SMU game conclusions

[I.I.]

1. SMU has a better team than TU. I watched a couple of other SMU games and they are so talented they can beat you in different ways each game. Against Colorado they were 0-5 from the three but destroyed Colorado inside.

2. Almost glad it wasn't a close loss for those missed free throw after free throw , after free throw would have been tough to remember. We may shoot free throws better for a few games this year , but we will finish consistently bad at the line. Practice will not help Seniors.

3. SMU has one of the top 3 offenses in the country. They run set play after set play and almost always have a clear shot at the bucket on each possession. And Moore as much as we hate him is a truly great point guard with no flaws at this level.

4. Adding Milton by offering him those lucrative summer jobs has paid off for Probation Brown. Biggest problem tonight was that Milton was WIDE OPEN on 5 of his 7 made threes and none of our six coaches with suits on the bench seemed to notice that he is a shooter. Needed to Velcro a defenseman on him especially away from the ball instead of sagging EVERY time.

5. I thought our inside guys did a nice job against bigger players. SMU got a few easy put backs but we were persistent on the boards and they did not beat us there like they did Colorado.

6. Crowd was really good for a 4:00 start. I think you got the real fans for this one and the place went crazy when we would get within 6....which happened not very often.

7. If SMU beats everybody and has an unbeaten season finishing # 2 or 3 in the final AP poll, then this game does not hurt us much. Where we are hurt is if another contender beats SMU.

8. Temple beats Cincinnati in Cincy....wow...the race has a big upset early. And now we go in there Saturday with our backs to the wall. Temple just plain outshot Cincy, something we rarely do.

9. We won't be able to correct our shooting at this late stage. But we can defend better and force more turnovers which lead to easy baskets.

10. I still love these kids. They play so hard you just feel they are going to pull it out someway or another. Hate to see them go next year but looking forward to a completely different type team in the next few years. Maybe we still have an at-large in us this year. We looked dead the past two years and rebounded to finish strong....who knows?????

 

[noble cane]

Wow... Nice review.

From our seats in row 2 all NJ could say was "man we are slow and can't shoot for nothing"

That and Moore has a potty mouth... With 5 min to go nick Moore told the TU player guarding him " you suck d!ck at D"...

 

[nevadanatural]

Our guys played really hard but we lost it at the line. That foul call on Shaquille on the steal at mid court was criminal. With the calls SMU got on our court I'm not looking forward to what happens in Dallas. I was really surprised with how well we did inside on the boards but we've got to make more of those lay ups.

 

[hotterthanyourhusbandTU]

Who is "NJ"...?

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Who is "NJ"...?

Probably gotta be a member of 'our gang' to know that. Or maybe its TU1NNJ.

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

Noble Jr. I'm hypothesizing.

 

[JesseTU]

I thought he was referring to "we" in as in the "royal we," and that NJ was short for Ninja, and hence he was referring to himself as a Ninja. Thus, making an observation that our basketball players are slow was a professional observation.

Now, with that premise, it seems likely that he snuck into Moore's hotel room after the game and did unspeakable things, as Ninja's do. But, being a Ninja, he casually left that out as it was assumed by his statement that the guy was mean to our player.

Well played sir. Well played.

 

[TUBballJunkie]

The call on Shaq was terrible but overall I was ok with officiating.

 

[noble cane]

Noble Jr. I'm hypothesizing.

Congrats to LEC for paying attention all these years... NJ is now 13 and almost 6' tall and is just discovering locker room humor... Joy of joys.

First time we had sat that low in the arena since the CBI game way back... NJ was soaking in how the players were talking or not talking to each other and comparing it to his own teams communication on the floor... I don't think his team uses such colorful language. Till now.

It's kind of fun these days to watch ball with him.. He has been playing basketball since he was 5 and been on competitive teams since he was 7.. He can tell me about the offense and defense sets, plays, and see the open man a lot faster than me.

Even though we lost, the "thanks dad, those seats were awesome! " made the drive from the compound worth it.

 

[I.I.]

We will probably have Haith for a while longer. Woj was here forever. The coaching is not going to improve so we have to get better players. It's easier to win with average coaches and great players than it is with great coaches and average players. Our future for the next 4 years is recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.

