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View Full Version : 04's Attempt: OU vs. Texas-El Paso Recap



Sooner04
12/21/2009, 09:14 PM
Helpless. Tonight, for the first time in quite a while, I felt helpless watching the Oklahoma Sooners on the basketball floor. Tied 20-20, I let myself get excited thinking I'd be watching a fast-paced game full of brilliant offensive moved and active defensive plays. One team, the one in blue and orange, came through with flying colors. The other team, the one I pull for, looked punchdrunk for ten-minute stretch and it was a stretch from which they'd never recover.

From 20-20 to 47-30. How did that happen? UTEP shot incredibly well, we all saw that. But it was the types of shots they were hitting that worried me. The types of shots they were hitting were the types of shots they wanted. If they wanted to shoot from outside, they did. If they wanted to work it inside, they did. If they wanted to pull up on a drive, they did.

Once we went cold we had no chance. All we could do on offense was jack up threes while the crowd could call out a particular offensive set for the Miners to run and they'd execute it like some sort of doomsday scoring machine. It was a completely helpless feeling. Every shot we clanked was like another shovel-full of dirt on our grave because UTEP came right back down the floor and added to the misery.

For the first ten minutes we were even, and in the second half we were better for large stretches, but the last ten minutes of the first half were our doom. We are a decent offensive team, but we are woeful on defense. As I watched VCU drill us in Richmond I thought I was witnessing an aberration, but the theme for the 2010 Sooners has been proven time again from Anchorage to Norman to Oklahoma City, and it is this: if you run your sets efficiently you will beat this basketball team.

I don't know what the answer is because I'm no defensive guru, but what I do know is that if we are forced to play defense for the life of the shot clock we are prone to breakdowns. Not a singular breakdown, but multiple breakdowns, both on the perimeter and the interior. I don't have the in-depth box score and scoring run in front of me, but there were several possessions in the second half where we'd score to cut the deficit to 11, and every time UTEP came through with the bucket to put them back up 13. That's an alarming indictment of our defensive toughness.

I bet Capel thought he had things on the right track defensively after the Alaska debacle, but I'm afraid he'll have to blow things up and start over. It's ten days until we play Gonzaga in Spokane. Time to go to work.


SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 20 [at 7 PM the main hatchway gave in]
2nd - 10 [and the good ship and crew were in peril.]
3rd - 22 [and later that night when her lights went out of sight]
4th - 22 [came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.]


LEADING SCORERS:
26 - Willie Warren
20 - Tommy Mason-Griffin
13 - Tiny Gallon
10 - Tony Crocker


LEADING REBOUNDERS:
8 - Tony Crocker
8 - Tiny Gallon
4 - Ryan Wright


PLUSES:
1. Tommy Mason-Griffin: TMG, for lack of a better analogy, got popped in the mouth early on. He was getting dominated on both ends of the floor, but he stepped up and really played hard in the second half. 20 points, and I think they all came in the second stanza. It was nice to see him respond when he could've crawled into a shell. He'll be a great one for us.

2. Willie Warren: I was as down on Willie as anybody, but he played another solid offensive game. He still turns the ball over too often, but the aggressiveness that was lacking against Northen Colorado returned tonight. He just didn't have much help.

3. UTEP: They may be the Boys Town of El Paso All-Stars, but this traveling bunch was really good. We may make mediocre teams look better than they actually are, but UTEP is stout. They identified early on that we couldn't defend them and they responded by absolutely mauling us. Kudos to them.


MINUSES:
1. Jeff Capel: DISCLAIMER!!! I'm a big Jeff Capel fan. Huge. But there is far too much talent on this team to have double-digit non-conference losses to the likes of VCU, San Diego and UTEP. I'm very confident we'll be a much better basketball team in a month than we are right now, but we shouldn't be sitting through his kind of a performance. We will improve, I KNOW we'll improve, but tonight the blame starts at the very top.

2. Cade Davis: Playing the part of last year's Tony Crocker is........Cade Davis! Off shooting night and benched in favor of Steven Pledger to start the second half. Maybe he'll go for 25 in Spokane.

