Sooner04
2/14/2009, 05:47 PM
Those of you lucky enough to garner a seat inside the Lloyd Noble Center today saw individual greatness not seen in a generation. 40 point/20 rebound games don't come around often. They are not flukes. 40 point games happen. Sometimes a little wisp like Stephen Curry heaves up shots til he's blue in the face and, at the end, looks up and there's 40. Sometimes a guy who's only 6'4'' with the butt of a man who weighs 412 gobbles up every thing in sight and snatches 22 against a team that ends up going to the Final Four. That was Ernie Abercrombie.
But it takes a monster to do both in the same game. Wayman did it. Alvan did it. In OU lore, it gets no better than those two. Into that club now strolls Blake Griffin, who scored 40 on only 22 shots and grabbed 23 boards in only 31 minutes. It was a performance for the ages. Does Tech suck? I think so, but that will not keep me from smiling from ear to ear when I tell them that I saw Blake Griffin play.
The efficiency was frightening. Under a different coach, Blake would've had a Chamberlain-esque game of 50 and 30 today. There is no doubt in my mind. He was so far above everyone on the floor today it was amazing. Balls would take a weird carom, but he'd get a finger on it and bring it back in. He'd miss, re-set himself, and jump once more to finish what he'd started. Of his nine missed field goals, I bet he went ahead and scored eventually on half of them. It was a virtuoso performance. It was Lenny Bruce at Carnegie Hall, Napoleon at Austerlitz and Lee at Chancellorsville all rolled into one.
And I was there to see it. Awesome, awesome stuff. 95-74. We're clicking now, with our biggest games on the horizon.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 19 [spit]
2nd - 30 [i will treat you well, my sweet angel.]
3rd - 28 [so help me JEEEEEEEEEEEEEESUS!]
4th - 18 [masked marauder, choking on refried beans.]
LEADING SCORERS:
40 - Blake Griffin
17 - Cade Davis [of the rainbow variety are his treys.]
15 - Willie Warren [quietest 15 I've ever seen.]
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
23 - Blake Griffin [if it was near, it was his.]
7 - Taylor Griffin
5 - Austin Johnson
4 - Cade Davis [totally underrated rebounder.]
PLUSES:
1. Blake Griffin: First Sooner to go over 40 since Jeff Webster against Colorado in '94. 15 years, people. The first 40/20 game in a generation. Only two more appearances at Lloyd Noble, and what more could he do?
2. Cade Davis: With Cade's 17, we've now had six different players score 17 or more in conference play. Throw in The Chupacabra, and we've had seven different guys score in double figures. That'll keep coaches up burning the midnight oil, especially when they're just sitting there waiting for Cade's treys to come down. There is nothing prettier than watching one of his shots rip the net after scraping the rafters. We'll need him the rest of the way.
3. Intro Video: They've shortened it a bit and, in my opinion, they've perfected it. Our opponents watch it in awe.
4. Crowd: Great crowd today. 12,009 at 12:30 on Valentine's Day. While attendance is dropping everywhere, we're drawing at least 10,000+ for conference play. We've come a LONG way in a short time, and hopefully it only gets better.
5. Willie Warren: A quiet 15 points, but five assists against a lone turnover. Also hit the shot that sparked us from the corner after Tech hit literally every shot in the early going.
MINUSES:
1. Reserve Post Defense: [shudder]. I have seen the future, and I'll need an extra blanket to hide under tonight. Even The Chupacabra looked off down there today. Seriously, move and KEEP your feet, guys. The last four minutes was horrid down there.
2. The Timing of Jeff Capel: Taking Blake out at a timeout instead of during a regular stoppage robbed him of an all-time standing ovation. Probably the pettiest gripe I've ever had, but I would've loved to see Blake salute the crowd after this performance for the ages. :)
3. Tony Crocker: I know Cade was unconscious, but two points? No field goals? Only three shots? You've got to plug in the Crock Pot before it can cook!
We've toyed with a few teams lately at home, but today was a whitewash. Once Tech stopped shooting above 80% we absolutely drummed them and NEVER let up. It was great to see. Now we'll take a much deserved week off and get ourselves in prime shape to venture down to Austin, a festering turd of a place where we haven't tasted victory since 2005. If this locomotive is to continue zooming downhill, we need to beat inferior teams on the road. The University of Texas is inferior to our Sooners, and if we play our game they're going to beat in a burnt orange world of hurt. Let's hope our boys bottle up the good vibes of this past week and transport them to that Drum by the Highway.
