Sooner04
1/10/2009, 05:13 PM
I already had my theme picked out for this game about ten minutes into the contest. No matter how good Blake is, or how good Willie is, we're a point guard short. K-State, a team full of feisty, but mediocre, guards, was eating our lunch and they aren't any good. Troublesome was the fact they were making us look worse. Austin was having as bad a game as I could remember. I looked at the post game box score and was surprised to see he was credited with only one turnover. There was a stretch in the first half where he drove into the lane repeatedly and never got off a shot. He was either stripped or blocked, and down the floor went the Wildcats.
A point guard short, and for a while an entire backcourt short. Crocker was way off, and Willie looked timid. We're down 26-19, and K-State is hot from three. Capel calls timeout and comes out with a defense very warm to the hearts of Sooner BBall fans: 1-3-1. You'll remember the havoc the '02 team wrought with Daryan Selvy uptop. While this zone didn't cause that kind of chaos, it completely befuddled K-State. They put up a goose egg for the remainder of the half while we scored the final ten points. I was a little shocked we didn't stick with it because K-State had a little success at the start of the second half, but when we went back to it the boys in purple went back inside their shell and we pulled away for a 61-53 win that was more lopsided than the final indicated.
As hot and cold as I run with him, I thought Austin Johnson played a wonderful second half, and it showed in how efficient our offense became once he dislodged his cranium from his rectal cavity. His five assists led the team, and his six rebounds were second best. After K-State tied the game at 31, AJ hit a key trey that put us up 34-31. We never trailed again. Are we still a point guard short? I think so. Can we beat a lot of teams when we get competent, efficient play at that spot? I think so there too.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 12
2nd - 17 [dang me]
3rd - 16 [flesh-eating bacteria]
4th - 16 [gout in the bloodstream]
[b]SCORING LEADERS:
29 - Blake Griffin: This easily could've been 40. He missed quite a few close ones, and he was a one-man bricklaying crew at the line.
10 - Willie Warren: An oustanding second half.
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
15 - Blake Griffin: A lot of them came early. Couldn't go nuts after them because of foul trouble.
7 - Taylor Griffin: solid early.
6 - Austin Johnson: many key ones down the stretch.
PLUSES:
1. Blake Griffin: 29 and 15, and that's probably a tad low. He dominated today, but he could've had a few more. The zone and foul trouble caused him to not pursue several defensive boards with his normal vigor. He easily could've gone for 40 and 20. EASILY.
2. Willie Warren: Hit a couple of key threes when K-State tried to make a run early in the second half. One of them was a key response. I thought he was too timid early, but I also didn't think they were looking for him while Blake was getting isolation. When we needed him in the second half, he was there.
3. Austin Johnson: Solely a second half plus, because he was rancid baby food in the first half. He did a great job filling up the sheet in the second half, though, and was an integral cog when we pulled away. Got to give us better minutes early or we'll dig a big hole against the better teams.
4. Rebounding: Aside from a couple of second half stretches where we treated the caroms like loose strains of Ebola, I thought we did a great job of controlling the glass. We had 15 offensive boards, and I know K-State had 14, but half of those came on two separate possessions. The rest of the time, the glass was ours.
MINUSES:
1. Bench: Hard to imagine the bench every being less useful than it was today. The bench combined for 19 minutes, 1 point, three rebounds and four fouls while only taking three shots. The writers for The Simpsons had many names for Homer's crew at the Power Plant in Sector 7-G. In that light, our bench today was either a pack of carbon blobs or organ banks. Whatever they were, they were useless. Thankfully, they weren't needed. They will be Monday night.
2. Denis Clemente - You may be Roberto's second cousin. And you may wear 21, just like Roberto Clemente but you, boy, are no Roberto Clemente. I think I found a guy to root against EVERY night.
3. Free Throw Shooting: It's officially epidemic now. 10-21, a balmy 48%. That's as wretched as wretched can be.
4. Taylor Griffin: I thought he played OK, but at the end he had his brain snatched. He's a senior, and he turned it over on THREE straight possessions while we're trying to kill the clock. Thank God we were up 16, because they cut that thing down to single-digits quick. WAKE UP!
It may sound like I bitch a lot, but that's not my intent. I just think our guys are prone to brilliant stretches followed by Sampsonian moments of carelessness. When we play with our heads on straight, we play like a REALLY good basketball team. When we play like a bunch of carbon blobs, we're not worth a chicken-fried flip. Half-assed effort on Monday will be greeted by a two-cheeked butt kicking. We'll have to bring it against a team who has beaten us six straight times by an average score of 71-54. We already righted a big-time wrong today by winning the first road game against an opponent in the North of Capel's era.
