What we saw tonight....

[stormspencer]

is a preview of next year. Does that scare anyone? Stop and think about it......no Crocker, no Warren, and no Wright (for what it's worth). I don't follow recruiting as closely as others on this board, but hopefully we will bring in a really good JUCO or two by next season that can have an immediate impact. And Lord willing....I hope some of the guys that were out there tonight can drastically improve their game by next season.....gulp.

 

[Sooner79]

Well, ISU won't have a Brackins or Gilstrap next year either and UT won't have James and KU won't have Aldrich, Collins or Henry. It's the same for most teams.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

Haha.....UT and KU will be fine.

It is a little scary. I like what I'm seeing from TMG. He is showing the improvement that I wish Tiny and to some degree, Willie would show. Still think he forces it a bit at times, but alot of that is due to not having much help. Team runs alot smoother with him running the show, and honestly, with WW not on the court. Sorry, that is just how I see it. I thought the guys played hard tonight, though not smart.

 

[MNsooner]

To be honest, it isn't that much scarier than what we have seen much of this season...

 

[coolm]

scare me?

Heck no. I am excited by it.

Pledger will bust out, Tiny will get a little more air, the defense will mature, and we'll have a very nice core.

 

[stormspencer]

scare me?

Heck no. I am excited by it.

Pledger will bust out, Tiny will get a little more air, the defense will mature, and we'll have a very nice core.

I wish that I could say that I shared your optimism.....maybe one day I will.

 

[GParker]

The key will be whether or not Coach Capel is able to bring in a couple of bigs that can help on the glass and on the defensive end.

I also wouldn't rule out the fact that TJ Taylor may be able to find his niche as a perimeter stopper.

 

[campbest]

Unless Capel can bring in some impact players during the spring signing period, the I think we can expect a performance only slightly better than what we have had this year. Take away WW, Crocker and Wright and we have even more holes than we do now, assuming Capel has trouble bringing in some talent.

In all honesty, I am looking at the 2011-12 season as our best chance of making a deep tourney run.

 

[SoonerEyeDoc]

scare me?

Heck no. I am excited by it.

Pledger will bust out, Tiny will get a little more air, the defense will mature, and we'll have a very nice core.

I couldn't agree more. They learned how to close out a game last night as opposed to the previous two games, which is an important step for a young team. The offensive flow was much better without Warren on the floor, although it did stagnate in the 2nd half some, but still was much improved. Defensively they are atrocious, but like you said, they will improve with more coaching and maturity. Along with another solid incoming group of freshmen, they will be much better next season.

 

[CokeSooner]

I'd agree that it's pretty exciting. Add in two impact freshman, and hopefully that JUCO big out of Idaho, and that's an exciting line up.

 

[OULad]

Not really. TMG is really good and I expect tiny to be a force next year. Cade is back and looking good. All we need is one of the Freshmen to be good and a good JUCO and we should have a nice team.

 

[soonerbms]

scare me?

Heck no. I am excited by it.

Pledger will bust out, Tiny will get a little more air, the defense will mature, and we'll have a very nice core.

I agree with this assessment. Hopefully, Tiny, Pledger, and Fitzgerald will all improve and Cam Clark can help us right away. How does this lineup not excite you?

PG - Tommy Mason-Griffin
SG - Cade Davis
SF - Cameron Clark
PF - Andrew Fitzgerald
C - Tiny Gallon

Of course, I'd really love to add a player like Terrance Jones to the mix.

 

[stormspencer]

I agree with this assessment. Hopefully, Tiny, Pledger, and Fitzgerald will all improve and Cam Clark can help us right away. How does this lineup not excite you?

PG - Tommy Mason-Griffin
SG - Cade Davis
SF - Cameron Clark
PF - Andrew Fitzgerald
C - Tiny Gallon

Of course, I'd really love to add a player like Terrance Jones to the mix.

I will tell you why that it doesn't excite me right now. Tiny hasn't really improved at all since midseason...if anything, he has regressed a little. He has had some very good games against overmatched teams, but in conference play, he can't seem to stay out of foul trouble and his basketball IQ is off the charts....on the low side. Fitz is soft and tentative...but in his defense, he hasn't played much until recently. So the jury is still out.

As far as Cam Clark and our other incoming guys....who knows what kind of an impact they will have? I certainly don't. I hope they can really help us out in areas of need (defense, rebounding, athleticism). But I thought areas of need coming into this season would be accounted for a little better than they have thus far.

