Well, first impressions everyone?

[thebigabd]

Under 2 minutes left and all the walk-on guys are in.

Here are some things I noticed. I will be interested to see what you guys think.

1.) Sam Grooms is the real deal. Athletic, nice floater, quick, great passer, great ball-handler. I think he is easily the best point guard on the team and will be a great upgrade at that position. A side benefit of that is that Carl Blair gets to be a very solid backup.

2.) Cameron Clark is the best player on the team. Best athlete, best overall player. I am not sure if that is good or bad yet. He has a really funky looking shot (to me, at least) but it seems to work for him.

3.) Casey Arent looked pretty good. He isnt a stiff, and made some nice plays. It will be interesting to see him develop over the next couple of weeks and what his role might be.

4.) Calvin Newell is the only guy on the team that can create his own shot. Pump fakes, quick moves, etc. Seems like he can get a shot whenever he wants to. He had 3-4 rim in and out or he might have had 15-17 points. Lightning quick.

5.) Romero Osby is 6'5'' 225, not 6'8'' 238. CJ Washington has a few inches on him. He started to turn it on late in the second half, but he didnt look like a guy that was going to come in and average 13-16 a game. But, he hasnt played "starter" minutes in a basketball game since high school, as he was a reserve at MSU. That is a ton of rust, so he is sure to improve. But, at least for now, he looks like a solid player and not a leading scorer type.

6.) Tyler Neal is going to be one of those guys that plays 10-15 minutes a game and hit 2-3 from behind the arc. He will be a zone buster. A specialist. And everyone needs a player like that.

7.) I think Fitz is one of those guys that is what he is. He doesnt have athletic ability or physical tools that allow him to have a high ceiling. Thats not bad, as he is a solid player. But he looked like the exact same player. That could be good or bad, but it is what it is.

Overall, good outing. I think they brought in some nice talent with Grooms, Arent, Osby.

 

[Soonerman]

Thought Grooms looked great. Dude is fast and loves to push the ball upcourt, which I like. Strong, athletic, and aggressive.

Osby maybe didn't fill up the stat sheet tonight, but I liked what I saw. Good defensive player, at least against D2 opponents. I bet he finds his offensive groove as the season progresses.

Wasn't impressed nor disappointed by Arent. A guy who's gonna come in and grab some boards, maybe score a couple of buckets, take up the paint, and pick up a lot of fouls. I think he'll get better as he continues to adjust. At the very least he's some much needed size down low.

Cam Clark had a great first half, was looking for his shot. Disappeared in the second half, but maybe he didn't play as much? Not sure. He disappeared a lot at times last season, but I thought the first half was a very good sign of things to come.

Blair looked good, especially in the 2nd half. You know what you're gonna get with him...not a lot of points...a lot of driving and dishing.

Newell sure likes to shoot the ball. Made some tough shots, but I wonder how many of those go in against a decent opponent. I think he's going to be one of those guys that is absolutely maddening when his shot is off or it's not falling. But also a lethal weapon on offense when he is on.

Overall, liked what I saw. Defense got sloppy and lazy as the score got more lopsided, but we are definitely better defensively than last year. There is no doubt about that.

 

[Tydude]

i like this team very much we have a lot of work to do but every day they approve and i am excited to see this team play on Sunday

 

[p230]

I did not see it all but overall I would say they are improved from last year. The biggest thing I saw was better hustle. Honore made it down court much better than he did last year, so did everyone else I thought.

On the down side I thought our zone looked pretty weak. NSU was getting open looks most of the time. A D-1 team would bury us in that I think. That being said I know the idea was to try stuff out and then look at the film so I am sure coach will have a lot to look at.

 

[lk2183]

Interesting game. Quick thoughts:

- Cam dominated early. Was great to see him spotting up, attacking the basket and being active on defense. He did disappear in the second half but I don't think that's anything to worry about after an exhibition game. It was most likely due to a shift in what Kruger wanted the team to focus on in the second.

- Osby is very athletic. Pressed a lot until later in the second half. Had some really nice stretches though. Hit the boards and worked hard throughout the game. I think the next game will be even better for him as some of the pressure will be off.

- Neal looks like he has improved. He seemed more confident playing on the wing and I think the extra weight he put on over the summer will serve him well.

- Grooms was quick with the ball. Looked confident and was pretty decisive. I liked that he hit a few outside shots but from all reports I don't know if we should expect that on a regular basis yet. Good first outing though.

- Blair looked improved. Looks more comfortable in the half court due to him not being as quick as Grooms. Gave good penetration and hit some open guys but still had a couple out of no where mistakes.

- Newell was assertive. Still a bit out of control but I like his aggressive play. Second half was much better for him as he slowed down a bit and didn't rush his shot so much. Did a good job creating his own shot but will need to work on picking his spots and not forcing things.

