What did Kruger do wrong against ISU?

[coolm]

I think it's a fair question to ask. He certainly didnt coach the perfect game.

IMO he let them (ISU) get away with that skin-tight man defense for too long without rolling off a pick and taking it to the hole to draw more fouls earlier. I know he did that later but IMO he waited MUCH too long.

To me that would have made a world of difference.

Overall I think he does tend to undercoach. A lot of players like that but in this tough league we have some excellent coaches and more changes are needed during play vice just at the half. He also needs to use those darn timeouts and break up some of these runs more or break up momentum or get a nice called play in.

 

[Zimwillett]

I think KU's zone at the end of the game was effective. I wish Kruger would have at least tried it. That said, I understand why you might not want to as well. Those guys can shoot you out of it.

Bottom line is Iowa State is a REALLY good team. There's no shame in OU's loss last night.

 

[KBaden145]

To my eyes, there is no real discernible difference difference between OU, ISU, and KU. ISU might be better offensively, we might be better defensively, and KU might be more talented but these are 3 very good basketball teams.


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[Northbase]

If we can just learn to maintain our intensity for a full game, we're unstoppable.
1st game against ISU - We ran away with the win
2nd game 21 point lead but did not make proper adjustments
3rd game large 1st half lead and the ball rolling off the rim at the buzzer to tie.

I'm ready for the tournament.

 

[tsou89]

To my eyes, there is no real discernible difference difference between OU, ISU, and KU. ISU might be better offensively, we might be better defensively, and KU might be more talented but these are 3 very good basketball teams.


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Three good teams. The difference to me is the bench.

 

[coolm]

To my eyes, there is no real discernible difference difference between OU, ISU, and KU. ISU might be better offensively, we might be better defensively, and KU might be more talented but these are 3 very good basketball teams.

not a lot of difference. I agree. KU is more consistent. ISU is more explosive. OU plays good defense and can score in bunches too.

Coach Lon should have a good team next year too. This is an enjoyable season. I like being competitive like this.

 

[jerry]

The difference between KU, IState and us is that they both have 8 players that contribute and we have 5. That catches up with you late in the year and at tournament time. Unless our bench contributes more we might go out early.

 

[KBaden145]

Three good teams. The difference to me is the bench.

I would agree in the there needs to be more offensive production from our second unit. I fully expect that to change next season.


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[schoonerdriver]

Our offense was more consistent when we started getting the ball to the post in the middle of the 2nd half. We were getting good position deep on the block but our guards were still hesitate to pass it down low. Also, need to get Spangler going again.

 

[chuckb]

Three good teams. The difference to me is the bench.

This. Putting the loss on Kruger is unfair.

 

[IndySooner]

Kruger working the refs got us back in the game last night.

 

[AdaSooner]

Kruger working the refs got us back in the game last night.

I would like to see more of that. I'm not suggesting that LK makes a habit of going ballistic on officials, and I'm sure you're not either. That's not his style anyway.

But, an occasional red in the face, neck bulging hissy fit when it's obvious OU is getting hosed by the officials can be good when executed at the right time of the game. A technical is the worst that can happen. It also sends a strong message to the players that their coach is willing to fight for them. To me, that's the best reason for Lon to be more animated on the bench.

 

[KBaden145]

Kruger working the refs got us back in the game last night.

Great move on his part. He was a bit slow to adjust offensively to what ISU was doing on our pick and rolls and I would have played some more zone when they went into their spread isolation game. Other than those things, I have no issues with our coaching last night.


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[KBaden145]

I think casual observers (which describes a lot of the posters on this board) fail to realize that ISU is so hard to guard. Everyone in their rotation is a threat and they are so skilled and well coached. I think they're the best offensive team we've played all year, including Wisconsin. Holding them to 67 was impressive to me.


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[soonerbms]

I can't say last night was a coaching failure nor can I point to much we should have done differently. We lost by two and only conceded 67 points. That should be enough with our offensive firepower. If the best player in the conference shoots any better than 2-13 from three point range, we win that game. If we shoot any better than 7-28 from three point range as a team, we win that game. Spangler's **** up was one for the ages, but it was our perimeter shooting that cost us the game. That isn't coaching. It just means the shots weren't falling. Happens from time to time I guess.

 

[opsooner]

It wasn't an accident that Baylor swept ISU. The way to beat them is with a long zone but we don't really have that. I would have liked us to mix in zone a little bit. However, I thought our man D was actually pretty good for a lot of the game this time.

I thought we lost the game on the offensive end though. We let a few balls slip out of our hands at critical times and ISU is athletic enough to give us trouble when we go into our motionless offense funks. Even then we had every chance and did miss a lot of good looks. Could have gone wither way and it was a 90% road game.

I can't say that I thought LK did anything wrong though. My biggest issue is our half court offense and that trouble didn't start last night.

 

[Escape Goat]

Zone defense.


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[SoonerinNC]

We are a streaky shooting team with a undersized interior. Our defense has kept us in the games at times when the offense faltered.

Iowa State is also a streaky shooting team but they have better shooters. Don't understand how they get so many good shooters year after year. Those kind of guys are usually hot commodities.

ISU also deflected a lot of passes that led to turnovers. We had more turnovers than usual. Also I thought the officials allowed a lot of contact with no calls. Seemed to be in their favor but I am clearly biased.

 

[coolm]

dont get me wrong. I'm not blaming it all on Kruger at all. Just saying there are things he could have done and probably should have done. I actually like the guy quite a bit.

I've seen some good suggestions in this thread.

 

[cjhsooner]

Zone defense.


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The problem with OU playing a zone is that OU has no tall, rim protecting big man. They have bulk, which helps in man, but not in zone. Also, OU is not a long team. They are athletic, but not long. Baylor has a lot of wing players who have long arms. OU has a couple coming in, but not now. OU could have benefitted from Manyang this year.