Oklahoma Men's Basketball: The Biggest Flaw

by OnlyOneOU on Feb 20, 2012 12:33 PM CST in Basketball

This has been a season of ups and downs for the Sooners. The stands have remained empty although this squad outlived expectations for a good portion of the season. Oklahoma rattled off ten wins and two losses in the first twelve games. Expectations and confidence soared as OU began to receive votes not even a full season removed from the Jeff Capel era.

Then the other side of the coin began to reveal itself. Conference play began with a blowout loss to a very tough Missouri Tigers team. While no one gave Oklahoma a shot at beating the Tigers, not many thought it would result in a 38 point loss. The Sooners got their baptism by fire that night as it lead to a three game losing streak. The first conference win came against a ranked opponent at home in the then #18 Kansas St. Wildcats. Expectations and confidence once again soared high and the season was saved.

Now Oklahoma is on a six game slide with four consecutive losses while at home. Rock bottom hit as the Sooners lost to a weak Texas Tech Red Raiders team. This was the loss that set up the season the be a wash.

However, there has been a trend, a flaw if you will, that can be traced. Time and time it has happened again and again but the area continues to have loose reigns. If the Sooners want to make a late put for the post-season it starts with this.

Oklahoma has struggled with trying to do too much as individuals. Basketball is a game of streaks, no questions asked about it. Teams learn to weather the storm and find a way to put a streak of their own together in an attempt to even the tides. When the Sooners face an opponent who has just went on a streak, they fail to stick together as a team. From that point on, it shifts to a individual attitude. The point of the game where this has been most evident is at the beginning of the second half. Teams have put together great runs right out of the half. This causes Sooner players to get out of their rhythm and begin to force up a shot or force an interior pass that isn't there or on the opposite end gamble defensively. When the run comes, OU falls apart leading to easy buckets for the opposition.

The one exception to this flaw was the second game against Missouri. This was a game in which fans saw OU play together as a team from the tip to the final buzzer. The team mentality kept the Sooners within striking distance and allowed them to withstand the surges Missouri had.

The Sooners must learn from their past mistakes. Attitudes must shift to a "we will never let that happen again" type attitude. It must be everyone as not one player can do it alone. This squad has the opportunity to best what last year's team was capable of but it all starts here. We will see which mentality continues to dominate this team on Wednesday as Bedlam comes to town.

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Quality as always O^3

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by Jordan Esco on Feb 20, 2012 2:15 PM CST reply actions

Thanks!

by OnlyOneOU on Feb 20, 2012 3:49 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

playing as a "team" is certainly a valid point

but IMO what they need most are SHOOTERS

Team FIRST, Effort SECOND, Talent THIRD, Selfish NEVER

by omsooner on Feb 20, 2012 3:03 PM CST reply actions

the 2013 class is setting up to have some solid scoring options coming in

Oklahoma is pushing for a few local kids who could pay dividends on the court. Nothing is set in stone yet of course but I like our chances on getting at least one

by OnlyOneOU on Feb 20, 2012 3:59 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

We knew

this was going to be a rough year going in. Lon is known for rebuilding programs, I will give him a couple years to see what kind of players he can bring in. I expect to see a much different team in ’14.

by OOOU! on Feb 20, 2012 3:16 PM CST reply actions

“The stands have remained empty” and “we will never let that happen again”. As an ardent fan of OU basketball, I was one of the few who attended all of the games in a virtually empty LLoyd Nobel Center at the start of the Billy Tubbs era. As the team progressed, and was it ever fun, the demand for tickets increased, and us basketball fans who provided the team with support in the “lean” years, were told, that unless we coughed up much more $$$, we were being moved from our seats, the same seats we occupied during the "lean’ years, and despite our pleas to those in charge, we were cast aside in favor of individuals or corporations who would pay the going rate, and still, a lot of those seats we occupied, remained empty, except for the odd few games, OSU, Kansas, Missouri, UNLV, and Arizona to name a few. So, in conclusion, I made a decision to no longer attend the games, and participate in the illusion of being a fan, loyalty goes both ways, I’m sad for the players and coaching staff that “the stands have remained empty”, however, to ensure that “we will never let that happen again”, I no longer support OU basketball with the purchase of tickets.

by John Wylie on Feb 21, 2012 9:11 AM CST reply actions

Disappointing, but hard to argue with your sound reasoning.

Just a depressing sense of apathy with this program and the only thing that is going to fix it is winning IMO, which doesn’t appear to be likely for some time.

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by Jordan Esco on Feb 21, 2012 10:31 AM CST up reply actions