Where do YOU draw the line?

[Big Red Ron]

And say this has been a disappointing season?

I asy anything less than a sweet sixteen is a failed season based on KS's own pre season hype.

[oumartin]

I think Texas could win it all :D
How would that sit with Joe C.

[SoonerBBall]

And say this has been a disappointing season?

I asy anything less than a sweet sixteen is a failed season based on KS's own pre season hype.

All you faux-basketball fans fail to clarify an important distinction: the difference between being 'disappointed by a season' and 'having a disappointing season'. They really are two different things.

Are even the biggest basketball fans here disappointed because we thought this team could have been much better? Hell yes. There is no question I thought this team was going to be great. Is this a disappointing season? Well, it is hard to be disappointed with a 20 win season and a top 20 ranking.

I also fail to see why the NCAA tourney is the be-all, end-all measuring stick of team performance. It is a completely different animal then the regular season, and should not invalidate regular season accomplishments.

[Ardmore_Sooner]

And say this has been a disappointing season?

I asy anything less than a sweet sixteen is a failed season based on KS's own pre season hype.

Only when Jay says it is. ;) I keed because I love.

[okienole3]

I also fail to see why the NCAA tourney is the be-all, end-all measuring stick of team performance. It is a completely different animal then the regular season, and should not invalidate regular season accomplishments.

First off, than not then. Why does the tourney matter? That is just the nature of the beast that is college basketball. Besides, what have we accomplished in the regular season. Sure, we have 20 wins, but against who?

[oumartin]

hey, we got one quality win.
course they kicked em around like special ed kids in dodgeball the next game but it was still a win.

[SoonerBBall]

First off, than not then. Why does the tourney matter? That is just the nature of the beast that is college basketball. Besides, what have we accomplished in the regular season. Sure, we have 20 wins, but against who?

Grammar police much? It is a message board, take it like a big boy.

20 wins against who? The schedule we played, that is who. Sampson doesn't get to magically change our schedule when it turns out we are playing a weaker schedule then we orginally intended. You can only do your best against the people you play. Again, we have 20 wins and a top-20 ranking. I know of all but 19 other teams that would change places with us if they could.

[CtheB]

And say this has been a disappointing season?

I asy anything less than a sweet sixteen is a failed season based on KS's own pre season hype.

I thought this season was a disappointment after the All College Smackdown, I knew it was after we started Big 12 play 0-2.

[Boomer.....]

It is a disappointing season, based on the pre-season hype. At the beginning of the season, NO ONE could hit the broad side of a barn. It's not Sampson's fault if the team cannot make baskets. We should regroup somewhat and make it to the sweet sixteen. Overall, still a disappointing season.

Sampson is still a good coach.

[CtheB]

I also fail to see why the NCAA tourney is the be-all, end-all measuring stick of team performance. It is a completely different animal then the regular season, and should not invalidate regular season accomplishments.

For some reason, when I read this post, I reminisced back to Caddyshack:

Smails: "What's your handicap Ty?"
Ty Webb: "Handicap?"
Smails: "How do you measure yourself against other golfers?"
Ty: "By height."

[Rock Hard Corn Frog]

hey, we got one quality win.
course they kicked em around like special ed kids in dodgeball the next game but it was still a win.


Depending on your definition of quality I think the Alabama game may qualify. They look like a tourney team at least.

The NCAA tourney is a funny thing. In 98-99 we were 20-10 after losing in the first round of the Big 12 tourney and losing 3 of 4. We probably are the last team in the NCAA tourney field and then we wind up in the Sweet 16 and give the National Champ a war. So generally the feeling we have coming out of that season is that it was a great year. The next 2 years are clearly more successful overall, including a Big 12 tourney title and 26 and 27 wins but we lose in the first and second round of the NCAA tourney so that is what everyone remembers. Don't get me wrong the NCAA tourney is huge but it isn't everything.

As for this season I would say runner-up in the conf tourney and Sweet 16 would meet what my expecation was before the season but would exceed by a little what it was after it was apparent that the team was overhyped some going into the year.

Most years I would say meeting 2 of 4 criteria would mean a very good/great year. 22+ wins, a regular season conf title or co-championship,a conf tourney title, Sweet 16.

