Tulsa Game Thread

[Grant Carter]

An amazing stat to me is that while we only got a ridiculous 17 points in the first, Tulsa only scored 14 in the second half.

And to add to the ridiculousness and pain, they scored 6 of the 14 in the last 2 possessions.

[Alaric]

Also to the point of depth : every one of these guys runs pickup/open gym for hours at a time, and have done so since they were what, 14?

True, but when you're playing against college level talent, and having to play balls-to-the-wall defense and crash the boards on every possession you have to have some depth. Our guys played with that effort in the second half last night.....Tulsa only scored 6 pts in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Regardless of the opponent, for that to happen you have to play some damn good defense and rebound.

pickup's easy. just stay back to guard the snowbird pass a couple of times and you're rested...can't do that in game situations.

[papawasamustang]

I was @ both the Wyoming game & the Tulsa game. The one thing that really stands out to me is the lack of intensity/aggressiveness to start the games. Russell & Manuel need to bring it from the start. They seem to be in cruise control @ the beginning of the games to me. Cunningham & Jones are doing about all they can do in this offense. Just not many easy baskets right now. I'd bench Williams until he can snap out of his mental funk. He's giving them next to nothing. Great opportunity to develop some of the younger guys using his minutes.

[Treadway21]

I was @ both the Wyoming game & the Tulsa game. The one thing that really stands out to me is the lack of intensity/aggressiveness to start the games. Russell & Manuel need to bring it from the start. They seem to be in cruise control @ the beginning of the games to me. Cunningham & Jones are doing about all they can do in this offense. Just not many easy baskets right now. I'd bench Williams until he can snap out of his mental funk. He's giving them next to nothing. Great opportunity to develop some of the younger guys using his minutes.

Who would you replace him with? I think we all would like to see a player emerge from one of our reserves, but at this point not sure who could do it.

[papawasamustang]

Obviously, options are very limited. Uche is the guy I want to see more of. I would love to see him get Giles minutes. Also, I hope Dickerson starts getting 5-7 minutes per game. I think Cunningham can play the same position as Williams, sliding Dickerson into the post.

Russell
Manuel
Jones
Cunningham
Dickerson

Uche 1st off bench
Williams
Bernardi
Giles

[NastyStang]

I agree...time to see more Uche. He is very hesitant on the offensive end, but that's understandable considering his current role. He always seems to be in the mix on the boards (offensive and defensive).

[Treadway21]

Obviously, options are very limited. Uche is the guy I want to see more of. I would love to see him get Giles minutes. Also, I hope Dickerson starts getting 5-7 minutes per game. I think Cunningham can play the same position as Williams, sliding Dickerson into the post.

Russell
Manuel
Jones
Cunningham
Dickerson

Uche 1st off bench
Williams
Bernardi
Giles

Interesting. Not what I expected. LB seems pretty set in how he runs his subs. Figured we see a few more combinations than we have so far this year.

For all the sandbagging talk from LB he sure wants to win every game. Possibly at the expense of bench development. Guess he figures why develop them if they won't play next year.

[EastStang]

Last several years we complained that Doh subbed too much, now we're complaining that Brown subs too little. We knew going in this year that Brown was going to have a short bench.

[papawasamustang]

I think it would be interesting to see what Dickerson/Cunningham could do compared to Cunningham/Williams. Dickerson has the potential to be a disruptive force in the middle in spurts. Giles is not contributing much. Give Uche some of his minutes. I think we all understand what we have this season. Is giving Uche & Dickerson equal opportunities as Williams & Giles really going to make a difference in the W/L column? Not really. But it would give a clearer picture as to what they have going into next season.

[Treadway21]

Last several years we complained that Doh subbed too much, now we're complaining that Brown subs too little. We knew going in this year that Brown was going to have a short bench.

I am not complaining just observing. His sub pattern at least makes sense. I understand why he subs the way he does.