Who has improved the most?

[Larry72]

After his rough Freshman year, I remember posters were saying Isaiah Cousins had improved a lot over the summer. Who is it this year including Freshman?

 

[BCSooners]

After his rough Freshman year, I remember posters were saying Isaiah Cousins had improved a lot over the summer. Who is it this year including Freshman?

Hearing Odomes is looking really good.

 

[AdaSooner]

Hearing Odomes is looking really good.

Beat me to it. I'm hearing the same thing. I think Odomes will be a pleasant surprise for all of us this season when he goes from mop up minutes to an important member of our rotation.

 

[Stikboy]

Are you guys hearing about Odomes from other sources besides the poster who recently went to practice? If so good news. Any specifics, like his outside shot?

 

[AdaSooner]

Are you guys hearing about Odomes from other sources besides the poster who recently went to practice? If so good news. Any specifics, like his outside shot?

Yes, to your first question. I was told the coaches are excited about Rashard's potential as well as his progress so far. I also heard they were working with him to "tweak" his shot. I took that to mean his form and perhaps his release are getting some attention.

 

[furge]

Yes, to your first question. I was told the coaches are excited about Rashard's potential as well as his progress so far. I also heard they were working with him to "tweak" his shot. I took that to mean his form and perhaps his release are getting some attention.

"Tweaking" a shot at the college level generally means his jumper is and will remain a work in progress. He definitely had that Ronnie Brewer jerky side-elbow release last season. I want to see a Rashard with tight, confident handles using his explosiveness to get to the rim. He'll put up plenty of threes the old fashioned way.

 

[BCSooners]

"Tweaking" a shot at the college level generally means his jumper is and will remain a work in progress. He definitely had that Ronnie Brewer jerky side-elbow release last season. I want to see a Rashard with tight, confident handles using his explosiveness to get to the rim. He'll put up plenty of threes the old fashioned way.

He's probably still a year away from where he needs to be on his shooting form, but he can make a decent % from there. I agree that it will be mostly from spotting up. His bread and butter is getting to the rim and the FT line.

I think he'll be our best defender this year.

 

[vbdad]

I haven't heard about Odomes shot but Kevin Kruger is who worked with Cousins when he made his big improvement so hopefully he is working with Odomes.

 

[AdaSooner]

Odomes was a big time scorer in high school, so he may not have that far to go to improve his shooting from the perimeter. He polished off his prep senior season with a MVP performance in the 50th Faith Seven All-Star game, where he scored 37 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. I seem to remember reading somewhere that he shot right at 48% from three his senior season at Copperas Cove, but I know for sure he was 2 of 4 from behind the arc in the Faith Seven game.

His high school state from Soonersports.com:

Attended Copperas Cove High School in Copperas Cove, Texas … Finished career as his high school’s all-time leading scorer … A four-star recruit by ESPN … Ranked as the 14th top recruit in Texas by 247Sports … Scored a game-high 37 points and pulled down 11 rebounds at the 50th annual Faith Seven high school all-star game in Shawnee prior to moving to Norman …A Texas Class 6-A All-State selection as a senior when he averaged 25.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.7 steals while making 58.3 percent of his field goal attempts … Led the Bulldawgs to a 20-14 overall record and their first playoff win in decades … Was also named the District 12-6A MVP … As a junior averaged 26.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting .561 from the field … Was named the Texas 8-5A Offensive Player of the Year as a junior and was a second-team all-district pick as a sophomore.

I was as surprised as anyone that Odomes did not compete for more playing time last season. I actually thought he would play ahead of James, although that was mainly because Christian was coming off of a severe injury his senior season in high school. Still, I think we may finally see why our coaches are so high on Rashard Odomes this season.

 

[CoachTalk]

Lil Kruger and Crutch are always working on shooting form. They were making changes with Buddy's shot all the way through his sophomore year. Crutch spoke about it at clinic this summer. He told stories of buddy getting on the gun and just catching the ball and keeping it close and getting in the shooting pocket for hours.