Nolan - recruiting A- Coaching B+ (couldn't coach his famed press on the road) Coaching improved at Arkansas and Corliss and company helped that.
J.D.- recruiting C- Coaching B (lost a ton of good players recruiting but actually good x and o guy)
Tubby- recruiting A- Coaching B+ Seals and Ruffin and Sweet sixteen, need I say more?
Robinson recruiting B- Coaching C Eric Coley and Marcus Hill Great Local players
Self- recruiting A- Coaching A- Hall of Famer, glad we saw him here.. (The minus is to leave room for the future)
Buzz- recruiting C- Coaching C Did he ever unpack ?
Phillips-recruiting D coaching C Nice guy, nice guy ... that's about it
Wojcik recruiting -C coaching C The dictionary definition of mediocre.
Manning recruiting C coaching B Just the opposite of what we thought. Couldn't recruit big man unless you count Big E
Haith recruiting C coaching B- so far........Hopefully a lot of improvement yet to come.

I know a lot of arguments on these but sometimes good to compare.

 

[astonmartin708_rivals]

We will probably have Haith for a while longer. Woj was here forever. The coaching is not going to improve so we have to get better players. It's easier to win with average coaches and great players than it is with great coaches and average players. Our future for the next 4 years is recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.

Nolan - recruiting A- Coaching B+ (couldn't coach his famed press on the road) Coaching improved at Arkansas and Corliss and company helped that.
J.D.- recruiting C- Coaching B (lost a ton of good players recruiting but actually good x and o guy)
Tubby- recruiting A- Coaching B+ Seals and Ruffin and Sweet sixteen, need I say more?
Robinson recruiting B- Coaching C Eric Coley and Marcus Hill Great Local players
Self- recruiting A- Coaching A- Hall of Famer, glad we saw him here.. (The minus is to leave room for the future)
Buzz- recruiting C- Coaching C Did he ever unpack ?
Phillips-recruiting D coaching C Nice guy, nice guy ... that's about it
Wojcik recruiting -C coaching C The dictionary definition of mediocre.
Manning recruiting C coaching B Just the opposite of what we thought. Couldn't recruit big man unless you count Big E
Haith recruiting C coaching B- so far........Hopefully a lot of improvement yet to come.

I know a lot of arguments on these but sometimes good to compare.

I'd give Wojcik (more specifically Cason) a B in recruiting and a D- in coaching. He missed out on good local talent, but definitely brought in good guys like Uzoh, Jordan, Hurtt, Clarkson, Haralson, Idlet. Even Medder and Maduka were really promising before injury / illness. Wojcik just couldn't coach his way out of a wicker basket. I WOULD KILL TO HAVE STEVEN IDLET ON THIS TEAM. 10 pts + 8 brds a night... and a guy who know how to be reliable in the post. We haven't had a center on the team in 4 years!

 

[t-townpod]

We will probably have Haith for a while longer. Woj was here forever. The coaching is not going to improve so we have to get better players. It's easier to win with average coaches and great players than it is with great coaches and average players. Our future for the next 4 years is recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.

Nolan - recruiting A- Coaching B+ (couldn't coach his famed press on the road) Coaching improved at Arkansas and Corliss and company helped that.
J.D.- recruiting C- Coaching B (lost a ton of good players recruiting but actually good x and o guy)
Tubby- recruiting A- Coaching B+ Seals and Ruffin and Sweet sixteen, need I say more?
Robinson recruiting B- Coaching C Eric Coley and Marcus Hill Great Local players
Self- recruiting A- Coaching A- Hall of Famer, glad we saw him here.. (The minus is to leave room for the future)
Buzz- recruiting C- Coaching C Did he ever unpack ?
Phillips-recruiting D coaching C Nice guy, nice guy ... that's about it
Wojcik recruiting -C coaching C The dictionary definition of mediocre.
Manning recruiting C coaching B Just the opposite of what we thought. Couldn't recruit big man unless you count Big E
Haith recruiting C coaching B- so far........Hopefully a lot of improvement yet to come.

I know a lot of arguments on these but sometimes good to compare.

Like your list for the most part. Would give Woj A-or B+ for recruiting but a D for coaching. (Maybe F+)
Haith with a B+ coaching so far. Recruiting C- at best
Robinson was a decent coach. Probably B

 

[Gmack22]

We forget one thing about the differences in recruiting....and that is during Nolan, Tubby and even Self, there was to my understanding, less restrictions in getting into TU. We will continue to get less talented players albeit they are great kids. Until there are less restrictions we will continue to be mediocre. I understand that Danny had a big man recruited and maybe more, but the kid(s) would not be eligible at TU. Probably one of the reasons Danny left. He knew he could not get the talent he needed to make it to the next level.

 

[Bill Lowery_1]

Wow... Nice review.

From our seats in row 2 all NJ could say was "man we are slow and can't shoot for nothing"

That and Moore has a potty mouth... With 5 min to go nick Moore told the TU player guarding him " you suck d!ck at D"...

Moore reminds me what a young George Jefferson was like, if he played BB--cocky, strutting his stuff, bad mouthing everyone, especially Florence and his shortness. With that said, George Jefferson was successful.

