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View Full Version : Okay, eff it. It's next season NOW... Let's talk.



the_ouskull
3/22/2010, 05:44 PM
First, what do we have coming back?

- Pledger, Fitzgerald, Hardrick will all be sophomores or RS freshmen.
- Franklin, Warren, and Willis will be juniors.
- Allen and Davis will be seniors.

..and,

- We signed McCay, Taylor and Clark, who will be true freshmen.

-----

That's the roster. That's it? Wow. I mean, sure, we'll nab a couple of semi-names before the year starts, but this is basically who we're taking to the court next season... so let's look at 'em.

First of all, Hardrick, Franklin, and Allen won't be discussed. It's not because I haven't seen them play... it's because, to date, they can't play, and won't factor into our season much next year, whether we have 7 warm bodies or 10. If Allen suddenly learns how to box out, move his feet, and be aggressive enough to nab a whole 5 boards a game at his size, I'll start being more impressed. Until then, grab some splinters, 'cause 2010-11 isn't going to be easy...

-----

Backcourt:

- Well, T.J. Taylor, welcome to college basketball, sir. It's looking like, unless T.J. Franklin becomes the second coming of Brandon Jennings, you'll be starting at the point for the Oklahoma Sooners this season. Congrats. Good f'in' luck. You're a high school 2/3 that handles the ball because you do it so well, not because you're accustomed to doing so in terms of having things to do... like an offense to run... Going from that to college ball isn't easy. (Ask TMG if you can catch him on the way out...)

- Couldn't get enough Crimson, eh Willie? Maybe realized that your "me first, screw team" attitude was shooing away NBA dollars like a horses tail does flies? Someone finally tell you that a 30' contested three-pointer is the same thing as a turnover, only nobody writes that one down? Well, don't think that we're buying what's coming out of your mouth from under that tail. Until you show us that Crimson means more to you than green, this team won't do anything, and my give-a-sh*tter won't register towards you.

Frontcourt:

- Cade Davis. Is it just me, or, every year, does some undertalented, loyal-like-feudal-Japan motherf*cker on our team gets f'ed in the a...? This year, it's Cade Davis. He's skilled, but not talented. He's tough, but not athletic or strong. He's a freakin' winner. Easily my favorite player on this team, if for no other reason, 'cause he's been doing whatever it takes to win. Sadly, he's been doing more than his skills and body will allow already... and next year won't end much better for him. I just hope we pull a Miracle and make the Dance, for Cade's sake...

- Cam Clark is going to be tough to figure out. I think that starting him from jump will only benefit the team, assuming that he can handle playing a 3/4 hybrid in college, banging against guys a lot bigger, and often more skilled as well... 'cause he's skinny-as-sh*t now, and he's not going to get 200-210 pounds bigger before the season starts... not without losing some athleticism. If he can let the game slow down for him and immerse himself in the offense and in getting dirty on defense, he'll develop well, even with limited playing time. If he's thrown in and asked to be one of "The Men" from jump, he's going to suffer for it, as we will all suffer for it. Amen.

- Fitz... well, I guess that the logjam of bodies in the middle cleared up for you, eh? You ready to start running, every day, all summer long, sometimes 2-3 times in a day? You ready to become the man inside the man that you currently are? If you're ready to do that, and to get yourself around 220-230, then congrats. You're a starting D1 center. How's it feel? Yeah, I know you're undersized already, but with the team we're going to be putting on the court, we have GOT to have you, and you have GOT to be in the shape of your life, 1) to be involved with the offense; 'cause this team's going to run a bit, and 2) because you can't get tired and commit dumb fouls or we're going to be replacing you with Orlando Allen or Kyle Hardrick.

The Rest:

Pledger, Willis, and McCay will all see minutes. Hardrick and Allen will see them out of necessity as well. Probably more often than any Sooner fan would like to see... We need to see an increased commitment to rebounding and defense from both Pledger and Willis in order for them to see much more of the court than necessity will determine (injuries, fouls, etc...) they see.

Quick Glance:

Good outside shooting team, with very little post game, offensively or defensively. Teams will try to slow it down and take it down low on us, or set up high screen-roll plays to take advantage of size mismatches on switches, giving guards a slower man to drive on, and bigs a smaller one to post up. We have got to get zone-mad this season. I would go with a trapping zone, since, for all of our depth issues, overall team size isn't too bad... (A starting lineup of 6/3, 6/4, 6/5, 6/6, and 6/8 isn't too bad, top to bottom... and, with the exception of Fitzgerald, they're all long and fast enough to make for a decent trap. We're probably going to have to protect Fitz a lot defensively, honestly...)

