I really enjoy making the 35 minute drive to the Loyd Noble 16 to 19 times a year, depending the schedule, to watch the Sooner Women play. Have been a Sooner fan of all sports for as long as I can remember. Friday I was at the "Peak" to watch the first round games, and what surprised me about the four teams I watched (TCU, Tech, KU, OSU) was the poor fundamentals the teams possessed. Finishing at the rim, dribble offense, lack of pump fakes, no inside/out play and settling for 3's. It made for a lot of ugly basketball. I couldn't go to the morning session yesterday, but the evening with OSU-Tex, and then our embarrassment, still showed poor fundamentals from all four teams. Still a lot of dribble offense. I was surprised how little Texas and OSU did not use their posts on offense, when both have outstanding players. The three point line has really changed the game. You see it at the high school level, which transfers to college. Again very poor fundamentals, begats lack of preparation.
Last nights abomination from the Sooners was really hard to take. Sherri is right, it is on the coaches, but more important, if the players cannot get ready for their conference tournament, with the chance of punching an automatic ticket to the Big Dance, then they all need to be fired. Its a shame you can't send them all packing and start with a clean slate, but remember it is college athletics. Basketball is an extra curricular activity, with scholastics really the important part of the student's reason to be there. My question is this, if you can excel in the classroom, and are doing the best you can at working toward your degree, isn't it just as important to work at being the best you can be on the Basketball floor too? The two go hand in hand. I demand more from the coaches to prepare the kids and help them achieve their goals and become the best they can be, and the kids should take pride in themselves to do the same. I just don't see that happening the past 3 or 4 years at the University of Oklahoma. I hope last night will force this team to focus on what is important to them and decide to become the best they can be, or maybe they need to move on and give someone else a chance. Don't mean to be harsh, but that's how I see it. I wish them the best in the NCAA's.
