Sooner04
1/22/2009, 11:07 AM
There is nothing more difficult to deal with in sports than getting punched in the mouth by what you see as an inferior opponent. It's a true test of your character to respond in these situations. The meek crawl into a hole, rest in the fetal position, and yearn for momma's teet. The strong show resolve and impose their will on their opponent.
Last night, our Sooners got jabbed to death in the first half. Nebraska came out and played flawlessly. They hit their open looks, and they controlled the pace for the final 19 minutes of the half. We owned the first minute by hitting two treys and going up 6-0, but Nebraska was outstanding the rest of the way. I didn't think we played poorly, per se, but we certainly were not at our best whereas Nebraska was wonderful. To go into the break trailing by only six was, in my opinion, a bit lucky. We had avoided the knockout blow, and I was quite certain the Husker load had been shot.
Doc Sadler's gameplan was to make our guards beat him, and he almost got his wish. Cade Davis has morphed into Sir Clang-a-lot. Tony and Austin started hot, then went cold. The guards took it upon themself to win this game early, and they almost shot us right out of it. Luckily, Blake Griffin was incredible last night. Aside from the Davidson game, this one was his best as a Sooner. Nebraska did a great job trapping him quickly, but he was still able to get position with a little work. When our guards showed patience in waiting for that position to be attained, points became automatic. Our late run was keyed by Austin and Omar waiting on Griffin instead of taking matters into their own hands. Omar especially was key in letting Griffin get a perfect seal in the low block which led to Blake's final "and one" of the night. It was a sign of a team that's really understanding what works.
The taking Nebraska lightly seeped all the way to the top last night. Capel admitted as such in the post-game interview where he talked about how we were working on defending screens differently. This led to being out of position on numerous occasions and allowing some clown named Ryan Anderson to turn into Randy Rutherford from the corner. Luckily, he morphed into Jenny Vining in the second half and threw up brick after brick which allowed us to take over the game.
I'd like for us to "bring it" night after night, but it's comforting knowing that our spurts are pretty lethal. We led 57-55 with 4:06 to play. 3:15 later, it was 70-59. Good night, and thanks for playing. Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 17 [maggot-filled warthog]
2nd - 15 [gout in the toe]
3rd - 19 [spit]
4th - 20 [hey, hey, mama, said the way you move....]
LEADING SCORERS:
27 - Blake Griffin: Virtuoso performance out there. I just wish he was better at his free throws. That's awful petty of me, but man, they're free points.
15 - Austin Johnson: I eat a bowl of crow for breakfast every morning.
12 - Tony Crocker: More hot and cold flashes than a pregnant woman.
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
18 - Blake Griffin: An absolutely ferocious display on the boards. Several times he was eye-level with the rim in grabbing the caroms.
5 - Cade Davis: Excellent job here.
4 - Tony Crocker
PLUSES:
1. Blake Griffin: If Blake had been as off as the rest of our guys were early, we ran a fair risk of being run out of our own gym. His amp was turned to 11 for the bulk of the evening. I thought he was defended well, and still turned in 27 and 18. That's got to be a helpless feeling for opposing posts.
2. Austin Johnson: Geez, has the switch been turned "on" or what? I voiced my concern over our play at point guard often throughout the early part of the season, but Austin's assertiveness over the last few games has been shocking. These aren't casual points he's scoring, they are big, meaningful buckets. Several times when it looked like we might not get over the hump in the second half he stepped up and hit big shots. SENIOR shots right there.
3. Crowd: Very pleased with the turnout and involvement tonight. I'm hoping for a really good crowd Saturday because we'll need it. Baylor's pretty good. Anytime you get nearly 10,000 on a Wednesday night is a BIG plus.
4. Reverse psychology: We had trailed for 18 straight minutes when Omar passed up an open look. I commented to those around me that we don't want Omar taking that shot because he hadn't hit a bucket in a month. Next time down the floor, Omar for three.........SWISH! Oklahoma leads.
It reminded me of my most horrid sports memory: the '98 NFC Championship Game. My Vikings lead 27-20 with a little over two minutes to go. Pat Summerall tells the nation as Gary Anderson lines up a 38-yard field goal to ice it that Anderson has yet to miss a field goal or extra point all year. When I wake up in a cold sweat, I've dreamed of that kick. Oh, the humanity.
5. Second Half: Outscored the Huskers 40-23. They shot 50% in the first half and 31% in the second half. We really got after them. Sadler's a good coach, and they're a pretty good basketball team, but we did some manhandling late in the game.
6. Protection: All year long, Nebraska has been adept at forcing turnovers. Last night we had 17 assists against only 7 turnovers. Tremendous job by our guards for the duration in that regard. Their shot selection was spotty at times, but we really did a great job of protecting the ball.
MINUSES:
1. Cade Davis: If he and Jenny Vining become an item, would they name their first child D'Brickashaw?
2. Blake showboating: Cool it, child. That technical at the end could've haunted us had the score been a bit closer.
3. Free throw shooting: 13-21. It's a theme, but I did like how we ended the game by making the big ones when it mattered.
4-0 in the conference, sports fans, with winnable games on the horizon. Teams all over the country are failing to hold serve on their home floor, but we just keep piling up victories. Wake loses to the Hokies. Michigan State loses to Northwestern. But here are the Sooners, and we're rolling right along. Baylor's next and then on to the cess pool of Payne County. The train keeps a rolling.