- Arent played pretty solid. Quick getting the ball out of his hands which is nice. Moves pretty well up and down the court. Doesn't look to have many moves out of the post yet, but I'm sure we will find out more about him as the season progresses.

- CJ looked kinda frantic. Gave great hustle as always and provides good energy. Looks like if he slowed down a bit he could provide more. Despite this, I enjoy what CJ brings to the team and think he's a great team/OU guy.

- Fitz didn't show up much early. Came on a bit in the second half due to a change in the way we operated the offense. Missed quite a few gimmes so that will need to be cleaned up. Would still like to see more activity rebounding wise, but overall I think we know what Fitz can and can't do and I wouldn't judge him too much on this game.

- Team wise I think they played pretty well. Shot a good percentage and had some bright spots. A lot left to clean up on both ends. Defensively in the second half was a bit concerning given the amount of treys we gave up, but again, this had more to do with the zone we were running and Kruger working/toying with things. Defense still needs to improve as we were caught looking a few times and the rebounding still needs improvement. Looking forward to how the team changes, if at all, when Pledger is in the lineup.

Glad to get the win and am looking forward to future games so we can start to get a better idea of how much improvement the guys and team have really made.

 

[sdcloud9]

I thought it was a good effort. I like Grooms a lot, he is going to be a good one.

 

[cfin5256]

Maybe not in depth, but my first impression was damn, it's good to watch some OU basketball again. =)

 

[Soonercuda]

I was disappointed. It's early so a lot of time to develop, but I thought we have a long way to go. Looked to me like last year's team except no Cade Davis.

 

[schoonerdriver]

I thought the first half was pretty solid. At times, I didn't even think it was the first game this team had played this year. 2nd half it seemed we had slipped back into some of our bad habits from last year (i.e. sluggish zone defense).

One thing I liked is that we ran an actual in-bounds play under our basket and scored. No more of the standard Capel affair of heaving the ball towards halfcourt and hoping we get the ball.

A little disappointed in Osby. I realize he hasn't played a game in a year, but he needs to learn to be more assertive. Unfortunately, I don't see how he could live up to the hype that had been generated last year. Right now, he seems to be on the path of Nate Carter. The fact that Nate was built up by Sampson and had to play under a new coach mirrors Osby's current situation.

 

[Tony]

Most impressed by Cam Clark, Sam Grooms and Tyler Neal.

Wasn't wild about the play of Newell or Osby.

Just one game of course. It's good to have OU basketball back.

 

[Tony]

Also, Tyler Neal desperately needs to re-grow the fro. This is non-negotiable.

 

[schoonerdriver]

Also, Tyler Neal desperately needs to re-grow the fro. This is non-negotiable.

Please, no.

 

[Tony]

Unfortunately, I don't see how he could live up to the hype that had been generated last year.

Bingo. I totally agree. It's not his fault Jeff Capel called him a more athletic Jordan Hamilton, which he clearly is not. I think we should just be thankful for what we get out of him -- he's an upgrade over Nick Thompson for sure -- and not judge him against those expectations.

 

[OULad]

I was disappointed. It's early so a lot of time to develop, but I thought we have a long way to go. Looked to me like last year's team except no Cade Davis.

I actually laughed out loud when I read this. This team is way ahead of last years team already. Better man to man defense. Better PG. A year older at almost every position. Hell they even play harder.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Starters were together less than 5 minutes as Kruger started substituting very early.

Thought they looked good on defense except for when they were in the zone.

Liked the way we were able to hit from the outside early when they were clearly taking away the middle. Fitz forced some shots in the first half when he should have been more patient.

Clark was great. Grooms very efficient and Blair better than last year. Newell was forcing his shots but is shooting better than last year.

I thought the offense in the first 10 minutes was crisp and the shot selection was good. As the reserves got into the game the offense and defense suffered.

Arendt moved much better than I expected. Osby will help a lot on the boards and will score.

Neal is going to be the X factor.

 

[OKURanger]

Thanks to the posters for providing feedback on the game. It appears that once the team learns to play consistently, they might be pretty good. Glad to hear that Grooms is a real PG and that Cam was being aggressive.

 

[jmizzy4ou]

Not much different than what I expected. I know we will still have some struggles this year, so I'm trying to keep my expectations realistic, not allowing myself to have crazy expectations like some. I understand a new coach and new players, along with many of the same players, will hopefully lead to discernable improvement, but surely not as great as some have projected......

Decent start, now back to work.:clap:clap

 

[BoulderSooner]

osby is not anywhere near 6'5 he might only be 6'7 but i would bet with shoes he is 6'8

 

[JBaker]

Bingo. I totally agree. It's not his fault Jeff Capel called him a more athletic Jordan Hamilton, which he clearly is not. I think we should just be thankful for what we get out of him -- he's an upgrade over Nick Thompson for sure -- and not judge him against those expectations.

Capel was just trying to save his job...

 

[Tony]

Capel was just trying to save his job...

No doubt.