What is our upside for this season?

[WTSooner]

Meaning, if things go right, limited injuries, M'Baye is the real deal, the frosh guards provide quality depth, etc.....what do you think our upside is?

I kind of think, at best, we're probably a team that makes the Dance as an 8-12 seed. I just don't see us doing much better than that. And I don't say that as a disappointment, I'm actually excited about that.

Just curious how others view our upside this year.

 

[BigTime]

Meaning, if things go right, limited injuries, M'Baye is the real deal, the frosh guards provide quality depth, etc.....what do you think our upside is?

I kind of think, at best, we're probably a team that makes the Dance as an 8-12 seed. I just don't see us doing much better than that. And I don't say that as a disappointment, I'm actually excited about that.

Just curious how others view our upside this year.

I'm getting excited about this group and what Kruger and company can accomplish with them.

I think our upside is 3rd in the Big 12 and 4-6 seed. That would be a mighty fine season!

 

[p230]

+1 WT. I would add learning how to close other teams out. I don't remember how many games we were decently ahead in and wound up losing. I think 4-5 B12 and a 8-12 is about right. But the marging will be thin. We need to win our toss up games and then at least really good wins to Dance. If we make the dance I think we win our first game on shear emotion since it will be the first (and last for some) of our Sooners.

 

[DenverSooner]

I agree with Big Time. I M'Baye is the real deal and either he or Fitz is coming off the bench producing 10+ a game and then one of the freshman steps up and proides depth, I think this team has a chance to be respectable.

 

[garyeb2]

I don't believe in magic. Last years players were an underperforming and flawed group. I believe the results that they got were the results they deserved and were an accurate reflection of their ablities.

If we look up and see the same starters playing about the same minutes we will see a very simular result. A better bench should help the results. Add 3 wins. If M'Baye is good enough to replace a starter and play big minutes, add 3 more wins. If any of the other newcomers are good enough to snag major minutes or replace one of last years guys, add 3 wins each.

OU will be better this season. But, they won't be good unless the news guys provide Kruger with the opportunity to put more and better talent on the floor more often.

I'm optimistic that the new and better talent will be there for Kruger. The upside could be 25+ wins and all those touney dreams could come true. Without a major minutes past M'Baye, talent infusion, 20 wins seems more realistic.

 

[StatGeek]

Meaning, if things go right, limited injuries, M'Baye is the real deal, the frosh guards provide quality depth, etc.....what do you think our upside is?

I kind of think, at best, we're probably a team that makes the Dance as an 8-12 seed. I just don't see us doing much better than that. And I don't say that as a disappointment, I'm actually excited about that.

Just curious how others view our upside this year.

I see things similarly.

 

[seniorsooner]

realistically = NIT
if literally everything goes our way = ncaa bubble

 

[jerry]

Meaning, if things go right, limited injuries, M'Baye is the real deal, the frosh guards provide quality depth, etc.....what do you think our upside is?

I kind of think, at best, we're probably a team that makes the Dance as an 8-12 seed. I just don't see us doing much better than that. And I don't say that as a disappointment, I'm actually excited about that.

Just curious how others view our upside this year.

Agree.

 

[skyvue]

realistically = NIT
if literally everything goes our way = ncaa bubble

Wow. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but we weren't that far from achieving those modest goals last season. You really think we're going to see that little improvement this season, even after another year of our guys working with Coach Kruger and with the addition of M'Baye and three talented guards?

We don't know if the new players are world-beaters, of course, but at the very least they dramatically improve our bench.

I say our upside is a top-four finish in conference and a decent NCAA seed. Our absolute bottom should be an NIT appearance. I'm going to be very disappointed if we don't make the NCAA tourney.

 

[BigTime]

Wow. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but we weren't that far from achieving those modest goals last season. You really think we're going to see that little improvement this season, even after another year of our guys working with Coach Kruger and with the addition of M'Baye and three talented guards?

We don't know if the new players are world-beaters, of course, but at the very least they dramatically improve our bench.

I say our upside is a top-four finish in conference and a decent NCAA seed. Our absolute bottom should be an NIT appearance. I'm going to be very disappointed if we don't make the NCAA tourney.

Agreed.

 

[WTSooner]

Iowa State finished fourth in the Big 12 last year, and got an 8 seed. Isn't that kind of inline with my original post? Upside being an 8-12 seed, with the 8 seed coming from a 4th place finish, and a lower seed coming with a 5th or 6th place finish?

 

[boksooner]

realistically = NIT
if literally everything goes our way = ncaa bubble

There is almost no difference between NIT and NCAA Bubble. Maybe one extra win differentiates a NIT team from a big conference and an NCAA Bubble team from a big conference. Maybe I am misunderstanding your descriptions.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

Upside is Top 3 or 4 in conference and a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. I'm always an optimist, but our team is going to look dramatically different next year, and CLK is a Top 5% D-1 coach.

Said it in several threads, but he could have won more games last year junking some things up, instead he stayed the course. I'm actually pretty excited about next year.

 

[WTSooner]

Said it in several threads, but he could have won more games last year junking some things up, instead he stayed the course. I'm actually pretty excited about next year.

How so?

