What is your key to the season?

[BigTime]

If you had to pick one key that would give us the best chance of finishing in the top three in the league and making it past the first weekend of the dance? I realize that there are many keys, but let's keep it simple by naming the most important one.

Mine: Team rebounding. This team is going to be a guard heavy team, that wants to play up tempo and hit jumpshots. IMO, we have got to rebound well as a unit if we want to have a really good year. If guys like Tiny, RW, Lando, and Fitz can use good technique and attack the glass, then it will open up fast break attempts, and really help us in games where the 3 ball isn't falling.

We have also got to have guards that help crash the boards. Guys like Crock, Cade, Willie, and Ray need to make it a focus to get rebounds.

What is your key to the season and why?

 

[Krugerfan52]

Tiny Gallon staying on the court.....out of foul trouble and healthy.

Thats the key, IMO.

 

[Seymore Cox]

New players catching on.

 

[T_Neal's Twitter]

Tony Crocker being a CONSISTENT scorer

 

[Sam]

Andrew Fitzgerald and Steven Pledger stepping up.

 

[BigTime]

Some really good ones so far. What scares me is that there are so many!

 

[Tony]

This team will go as far as Willie Warren and Tiny Gallon can take them, full stop.

 

[tomkar98]

This team will go as far as Willie Warren and Tiny Gallon can take them, full stop.

I'll add TMG and Tony Crocker to that list of yours. With a dash of Jeff Capel and Sooner Magic!

 

[ouboomer]

I am going to go with 3 point shooting especially early because of lack of down low experince/scoring. Crocker, Warren, Mason-Griffin, Pledger, Davis and Willis will get plenty of looks this year. If your going to run 4 guards you better knock down those jumpers.....

 

[AdaSooner]

I gave some serious thought to copying what BT said and going with rebounding. I'm not minimizing the importance of getting our share of the boards, by any means. I still think we will have to rebound by committee this season.

But, as with most years, I think the key will be team defense. I'm not worried about scoring points. Even without Blake, this team has more than enough offensive firepower to be in every game. The question is, will they come together as a team defensively? If they do, everything else will fall in line.

 

[Sid]

I gave some serious thought to copying what BT said and going with rebounding. I'm not minimizing the importance of getting our share of the boards, by any means. I still think we will have to rebound by committee this season.

But, as with most years, I think the key will be team defense. I'm not worried about scoring points. Even without Blake, this team has more than enough offensive firepower to be in every game. The question is, will they come together as a team defensively? If they do, everything else will fall in line.

I agree. You must be a retired referee.

:jcapel

 

[AdaSooner]

I agree. You must be a retired referee.

:jcapel

Did you mean to say, retarded? Anyone who would officiate basketball can't possibly be all there mentally.

 

[sybarite]

New players catching on.

Yep.

with so many new players, this season is kind of like having a blind date. They told you she had a great personality. But, you don't know what to expect. You might be in for the worst night of your life.

 

[Soonerspiff]

I will go ahead and copy BT. Defensive rebounding to key fastbreaks and open looks I think will be extremely important. Then it's the emergence of Wright as being a solid defensive presence on the block, TMG becoming a young leader and our showrunner, and Willie consistently dominating on the offensive end.

There's definitely no lack of things this team will need to develop to be as successful as we all hope they can be...

 

[j2d2]

1. Defense wins championships. Sampson went pretty far to illustrate this.
2. Rebounding.
3. Consistent scoring threat from someone besides WW. Even if by committee.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

Guard play. I expect great things from WW, but 2-3 from the group of Crocker, TMG, Cade, Willis, and Pledger have to step up and be pretty darn good. If that doesn't happen, it won't matter if we play defense or rebound.

 

[SoonerNorm]

1. Defense (first and foremost)

2. Rebounding

3. Consistent shooting

 

[PeteHoops]

1. Defense (first and foremost)

2. Rebounding

3. Consistent shooting

Would not have listed anything different myself...I think I would probably reverse the order of importantance with rebounding being my biggest concern, second chance points can doom any guard heavy team. I think Crocker and Willie's consistent shooting is more important than any other players. By committee we have enough shooters that we'll find the hot hand off the bench but we've got to be consistent from the guys getting the most minutes.

 

[Krugerfan52]

I would like to add Fitzgerald to my key of Tiny staying on the court.

I am not concerned with our guard play at all. I am very concerned about production in the post.

 

[playmakr]

Andrew Fitzgerald