What I'd like to see the players work for next year

[jaymOU]

Obviously team defense, but that's a team thing and maybe a mindset thing as well, but individually, these are some of the things I'd like to see them work on

Buddy - mid-range game. Can finish at the rim and has a great 3-point shot, but his athletic ability should allow him to develop a pull-up game and make him a more well-rounded offensive threat

Jordan - finishing at the rim. Size hurts him here, but he needs to work on his ability to score around the rim. Also 3-point shooting and not leaving your feet to pass.

Jelon - outside shot. Great as a freshman, not so great as a soph. Also going left. He is really strong on drives and finishes with his right hand, but his left hand needs work

Frank - driving to the basket. Stronger with the ball - working on handles and get in a better shape physically.

Isaiah - left-hand! Doesn't go left well at all, but outside of that is a really pretty complete offensive player. Be more agressive on offense - when he was OU was tough to beat.

Ryan - face-up jump shots - maybe a little 15-foot bank shot like Blake G shoots. Also love to see him get confidence in a corner 3-point shot. If he could stretch a team's 5 to the three-point line, it would really help Woodard ability to finish at the rim.

DJ- rebounding! Our rebounding really suffers when he is in there. Don't block every shot, you have to rebound a few of them! And, some more comfort with his low-post moves. He did some good things, even hit some turnaround jumpers, but rebounding would give him more court time and then he could be more offensive minded.

 

[Max Power]

Obviously team defense, but that's a team thing and maybe a mindset thing as well, but individually, these are some of the things I'd like to see them work on

Buddy - mid-range game. Can finish at the rim and has a great 3-point shot, but his athletic ability should allow him to develop a pull-up game and make him a more well-rounded offensive threat

Jordan - finishing at the rim. Size hurts him here, but he needs to work on his ability to score around the rim. Also 3-point shooting and not leaving your feet to pass.

Jelon - outside shot. Great as a freshman, not so great as a soph. Also going left. He is really strong on drives and finishes with his right hand, but his left hand needs work

Frank - driving to the basket. Stronger with the ball - working on handles and get in a better shape physically.

Isaiah - left-hand! Doesn't go left well at all, but outside of that is a really pretty complete offensive player. Be more agressive on offense - when he was OU was tough to beat.

Ryan - face-up jump shots - maybe a little 15-foot bank shot like Blake G shoots. Also love to see him get confidence in a corner 3-point shot. If he could stretch a team's 5 to the three-point line, it would really help Woodard ability to finish at the rim.

DJ- rebounding! Our rebounding really suffers when he is in there. Don't block every shot, you have to rebound a few of them! And, some more comfort with his low-post moves. He did some good things, even hit some turnaround jumpers, but rebounding would give him more court time and then he could be more offensive minded.

On Buddy I also would like to see improved ball handling

 

[MI Sooner]

Obviously team defense, but that's a team thing and maybe a mindset thing as well, but individually, these are some of the things I'd like to see them work on

Buddy - mid-range game. Can finish at the rim and has a great 3-point shot, but his athletic ability should allow him to develop a pull-up game and make him a more well-rounded offensive threat

Jordan - finishing at the rim. Size hurts him here, but he needs to work on his ability to score around the rim. Also 3-point shooting and not leaving your feet to pass.

Jelon - outside shot. Great as a freshman, not so great as a soph. Also going left. He is really strong on drives and finishes with his right hand, but his left hand needs work

Frank - driving to the basket. Stronger with the ball - working on handles and get in a better shape physically.

Isaiah - left-hand! Doesn't go left well at all, but outside of that is a really pretty complete offensive player. Be more agressive on offense - when he was OU was tough to beat.

Ryan - face-up jump shots - maybe a little 15-foot bank shot like Blake G shoots. Also love to see him get confidence in a corner 3-point shot. If he could stretch a team's 5 to the three-point line, it would really help Woodard ability to finish at the rim.

DJ- rebounding! Our rebounding really suffers when he is in there. Don't block every shot, you have to rebound a few of them! And, some more comfort with his low-post moves. He did some good things, even hit some turnaround jumpers, but rebounding would give him more court time and then he could be more offensive minded.

I don't want guys to work on their midrange games much because the best midrange shots are still barely shots you want to be taking. It's like (to use hyperbole) working on your Meadowlark Lemon 1/2 court hook.

Buddy needs to work on his ballhanding on drives to the basket. He has a really hard time hanging on to the ball, which leads to runouts for the other team.

I actually think Woodard is pretty good finishing at the rim. He needs bigs to dump it to who can finish. I don't see him getting a lot better unless he has that rather uncommon sophomore in college growth spurt.

 

[BoulderSooner]

I don't want guys to work on their midrange games much because the best midrange shots are still barely shots you want to be taking. It's like (to use hyperbole) working on your Meadowlark Lemon 1/2 court hook.

Buddy needs to work on his ballhanding on drives to the basket. He has a really hard time hanging on to the ball, which leads to runouts for the other team.

I actually think Woodard is pretty good finishing at the rim. He needs bigs to dump it to who can finish. I don't see him getting a lot better unless he has that rather uncommon sophomore in college growth spurt.

this

 

[Big Old Booger]

I don't want guys to work on their midrange games much because the best midrange shots are still barely shots you want to be taking. It's like (to use hyperbole) working on your Meadowlark Lemon 1/2 court hook.



Buddy needs to work on his ballhanding on drives to the basket. He has a really hard time hanging on to the ball, which leads to runouts for the other team.



I actually think Woodard is pretty good finishing at the rim. He needs bigs to dump it to who can finish. I don't see him getting a lot better unless he has that rather uncommon sophomore in college growth spurt.