What I saw last night was a tremendous impact player (TMG) and a great glue guy who can score when he gets hot (Cade). As for the rest of the guys out there....well let's just say I was more on the depressed side than the enthusiastic side. It wasn't good basketball last night.

Having said all of that, I sincerely hope certain guys can elevate their games and improve during the offseason. But I think it's silly to be "excited" about anything at this point. Maybe a month from now, I will see in some guys the improvement I was hoping for......sorry.

 

[ben]

You're forgiven.

 

[MsProudSooner]

This team has had 2 main problems this year.

1) Playing consistently good defense

2) Playing with confidence on the road.

Note that I didn't say that they don't know how to play good defense. They do. But they only play good defense in spurts. Playing consistently good defense is a function of maturity. Cade and Tony get it and their defensive effort is consistent. The players that return next year will learn to get it as well and they'll be a better defensive team next year.

Playing with confidence on the road is another thing that will improve with maturity.

If we had a Senior laden team this year, I could somewhat understand negative attitudes towards next year. But we don't. I think these guys will take all the lessons they've learned this year to heart and be a better team next year.

 

[Cheno]

I think the perimeter will be fine it's the inside game I'm worried about.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

I will tell you why that it doesn't excite me right now. Tiny hasn't really improved at all since midseason...if anything, he has regressed a little. He has had some very good games against overmatched teams, but in conference play, he can't seem to stay out of foul trouble and his basketball IQ is off the charts....on the low side. Fitz is soft and tentative...but in his defense, he hasn't played much until recently. So the jury is still out.

As far as Cam Clark and our other incoming guys....who knows what kind of an impact they will have? I certainly don't. I hope they can really help us out in areas of need (defense, rebounding, athleticism). But I thought areas of need coming into this season would be accounted for a little better than they have thus far.

What I saw last night was a tremendous impact player (TMG) and a great glue guy who can score when he gets hot (Cade). As for the rest of the guys out there....well let's just say I was more on the depressed side than the enthusiastic side. It wasn't good basketball last night.

Having said all of that, I sincerely hope certain guys can elevate their games and improve during the offseason. But I think it's silly to be "excited" about anything at this point. Maybe a month from now, I will see in some guys the improvement I was hoping for......sorry.

This.

If that lineup is starting, we probably don't make the Dance again.

 

[thebigabd]

I would like this lineup for next year... If OU signs these two guys they will be dancing and put together an older, talented, and more experienced team. Adding Aziz and a guy like Poland will add some mature talent to the core group of TMG, Cade, and Tiny. Aziz adds a very good rebounder, shot blocker, athlete. Poland adds a versatile scorer on the wing in the mold of Ebi Ere.

PG: Tommy Mason-Griffin (5'11'' 206): Potentially the best point guard to ever play at this school.

SG: Cade Davis (6'5'' 200) : Mr. Reliable. Can defend, will be a senior, can score, etc.

SG: Juwanza Poland: 6-4 wing player from Wichita who was the Jayhawk Conference (pretty stout juco league) freshman of the year last year. Looks like he averaged around 13-14 as a frosh, 3.5 boards and shot around 38 percent from 3-point range. Would have 3 years to play.

PF: Tiny Gallon (6'9'' 296) : Double double machine. Projected top 20 pick in the 2011 draft.

C: Aziz Ndaiye (7'0'' 245) : Averaged 8.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game as a juco freshman. Sitting out this year due to injury and will have 3 years to play. Had 10 points, 18 rebounds, and 2 blocks in a head to head matchup with Demarcus Cousins against the United States in the Nike Global Challenge. Aziz ranked No. 1 in the league in offensive rebounds, No. 2 in blocked shots and 18th in points per game.


Bench: Cameron Clark, TJ Taylor, Barry Honore, Andrew Fitzgerald, Steven Pledger, Ray Willis

 

[pnkranger]

bigabd,

Your lineup makes sense, but I have a question for you:

Who runs the point when TMG takes a rest?

I agree that Barry Honore and O. Allen would be fine as 3rd and 4th posts IF Fitzgerald shows the type of improvement I think he is capable of.

The one major concern I have is athleticism...

TMG is a good athlete, TJ Taylor and Cam Clark are very athletic, but where are the springy, versatile players in the post? We need at least one of those guys to match up with the rest of the Big 12. TC fills that role this year, but we need someone with a bit more beef.

 

[CanRiv12]

I would be concerned if the rest of the XII got to return all of their impact players. But since they don't, we will likely be just fine. Just continue to improve and see who we can bring in. We've seen the difference one guy can make on a team from one year to the next.