Where would OU be with M'Baye?

[DenverSooner]

It sucks that he left early.

 

[pnkranger]

Top 20. He fills all the needs we have. Post depth, defense in the post, rebounding. This post makes my heart hurt.

Starting Lineup
Woodard
Hield
Clark
M'Baye
Spangler

Guard Depth
Cousins
Hornbeak
Booker

Post Depth (+ Clark and M'Baye could spell each other)
Bennett
Neal

 

[WTSooner]

Same place we are now, record-wise.

I think we'd be better, but IF Cam is going to play like this all year, I don't know how much better we'd really be at the end of the day. Heck, it might even mess with the chemistry these guys have.

But we wouldn't be ranked in the top 20 just b/c he was back. Not right now.

 

[okienole3]

Part of Cam's success is that he creates matchup problems at the 4. That goes away if you put M'Baye in the starting lineup.

 

[DenverSooner]

So bring him off the bench.

 

[scrybe]

The only times Kruger would be "spelling" Cam would be to give the kid a short breather.

 

[bgrch1350]

The question is...would you rather have M'Baye or the 3 post players that were suppose to be here...even though one was here and then transferred?

 

[AdaSooner]

The question is, would M'Baye's have helped this team if he had come back for his senior season? Players who were or should have been on our roster are meaningless.

Amath would have given us more size, frontcourt depth, as well as a shot blocker in the paint. You could point to one or all of the above as this team's greatest weakness.

On the other hand, his presence would change the rotation, which may or may not be a good thing. A red hot Cam Clark and at least one of our starting guards would not see the floor as much.

I still think having M'Baye around would be a plus. But part of me wouldn't want to take a chance on meddling with the best team chemistry I have seen in the last five years or more.

 

[SilliSooner]

That's a very speculative question.

We are what we are, which is a fast, athletic group where everyone can dribble, handle and shoot from distance. M'Baye didn't fit and I don't think we'd be better if he were here.

Yes, he had skills, but he didn't seem as coachable as anybody on our current squad. At times, he actually seemed boneheaded.

Yeah, we could've used another athletic big man but I doubt M'Baye would've had the team first attitude the group has adopted. I wouldn't be surprised if LK hadn't encouraged M'Baye to check out European pro possibilities.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I was disappointed in M'Baye. I expected him to be a much better shooter than he was. And expected him to handle the ball better.

There were streaks of brilliance but not much consistency. I don't know how much he would have improved this year but I'm not sure he would have provided more than Clark.

We would probably be a stronger rebounding team but I'm not sure we would be as good on offense and defense.

 

[skyvue]

I was disappointed in M'Baye. ... We would probably be a stronger rebounding team but I'm not sure we would be as good on offense and defense.

I dunno -- who's to say he wouldn't have shown the same improvement in his senior year that Osby did (and that Clark is showing)?

 

[DenverSooner]

I cannot believe that so many of you act like it wouldn't make a huge difference. OU's biggest weakness is post depth. M'Baye was a starter last year and I think he averaged double figures. That would be a huge addition to this team. It would give OU post depth and allow OU to bring another scorer off the bench.

 

[CoachTalk]

That's a very speculative question.

We are what we are, which is a fast, athletic group where everyone can dribble, handle and shoot from distance. M'Baye didn't fit and I don't think we'd be better if he were here.

Yes, he had skills, but he didn't seem as coachable as anybody on our current squad. At times, he actually seemed boneheaded.

Yeah, we could've used another athletic big man but I doubt M'Baye would've had the team first attitude the group has adopted. I wouldn't be surprised if LK hadn't encouraged M'Baye to check out European pro possibilities.

This is nonsense. If he wasn't coachable LK wouldn't have brought him in, he wasn't selfish at all! Sad you get on here bash a kid bc he did what's best for his family.
Those who listened to me, a few others and the staff, knew amath was 1-done.

 

[AdaSooner]

I cannot believe that so many of you act like it wouldn't make a huge difference. OU's biggest weakness is post depth. M'Baye was a starter last year and I think he averaged double figures. That would be a huge addition to this team. It would give OU post depth and allow OU to bring another scorer off the bench.

Of course it would have made a difference, and for the reasons you listed, not to mention a highly athletic big who could block and change shots. Bennett appears to be moving in that direction. But, let's face it, I doubt if he will ever be as good as M'Baye was in his junior season.

The only unknown is how would having Amath around affect team chemistry? There is no evidence that I'm aware of to suggest that he was un-coachable. But this team appears to have a special connection that goes beyond being coachable. There is not a selfish bone in their collective bodies that I have witnessed.

As I said before, our team chemistry this season is the best I've seen in years. Maybe M'Baye would have fit in just fine. That's a question we'll never be able to answer.

 

[propoke]

I don't think OU would be a favorite to win the league, but the gap between OSU, Kansas and OU would be drastically less.

 

[SilliSooner]

This is nonsense. If he wasn't coachable LK wouldn't have brought him in, he wasn't selfish at all! Sad you get on here bash a kid bc he did what's best for his family.
Those who listened to me, a few others and the staff, knew amath was 1-done.

I don't think I bashed him that bad.

As a transfer, and just like Spangler, Amath had one year to practice and learn the system before taking the floor.

It's just my observation but it didn't seem like he was picking it up. Very often he was out of position and looked like he didn't know what plays we were running, offensively or defensively.

He led the team in turnovers at 1.8 per game. He barely had any assists but his turnover rate and actual turnovers were far more than our PGs. By comparison Cam was at 1 per game. He hit 12 out of 43 3-point attempts. Those two stats made me feel he was a little careless.

And, for some reason, I blame him for the collapse we had down at Austin when we were riding a huge lead.

Could he have picked it up and been this year's Romero? Maybe, and I sure don't blame him for doing what's best for his family, but he wouldn't be helping by jacking three's at a 27% rate nor mishandling the ball as often as he did last year.

Could he be valuable coming off the bench as a additional twin tower to Bennett? Yeah, he might've helped. But, from last year, he didn't seem to be entirely comfortable with his back to the basket.

I don't think we'd be better. What we have going is a lineup where everyone can handle the ball and all are confident in, and help each other.

 

[WTSooner]

LK is still human, as much as we all like him. He isn't above making recruiting mistakes from time to time. I'm not saying that is true in regards to M'Baye, just pointing out that implying LK isn't capable of making that type of mistake, is kind of silly.