Always working to improve the consistency of the guys shots.

 

[Max Power]

Odomes was a big time scorer in high school, so he may not have that far to go to improve his shooting from the perimeter. He polished off his prep senior season with a MVP performance in the 50th Faith Seven All-Star game, where he scored 37 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. I seem to remember reading somewhere that he shot right at 48% from three his senior season at Copperas Cove, but I know for sure he was 2 of 4 from behind the arc in the Faith Seven game.

His high school state from Soonersports.com:



I was as surprised as anyone that Odomes did not compete for more playing time last season. I actually thought he would play ahead of James, although that was mainly because Christian was coming off of a severe injury his senior season in high school. Still, I think we may finally see why our coaches are so high on Rashard Odomes this season.

We just got into Conference play and Woodard, Cousins, and Hield had to play 35 min a night. Not a lot left to go around after that. But it's what we had to do to earn the 2 seed and march on to the Final Four. And James was the better player before the injury, and since it wasn't a foot or an ACL he was able to come back easier

 

[SoonerSpock]

The first thing Odomes needs to accomplish is gain the ability to go to his right. Last year he would/could only go to his left and defenses knew this shut him down easily. He did not want to put the ball on the floor with his right hand whatsoever.

 

[furge]

Other than Odomes, what do our other guys need to make the leap? I'm thinking

Woodard: Re-establish himself as a playmaker while integrating his scoring chops. Other than that, maybe lock down as a man defender? He's a pretty complete player.

Lattin: A face - up jumper. Lattin can score garbage points around the cup all day, but working his stroke up would give him pick-and-pop ability and probably also aid his FTs.

McNease: Weigh more than 200 pounds! Well, and stay on the court. If he can defend the rim without fouling and play enough offense to keep him in the game, he could give us the edge down low we expected from Manyang last year.

James: Confidence and consistency. The former will encourage him to score on the move and keep defenders from homing in on his longball, the latter will deliver on his promise from the tourney.

Buford: Focus, motor, shooting stroke, and ability to separate under the rim for looks all would help. More than anything, his positional defense is going to be key for his minutes. If he plays in the post, will he be able to muscle bigger forwards off their spots? Will he be laterally quick enough to stay in front of wings? Dante can improve a bit on a lot of thing or improve a lot on one or two and either way, surprise us all. I hope his reputation for athleticism coming out of high school finally bears out at the college level.

That's my wish list. Is anyone watching practices yet? Be nice to hear what's taking shape.

 

[Max Power]

Other than Odomes, what do our other guys need to make the leap? I'm thinking

Woodard: Re-establish himself as a playmaker while integrating his scoring chops. Other than that, maybe lock down as a man defender? He's a pretty complete player.

Lattin: A face - up jumper. Lattin can score garbage points around the cup all day, but working his stroke up would give him pick-and-pop ability and probably also aid his FTs.

McNease: Weigh more than 200 pounds! Well, and stay on the court. If he can defend the rim without fouling and play enough offense to keep him in the game, he could give us the edge down low we expected from Manyang last year.

James: Confidence and consistency. The former will encourage him to score on the move and keep defenders from homing in on his longball, the latter will deliver on his promise from the tourney.

Buford: Focus, motor, shooting stroke, and ability to separate under the rim for looks all would help. More than anything, his positional defense is going to be key for his minutes. If he plays in the post, will he be able to muscle bigger forwards off their spots? Will he be laterally quick enough to stay in front of wings? Dante can improve a bit on a lot of thing or improve a lot on one or two and either way, surprise us all. I hope his reputation for athleticism coming out of high school finally bears out at the college level.

That's my wish list. Is anyone watching practices yet? Be nice to hear what's taking shape.

The only thing I would add is MCNease, Lattin, and Buford need to be better rebounders this year. That was an area we seemed to struggle in when Spangler went to the bench

 

[usedtobe1]

Lattin needs to rebound better, quit trying to block every shot, and stay out of foul trouble.