It's going to be a war Saturday night. We're 25-1 and 11-0 in conference. Do not forget, WE'RE the better team, and it's time to impose OUR will on the burnt orange scum.
Thank you for your time.
But it takes a monster to do both in the same game. Wayman did it. Alvan did it. In OU lore, it gets no better than those two. Into that club now strolls Blake Griffin, who scored 40 on only 22 shots and grabbed 23 boards in only 31 minutes. It was a performance for the ages. Does Tech suck? I think so, but that will not keep me from smiling from ear to ear when I tell them that I saw Blake Griffin play.
The efficiency was frightening. Under a different coach, Blake would've had a Chamberlain-esque game of 50 and 30 today. There is no doubt in my mind. He was so far above everyone on the floor today it was amazing. Balls would take a weird carom, but he'd get a finger on it and bring it back in. He'd miss, re-set himself, and jump once more to finish what he'd started. Of his nine missed field goals, I bet he went ahead and scored eventually on half of them. It was a virtuoso performance. It was Lenny Bruce at Carnegie Hall, Napoleon at Austerlitz and Lee at Chancellorsville all rolled into one.
And I was there to see it. Awesome, awesome stuff. 95-74. We're clicking now, with our biggest games on the horizon.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 19 [spit]
2nd - 30 [i will treat you well, my sweet angel.]
3rd - 28 [so help me JEEEEEEEEEEEEEESUS!]
4th - 18 [masked marauder, choking on refried beans.]
LEADING SCORERS:
40 - Blake Griffin
17 - Cade Davis [of the rainbow variety are his treys.]
15 - Willie Warren [quietest 15 I've ever seen.]
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
23 - Blake Griffin [if it was near, it was his.]
7 - Taylor Griffin
5 - Austin Johnson
4 - Cade Davis [totally underrated rebounder.]
PLUSES:
1. Blake Griffin: First Sooner to go over 40 since Jeff Webster against Colorado in '94. 15 years, people. The first 40/20 game in a generation. Only two more appearances at Lloyd Noble, and what more could he do?
2. Cade Davis: With Cade's 17, we've now had six different players score 17 or more in conference play. Throw in The Chupacabra, and we've had seven different guys score in double figures. That'll keep coaches up burning the midnight oil, especially when they're just sitting there waiting for Cade's treys to come down. There is nothing prettier than watching one of his shots rip the net after scraping the rafters. We'll need him the rest of the way.
3. Intro Video: They've shortened it a bit and, in my opinion, they've perfected it. Our opponents watch it in awe.
4. Crowd: Great crowd today. 12,009 at 12:30 on Valentine's Day. While attendance is dropping everywhere, we're drawing at least 10,000+ for conference play. We've come a LONG way in a short time, and hopefully it only gets better.
5. Willie Warren: A quiet 15 points, but five assists against a lone turnover. Also hit the shot that sparked us from the corner after Tech hit literally every shot in the early going.
MINUSES:
1. Reserve Post Defense: [shudder]. I have seen the future, and I'll need an extra blanket to hide under tonight. Even The Chupacabra looked off down there today. Seriously, move and KEEP your feet, guys. The last four minutes was horrid down there.
2. The Timing of Jeff Capel: Taking Blake out at a timeout instead of during a regular stoppage robbed him of an all-time standing ovation. Probably the pettiest gripe I've ever had, but I would've loved to see Blake salute the crowd after this performance for the ages. :)
3. Tony Crocker: I know Cade was unconscious, but two points? No field goals? Only three shots? You've got to plug in the Crock Pot before it can cook!
We've toyed with a few teams lately at home, but today was a whitewash. Once Tech stopped shooting above 80% we absolutely drummed them and NEVER let up. It was great to see. Now we'll take a much deserved week off and get ourselves in prime shape to venture down to Austin, a festering turd of a place where we haven't tasted victory since 2005. If this locomotive is to continue zooming downhill, we need to beat inferior teams on the road. The University of Texas is inferior to our Sooners, and if we play our game they're going to beat in a burnt orange world of hurt. Let's hope our boys bottle up the good vibes of this past week and transport them to that Drum by the Highway.
It's going to be a war Saturday night. We're 25-1 and 11-0 in conference. Do not forget, WE'RE the better team, and it's time to impose OUR will on the burnt orange scum.
Thank you for your time.