3. Rebounding: During our "death by outside shooting" stretch late in the first half we didn't even sniff an offensive board. Not even close. If you'd given our guys the option of poison ivy or attacking the glass they all would've stocked up on calamine lotion. It was epidemic, and it has to stop.

4. All-College Classic: They better get some teams with national buzz or this tournament will completely go down the tubes. I was there in December of 2002 when OU hosted Michigan State in the nightcap and the Ford Center was packed. 18,000+ in the house. Fast forward to tonight and I'd be suprised if there were 5,000 people there. Sad.


I'm very anxious to see how we respond to the challenge that lies ahead. We're 8-4 with a VERY tough road game in ten days. There's no reason to think we'll beat Gonzaga. So that's 8-5. We beat Maryland Eastern-Shore to get to 9-5 and then we dive head first into Big 12 play at a time when the conference is as good as it's ever been. Wins will be very tough to come by, and once it begins there'll be no rest for the weary when you consider this team only goes seven deep.

The task before us is mighty, but the unknown of the journey is always the most fun. Here's to these Sooners getting the ship righted.

Let's just hope the ship's not named the Edmund Fitzgerald.


Thank you for your time.

kc sooner
12/21/2009, 11:09 PM
Always love your recaps O4, but I'm worried we aren't getting any better and I feel we should by now. I love Capel also, but is it his fault? I don't have the answers I just know our D is horrendous at times (most) and I don't understand how we can have basically one big man?? That is recruiting, did we not realize we had no inside presence and try to recruit it? I don't know, but the more I watch the more I'm just thinking this will be a long, sad season, and I'll have to listen to all my stupid KU fans up here all year. I do really like TMG a lot and think he will be very good, and Tiny can be good also, he needs a lot of work though. As for Pledger, he does nothing really it seems to me all he wants to do is come in and shoot a 3 as soon as he can.

OUbasketball4life
12/21/2009, 11:50 PM
I have no idea where to start about my dissappointment tonight. First off, UTEP did play a very good game, they played with passion and more importantly they played with discipline. They were hitting shots and we were throwing up bricks all night and didn't do much far as guarding them goes. We throw up 30 3s and made 9...DISCIPLINE fellas. I am proud of WW stepping it up tonight on the offensive end. I see no intensity on the defensive end and it's going to make for a very long season. If our gameplan is to just chunk up 3s lets put Willis in the rotation too.

Sooner24
12/21/2009, 11:50 PM
Tonight was as poor an effort as I have every seen from an OU team since Billy Tubbs first year. Willie Warren just stood there and let a guy drive around him to the basket. WW better figure out they play ball on both ends of the floor. Just so you don't think I'm only picking on Warren the rest of the team looked just about as bad. Capel looked like he had smoke coming out of his ears at one point tonight. Two things I know for a fact after tonights game. One, we will be playing on Wednesday in the Big 12 Tournament and two we just played our last game in the Ford Center until next years All-College.

Sooner04
12/22/2009, 12:46 AM
Somebody better send out an APB for OUSKINS. After sitting through Monday Night Football I'm afraid that guy may be on suicide watch.

GrapevineSooner
12/22/2009, 01:14 AM
Proof you can never go wrong with Gordon Lightfoot.

Good job with the recap. Even if the game was painful to watch.

jdsooner
12/22/2009, 01:27 AM
My analysis is that you have to see this team in person to appreciate how much we suck.

We are not good on defense.

We do not play together as a team. We depend on individuals to go one on one and make a play.

We have no inside game.

The four guard offense and defense does not work. UTEP was quicker than our guards and could take it to the basket easily. I fear that playing only 7 players and 4 guards will get us killed in Big 12 play. It is going to be a long season.

Soonerus
12/22/2009, 01:40 AM
They do not seem like they care...

soonerbub
12/22/2009, 02:49 AM
I'm not sure our "talent" is what it was cracked up to be. I see a bunch of guys that were coddled by their AAU coaches since jr high that simply will NOT go hard on D. We've got a bunch of guys that would dominate 3 on 3 tournaments but nothin else.

At best I predict 6-10 in conf but it could be worse. My free advice to Capel is to start recruiting based on ability to play defense--if a guy won't D up in hs then I don't want him on my team. I'd rather go 18-11 every year and lose first round (familiar?) then watch this every night.

