Sooner04
11/15/2009, 07:12 PM
In Blazing Saddles, shortly after the sheriff was murdered, the crops were burned, the people were stampeded and the cattle were raped, Howard Johnson quoted Nietzsche and informed his fellow citizens of Rock Ridge that "from chaos comes order". Nevermind that, in the movie, Olson Johnson tells him to blow that quote out of his ***....what we're concerned with his how Jeff Capel will take the chaos this is his lineup and turn it into some semblance of order. Some of the things we saw yesterday were a little different.
We saw a starting lineup with only two seniors.
We saw Crocker at the "4".
We saw four freshman and one sophomore on the floor.
It's the age-old "crap slung against the wall" theory. Take everything you've got, heave it against the wall and see what sticks. Now I'm not calling Jeff a mad scientist or anything, but I do think he's got enough moveable parts to really create some matchup problems for our opponents this year. We can get real small or we can put some big, lumbering lugs on the floor. In the meantime, we can throw just about anything else out there as well. What holds true one night may be blown to bits the next time out. Call me crazy, but that's fun.
I'll tell you what's also fun: the smooth 95 we put up yesterday. It wasn't a freakish 95 where you hit 60% from downtown. No sir, it was a 95 born out of getting to the rim, making free throws and hitting an average amount of our shots from the perimeter. To do nothing outlandish and still drop 95 causes my fast-break loving heart to flutter a tad. Just a tad, but there's movement down there.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 21 [Sometimes you wanna get higher.]
2nd - 28 [Sometimes you gotta start low.]
3rd - 19 [Some people think they gonna die someday.]
4th - 27 [I got news you never got to go.]
LEADING SCORERS:
21 - Steven Pledger
18 - Tiny Gallon
15 - Willie Warren
14 - Andrew Fitzgerald
11 - Tommy Mason-Griffin
(Four freshman and a sophomore lead in scoring. Ruh-Roh, Raggy!)
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
15 - Tiny Gallon (Games, one. Double-doubles, one.)
5 - Ryan Wright
5 - Andrew Fitzgerald
PLUSES:
1. The Recruiting Class of 2009: Is this what it was like when Billy trotted out T-Mac, Choo and DJ in the fall of '83? I'm not counting Hardrick here because he's not ready, but the other four (Tiny, Fitz, TMG and Pledge) combined for 64 points, 24 rebounds and seven assists. Tiny's a horse, but we knew he would be. TMG's lightning quick, but we knew he would be. Fitz looks like a three-legged camel getting up and down the court, but he knows how to play. He got great position through out using that XXL derriere of his. And Pledge..........
2. Steven Pledger: A true, honest-to-goodness net ripper. Some guys shoot with that high arc, but only the truest shooters have that lightning-quick release that produces a net rip. My friend, TopDawg, sat next to me yesterday and said we'll be counting his dribbles by game later in the year because he'll be firing at will at a moment's notice off of screens. I cannot wait.
3. Rebounding: Capel said he wants to run a bunch but that we can only do it if we commit in full to rebounding. So far, so good. 51-30 overall with an 18-6 edge on the offensive side. Plenty of breakdowns will be noted during film study, but I bet he's happy overall.
4. Willie Warren: There'll come a time when we have to call on WWIII to carry the weight, but yesterday he was content to let others shine. It surprised me a bit to hear he'd also chimed in 11 assists and four rebounds to go with his 15 points. Know what else is nice? Only two turnovers.
5. Shawn Atupem: A Hi-Top Fade that nice hasn't been seen inside the LNC since UNLV came to town in the fall of '89. I had a weird urge the rest of the day to go home and watch House Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Party_(film)).
MINUSES:
1. The Seniors: Crocker and Wright played 42 minutes and produced the following: eight points, nine rebounds, two turnovers and one assist. More play like that in non-conference play will have you NOT playing IN conference play.
2. Taking it Easy on the Re-Entry: We headed into the break with a comfortable 49-36 cushion. Two minutes into the second half our lead was only 49-44. You're not going to win or lose games in the early stretches of a half, but you can damn sure make it easier on yourself by playing well at the opening bells.
3. Fast Break Opportunities: We only scored 11 points on the break, but I bet we could've doubled that. We've got the speed to zoom past most teams, but we've got to take advantages of the situations when they present themselves.
4. The Chupacabra: I'm still not over it. I'm still not over him. :(
SO! 1-0 with another piece of lunch meat on the table in the form of Louisiana-Monroe. It'll be interesting to see what changes are made in the 80 or so hours between the two games. Will we see Crocker in the post more? Will Ryan Wright take off the oven mitts? Has Orlando Allen already locked up the Longar Longar "Hands of Stone" award? Will our entire starting lineup feature headbands? I know answers to none of these questions.......but I look forward to the pursuit of the truth.
