Zone defense

[jaymOU]

Two great games, but i think the difference in both was OSU's zone defense - not that it was dominate, but it was a different look, which caused OU problems in both games.

OU is straight man, I can't remember any zone this year....maybe I am wrong, but I don't recall seeing it at all. I know LK loves man - I get that, but a little wrinkle now and then for a few possession can really turn a game.

I was hoping, when Manek started shooting it well Monday, LK would go double bigs and play KK and Manek when OSU went zone - allowing for a high-low combination. And, if you play two bigs, then you can play zone on D and not have to "stay in front" of smaller guards or Cunningham as much.

LK has forgotten more than I will ever know about hoops, but I think a few minutes of zone defense might have helped OU some in both games.

 

[Darwin]

If they could play a good zone defense, something you work with on a regular basis. IMO it really is that OSU has more guys with size in a game where that matters, plus a lottery pick. We don't have enough horses top to bottom, to the point where we play 4 guards and a stretch 4, that potentially win a few in the dance. We don't need zone, we need a high D1 5 man, not future NBA, not even all B12 but someone that belongs in a top 7 rotation on a top 20 team.

 

[jaymOU]

Those guys are luxuries - I'd love a guy like Boone. He's not a typical P5 C, but he is effective against OU. I'd love to see a bigger bodied guy - like Victor, but he fouls too much and is just not as skilled as he needs to be yet. Why not play KK more? He was really good in spurts in Norman against OSU. He is much better offensively when Reaves is playing - they connect well on lobs - but he is a rim protector and I think OU needs that on D. Play he and Manek together.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Those guys are luxuries - I'd love a guy like Boone. He's not a typical P5 C, but he is effective against OU. I'd love to see a bigger bodied guy - like Victor, but he fouls too much and is just not as skilled as he needs to be yet. Why not play KK more? He was really good in spurts in Norman against OSU. He is much better offensively when Reaves is playing - they connect well on lobs - but he is a rim protector and I think OU needs that on D. Play he and Manek together.

This topic is the 20/20 hindsight thread. This board spent weeks complaining about our three point defense at the start of the season. You guys remember Xavier, right? Kur and Brady both started. They both shot well and played well offensively. We got routed. Sure, it’s unlikely a team will go off to that extent, but teams consistently shot well against us the first few weeks. So if we had gone with that lineup last night, who does Manek guard? Again, Kur would have played more last night if Brady hadn’t been on fire the first half. Lon has shown that he is willing to adjust and ride the hot hand, and that’s a good thing IMHO. Some games Kur plays the majority of minutes at the five and some days Brady does. I think it’s a credit to our depth and the staff’s willingness to adjust that we had a great 10-game run even though we had to play lots of different lineups during that time due to covid protocols. We’ve had a handful of games where we lost the rebounding battle badly, but last night was the first game we have lost where an opposing big man just feasted on us. Texas will be a handful with their size, so we’ll see more of our backup bigs, I’m sure. But as has been pointed out multiple times, it works both ways and we’ve also been able to exploit opposing bigs by forcing them to guard Brady on the perimeter. It would be great to have bigs who are athletic, skilled, good shooters, rebounders, and rim protectors. There are guys like that out there...it’s just that most of them they play in the NBA.

But I’ll be very impressed if any of you can show me where you were calling for Mo or Harmon to be benched in favor of a two-big lineup at any time before last night.

 

[opsooner]

This topic is the 20/20 hindsight thread. This board spent weeks complaining about our three point defense at the start of the season. You guys remember Xavier, right? Kur and Brady both started. They both shot well and played well offensively. We got routed. Sure, it’s unlikely a team will go off to that extent, but teams consistently shot well against us the first few weeks. So if we had gone with that lineup last night, who does Manek guard? Again, Kur would have played more last night if Brady hadn’t been on fire the first half. Lon has shown that he is willing to adjust and ride the hot hand, and that’s a good thing IMHO. Some games Kur plays the majority of minutes at the five and some days Brady does. I think it’s a credit to our depth and the staff’s willingness to adjust that we had a great 10-game run even though we had to play lots of different lineups during that time due to covid protocols. We’ve had a handful of games where we lost the rebounding battle badly, but last night was the first game we have lost where an opposing big man just feasted on us. Texas will be a handful with their size, so we’ll see more of our backup bigs, I’m sure. But as has been pointed out multiple times, it works both ways and we’ve also been able to exploit opposing bigs by forcing them to guard Brady on the perimeter. It would be great to have bigs who are athletic, skilled, good shooters, rebounders, and rim protectors. There are guys like that out there...it’s just that most of them they play in the NBA.

But I’ll be very impressed if any of you can show me where you were calling for Mo or Harmon to be benched in favor of a two-big lineup at any time before last night.

If KSU or OSU had a big who was shooting 3s like Xavier was that night I would agree with you. And it is not that we always have to play both Manek and Kuath at the same time. It is that we can’t keep relying on Manek as our inside stopper against teams that really don’t shoot the 3 all that well.


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[ByronHoustonsSweatyPalms]

TCU has a big center. Won’t get them in the tourney


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[sheepdogs1]

TCU has a big center. Won’t get them in the tourney


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The sum of the parts among other things.

 

[jaymOU]

This topic is the 20/20 hindsight thread. This board spent weeks complaining about our three point defense at the start of the season. You guys remember Xavier, right? Kur and Brady both started. They both shot well and played well offensively. We got routed. Sure, it’s unlikely a team will go off to that extent, but teams consistently shot well against us the first few weeks. So if we had gone with that lineup last night, who does Manek guard? Again, Kur would have played more last night if Brady hadn’t been on fire the first half. Lon has shown that he is willing to adjust and ride the hot hand, and that’s a good thing IMHO. Some games Kur plays the majority of minutes at the five and some days Brady does. I think it’s a credit to our depth and the staff’s willingness to adjust that we had a great 10-game run even though we had to play lots of different lineups during that time due to covid protocols. We’ve had a handful of games where we lost the rebounding battle badly, but last night was the first game we have lost where an opposing big man just feasted on us. Texas will be a handful with their size, so we’ll see more of our backup bigs, I’m sure. But as has been pointed out multiple times, it works both ways and we’ve also been able to exploit opposing bigs by forcing them to guard Brady on the perimeter. It would be great to have bigs who are athletic, skilled, good shooters, rebounders, and rim protectors. There are guys like that out there...it’s just that most of them they play in the NBA.

But I’ll be very impressed if any of you can show me where you were calling for Mo or Harmon to be benched in favor of a two-big lineup at any time before last night.

Fair point, maybe it is hindsight, but I wanted it before they played in Stillwater, so not all hindsight. Xavier was light years ago and a completely different OU team. OSU and Xavier shoot it the same from 3 this year - 33%, but who shoots them is a completely different story. Bigs for X and guards for OSU.

Look I am not calling for an all-out 40 minutes of zone, but as a change-up it would be a good pitch to have in your arsenal.