Tryin real hard to keep the faith but this is tough BOOMER

Oh and the Thunder killed the all-college imo. I would put Tulsa and ORU in every other year to fill seats.

tommieharris91
12/22/2009, 02:54 AM
Somebody better send out an APB for OUSKINS. After sitting through Monday Night Football I'm afraid that guy may be on suicide watch.

Imagine being an OU basketball fan, a Chicago Bulls fan, and your fantasy football opponent needing 16 points out of the Giants D to beat you... :mad:

King Barry's Back
12/22/2009, 03:21 AM
"I'm very confident we'll be a much better basketball team in a month than we are right now..." -- I don't know. That's what I kept saying about the football team. Nice thing in hoops, you can play like crap 'til March, and if you put it together and get hot you can still have a great season.

King Barry's Back
12/22/2009, 03:35 AM
I'm not saying last night didn't suck, because it did. But let's keep things in perspective.

Remember when Kelvin's team lost the Sooner Invitational? :D

okienole3
12/22/2009, 07:43 AM
I know of at least two times that Willie just got blown by on defense. Same for Pledger, same for Crocker. If we are off on 3s, we are done for the night. I am afraid it is going to be a long season.

OUSKINS
12/22/2009, 08:35 AM
Somebody better send out an APB for OUSKINS. After sitting through Monday Night Football I'm afraid that guy may be on suicide watch.

I'm here. Alive. Barely. Kind of.

I was all excited about the ultra-rare personal triple header last night. OU into the Redskins into the Cavs (played the Suns last night). By the time the Cavs started, I was pretty numb and didn't get to enjoy their win very much.

At 4-9, you don't really get "nervous" about a game or feel the sting of another loss too much, but good grief, it's never fun to watch your team get embarrassed like that. It was humiliating.

Thoughts on the Sooners...


Admitting you were wrong is never easy, but I was deinitely wrong about OU's chances this year in the pre-season. I was thinking OU would challenge for 3rd in the Big 12 and battle for a 4th-6th seed in the tourney, with a chance to be real dangerous come March.

Scratch that.

Right now, we are not even close to the NCAA bubble....we are a middling NIT team at best. I am an unabashed Capel backer-- huge fan since the day he arrived. I love his style and his honesty. I think he's a great coach and a great fit for OU. Having said that, he hasn't done a good job getting this team organized so far and he's got his hands full the rest of the year.

UTEP is really good....very impressed. Better than us in all facets of the game. On Saturday, Capel predicted the game "won't even be close" if they played like they did against NO. Colo and he was right. UTEP is atheltic and can really shoot the ball. That's what a tournament team should look like.

One bright spot last night....TMG was fantastic in the second half. Very talented. I like the flashes that both he and Tiny have shown....we do have a nice base of talent there. Willie was OK, just didn't have much help last night. Cade was terrible....for some reason he feels the need to launch every time he has even the slightest opening behind the arc--he got benched last night and he deserved it.

I'm not "giving up" on the team. Things can change pretty quickly in college hoops and if Capel can somehow convince the team to play defense, we could right the ship to a certain extent. We are very young and improving as the season progresses is not out of the question by any means. But make no mistake-- they have some serious improving to do.

Beating Gonzaga in Spokane on New Year's Eve would cure a lot of ills, but right now, that doesn't even seem like a remote possibility---we'll probably get drubbed that night. We come back to play Eastern Shore before the Big 12 season begins. Looks like we'll be 9-5 heading into conference play. I guess the "good news" is that the Big 12 is so good this year that a 9-7 season with a win or two in the conference tourney will probably get you in the Big Dance. The bad news is that finding those 9 wins could be a major problem.

As bad as OU was, they were the 1984 Tar Heels compared to the display the Redskins put on last night. Good God, that was a total calamity. Awesome night for me.

soonervegas
12/22/2009, 09:15 AM
Oh and the Thunder killed the all-college imo. I would put Tulsa and ORU in every other year to fill seats.

Yup. If they don't make this tourney some sort of 4-some between OU, OSU, Tulsa, and ORU or Arkansas....the All-College could be done.