I feel like LK did a lot last year that he didn't want to do. I thought he did a good job of playing a style that fit the roster. I really didn't have any x's and o's complaints. The biggest thing that hurt our win total last year was having no bench. Kelvin didn't have an awesome or deep bench most years, but he had some solid guys that played roles, and could hit shots. We didn't have squat off the bench last year.

 

[Mr.B!!!]

How so?

I feel like LK did a lot last year that he didn't want to do. I thought he did a good job of playing a style that fit the roster. I really didn't have any x's and o's complaints. The biggest thing that hurt our win total last year was having no bench. Kelvin didn't have an awesome or deep bench most years, but he had some solid guys that played roles, and could hit shots. We didn't have squat off the bench last year.

I feel exactly the opposite, and it all all started on defense. He had Fitz popping out to deny and then settle in to bad situations. Worst case you could put him in, but we did it until the bitter end. CLK did exactly what he wanted to do, despite himself, just watch the tape. Fitz had no business flaring out to deny and then recover, but it happened every single game.

To be clear, not saying CLK threw games or anything remotely close. But he made a purposeful decision to go a direction and stuck with it. I'd challenge anyone to prove me wrong, but look at the first game and the last game, nothing different. Nothing. Even an average coach could have adjusted, CLK never did. That tells me something.

 

[WTSooner]

I feel exactly the opposite, and it all all started on defense. He had Fitz popping out to deny and then settle in to bad situations. Worst case you could put him in, but we did it until the bitter end. CLK did exactly what he wanted to do, despite himself, just watch the tape. Fitz had no business flaring out to deny and then recover, but it happened every single game.

To be clear, not saying CLK threw games or anything remotely close. But he made a purposeful decision to go a direction and stuck with it. I'd challenge anyone to prove me wrong, but look at the first game and the last game, nothing different. Nothing. Even an average coach could have adjusted, CLK never did. That tells me something.

Nothing different from the first and last games?

HUGE differences in my opinion. The first 3-4 games we pressured like crazy. Hard pressure on the ball. We pressed A LOT. We trapped in the halfcourt. And the board went nuts thinking we would do that all year. I said it back then, it was a temporary thing against weaker competition. By the end of the season, we only pressed a very small amount, and only when we had fallen behind. No zone early in the season, a little bit more later in the season.

I think a lot of the "flaring" from posts was due to switching just about every screen, which I'm not a big fan of. I'm guessing some of that had to do with our guys not being able to get through screens, though at times, they seemed fine doing just that.

I see your point about Fitz, I guess I just don't think it was a widespread problem.

 

[garyeb2]

I have mentioned this before. Especially on defense, Kruger kept asking players to do things all season that they simply could not do. It was obvious early on that was the case. And he never stopped.

People can be critical of that if they want. I choose not to. It wasn't just Fitz. It was others too. Of course Fitz can not flare out and then get back to a good position. He is too slow. Others can not get to the right spot at the right time either. They are also too slow.

In spite of that, Kruger put in his basic defense and stuck with it. If he hasn't already, Kruger will bring in players that are capable of playing defense like he wants them to play.

A guy can just compromise so much. Once again, as I have mentioned before, Kruger did run more zone last season than he ran total in all his years at UNLV. That was a compromise. They didn't pressure as much as he wanted. That was a compromise too.

So, he did adjust to last years talent level some. But, he also didn't. Those that are so positive about who starts and how many minutes they play are vastly under estimating Kruger's frustration with his defense last year.

I know who last years scorers were. No one has to remind me or reel off their stats. But, if this better bench allows Kruger to jerk someone everytime they bust a defense, as he should, some of last years scorers will be lucky to get 15 minutes a game. Even if they start.

 

[BigTime]

I know who last years scorers were. No one has to remind me or reel off their stats. But, if this better bench allows Kruger to jerk someone everytime they bust a defense, as he should, some of last years scorers will be lucky to get 15 minutes a game. Even if they start.

Which starters from last year will get less than 15 minutes per game? Do you mean in certain games like a "wake up call" if they are being lazy, or do you mean consistently being lucky to get 15 minutes per game?

I could only see Cam as a guy that will be lucky to get 15 per, and he was arguably our best on the ball defender AND help-side shot blocker last season.

 

[garyeb2]

Which starters from last year will get less than 15 minutes per game? Do you mean in certain games like a "wake up call" if they are being lazy, or do you mean consistently being lucky to get 15 minutes per game?

I could only see Cam as a guy that will be lucky to get 15 per, and he was arguably our best on the ball defender AND help-side shot blocker last season.

You have posted extensivly reguarding who you think will start and play big minutes. And so have I. We disagree.

And yes, day in and day out, Cam was probably the best defender.

I think that to be a good team our worst defenders need more bench time and less floor time. Others seem to think that defense is just something to pass the time while waiting to get the ball back. I disagreee with those folks.

 

[BigTime]

Gary,

You didn't answer my questions. I could see a guy like Pledger getting a wake up call by Lon if he doesn't do what he supposed to defensively (I think he will do fine and continue to improve on that end as he has every year). That said, Pledge, Osby, Sam and Fitz will all still play big minutes.

Defense is my favorite aspect of basketball. I grew up watching heart, hustle and hardwood and loved every minute of it.