I was at the game yesterday. My seat was right behind the Texas bench on the aisle and was perfect. Close to the pep band, close to the OU poms, close to the student section. The crowd wasn’t as good as the Arkansas game, but was good enough. Plus, Barry Switzer was sitting courtside first row on the opposite side of the court. Perfect except for one thing.
That one thing being the same thing this Oklahoma basketball team can’t quite seem to grasp…college basketball games are forty minutes long… not thirty four minutes in length.
Same story, same verse, same outcome for the Sooners. They can’t finish. If this were a baseball team the solution would be to go get a closer. OU has no closer and doesn’t have enough collective dog in them to get over the hump in SEC games.
OU got off to a nice start with their customary double digit first half lead, but then withered in the last six minutes during ‘winning time’. This team has no concept of what it takes collectively as a group when winning time arrives.
If I were coaching this team with where they are right now with nothing to lose because it would appear Porter Moser won’t get to Year 6 in his six year contract..what I would do is move both Tae Davis and Big Mo to the second group coming off the bench.
These two dudes basically were both no shows in a rivalry game at home. It was pathetic. That can’t happen at home. This is why Porter Moser is right there where Jeff Capel was in his Year 5 when he lost his credibility with the OU fan base.
I don’t think Big Mo will pout. I don’t that’s his nature. I’m not sure about Tae Davis though. Tae might be a sulker, but then again I’m not in the locker room with these guys.
Confidence is a precious commodity in sports, and in life. In this case with these Sooners I think it’s a combination of confidence, plus Porter taking too damn long to figure out the roles on this team.
To me his top three players go in this order… Nijel Pack, Xsayvier Brown, Derrion Reid. Those are the three guys he can count on for production.
I’d put Kirrel into the starting lineup with Big Mo still getting minutes, but those energy minutes coming off the bench where his constant foul trouble isn’t a chemistry disruption for the team.. I would challenge Tae Davis to beome the Sixth Man and challenge him to give this team 14-16 points a game in a different role.
I’d very much utilize Dayton Forsythe, Jadon Jones, and Jeff Newanko with more minutes with guys willing to do the hard things which need to be done to win games in this league. You know…the Lu Dort, Kenrich Williams things I preach on here ad nausem.
This is what I would do if I were Porter’s assistant head coach. Nine man rotation with Davis and Big Mo coming off the bench.
I mean, let’s be brutally candid, Porter right now is a on track to being fired as the OU head basketball coach. I don’t think one would have to be the Amazing Carnac to share that thought aloud. Because as Jeff Capel found out, when the fans frustration turns to total indifference and they stop coming… it’s over. You’re done, buddy. Finito…because as a coach you’ll never get their trust back again that you can coach at this level.
Now I’m going to get ready for the OKC Thunder vs. Denver Nugget game in Denver this evening. I can’t wait. I’m like a little kid at Christmas who wants to sneak into the living room and see what Santa’s left under the tree.
Enjoy the game tonight.
Mike J