PDA

View Full Version : 04's Attempt: OU vs. eATMe Recap



Sooner04
1/19/2010, 11:34 PM
Up 54-47 and riding the crest of a wave of good play that had seen us turn a 12-point deficit into a seven-point lead, Cade Davis made as good a pass as he's ever made to Keith Gallon. A sure two-handed slam and we're up by nine and eATMe is on the way to a crushing home loss. But Gallon forsakes the two-handed approach for a one-handed attempt, and the ball is swatted away.

That was huge.

TMG, who'd played the game of his young Sooner career up to the point in question, strolled to the line with his team up four and the possibility of two free throws to put us back up six and one again at arm's length. But TMG would miss that freebie, his only non swish of the night from the stripe, and two points so desperately needed were marooned in What-if-ville.

That was also huge.

When you lose 91-60 to Baylor you throw up your hands in disgust and say, "well, it's going to be a long year". But when you go down to College Station and lead for 2/3 of the second half and still lose.....well, that makes it tough to sleep at night. Instead of wondering what you might do to fix things you instead wonder of what might've been. What if Crocker had actually touched the guy on his fifth foul? What if Pledger had hit a shot? What if we'd made one extra pass when down 63-62? Is this a better feeling than the one we all felt after being drummed by the Bears? You bet it is.

This team still has a long way to go, but they've come miles in a matter of days. I hope Capel doesn't let this loss hurt them. No, he should let it infuriate them. They should all know when they board the plane tonight that they completely let one slip away, and it ought to be the first thing on their minds when they set foot on the floor in Lubbock on Saturday.


SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 12
2nd - 17
3rd - 25 [rally round the family, pocket full of shells!]
4th - 8 :( :(


LEADING SCORERS:
21 - TMG
14 - Willie Warren
10 - Keith Gallon

LEADING REBOUNDERS:
7 - Cade Davis
7 - Keith Gallon
6 - Willie Warren
5 - Tony Crocker


PLUSES:
1. TMG: I remember many years ago in that same building but with far fewer witnesses a young, dimunitive point guard for Oklahoma named Drew Lavender went for (I think) 31 against the Aggies to lead us to a win. It looked as though Mason-Griffin was heading down that same path, but the missed one-and-one appeared to deflate him a bit. He kept us within reach in the first half and then made several plays to get us by the Aggies in the second half. Five assists and only two turnovers, which looks much better once you consider how rough Saturday's game against Misery was for him.

2. Cade Davis: Nine points and seven assists is a solid day, but the guy gives you everything he's got every second he's on the floor. Tonight that meant eATMe received no break from him because foul trouble put him on the floor for the entire 40 minutes.

3. Keith Gallon: Much better showing after that debacle against Mizzou. I just wish he'd go strong to the tin EVERY time he's close. If I were 6'9'' I'd be attacking the rim with extreme prejudice every time I was in the zip code.

4. Rebounding: Won the battle of the boards 33-30. Stunned!


MINUSES:
1. Steven Pledger: As good as he was against Missouri, he was just as bad tonight. I think we were up 60-59 when he had a chance to hit a wide-open three after a BEAUTIFUL drive and dish by TMG, but just like the other shots he took tonight this one too failed to drop.

2. Tony Crocker: Yes he fouled out, but he also played 31 minutes. We need more than four points and five rebounds from our best player of the first half of the season.

3. Willie Warren: We trailed by ten at the half and I thought Willie was the culprit considering he contributed only three points. He righted the ship in the second half, but I'd like to stop digging these 10-point holes if it's at all possible.

4. Ryan Wright: Thought he was meek tonight. Didn't seem to fight down low.

5. "Gamma" Ray Willis: Today was day one of the new semester, and I didn't see Ray on the bench. That's rarely ever a good sign.


Man, I'm still stewing over this loss. We could've really done some things with a win like this, but I hope we really take this hurt to heart and craft it into something positive. So many chances to drive a stake through their collie-worshipping hearts and we continually let them off the hook. Good teams close out games like this. Maybe next time we'll show ourselves that we've got what it takes to get to, and play at, that level.

Until then, it shall be a restless night's sleep.


Thank you for your time.

Rock Hard Corn Frog
1/19/2010, 11:51 PM
Unfortunately moral victories won't get us in the NCAA tourney but no doubt the team took a step forward playing hard on the road. Makes you believe road win or two is possbly.

Eielson
1/19/2010, 11:53 PM
5. "Gamma" Ray Willis: Today was day one of the new semester, and I didn't see Ray on the bench. That's rarely ever a good sign.

I'm starting to lose hope with him.

starrca23
1/20/2010, 08:16 AM
You guys are right...a step in the right direction. Earlier in the year being down 10 would have meant a 30 point loss. Obviously they still need to improve. It has been my experience that team struggling can find ways to loose. Gallon, Crocker and Warren in foul trouble doesn't help, but that is part of that playing smart. Give up a point or two on this possesion to keep your but in the game!!!
Also, the refs were woefully inconsistent on foul calls (not blaming, just sayin'), and that announcer must have some jv coaching experience from 30 yrs. ago...he was ridiculous.

Boomer.....
1/20/2010, 09:14 AM
Ray Willis and TJ Franklin missed the trip because of a class scheduling mix-up.

ouleaf
1/20/2010, 09:43 AM
Early foul trouble never helps anyone, but was glad to see some fight in them after being down most of the game. Then when we rallied and began our comeback you could really see the intensity that this team is capable of playing with which does give some hope. This would have been a huge road win for the team if they could have put the nail in the coffin when we were up, but we let up for one minute and they stormed right past us.