These teams all need to be playing each other anyway. (and usually do in some form....just make it at the All-College)

Boomer.....
12/22/2009, 09:46 AM
I thought WW showed that he is and can be the leader last night. Without the unusual 3 point barrage by Crock or Davis we were in trouble. WW stepped up and made some things happen but it was not enough. Tiny played hard in the second half and hopefully will continue to take it hard to the hole. TMG also had a great second half. Overall, it was too little too late to withstand their amazing shooting.

badger
12/22/2009, 09:52 AM
Poor Sooners... maybe we can get it together when conference season starts :(

Collier11
12/22/2009, 09:56 AM
The only thing that really gives me hope is 2007, we looked pretty bad at times and Capel got it turned around, including when we were without Blake. My 3rd place prediction was way off as well, we will be lucky playing like this to finish 8-8 in conf

NormanPride
12/22/2009, 10:45 AM
Still not sold on Willie. Still not sold on Capel. This team has two options: it can come together and be pretty good, or it can fall apart and sit at home in March. Three McD's AA players and this is the best we have...

We need el Chupacabre back.

ndpruitt03
12/22/2009, 10:46 AM
Based off of what I've sen on the court Capel hasn't recruited any basketball players. Just a bunch of athletes. There's about 3 guys on this team that can really play basketball. Mason Griffin, Crocker, and Willie Warren. The rest of the guys can run real fast, jump real high and be athletic, but they look like they've never played basketball.

badger
12/22/2009, 10:57 AM
Didn't KS get into this type or recruiting after a bunch of trips to the NCAA's with early exits? I remember NP saying that he started recruiting McD's AA's and not players for his system anymore, which causes us to be a big cluster-efffffff kind of like we are right now :(

I shut off the game with two minutes left, around the time OU stopped the full court press. The team had given up, so I had my pass to change the channel. :mad:

Oh and did anyone else think at first with all the orange t-shirts in the crowd that some UTEP fans actually made the trip? Then, we all realize that the Pokes tipoff next and those catcalls during our free throws is just aggot remembering football season :rolleyes:

ndpruitt03
12/22/2009, 11:01 AM
Sampson's teams still played D. I'm not sure if Capel's 4 teams have ever really played great defense outside of maybe his first team. That team wasn't that talented but they played solid on defense.

badger
12/22/2009, 03:08 PM
Oh and the Thunder killed the all-college imo. I would put Tulsa and ORU in every other year to fill seats.

This also kills the All-College:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/articleimages/2009/Thumbs/20091222_osutrophy1222_package.jpg
It's the "We Beat La Salle Trophy" that is given to a team for beating La Salle. (groan)

ndpruitt03
12/22/2009, 03:20 PM
Look at the teams in the last couple all college classics. There's just no one that can bring in fans outside of OU fans. If they bring in a big name team that arena will be full, but nobody wants to really see UTEP, Lasalle, Rhode Island, and VCU

Bourbon St Sooner
12/22/2009, 04:30 PM
What I saw last night was a team playing against a collection of players that just happened to be wearing the same jersey. The defensive effort was attrocious. There's a reason teams shoot against us like it's shooting practice. It's because they are shooting against air. One possession we're watching the guy bringing down the ball dribble past every one for an easy layup, the next we're slow to rotate on a zone and a guy hits a wide open 3, the next we're getting beat on the dribble and there's no help in the middle.

I don't get the praise for WW. We need a leader out there and he is definitely not it. I get the feeling that he just doesn't give a **** what the score is as long as he gets his points. Hopefully he'll go pro after this year. Good riddance!

I thought Tiny's play in the second half was a bright spot along with TMG. Tiny was non-existant for most of the game but finally became aggressive on both ends and hopefully a light came on.

Anyways, here's to being one game better than .500 this year.

Eielson
12/22/2009, 06:55 PM
http://www.tulsaworld.com/articleimages/2009/Thumbs/20091222_osutrophy1222_package.jpg

When did Longar transfer?

elpaso_texas
12/22/2009, 08:35 PM
go MINERS !! is Norman, OK still in shock???

Eielson
12/22/2009, 08:58 PM
go MINERS !! is Norman, OK still in shock???

If we were shocked, that would infer that you were worse than Houston, VCU, and San Diego. Great job, you're right on their level.