 

[Bill Lowery_1]

We forget one thing about the differences in recruiting....and that is during Nolan, Tubby and even Self, there was to my understanding, less restrictions in getting into TU. We will continue to get less talented players albeit they are great kids. Until there are less restrictions we will continue to be mediocre. I understand that Danny had a big man recruited and maybe more, but the kid(s) would not be eligible at TU. Probably one of the reasons Danny left. He knew he could not get the talent he needed to make it to the next level.

Very different standards. Do you think Haith could bring in 5 jucos like Nolan did his first year?

 

[I.I.]

Very different standards. Do you think Haith could bring in 5 jucos like Nolan did his first year?

I think President Twyman and Emery Turner bulldozed the way for those 5 to get in. Complainers about that are hard to find. Upham may not be as helpful.

 

[Bill Lowery_1]

I think President Twyman and Emery Turner bulldozed the way for those 5 to get in. Complainers about that are hard to find. Upham may not be as helpful.

Very accurate statement.

 

[T Up]

Nice post I.I.
I have to disagree on a few things. Overall I thought it was an enjoyable basketball game and although we never really got close we were competitive for most of the game. I thought the officiating was very good compared to what we usually see. The steal/foul being the only blatant mistake. I think he called Shaq for the bump but that was after he had already picked his pocket.

My problem continues to be any real coaching from the group on the sideline. As you said, Shake would just go to his spot on the floor and let SMU pass a couple of time opposite side and then swing it to him for an uncontested 3. Most of the time we were in a zone early. Now you would think after the second or third swish we would adjust but he was 5-5 before we started following him around. Then he had to work a little harder but still killed us. Then with less than 3 minutes to go in the game and down 12 we are offering token pressure on the guy bringing up the ball until he made a pass or got it across half court and then we would sag back in on defense and let them run 25 seconds off the clock. When you put the ball in Moore's hands and don't pressure him you are toast. He killed us in the last three minutes. Why were we not pressuring, doubling the ball, and/or fouling their worst free throw shooter to extend the game and give us a chance to claw back in? You have to make 4 threes and shut them out to tie (almost impossible) and if they run off 25-30 seconds every time there is no time left. Make them prove they can hit their free throws. Really down on the coaching. I saw some say they give Haith a B for coaching. I say he is Wojcik reincarnated...

I appreciate the efforts of the guys. They haven't quit but unless we find 3 guys that can shoot from outside 3 feet we are in trouble. OK, from also inside 3 feet! I do count James as one but he is sooo streaky. Don't know why other than I think he is too nice a guy. He needs to be selfish. Perhaps he can take lessons from Shaq. Heck with two minutes left down 13 he drove the lane and put up 5 shots in our 30 second shot clock and missed them all (most were blocked) and the clock expired. He is scrappy and I love his fearlessness but when you are 1 on 3 and you are the shortest one in there how about just once looking to pass to someone just standing around outside open?

I can only hope that we show marked improvement in the next couple of weeks. Maybe Birt can actually shoot and gets some confidence. Maybe Tarply gets for PT, or maybe James and Shaq go crazy like they did last year and carry the team. But as it stands now, it's looking like a long year with a shot end.

Let's hope Saturday changes my perception 180 degrees....

 

[astonmartin708_rivals]

Honeslty, I didn't really care about the game vs. SMU. They won't play in the conference tournament so they're really a non-factor in the league this year. Beating them would only change seeding if we somehow (miraculously) win the conference tourney. There's no way with our OOC schedule we were getting an at large bid.

 

[drboobay]

Our OOC schedule plus league schedule gave us plenty of chances for at large. So far have not won enough of those opportunities.

 

[t-townpod]

Part of the problem with our defending the 3 point line rest with our weak interior play.. We often have to sag weak side to help the bigs leaving a3 point shooter with an open look. This again is a problem of talent or lack there of on the inside.

 

[I.I.]

Part of the problem with our defending the 3 point line rest with our weak interior play.. We often have to sag weak side to help the bigs leaving a3 point shooter with an open look. This again is a problem of talent or lack there of on the inside.

good post pod....That has been the excuse. But getting beat several times by the wide open trey should cause reasonable people to try something else. Jerome Jordan in the post would solve a lot of problems with this team.

 

[Gold*]

Manning sure did a great job recruiting bigs for us. Great job.

Come to think of it, our three most experienced "bigs" were all Wojcik recruits. I bet somewhere he has bragged about his influence on this team in "southwest f'ing Tulsa."