Loved the performance from TMG. Definitely saw flashes of very good player. I hope he can be that kind of player consistently.

bri
1/20/2010, 09:53 AM
that announcer must have some jv coaching experience from 30 yrs. ago...he was ridiculous.

Remember kids, when you're 80 feet from your basket and someone fouls you to stop the clock, if you throw the ball away you get THREE FREE THROWS! Totally!

badger
1/20/2010, 09:54 AM
Definitely this loss should tick the team off. Think about it... when the football team lost those three games by a total of five points... it might have been close, but they were still in the L column. Three losses is three losses, whether it's by 3 or 30.

And now, the Sooners did exactly what they did at Baylor, even if the margin was a lot closer. 30 years from now, it's going to be an L game, not a W. All of that effort to close the gap in the second half is wasted... so hopefully they'll learn that if they're going to work that hard for a win, they need to finish the job, or go home empty handed.

Rock Hard Corn Frog
1/20/2010, 03:21 PM
Definitely this loss should tick the team off. Think about it... when the football team lost those three games by a total of five points... it might have been close, but they were still in the L column. Three losses is three losses, whether it's by 3 or 30.

And now, the Sooners did exactly what they did at Baylor, even if the margin was a lot closer. 30 years from now, it's going to be an L game, not a W. All of that effort to close the gap in the second half is wasted... so hopefully they'll learn that if they're going to work that hard for a win, they need to finish the job, or go home empty handed.


I don't think they did exactly what they did at Baylor. A loss sure but Baylor was a fold job. The team fought last night and the game wasn't lost due to effort. It certainly is very frustrating but efforts like Baylor won't win ANY road games. Effort like last night could win a couple road games.

the_ouskull
1/20/2010, 04:40 PM
I saw Willie's stat line. Was it as bad in person? Anybody?

the_ouskull

JLEW1818
1/20/2010, 04:41 PM
he looked elite at times... he looked below average at times. honestly

1 word to describe WW3.... "Inconsistent"

is that fair?

cjames317
1/20/2010, 04:58 PM
... I'd be attacking the rim with extreme prejudice every time I was in the zip code....


I miss Blake.

Eielson
1/20/2010, 05:07 PM
I saw Willie's stat line. Was it as bad in person? Anybody?

the_ouskull

I missed most of the game, but from the little I saw in the first half, and the ending of the game...yeah, he looked pretty normal. What I can't figure out is why he is unable to hold onto the ball when driving to the basket. I've seen him lose the ball in a similar fashion so many times.

Boomer.....
1/20/2010, 05:10 PM
I saw Willie's stat line. Was it as bad in person? Anybody?

the_ouskull

Bad in the first half and good in the second half with a few flashes of great. Jlew is right about him being inconsistent but we all knew that already.

Collier11
1/20/2010, 05:26 PM
I think the key play was when we were up by either 4 or 5, I think there was less than 4 minutes left although I dont remember the exact time and Pledger took a pass from TMG(I think) and had a WIDE OPEN three and he clanged it. If that shot goes in we win going away IMO

Boomer.....
1/20/2010, 05:47 PM
Pledger is 9 out of his last 43 attempts from beyond the arc. Not the one you want shooting the ball in a close game. He also killed us on the other end when his man nailed a wide open trey late in the game.

TopDawg
1/20/2010, 06:03 PM
I miss Blake.

Tiny's "Lay-Up First" way of thinking is the same kinda mindset our big men had when Sampson was here and it's always infuriated me. But to see it now after two years of Blake makes it seem even more criminal.

Sooner04
1/20/2010, 08:50 PM
Tiny's "Lay-Up First" way of thinking is the same kinda mindset our big men had when Sampson was here and it's always infuriated me. But to see it now after two years of Blake makes it seem even more criminal.
Without a doubt. We'd go weeks without dunks back then.

Keith does throw it down from time-to-time, but he looks like a lost puppy when you compare him to what we got to watch the previous two years.

stoopified
1/20/2010, 11:56 PM
I am proud of the way this team competed when it could have(and earlier this year WOULD HAVE) folded up and quit.

I also have TWO questions- 1) Am I the only one who was totally nauseated by the aTm cheerleader duo who did the TV call of the game ?, 2) Why is it a shot fake that gets the opponent off his feet and crashing down on top of you not a foul in College Station?WW did that at least twice and no fouls were called. I watched a lot of NBA and college ball this year and EVERYWHERE else on the planet this results in a defensive foul.The most the aTm cheerleader duo would say was I hope our guy didn't hurt himself when he crshed over the top of the OU player.

I was proud of how hard WW and the team played in the second half.I do also applaud Willie's restraint I guarantee you IF I am mauled by a 270 pound big man crashing down on me like a ton of bricks I would have screamed like Kobe until I got the call or the T.

TopDawg
1/21/2010, 10:32 AM
Keith does throw it down from time-to-time,

Oh yeah. If you take Blake out of the equation, Tiny probably has the most memorable Sooner dunk (attempt) of my life.

The first time I saw him dunk it, it came after 4 or 5 similar situations where he'd chosen to lay it in. I was beginning to worry that he couldn't dunk it.

NormanPride
1/21/2010, 10:43 AM
He doesn't seem to have great accuracy while dunking. Which I always thought was... odd.