Offensively, we have GOT to make free throws happen off of set plays and aggressively attacking the rim since they're not going to happen for us off of the post game very often. We need an Indiana-esque motion offense, with lots of spacing, and lots of screening. We cannot afford one second of "stand around and watch Willie," from the rest of the team, nor can we afford one second of "watch what I can do" out of Willie. We don't have the individual talent to take over a basketball game, offensively or defensively, but we have the makings (good ball-handling, good outside shooting, length, good passing - when they can be bothered to do so) of a very good "team" offense. It's just a matter of getting the guys ready.

Signing another big that can rebound and protect the rim would be super-duper, too, though.

So, youse guys thoughts on next season?

the_ouskull

NormanPride
3/22/2010, 07:35 PM
My thoughts? If we lose every game and see tears after every one, I will be okay with that.

ouleaf
3/22/2010, 09:19 PM
Offensively, we have GOT to make free throws happen off of set plays and aggressively attacking the rim since they're not going to happen for us off of the post game very often. We need an Indiana-esque motion offense, with lots of spacing, and lots of screening. We cannot afford one second of "stand around and watch Willie," from the rest of the team, nor can we afford one second of "watch what I can do" out of Willie. We don't have the individual talent to take over a basketball game, offensively or defensively, but we have the makings (good ball-handling, good outside shooting, length, good passing - when they can be bothered to do so) of a very good "team" offense. It's just a matter of getting the guys ready.


^ This.

btk108
3/22/2010, 09:43 PM
- Cade Davis. Is it just me, or, every year, does some undertalented, loyal-like-feudal-Japan motherf*cker on our team gets f'ed in the a...? This year, it's Cade Davis. He's skilled, but not talented. He's tough, but not athletic or strong. He's a freakin' winner. Easily my favorite player on this team, if for no other reason, 'cause he's been doing whatever it takes to win. Sadly, he's been doing more than his skills and body will allow already... and next year won't end much better for him. I just hope we pull a Miracle and make the Dance, for Cade's sake...



This!

btk108
3/22/2010, 09:45 PM
FYI...he's attracted interest from the New Zealand league....and he's also engaged to Miss Oklahoma....good things come to good people.

Big Red Ron
3/22/2010, 09:47 PM
did you forget Mason Griffen or am I missing sumthin?

btk108
3/22/2010, 09:56 PM
did you forget Mason Griffen or am I missing sumthin?

reports are...his room was packed up at Spring Break and he didn't show up for class today.

Sooner04
3/22/2010, 10:01 PM
Who is McCay?

Curly Bill
3/22/2010, 11:20 PM
I assume that's Justin McCay, and is Bob going to allow him to play hoop?

...or does he even want to try to do both?

Collier11
3/22/2010, 11:34 PM
Mccay is a football recruit that wants to hoop as well apparently.

As far as what do I think?

We need Fitz and Pledger to get alot better, we need to sign a JUCO PG, and we need either Taylor or Clark to be legit right away. If those things happen we can have a decent season. Oh yea, we need Willie to play to his potential and do it unselfishly

soonerbub
3/23/2010, 02:59 AM
We play a trapping zone we'll give up 140 a game. How bout a good solid shell inside the 3 line--with major emphasis on boards

oh hell with it i'm not gonna worry about it til around oct 15th

pretty sure willie's gone though (i'd love to see this team's overall gpa)

birddog
3/23/2010, 07:35 AM
Backcourt:

-
- Cam Clark is going to be tough to figure out. I think that starting him from jump will only benefit the team, assuming that he can handle playing a 3/4 hybrid in college, banging against guys a lot bigger, and often more skilled as well... 'cause he's skinny-as-sh*t now, and he's not going to get 200-210 pounds bigger before the season starts...
the_ouskull

:eek:

come on, man. that is just morbidly obese.

Monster Zero
3/23/2010, 07:58 AM
My thoughts? If we lose every game and see tears after every one, I will be okay with that.

Yep. So long as we've got a team made up of guys who want to be Sooners and play basketball I'm cool with it. They'll be OUR team. Those other guys can blast off.

Bourbon St Sooner
3/23/2010, 08:23 AM
Over/Under on wins anyone? 8? 10?

ouleaf
3/23/2010, 09:11 AM
Over/Under on wins anyone? 8? 10?

Give me the over on both.

soonerfan28
3/23/2010, 09:26 AM
Any chance we sign Aziz N'Diaye? Haven't seen any video on him so I have no idea how good or bad he is but he has size.

Sooner04
3/23/2010, 09:31 AM
Any chance we sign Aziz N'Diaye? Haven't seen any video on him so I have no idea how good or bad he is but he has size.
Recruiting in a nutshell right there.

OUmillenium
3/23/2010, 09:52 AM
Jucos please.

