We need a miracle worker

[j2d2]

to get this team's defense from where it was last night to being a competitor. Kruger will need all his talent as a coach to make us into a team that can challenge our competition.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Ok


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[usedtobe1]

The defense will be fine. There's a lot of time between now and November when the season starts. They've only had 10 complete practices. I'm sure jet lag had something to do with the slow start last night.

 

[slides]

Throw in 24 second shot clock (14 seconds on offensive rebound) and an impressive New Zealand 1st quarter, defense wasn't horrible and improved

14 steals and out rebounded them by 10

New Zealand scoring per quarter
30, 25, 21, 15

They only scored 36 in the second half

And true freshman playing, etc

 

[AdaSooner]

Usedtobe1 and slides said it all for me. I'm not the least bit worried about our defense. No question in my mind it will get better as Lon settles in on the top eight or nine players (although it could be ten this season) in our rotation. It's hard to develop much continuity and discipline when twelve different players see the floor.

 

[Soonerinkc]

I have to admit, I was a little "concerned" about our early D...but man, that NZ team did a great job of multiple picks..drive and dishing.

We kind of played "playground" basketball...but that's what it's for. Just giving the guys time to play together vs someone besides themselves.

Can't believe we scored 133 points...lol, Tubbs would be proud. Not that we'll score 133 in Big12 but as "bad" as our D was...we still won by 40. crazy.

Reminds me of the LMM game with Price killing it on the 3 ball.:woot

 

[coolm]

I watched the defensive lapses pretty intently. It was all things that repetition and specific coaching will alleviate. to wit:

- I was listening for communication on the court. the lack of a microphone made that hard to hear. Not sure if that was happening at all. I will be looking for that. Trae and Shepherd both were taken out on open court picks that no one called out despite being in a position to do so.

- the Aucks nearly wore themselves out taking advantage of Brady's hesitations. He would pause a second before moving to close the baseline (they got him on this a couple of times) or be confused about where he should move. All just practice issues. His defense in that regard will improve 100% with a little practice and a little more experience.

- Polla actually looked less clueless than Brady defensively.

- they didnt switch the way they normally do and you couldnt really call their moves over or under the screens. They were just kinda out there "getting screened off". Thats why the first quarter was so easy for the Aucks. EVen the little experience in game saw it get somewhat better.

It's all stuff that coach will fix. At least for now. When we play teams with more athleticism we'll know more. I thought this was a good first game.

 

[coolm]

... and in support of what I said please consider what coach Lon stated after the game:

“Always good to [get] a first game under your belt,” said head coach Lon Kruger. “Opened the ball game not transferring very well from practice to a game situation, but we learned a lot from it and I think overall from the 40 minutes there was progress from throughout the game. Defensively, obviously a long way to go. Offensively, really shared the ball well and made good plays for each other.”

from http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31000&ATCLID=211659899

As the Aussies say "no worries mate". Or at least they say that in the movies I see.

 

[dsuits]

Anyone out there want to make some extra money and help the game of basketball? Write a catchy song about defending the pick and roll. I'm kinda joking but a lot of music today is lyrically telling you how to dance to the song. Make it something kids can listen to and get something out of it. The pick and roll is not going away. Our bigs will get heat for not defending it well but our young guards have to really improve as well. It's early and they'll get better with reps but I see this as a area the coaches will work hard to continually improve throughout the season.

I imagine the next games in Australia will be a step up from what we saw last night. The Select or Premiere team last night were 23 and under squad with little court time together. The pro teams in Australia may not be at full strength but I imagine they'll be more seasoned and some will be looking to make their case for landing with a team.

All in all, a invaluable experience the coaches can show the team to get ready for the upcoming season. These team trips help so much in preparation and team building. I like this OU squad potential. Every year you hear about teams all over say they want to push the pace. I think this team personnel has a chance to run with or over anyone on a given night. Sure, some growing pains are in order. First game playing international rules with that pace against a 24 second clock and only committing 8 total turnovers on a slippery surface. There for a second, I thought they'd waxed the court before game time with coconut oil. Happy to get out of there kiwi knee injury free. I'll take that all day long Sooner :OUbball-logo:.

 

[Escape Goat]

I'm sure they'll be fine.


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[Larry72]

Playing international rules was not the reason for our sad D

 

[MsProudSooner]

It's August.

 

[MisterF]

hahahahaha they have had 10 practices and we are worried about the D! hahahaha

 

[chuckb]

It's August.

This. It'll get better. Not only is it early but a lot of new guys got a lot of minutes yesterday. We struggled on switches and rotations as well as in transition but they'll get better. Remember, most of the teams we'll be competing against aren't getting games like these and practices like these right now.

 

[sheepdogs1]

Last night's game was not your typical college match up.