[birddog]

To be honest, maybe I'm just happy to be able to watch us in the tournament. I don't ever expect us to win(of course my brackets would say differently). I remember the NIT 2 years ago and it was awful. I know we're going to bow out eventually in horrible fashion ala Purdue and Utah. I know that going in. You're kidding yourselves if you think we should compete every year for the national title. Sheet, look at Kansas, and OSU. 2 BASKETBALL schools. I'm sure people are complaining about Duke not getting to the Rose Bowl last year.
You need to establish what your expectations are before every year.
Mine: get to the tournament. We have 11 out of 12 years. We will lose some games we shouldn't, win some we shouldn't and you can take it from there.
I didn't feel that way with Tubbs(I know, here we go again). I was just a kid and I thought he was great. We had some great players under him that could take us all the way any given time. It was hit or miss with Tubbs. With Sampson, it's a formula. Win 20 and get in the tournament .Play "gritty, hardnosed defense, get after loose balls" and then lose 52-49 because we have a bad shooting game. At this point, a sweet 16 would kick arse.

[oumartin]

honestly, after the WVU game and the first two conference games I didnt' expect the team to win more than 4 or 5 in conference and I thought for sure they were NIT bound.
They did right the ship for a good while even know there were some nail bitters along the way.
My expectations each year are to be better than the rest of the big 12 and go deep into the NCAA regardless of who the players or the coach is.

Props to Kelvin and the boys for winning a bunch of games and I'll continue to watch each game for as long as I stomach it.

[birddog]

Are you back on the sauce helander? I detect a smidgen of positivity. I agree 100%.

[oumartin]

nope, I'm not a drinker at all.
if you look back most of my gripes are aimed at the style of play that OU goes with. If you have a smothing defense it can work. If other teams can score you are screwed... the final four year I worked with alot of fans of other schools and they all talked about how OU could just lock you down on defense and were in the other teams jock all game.
I'm just not a fan of the style Kelvin runs most the time. Nothing on him. NOthing on the team. I do think he looks lost at times. Just as he was in that Syracuse game. I had never seen him look like he had no clue what was going on until that Syracuse game. I'll never forget it. Now you got teams in the big 12 going zone and it still gives OU fits.
But I'll be there cheering and screaming until they go down.

[SoonerBBall]

For some reason, when I read this post, I reminisced back to Caddyshack:

Smails: "What's your handicap Ty?"
Ty Webb: "Handicap?"
Smails: "How do you measure yourself against other golfers?"
Ty: "By height."

So if the tourney is the only thing that matters, why do we even play the regular season?

Your Caddy Shack quote, while very funny, has very little in common with the situation discussed in my post. But thanks for the comedy.

[CtheB]

So if the tourney is the only thing that matters, why do we even play the regular season?

Your Caddy Shack quote, while very funny, has very little in common with the situation discussed in my post. But thanks for the comedy.

My point was that different people measure their expectations of Sooner basketball..well, differently. Depends on what you want, but your comment regarding value placed on the regular season is one way to measure it, just as Webb's comment regarding height being the way he measures himself against other golfers.

And, truly, it was just comedy, but there is a point in the middle of it.

[jk the sooner fan]

i didnt have any expectations for this team in the pre-season, simply because there were so many new faces, and half the team, i'd really not had a chance to form an opinion

however, i bought into the pre-season hype, and perhaps thats the reason i'm disappointed.....frustrated, whatever

this team reminds me of my 20 year old son......i love him more than anything, but he frustrates the ever living **** out of me....

[yermom]

it's still a little early to say whether or not this year was dissappointing

80% or so of schools would love to be where we are, and i'd hardly compare Duke Football to OU Basketball, has Duke ever played for a MNC? gone to the BCS?

i'm gonna be ****ed no matter when we lose in the tourney, but at least we are going.

we are still alive, we still have a shot in the Big 12 tourney, there is no team we should be afraid of. we lost some close games, gave away some games, and traded ugly games with Texass.

if we can play like we are able to, we should be able to do some damage, in both tourneys

[oumartin]

yermon is right, the ability is there. Just gotta avoid the brain farts.

[SoonerBBall]

My point was that different people measure their expectations of Sooner basketball..well, differently. Depends on what you want, but your comment regarding value placed on the regular season is one way to measure it, just as Webb's comment regarding height being the way he measures himself against other golfers.

And, truly, it was just comedy, but there is a point in the middle of it.

Oh, I get what you are saying. I love Caddyshack. But judging a team solely on how they do in the tournament is discouting a huge part of what the team did. It is like judging a golfer only on his putting skills and not paying any attention to the long-ball skills that got him to the green in the first place.

