Oklahoma Postgame

[boomstick 1,315]

1 hour ago, mustache eagle said:

i am in no ways a true basketball guy ... i also have been ok with the offense we have been running ... but it seemed like there was a little more flair to the offense last night (although we missed shots) ... agree/disagree?

I thought we were able to penetrate the defense better than we have been, and it opened up the offense. And we seemed to have a better understanding of our halfcourt sets too. I'd still like to see Purifoy put the ball on the floor a little more and try to break down the defense. In the second half, we were in the double bonus less than halfway through the half, but it didn't seem like we tried to take advantage of that. Purifoy being the FT shooter he is, I'd like to see him try to get to the FT line more often, especially on nights when he isn't just exploding from everywhere.

[WarDlowe 39]

Great win on several fronts.  Rod and Coach seemed to be very upset with the officiating on the radio broadcast.  Seemed like our guys fought off a strong run by OU and won despite not having any help from anyone but themselves.  I'm trying to not be too excited since SEC play will be very difficult, but this is the first year in a long, long time I have thought Auburn stood a chance at a decent postseason.  I want to try to get down there for a game or two.  

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

Saw a lot of good things and some of the things you would expect from a young team. Rebounding yes OK got a lot of O rebounds but most of them came on about 3 possessions where they got 3-5 Rebounds on each possession you take those away and we were solid on the boards. Purifoy was absent from most of the game with foul trouble especially the first half. Wiley gives us a Post presence needs to use his body to shield a little more and step to the pass but has potential to be an offensive threat, he is a decent at rebounding and will get better, solid post defender but is still weak on screens and pick and rolls but that is probably because he is learning the system. Herron is the most complete player on the team he rebounds well he scores inside and outside he even posts up people periodically. Harper is the most mature player on the team who is very clutch much more developed then I expected as a freshman PG. Purifoy has tremendous up side but commits stupid fouls at times, can shoot and slash needs to work on his rebounding and would like to see him develop a little Post Up game similar to what Herron does. Dunans is a spark plug coming off the bench and makes key plays at times is a little to hyper but I can live with that.

For Herron or Purifoy to Post Up would need our big men to move to top of key to allow spacing. 

The youth was seen when we had multiple opportunities to put OK away but lost offensive flow, while out half court O is slowly improving we have to rely to much on D to allow us to score.

Basically what I am saying is we have talented but young team that is finding their identity they are getting better and will be good I just don't know if they will get enough better this year. If they do great if not I am still really happy with the talent and how hard they play. Teamwork on O & D takes time.

[tigeraddikt 1,600]

1 hour ago, FoundationEagle said:

We were also without Purifoy almost the entire 1st half as he was on the bench with 2 fouls very early on, so I'd say for half the game, they had the advantage in that we had 3 crucial pieces missing and we had the slight advantage the other half with having Purifoy back on the court. Pretty much a wash if not a deficit for us in personnel missing.  I'd surely say is missing all 3 of those guys is worse than them missing 1 player. Us missing the 2 guys for the second half may be even to them missing the one. 

AU1 - OU1 + AU2 - OU2 = AUTOT - OUTOT 

AU1 = AU - (BB + HS - .8DP)

AU2 = AU - (BB + HS)

OU1 = OU2 = OU - JW

( AU - (BB + HS - .8DP) ) - ( OU - JW ) + ( AU - (BB + HS) ) - ( OU - JW ) = AUTOT - OUTOT 

 

[Charhair 345]

5 hours ago, FoundationEagle said:

Just consider this. We won a total of 11 games last year. If we beat Uconn, we have ten wins before SEC play starts.  We will have 19 games remaining after that. If we can win just 9 of those and get 1 win in the SEC tourney, we are at 20 wins and a solid bubble team even if the SEC is no good. Win an extra 2 and we are almost guaranteed in. 

Harper mentioned post game that the team's goal is make it to the tourney and he seemed pretty confident. Of course I think all teams should act like that but to see that they know they can and that they have the talent to do it is reassuring. 