Thank you for your time.
Last night, our Sooners got jabbed to death in the first half. Nebraska came out and played flawlessly. They hit their open looks, and they controlled the pace for the final 19 minutes of the half. We owned the first minute by hitting two treys and going up 6-0, but Nebraska was outstanding the rest of the way. I didn't think we played poorly, per se, but we certainly were not at our best whereas Nebraska was wonderful. To go into the break trailing by only six was, in my opinion, a bit lucky. We had avoided the knockout blow, and I was quite certain the Husker load had been shot.
Doc Sadler's gameplan was to make our guards beat him, and he almost got his wish. Cade Davis has morphed into Sir Clang-a-lot. Tony and Austin started hot, then went cold. The guards took it upon themself to win this game early, and they almost shot us right out of it. Luckily, Blake Griffin was incredible last night. Aside from the Davidson game, this one was his best as a Sooner. Nebraska did a great job trapping him quickly, but he was still able to get position with a little work. When our guards showed patience in waiting for that position to be attained, points became automatic. Our late run was keyed by Austin and Omar waiting on Griffin instead of taking matters into their own hands. Omar especially was key in letting Griffin get a perfect seal in the low block which led to Blake's final "and one" of the night. It was a sign of a team that's really understanding what works.
The taking Nebraska lightly seeped all the way to the top last night. Capel admitted as such in the post-game interview where he talked about how we were working on defending screens differently. This led to being out of position on numerous occasions and allowing some clown named Ryan Anderson to turn into Randy Rutherford from the corner. Luckily, he morphed into Jenny Vining in the second half and threw up brick after brick which allowed us to take over the game.
I'd like for us to "bring it" night after night, but it's comforting knowing that our spurts are pretty lethal. We led 57-55 with 4:06 to play. 3:15 later, it was 70-59. Good night, and thanks for playing. Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 17 [maggot-filled warthog]
2nd - 15 [gout in the toe]
3rd - 19 [spit]
4th - 20 [hey, hey, mama, said the way you move....]
LEADING SCORERS:
27 - Blake Griffin: Virtuoso performance out there. I just wish he was better at his free throws. That's awful petty of me, but man, they're free points.
15 - Austin Johnson: I eat a bowl of crow for breakfast every morning.
12 - Tony Crocker: More hot and cold flashes than a pregnant woman.
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
18 - Blake Griffin: An absolutely ferocious display on the boards. Several times he was eye-level with the rim in grabbing the caroms.
5 - Cade Davis: Excellent job here.
4 - Tony Crocker
PLUSES:
1. Blake Griffin: If Blake had been as off as the rest of our guys were early, we ran a fair risk of being run out of our own gym. His amp was turned to 11 for the bulk of the evening. I thought he was defended well, and still turned in 27 and 18. That's got to be a helpless feeling for opposing posts.
2. Austin Johnson: Geez, has the switch been turned "on" or what? I voiced my concern over our play at point guard often throughout the early part of the season, but Austin's assertiveness over the last few games has been shocking. These aren't casual points he's scoring, they are big, meaningful buckets. Several times when it looked like we might not get over the hump in the second half he stepped up and hit big shots. SENIOR shots right there.
3. Crowd: Very pleased with the turnout and involvement tonight. I'm hoping for a really good crowd Saturday because we'll need it. Baylor's pretty good. Anytime you get nearly 10,000 on a Wednesday night is a BIG plus.
4. Reverse psychology: We had trailed for 18 straight minutes when Omar passed up an open look. I commented to those around me that we don't want Omar taking that shot because he hadn't hit a bucket in a month. Next time down the floor, Omar for three.........SWISH! Oklahoma leads.
It reminded me of my most horrid sports memory: the '98 NFC Championship Game. My Vikings lead 27-20 with a little over two minutes to go. Pat Summerall tells the nation as Gary Anderson lines up a 38-yard field goal to ice it that Anderson has yet to miss a field goal or extra point all year. When I wake up in a cold sweat, I've dreamed of that kick. Oh, the humanity.
5. Second Half: Outscored the Huskers 40-23. They shot 50% in the first half and 31% in the second half. We really got after them. Sadler's a good coach, and they're a pretty good basketball team, but we did some manhandling late in the game.
6. Protection: All year long, Nebraska has been adept at forcing turnovers. Last night we had 17 assists against only 7 turnovers. Tremendous job by our guards for the duration in that regard. Their shot selection was spotty at times, but we really did a great job of protecting the ball.
MINUSES:
1. Cade Davis: If he and Jenny Vining become an item, would they name their first child D'Brickashaw?
2. Blake showboating: Cool it, child. That technical at the end could've haunted us had the score been a bit closer.
3. Free throw shooting: 13-21. It's a theme, but I did like how we ended the game by making the big ones when it mattered.
4-0 in the conference, sports fans, with winnable games on the horizon. Teams all over the country are failing to hold serve on their home floor, but we just keep piling up victories. Wake loses to the Hokies. Michigan State loses to Northwestern. But here are the Sooners, and we're rolling right along. Baylor's next and then on to the cess pool of Payne County. The train keeps a rolling.
Thank you for your time.