Good post.

Buddy needs to work on ball handling because he is not good.

Woodard needs to put on some muscle and work on his FT. If he could get to shooting FTs at 85-90% which isn't easy that would be very good.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I actually think Woodard is pretty good finishing at the rim.

hmmm. I think the exact opposite

 

[Zimwillett]

Good assessment. I think everyone needs to be better on defense. Hopefully one or both of the incoming bigs will help. The lack of a "rim protector" was a glaring problem at times.

It's probably stating the obvious, but I think Kruger nailed it when he said they need more "diversity" on offense. Whether it's Spangler expanding his offensive game, the guards getting stronger at the rim, or both, OU needs ways to score beyond just jumpshooting.

 

[jerry]

Buddy and Woodard especially have to get better on defense.

Spangler work on his offensive game. Especially facing the basket.

 

[jaymOU]

can't believe I left on ball handling on Buddy. I must have said he needed better hands and handles about 10 times this year- good point

 

[MI Sooner]

hmmm. I think the exact opposite

I mean I think that he's about as good as a 5'11" guy with good but not extremely good athleticism is going to be, especially as a freshman.

I don't think it's a weakness. Frankly, I don't think he really has an offensive weakness. Maybe shooting off the dribble? I feel like most of his 3s were off ship passes or passes out out of the post.

 

[j2d2]

Defense and rebounding. Defense and rebounding. Defen............................................................

 

[BruinSooner]

Buddy and Woodard especially have to get better on defense.

Spangler work on his offensive game. Especially facing the basket.

We need Ryan to develop a reliable face the basket 8 foot jumper. The 15 footer would be great, but he should walk before he can run.

I love Neal's improvement this year, but not having him going around THE TOP of screens will help our D. Buddy has a tendency to get lost switching and matching up in the zones. He's perfectly capable of playing tougher D; just needs a push by the coaches. (and I fully expect it)

 

[SoonerinNC]

I agree that Woodard is good at finishing at the rim. At times he just finds himself in the air with nowhere to go. But he is pretty slick among the trees.

I think our defense suffered for lack of a big man. We were double and triple teaming the other team's post a lot and that has to leave openings. Also I think we were better than most think. Several games we didn't look great on D but still won because we shut the other teams scorer down. Again if we are concentrating on someone like Smart or Brown someone is going to get open more than normal but will not hurt us as much.

like Kruger said. We need to be more diverse on both ends of the court. Maybe we will get closer next year.

Not sure why Buddy quit going to the rack. Maybe got too sweet on his 3 point shot but in a couple of losses late we needed more scoring from Buddy when his treys were not falling.

We don't have another point guard if Jalon leaves the program. That could be a big problem. We need at least 5 guards.

 

[AdaSooner]

I agree that Woodard is good at finishing at the rim. At times he just finds himself in the air with nowhere to go. But he is pretty slick among the trees.

I think our defense suffered for lack of a big man. We were double and triple teaming the other team's post a lot and that has to leave openings. Also I think we were better than most think. Several games we didn't look great on D but still won because we shut the other teams scorer down. Again if we are concentrating on someone like Smart or Brown someone is going to get open more than normal but will not hurt us as much.
like Kruger said. We need to be more diverse on both ends of the court. Maybe we will get closer next year.

Not sure why Buddy quit going to the rack. Maybe got too sweet on his 3 point shot but in a couple of losses late we needed more scoring from Buddy when his treys were not falling.

We don't have another point guard if Jalon leaves the program. That could be a big problem. We need at least 5 guards.

Good thread with some excellent points about where our players need to improve in the off season.

But, to me, the point you made about the absence of another big inside this season stands out more than any other. Amath's untimely and ill-advised decision, along with the juco players we were counting on, left this year's team in a heap of hurt when it comes to post depth. When you consider the loss of M'Baye, Hamilton and Ellis before the season got underway, what this team was able to accomplish without giving Ryan more help inside was nothing short of amazing.

That brings me to what I want to see next year, and it will start with the summer workouts. Our size will be much improved. The rest is up to Lattin, Buford and McNeace. They absolutely have to be ready to contribute when the season starts this fall or the size they'll bring to the team won't matter much. Judging by everything I have read and seen of our three newbies, I believe they will be up to the challenge.

 

[OUBig12Champs]

This team needs to work on attitude, they have the pieces to be a solid team. Attitude, like when things go wrong they still pout. Cousins and Buddy are really bad about doing this. Man up, it is not going to be all Roses and Candy. I like some of the skill set that Woodard brings to the game, however I personally think Hornbeak (maybe not a true point guard) brings a better game to the table night in and night out. This team will get better as the mature, as in life that applies to all of us for the most part. I think if one of the new recruits proves to be a Rim protector this team is a Top 12 team next season.

 

[Max Power]

This team needs to work on attitude, they have the pieces to be a solid team. Attitude, like when things go wrong they still pout. Cousins and Buddy are really bad about doing this. Man up, it is not going to be all Roses and Candy. I like some of the skill set that Woodard brings to the game, however I personally think Hornbeak (maybe not a true point guard) brings a better game to the table night in and night out. This team will get better as the mature, as in life that applies to all of us for the most part. I think if one of the new recruits proves to be a Rim protector this team is a Top 12 team next season.

To go along with attitude, they need to work on a killer instinct. When you are up four with a minute or 2 left you need to step on the other teams throat.

 

[22dupree]

Postgame for Ryan and DJ.

 

[brumFTW]

I think Ryan developing a face-up game would be huge. Just being able to pull his man out of the lane would have a significant impact on our guards ability to get to the rim.

 

[BigTime]

Buddy's ball-handling in traffic is a big one