We ain't Duke

Crimson Kid
3/23/2010, 10:27 AM
Umm? i don't think willis will be getting any minutes here. he's not on the team anymore.

the_ouskull
3/23/2010, 03:32 PM
:eek:

come on, man. that is just morbidly obese.

Don't let Shaq hear you say that. :D

(I meant he needs to get to 210-220 pounds. Did it not read that was originally...?)

the_ouskull

the_ouskull
3/23/2010, 03:32 PM
Umm? i don't think willis will be getting any minutes here. he's not on the team anymore.

..and when was this story broken again?

the_ouskull

Eielson
3/23/2010, 07:10 PM
I'm thinking that McCay was listed as a basketball recruit for us because he signed with us in football. If a player has a profile in multiple sports, it will be listed as a commit in all sports for the team he signed for.

the_ouskull
3/23/2010, 07:31 PM
Yeah, but at this point, it's wishful thinking, and assuming Stoops cares, possibly necessary. (I mean, it's not like we're stacked next season or anything...)

the_ouskull

Eielson
3/23/2010, 07:33 PM
1 - Taylor
2 - Pledger
3 - Davis
4 - Clark
5 - Fitzgerald

I think if everything turns out perfect this could work. However, I don't expect it to work out anywhere near perfect. In fact, with the way things are going, I'd be happy if it didn't turn out bad.

Taylor and Clark would have to play great as freshman. Will it happen? Probably not. It's possible, though. I've seen some film on them, and they look good, but they're still freshman. This isn't a Kentucky-type recruiting class. Pledger would have to become a big three-point threat. It didn't really happen last year, but he has a nice looking shot, and shot really well at times. We need something similar from Davis. It'd be nice if his shot were as good as it looks. Fitzgerald could be really good if he lost some weight and got more athletic. He's already a talented scorer.

JUCO's could possibly save the day. We've had quite a few of those. Somebody like Taj Gray, Aaron McGhee, or even Juan Patillo would be really nice in the post. Somebody like Quannas White, Jason Detrick, Michael Neal, Ebi Ere, or Terrell Everett would be really nice at guard. Those were all Sampson recruits, though. I don't know what Capel's luck would be like with JUCO's.

yankee
3/23/2010, 09:04 PM
Any chance we sign Aziz N'Diaye? Haven't seen any video on him so I have no idea how good or bad he is but he has size.

there's a ok to solid chance we get him, but i say that with hesitation because we're talking about recruiting here and i am certainly no expert. however, i can tell you that he's the type of player to clog up the lane and grab rebounds for us. the basic garbage man, with very little offensive game. considering how undersized we'll be next year, that'd be nice if we could get a 7'1 guy to come off the bench if nothing else then to grab some boards.

ndpruitt03
3/23/2010, 09:06 PM
This may be the off season from HELL. It's two weeks in and we have 3 scholarship players returning. That's gotta be some type of record. Especially for a team that was full of freshmen last year.

yankee
3/23/2010, 09:08 PM
This may be the off season from HELL. It's two weeks in and we have 3 scholarship players returning. That's gotta be some type of record. Especially for a team that was full of freshmen last year.

it appears your TMG rumor was confirmed, but this one about allen and hardrick are you just as sure about? they may not play a whole lot next year, but by god do we need the depth.

ndpruitt03
3/23/2010, 09:10 PM
We'll see about Hardrick. There's just rumor that he's transferring now. We may actually need him next year because we'll be so thin. I think Allen is going to UCO.

the_ouskull
3/28/2010, 05:58 PM
Oh, and the more coaches I talk to, the more I'm hearing that Taylor is, for sure, a two guard playing point. Crap. But, then again, if he's willing to work hard, unlike some stud players, then he'll be playing, period.. and that's good enough for me.

the_ouskull

Collier11
3/28/2010, 06:06 PM
well what does that mean, is it like a Dwade playing point who might as well be a scoring point or is he a legit 2 playing point?

stoopified
3/29/2010, 04:43 PM
I absolutely refuse to even speculate until after the spring signing date.Because of the defections of TMG,Willis,and possibly Warren,Hardrick, and Allen there are just too many unknowns.The lat time I recall this many unknowns going into a season is in 1990 or 1991 when Tubbs had FIVE players academically ineligible(Jackie Jones,Damon Patterson,Smokey McCovery among them).

The good news is that I think Capel and staff have been recruiting hard in anticiapation of major player turnover.JUCO may be the route taken out of necessity.The sliver lining is there is a lot of quality juco teams in Oklahoma,Kansas,Texas.The flip side is jucos are often a crapshoot.I can't even begin to guess what next years team will be like until after the April signing date at the earliest.Way too many unknowns at this point.