[FoundationEagle 637]

5 minutes ago, tigeraddikt said:

AU1 - OU1 + AU2 - OU2 = AUTOT - OUTOT 

AU1 = AU - (BB + HS - .8DP)

AU2 = AU - (BB + HS)

OU1 = OU2 = OU - JW

( AU - (BB + HS - .8DP) ) - ( OU - JW ) + ( AU - (BB + HS) ) - ( OU - JW ) = AUTOT - OUTOT 

 

Well that's a nice equation, but you didn't actually define the values so the answer can't be determined  

[tigeraddikt 1,600]

23 minutes ago, FoundationEagle said:

Well that's a nice equation, but you didn't actually define the values so the answer can't be determined  

It's a pseudoquation lol

 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

3 hours ago, AU64 said:

Yep....turnovers really hurt us but we out-rebounded their missed shots 37 to 17 which was good for us.  They took and missed a lot of shots and fortunately we got about 2/3rd of those RBs....which I guess is not a bad ratio.    Call it good defense or just a bad shooting night for the Okies....AU outshot them from the field by 44% to 32% and outshot them for 3s also.

Someone who studies that stuff more than I do might have a different view.

That is a bad ratio, below our season average of around 70%. Top 100 teams in this stat are in the 74% range top 50 are 76+%, we sit at 276th. 

3 hours ago, gravejd said:

Impressive win for our team. Folks will point to them being without their best player but we were down 2 starters as well. I was really surprised that we lost the turnover battle and still won the game. I would have put money on that not being possible but OK shooting around 30% for the game will do that for you. But even with OK not playing their best game we showed a lot of poise to absorb their late runs and never give up the lead. I think we got a little sloppy when we got ahead by double digits but hopefully that is something these guys will clean up as they go through the season. Harper had a heck of a second half but I want to give Johnson a shout out for making that possible. We were struggling big time to score at the start of the game. To me we looked hesitant and I was worried OK was about to give our guys a lesson on how an experienced team can shut down a young team who isn't use to having guys in their face who can keep up with them step for step. Pearl puts Johnson in and suddenly our half court offense hits another gear and OK goes on their back foot. I could just imagine the coaches in Harper's ear while he was sitting and saying "that is how you back them off, by taking the ball right at them". From that point on Harper took the fight to OK. We are very lucky to have Johnson on this team, even if Harper might have some better tools the value Johnson brings to this team is hard to measure. Also huge night by Dunans, as much as Johnson lit a spark Dunans did as well. Dunans is such a heady player, it may look like he is out of control sometime but he more than makes up for the bad with all the good he does. Rebounding, scoring, defense.....he really does a little bit of everything for this team. Really enjoying watching this team play this year!

Johnson is a great piece to this team, a tremendous luxury to have a seasoned and talented point to bring off the bench. 

4 hours ago, mustache eagle said:

i am in no ways a true basketball guy ... i also have been ok with the offense we have been running ... but it seemed like there was a little more flair to the offense last night (although we missed shots) ... agree/disagree?

Keep in mind they were guarding us in man. We play more freely against man, not a surprise at all. 

[AU64 10,122]

Thanks deux , I realize offensive rebounds are harder to come by , especially when a team is taking so many long distance shots. From what I have observed , our offense does not seem to generate many second chance baskets. Perhaps it could be player effort involved? 

[Tiger 8,818]

Jared Harper is going to be one hell of a PG for us. Can't wait to watch his game grow. I love his game. Susprised to see he only had 1 assist though. Not sure if its our system or if he's just not someone who is going to rack up the assists. Either way, I love watching this kid play.

TJ Dunans is almost unstoppable when hes trying to get to the basket looking to either score or make the right pass after drawing defenders to him. When he sits out by the 3 point line and tries to shoot over a defender he completely negates what he's bringing to the table offensively. He is such a weapon for us when he wants to be. I liked hearing Sonny Smith tell him this exact thing in the post-game interview.

I am so grateful that we have Dunans and Ronnie J coming off the bench because they are our much needed steady hands for our 2nd unit. They save us when we start off flat -- which is bound to happen you start 3 or 4 freshman.

Purifoy did a great job rebounding the ball in such limited minutes IMO. He found a way to contribute when he was unable to get in the flow of the game due to foul trouble.

McLemore and Smith were pretty solid but only had 2 combined rebounds between the 2 of them in 20 minutes of play. I know A-Mac is going to be challenged to get good rebounding numbers because of his height, and Smith usually is out of position for boards due to shot blocking attempts but we need better than a 1 rebound per 10 minutes of play from guys that are supposed to be our PF/C in some lineups.