 

[Gmack22]

Nice post I.I.
I have to disagree on a few things. Overall I thought it was an enjoyable basketball game and although we never really got close we were competitive for most of the game. I thought the officiating was very good compared to what we usually see. The steal/foul being the only blatant mistake. I think he called Shaq for the bump but that was after he had already picked his pocket.

My problem continues to be any real coaching from the group on the sideline. As you said, Shake would just go to his spot on the floor and let SMU pass a couple of time opposite side and then swing it to him for an uncontested 3. Most of the time we were in a zone early. Now you would think after the second or third swish we would adjust but he was 5-5 before we started following him around. Then he had to work a little harder but still killed us. Then with less than 3 minutes to go in the game and down 12 we are offering token pressure on the guy bringing up the ball until he made a pass or got it across half court and then we would sag back in on defense and let them run 25 seconds off the clock. When you put the ball in Moore's hands and don't pressure him you are toast. He killed us in the last three minutes. Why were we not pressuring, doubling the ball, and/or fouling their worst free throw shooter to extend the game and give us a chance to claw back in? You have to make 4 threes and shut them out to tie (almost impossible) and if they run off 25-30 seconds every time there is no time left. Make them prove they can hit their free throws. Really down on the coaching. I saw some say they give Haith a B for coaching. I say he is Wojcik reincarnated...

I appreciate the efforts of the guys. They haven't quit but unless we find 3 guys that can shoot from outside 3 feet we are in trouble. OK, from also inside 3 feet! I do count James as one but he is sooo streaky. Don't know why other than I think he is too nice a guy. He needs to be selfish. Perhaps he can take lessons from Shaq. Heck with two minutes left down 13 he drove the lane and put up 5 shots in our 30 second shot clock and missed them all (most were blocked) and the clock expired. He is scrappy and I love his fearlessness but when you are 1 on 3 and you are the shortest one in there how about just once looking to pass to someone just standing around outside open?

I can only hope that we show marked improvement in the next couple of weeks. Maybe Birt can actually shoot and gets some confidence. Maybe Tarply gets for PT, or maybe James and Shaq go crazy like they did last year and carry the team. But as it stands now, it's looking like a long year with a shot end.

Let's hope Saturday changes my perception 180 degrees....

Very accurate statement.

I think President Twyman and Emery Turner bulldozed the way for those 5 to get in. Complainers about that are hard to find. Upham may not be as helpful.

 

[TUBballJunkie]

I always assumed Nolan coming here was more or less contigent on bringing his players. For both sides, maybe.

So I'm not sure comparing his recruiting at TU is ever a level playing field.

 

[astonmartin708_rivals]

Part of the problem with our defending the 3 point line rest with our weak interior play.. We often have to sag weak side to help the bigs leaving a3 point shooter with an open look. This again is a problem of talent or lack there of on the inside.

That's where playing small-ball hurts us the most.

 

[lawpoke87]

Let's see....SMU's starting guards were 19-29 from the field including 10-14 from three and combined for 55 points.

SMU's starting bigs were 6-14 for 13 points.

I'm not a D1 coach but looking at those numbers I think I might try to take my chances with Swan, Dre and Smitty inside and cover those guards.

 

[TU 1978]

It's hard to play against a professional team.

So, SMU can go undefeated - and in the postseason - go nowhere. Fitting.

 

[noble cane]

I think President Twyman and Emery Turner bulldozed the way for those 5 to get in. Complainers about that are hard to find. Upham may not be as helpful.

Interesting thing was the choice came down to Nolan and his JUCO team or Billy Tubbs... Often wondered how Billy would have played out...

 

[astonmartin708_rivals]

Lesson to learn for all potential recruits. Don't go to places with shady coaches. Pitino at UL, Williams at NC, Brown at SMU. It's just not good business to associate yourself with skeezy bosses.

 

[t-townpod]

Yo

Lesson to learn for all potential recruits. Don't go to places with shady coaches. Pitino at UL, Williams at NC, Brown at SMU. It's just not good business to associate yourself with skeezy bosses.

You forgot 2of the 3 Suttons.

 

[Tulsafanzz]

Interesting thing was the choice came down to Nolan and his JUCO team or Billy Tubbs... Often wondered how Billy would have played out...

Interesting story I heard when I stumbled across an OU round table show with Billy Tubbs & several of his old OU players. Stacy King was asked what led him to choose OU ( King was highly rated 6'10" recruit out of Lawton. He was All American @ OU & played several years in the NBA).

King's answer : " Tulsa was THE team in Oklahoma when Nolan was coaching them, & I was going to go there. Then, Nolan left for Arkansas, so I signed with OU".

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Well throw another oh **** I wish we managed to keep him, onto the pile of spent wishes.