Nice topic and good read! Give me Walker through the end of this season and let James play the type of minutes he has been getting. This is good for both kids. Walker is the Senior so I give him a slight nod here... Love James game too, he needs to work on being more involved, but he has a roll so maybe that is not in the cards at this time. In reference to Odomes, I am concerned that he may have been over recruited and may not see the court much in Norman? Like what I saw from him early, but he seems to have lost his desire. Sure he is talented, but he may not be "in the moment" any longer. Wish him the best, and I really think if he applies himself the sky is the limit for him.

On topic, give me Walker still at this point and play James in the rotation as it has played out to this point.

 

[Big Old Booger]

football recruiting is over... here comes the clowns... it's hard to find a decent message board with reasonable fans..

oh well.. spring game will be soon. then the clowns will go back to the rivals board.


OU

Look who's talking. I thought you were in jail anyway?

 

[Big Old Booger]

Nice topic and good read! Give me Walker through the end of this season and let James play the type of minutes he has been getting. This is good for both kids. Walker is the Senior so I give him a slight nod here... Love James game too, he needs to work on being more involved, but he has a roll so maybe that is not in the cards at this time. In reference to Odomes, I am concerned that he may have been over recruited and may not see the court much in Norman? Like what I saw from him early, but he seems to have lost his desire. Sure he is talented, but he may not be "in the moment" any longer. Wish him the best, and I really think if he applies himself the sky is the limit for him.

On topic, give me Walker still at this point and play James in the rotation as it has played out to this point.

Lon's best teams are 3 guard teams so we have room for Odomes especially given the pace we prefer to play.

 

[OUBig12Champs]

Just for the record, I really like Odomes and think he is talented. He has the game to be solid, if not a star!

 

[DenverSooner]

In reference to Odomes, I am concerned that he may have been over recruited and may not see the court much in Norman? Like what I saw from him early, but he seems to have lost his desire. Sure he is talented, but he may not be "in the moment" any longer. Wish him the best, and I really think if he applies himself the sky is the limit for him.

This seems like a huge stretch to me. Odomes is playing on a team with three outstanding staring guards. If would be foolish not to play Cousins, Woodard and Hield 30+ a game and arguably 35+ a game. That leaves about 15-30 minutes a game to be split between three players.

Walker has way more experience so if the two guys are even athletically, it makes sense to play Walker. Walker is also probably a better ball handler. When you play your bench the first thing you need is for them not to hurt you. Another way to say that is don't turn the ball over.

James was the pure shooting guard coming out of high school. He is shooting the ball quite well as a freshman and it makes sense for him to get minutes over Odomes.

In my opinion, there simply are not that many minutes to go around but that doesn't mean Odomes was over recruited and/or cannot play at this level. I think he is going to be nice player for OU in the future even if he never starts. Teams need bench players.

 

[WTSooner]

I think most people thought Odomes had a chance to play in front of James this year, but from what we've seen, I think it's obvious James was more college ready. I certainly haven't given up on Odomes, as we'll need him to be a part of what we're doing next year. He just needs to get on the floor and get comfortable. It's difficult, in any sport, to play well when you play as sparingly as he has.

 

[DenverSooner]

It might not even be that. It may be that James skill set simply works better in the limited minutes available. If OU needed someone to force things a bit offensively, it might be that Odomes is the guy best suited to do that, however, if you need someone to take open 3 point shots James might be the guy best suited to do that.

 

[OUBig12Champs]

What I was trying to say, and may have not done a good job at it is... Maybe the addition of Grandstaff and McGusty will take away from Odomes, thus being over recruited. That was my point. I still believe in Odomes and hope he has a great career at OU. As previously stated, I think he has the tools to be a solid player, if not a star!

 

[BoulderSooner]

What I was trying to say, and may have not done a good job at it is... Maybe the addition of Grandstaff and McGusty will take away from Odomes, thus being over recruited. That was my point. I still believe in Odomes and hope he has a great career at OU. As previously stated, I think he has the tools to be a solid player, if not a star!

I don't know about mcgusty and strong (have never seen either play in person or on tv)

but I will be shocked if odomes is ahead of grandstaff on the depth chart next season ..

grandstaff make everything in practice and is quicker off of the bounce and on D than I would have thought ..

odomes will have to improve a bunch and the 2 new guys will have to be really really good .. for the starters to not be Woodard James and Grandstaff next season ..

(again not a prediction I know the staff loves strong and mcgusty so they very well might be "that good" and odomes has a chance to improve a ton from april-november)