Now let's get Jeff's first win against that burnt orange scum Monday night.
Thank you for your time.
A point guard short, and for a while an entire backcourt short. Crocker was way off, and Willie looked timid. We're down 26-19, and K-State is hot from three. Capel calls timeout and comes out with a defense very warm to the hearts of Sooner BBall fans: 1-3-1. You'll remember the havoc the '02 team wrought with Daryan Selvy uptop. While this zone didn't cause that kind of chaos, it completely befuddled K-State. They put up a goose egg for the remainder of the half while we scored the final ten points. I was a little shocked we didn't stick with it because K-State had a little success at the start of the second half, but when we went back to it the boys in purple went back inside their shell and we pulled away for a 61-53 win that was more lopsided than the final indicated.
As hot and cold as I run with him, I thought Austin Johnson played a wonderful second half, and it showed in how efficient our offense became once he dislodged his cranium from his rectal cavity. His five assists led the team, and his six rebounds were second best. After K-State tied the game at 31, AJ hit a key trey that put us up 34-31. We never trailed again. Are we still a point guard short? I think so. Can we beat a lot of teams when we get competent, efficient play at that spot? I think so there too.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 12
2nd - 17 [dang me]
3rd - 16 [flesh-eating bacteria]
4th - 16 [gout in the bloodstream]
[b]SCORING LEADERS:
29 - Blake Griffin: This easily could've been 40. He missed quite a few close ones, and he was a one-man bricklaying crew at the line.
10 - Willie Warren: An oustanding second half.
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
15 - Blake Griffin: A lot of them came early. Couldn't go nuts after them because of foul trouble.
7 - Taylor Griffin: solid early.
6 - Austin Johnson: many key ones down the stretch.
PLUSES:
1. Blake Griffin: 29 and 15, and that's probably a tad low. He dominated today, but he could've had a few more. The zone and foul trouble caused him to not pursue several defensive boards with his normal vigor. He easily could've gone for 40 and 20. EASILY.
2. Willie Warren: Hit a couple of key threes when K-State tried to make a run early in the second half. One of them was a key response. I thought he was too timid early, but I also didn't think they were looking for him while Blake was getting isolation. When we needed him in the second half, he was there.
3. Austin Johnson: Solely a second half plus, because he was rancid baby food in the first half. He did a great job filling up the sheet in the second half, though, and was an integral cog when we pulled away. Got to give us better minutes early or we'll dig a big hole against the better teams.
4. Rebounding: Aside from a couple of second half stretches where we treated the caroms like loose strains of Ebola, I thought we did a great job of controlling the glass. We had 15 offensive boards, and I know K-State had 14, but half of those came on two separate possessions. The rest of the time, the glass was ours.
MINUSES:
1. Bench: Hard to imagine the bench every being less useful than it was today. The bench combined for 19 minutes, 1 point, three rebounds and four fouls while only taking three shots. The writers for The Simpsons had many names for Homer's crew at the Power Plant in Sector 7-G. In that light, our bench today was either a pack of carbon blobs or organ banks. Whatever they were, they were useless. Thankfully, they weren't needed. They will be Monday night.
2. Denis Clemente - You may be Roberto's second cousin. And you may wear 21, just like Roberto Clemente but you, boy, are no Roberto Clemente. I think I found a guy to root against EVERY night.
3. Free Throw Shooting: It's officially epidemic now. 10-21, a balmy 48%. That's as wretched as wretched can be.
4. Taylor Griffin: I thought he played OK, but at the end he had his brain snatched. He's a senior, and he turned it over on THREE straight possessions while we're trying to kill the clock. Thank God we were up 16, because they cut that thing down to single-digits quick. WAKE UP!
It may sound like I bitch a lot, but that's not my intent. I just think our guys are prone to brilliant stretches followed by Sampsonian moments of carelessness. When we play with our heads on straight, we play like a REALLY good basketball team. When we play like a bunch of carbon blobs, we're not worth a chicken-fried flip. Half-assed effort on Monday will be greeted by a two-cheeked butt kicking. We'll have to bring it against a team who has beaten us six straight times by an average score of 71-54. We already righted a big-time wrong today by winning the first road game against an opponent in the North of Capel's era.
Now let's get Jeff's first win against that burnt orange scum Monday night.
Thank you for your time.