Thank you for your time.
We saw a starting lineup with only two seniors.
We saw Crocker at the "4".
We saw four freshman and one sophomore on the floor.
It's the age-old "crap slung against the wall" theory. Take everything you've got, heave it against the wall and see what sticks. Now I'm not calling Jeff a mad scientist or anything, but I do think he's got enough moveable parts to really create some matchup problems for our opponents this year. We can get real small or we can put some big, lumbering lugs on the floor. In the meantime, we can throw just about anything else out there as well. What holds true one night may be blown to bits the next time out. Call me crazy, but that's fun.
I'll tell you what's also fun: the smooth 95 we put up yesterday. It wasn't a freakish 95 where you hit 60% from downtown. No sir, it was a 95 born out of getting to the rim, making free throws and hitting an average amount of our shots from the perimeter. To do nothing outlandish and still drop 95 causes my fast-break loving heart to flutter a tad. Just a tad, but there's movement down there.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 21 [Sometimes you wanna get higher.]
2nd - 28 [Sometimes you gotta start low.]
3rd - 19 [Some people think they gonna die someday.]
4th - 27 [I got news you never got to go.]
LEADING SCORERS:
21 - Steven Pledger
18 - Tiny Gallon
15 - Willie Warren
14 - Andrew Fitzgerald
11 - Tommy Mason-Griffin
(Four freshman and a sophomore lead in scoring. Ruh-Roh, Raggy!)
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
15 - Tiny Gallon (Games, one. Double-doubles, one.)
5 - Ryan Wright
5 - Andrew Fitzgerald
PLUSES:
1. The Recruiting Class of 2009: Is this what it was like when Billy trotted out T-Mac, Choo and DJ in the fall of '83? I'm not counting Hardrick here because he's not ready, but the other four (Tiny, Fitz, TMG and Pledge) combined for 64 points, 24 rebounds and seven assists. Tiny's a horse, but we knew he would be. TMG's lightning quick, but we knew he would be. Fitz looks like a three-legged camel getting up and down the court, but he knows how to play. He got great position through out using that XXL derriere of his. And Pledge..........
2. Steven Pledger: A true, honest-to-goodness net ripper. Some guys shoot with that high arc, but only the truest shooters have that lightning-quick release that produces a net rip. My friend, TopDawg, sat next to me yesterday and said we'll be counting his dribbles by game later in the year because he'll be firing at will at a moment's notice off of screens. I cannot wait.
3. Rebounding: Capel said he wants to run a bunch but that we can only do it if we commit in full to rebounding. So far, so good. 51-30 overall with an 18-6 edge on the offensive side. Plenty of breakdowns will be noted during film study, but I bet he's happy overall.
4. Willie Warren: There'll come a time when we have to call on WWIII to carry the weight, but yesterday he was content to let others shine. It surprised me a bit to hear he'd also chimed in 11 assists and four rebounds to go with his 15 points. Know what else is nice? Only two turnovers.
5. Shawn Atupem: A Hi-Top Fade that nice hasn't been seen inside the LNC since UNLV came to town in the fall of '89. I had a weird urge the rest of the day to go home and watch House Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Party_(film)).
MINUSES:
1. The Seniors: Crocker and Wright played 42 minutes and produced the following: eight points, nine rebounds, two turnovers and one assist. More play like that in non-conference play will have you NOT playing IN conference play.
2. Taking it Easy on the Re-Entry: We headed into the break with a comfortable 49-36 cushion. Two minutes into the second half our lead was only 49-44. You're not going to win or lose games in the early stretches of a half, but you can damn sure make it easier on yourself by playing well at the opening bells.
3. Fast Break Opportunities: We only scored 11 points on the break, but I bet we could've doubled that. We've got the speed to zoom past most teams, but we've got to take advantages of the situations when they present themselves.
4. The Chupacabra: I'm still not over it. I'm still not over him. :(
SO! 1-0 with another piece of lunch meat on the table in the form of Louisiana-Monroe. It'll be interesting to see what changes are made in the 80 or so hours between the two games. Will we see Crocker in the post more? Will Ryan Wright take off the oven mitts? Has Orlando Allen already locked up the Longar Longar "Hands of Stone" award? Will our entire starting lineup feature headbands? I know answers to none of these questions.......but I look forward to the pursuit of the truth.
Thank you for your time.