[SoonerBBall]

Just so you know, go ahead and negspek me all you want. I could give less than a flying f*ck about what that little meter says. However, if you are going to neg me, at least be a man (woman?) and leave your name.

And I don't need to be told that Ron is a huge basketball fan or whatever, I can make my own determination through the posts he makes. This ends the Public Service Announcement...

[CtheB]

Oh, I get what you are saying. I love Caddyshack. But judging a team solely on how they do in the tournament is discouting a huge part of what the team did. It is like judging a golfer only on his putting skills and not paying any attention to the long-ball skills that got him to the green in the first place.

True bball, but you know what they say about putting? It has something to do with the cash. No need to discount the success of a team's regular season for its lack of posteseason play. I agree that it is very important. And it's also true only one hoists the big trophy each year.

Then again, would we have a disagreement if we supported a team that annually competed well in the tournament?

[SoonerBBall]

True bball, but you know what they say about putting? It has something to do with the cash. No need to discount the success of a team's regular season for its lack of posteseason play. I agree that it is very important. And it's also true only one hoists the big trophy each year.

Then again, would we have a disagreement if we supported a team that annually competed well in the tournament?

That is the point, though. How many teams annually compete as well or better than OU in the tourney? I know of very few teams that even get into the tourney annually, much less those that compete well in the years they get in.

In the end I think it goes back to success in football. Our success in football makes it hard to deal with success of a different nature in basketball.

[CtheB]

Agree on your point. Expectations are for basketball to share the same success as the football program.

[Sooner24]

Just so you know, go ahead and negspek me all you want. I could give less than a flying f*ck about what that little meter says. However, if you are going to neg me, at least be a man (woman?) and leave your name.

And I don't need to be told that Ron is a huge basketball fan or whatever, I can make my own determination through the posts he makes. This ends the Public Service Announcement...

Yeah I had the same wuss do that to me a while back.

[MojoRisen]

Loosing to Nebraska for the second time in the year- and going out in the quarterfinals of the BIG 12 tourney to an out manned Nebraska basketball team- is a stern line in the Sand....

I do declare this season a major league dissapointment and embarassment.

Funney thing is our RPI is still 15 and the rest of the country doesn't really know how weak of a team we are.

Now for the NCAA's lets see what happens- it is a crazy tourney!

[BarryBnds]

How many teams annually compete as well or better than OU in the tourney? I know of very few teams that even get into the tourney annually, much less those that compete well in the years they get in.

HUH????? We have made exactly one final four in the 12 years Kelvin has been here. If you listed every team that made at least one final four, I bet that list would be long! And since when was 65 teams "very few teams"?

[NickZeppelin]

If we make the Sweet 16 no one will talk about how dissappointing this year. It depends on the draw for me. If we play a North Carolina in the 2nd round and take em to the wire I'll be happy about this year.

[CtheB]

If we make the Sweet 16 no one will talk about how dissappointing this year. It depends on the draw for me. If we play a North Carolina in the 2nd round and take em to the wire I'll be happy about this year.

Or you can say "had we performed up to expectations, we would have had a higher seed and not been forced to play UNC in the second round."

Glass half full, glass half empty.

[Scott D]

i didnt have any expectations for this team in the pre-season, simply because there were so many new faces, and half the team, i'd really not had a chance to form an opinion

however, i bought into the pre-season hype, and perhaps thats the reason i'm disappointed.....frustrated, whatever

this team reminds me of my 20 year old son......i love him more than anything, but he frustrates the ever living **** out of me....

The first and final paragarph sum up things nicely...except 20 year old son would be 21 year old daughter. For as much hype as the team was being given based upon how they ran through the conference late and the tournament last season, I thoguht there were too many new faces and that it would be good and bad, ok and ugly until they began to gel with all of the new faces that didn't play last season.

The frustration stems from the fact that at times they look very cohesive out there, but more often they appear to be lost to a degree, almost as if they are afraid of making a mistake.

Is the record and way they lost some games disappointing? sure, however people were buying into the media stuff before the season talking about the 'potential' of this team...and hell, potential just means 'you ain't done ****e yet'.

[BarryBnds]

If we make the Sweet 16 no one will talk about how dissappointing this year. It depends on the draw for me. If we play a North Carolina in the 2nd round and take em to the wire I'll be happy about this year.

How can you be upset with what Stoops did and happy with a second round loss in the tourney?

[birddog]

How can you be upset with what Stoops did and happy with a second round loss in the tourney?
It's no use, man. Nick just doesn't have the mental capacity needed to put together rational thoughts.