Wiley is going to keep getting better. Once we start getting more comfortable with him in the lineup it's going to make everyone look better.

Heron is a beast. That is all.

 

 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

Thanks deux , I realize offensive rebounds are harder to come by , especially when a team is taking so many long distance shots. From what I have observed , our offense does not seem to generate many second chance baskets. Perhaps it could be player effort involved? 

I think it is a number of things. DP rebounded well this game, but has struggled in the past. He is not accustomed to playing the 4, boxing out and rebounding against bigger stronger players. Spencer and Smith aren't going to get you big rebound numbers due to their shot blocking and getting taken out of the rebound. Heron is doing an excellent job from the wing, and Dunans does pretty well. You don't expect much from your point, except to fight for loose balls and long rebounds. 

I don't think any of our guys are lazy or giving bad effort. I do however see a failure to box out pretty often, and that is likely a youth thing. Many of things guys are such good athletes that they didn't have to be fundamentally sound boxing out at lower levels of competition. Now they do, and haven't developed the habit of blocking out. Even if a coach harps on it in practice, it takes time to develop good habits and break bad ones. Look back at the BC tip in loss. We had guys in position to get the rebound, but no one got a body of BC's player and he got  a tip. Box him out and he never gets off the ground. 

With the addition of Wiley, I would expect our team rebounding to get better, not just due to adding Wiley's rebounds, but his presence will help the other posts and wings rebound when he is on the floor. 

[Charhair 345]

8 hours ago, AU64 said:

Note that AU won the rebound battle....a great step forward IMO....Heron with 12 RBs....good work for a guy his size....

Purifoy tagged on 7 rebounds as well. Of course MH's 12 is more impressive but DP was hustling and fighting for rebounds more than from this season. There were a couple of rebounds where he just rose up and snatched it away from everyone.

Heron is a very gifted rebounder for his size though, no doubt. His sense of where to get in position for a rebound seems to register quicker than most. that'll be something that gets him a lot of attention once he does declare.  

[tombigbeetiger 223]

i am thrilled ****less!!!!!!.....this is real basketball....this is not 5 guards, (lebo) or dribble drive,usually dribble off of his foot(barbee) style of Auburn basketball, this is real NCAA  tournament style basketball....these guys are talented and basketball smart (most of the time).....i saw what i wanted to see against mercer and it really showed against okie....they are beginning to understand their roles and what it will take to be a winner in college basketball....they ain't perfect, but they are getting a little bit better every game....when you see the assist totals start to move up, you'll see one helluva' basketball team that is capable of beating anyone on a given night....wylie was the missing piece and as soon as he gets acclimated to the college game,whew, have mercy!

[Charhair 345]

4 hours ago, AU64 said:

Thanks deux , I realize offensive rebounds are harder to come by , especially when a team is taking so many long distance shots. From what I have observed , our offense does not seem to generate many second chance baskets. Perhaps it could be player effort involved? 

It is effort to some extent, could also be coaching. CBP knows he didn't have size advantage until the Wiley addition. His idea may have been getting back after shots give us a better point ratio than going for offensive rebounds in the long run. This doesn't factor in for lack of tip ins and defensive rebounding but it's just a thought. Adding Wiley and getting Spencer back should do wonders for us

 our lack of size and depth downlow has likely allowed other teams to stay fresher with their big making our attempts less successful. Adding Wiley and getting Spencer back will allow us to control the glass more due to having three big bodies than can all spell each other effectively at center. 

[Sani-Freeze 552]

20 hours ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

I think I know what you mean by making sure you bring up the NIT conversation but I urge you to think of this: AU now has two wins that the tournament will probably term as "good wins" come selection time. (Maybe 3 considering if any of these mid-majors wins their conference). It might be time to start looking for bigger and better than just the NIT. I certainly understand the road that lies ahead is quite difficult, but this team seems as if it will be battle tested and will have played against many different styles of ball come SEC play. It just seems to me like an NCAA birth is quite possible and an NIT spot is almost there for the taking now.

Agreed - I'm not taking anything for granted but the 02-03 team got in the NCAA tourney with a 19-10 regular season record I believe. If AU keeps winning two out of every three games, they should have a shot at the big dance. There are some tough SEC teams, but it's not a brutal conference schedule. Our performance in the SEC tourney might have a big impact on the postseason.