OU Women's BB: Where are they after a 5-0 start and now at 6-5 ?
Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2023 12:29 pm
Honestly I forgot about yesterday's OU Women's BB game at Noon against Southern. I will also admit that I thought the win against Southern was going to be a layup for a victory by Coach Baraczyk's Sooners. But, I along with most of you it seems, the loss is fairly difficult to understand. Southern was 1-9 coming into the game. OU was 6-4 but had lost 4 of their last 5 games. The loss was probably even more with the very poor finish of the game yesterday by the Sooners. More on that in a paragraph or two.
I remember when the season looked promising when the Sooners started the season with a 5-0 record with wins over Ole Miss and Virginia and scoring at least 80 points a game in their first five games. In their last 6 games that have not scored more than 76 points in their 5 losses and averaged only 66.8 pts per game in the 5 losses. More disturbing to me is that the Sooners have allowed 72.3 pts game on defense in the last 6 games.
I have come to the conclusion that the Sooners have a real problem playing defense. The problem is two-fold in my mind. They really do not have an adequate defender inside the paint. If they try to play strong defense inside they get into foul trouble often. The inside depth is hit and miss off the bench. They also have problems guarding outside people on dribble penetration. The Sooners end up repeatedly trailing the player dribbling towards the bucket. At the best they are beside the player, never in front of the player with the ball. Probably the best thing they do on defense is rebound.
On offense, when the three's do not fall, the Sooners struggle to score consistently. The last two season under Coach Baranczyk there was always Madi Williams or Ana Llanusa to take the shot with the shot approaching zero. This year no one has stepped up at all to fill that role. Maybe the bigger problem is that the Sooners sometimes settle to shoot a three with over 15 seconds left on the shot clock. Impatience is an issue I think. I am no longer sure that this team is a team of good shooters. From the free throw line they are now under 70% for the season. That is not a sign of a team of good shooters, maybe not even average shooters. Only two players shoot over 40% from the field and from beyond the arc. Those two are Joens and Verhulst. Vann is leading the Sooners in scoring because she shoots 50% more shots than any other player. Joens is probably getting the most out of her talent for the Sooners.
I realized the game was being played yesterday when I saw a post her about the game. I was then able to get to ESPN+ to watch the game. I tuned in with about 3 minutes left in the game with OU leading 66-62. Before I knew it the score was 68-68 as Southern scored two 3-point plays, one the old-fashioned way and one one from downtown. As Reyna Scott made 2 of 4 free throws the score was tied for the last time at 70-70. As Southern scored the final 9 points, the Sooners had 4 turnovers and a missed three and a missed 2-point attempt. I must say that it was very ugly. During those minutes Vann was on the bench after what was described as a hard slap in the face. I did not see the play. But she had her warmup on, not looking like she was ready to play. But even with Vann not in the game, OU should have not played as poorly as they did down the stretch. Southern outscored theSsooenrs 17-3 down the stretch to win the game. Southern outscored the Sooners in the 4thQ 28-12 to win by 9 points.
The Sooners had 27 turnovers against Souther, a 1-9 team. Thirteen of the turnovers were by Verhulst and Williams added together. They are now averaging 20 turnovers a game. Twenty, that is at least 18 points game they lose if they shoot just under 50% from the field, maybe more if some are three's. The defense is not good enough to make up for that. Not right now anyway.
Here is the Sooner staff wrtiers article about yesterday's loss.
https://soonersports.com/news/2023/12/2 ... s-southern
Where are the Sooners now at 6-5 and a week before they open Big 12 Conference play? An honest might be, lost? Another one could be, rebuilding? It is going to be very tough for an undersized, poor defensive team to compete in the Big 12 this season. They Sooners do not have the speed on offense that they have had. Llanusa and Williams gave OU an advantage. They no longer have that advantage as only Keys and Tot run the floor and handle the ball well. Scott could but she forces too many long tough passes. The Sooners do not have a scorer to rely on at all. Vann is probably the most reliable scorer but she takes many shots to do so. Joens would be next but she is a catch and shoot player and needs a passer and a screen to get open often.
I think that the Sooners need to develop every young player they can at this point. They have everyone back for next season except Tucker I believe. Next season thy get Liz Scott back inside and Vann's younger sister at 5'9" as a guard and a 6'1" forward in Caya Smith both from the state of Oklahoma. There has to be some honest development of an inside player to help Liz Scott next season and beyond. One or two of Culliton, Johnson and Allen probably need lots of playing time to see which one or two can play at this level inside against the nigs they wil face in the SEC. It that is delayed, the results down the line will be slowed in my mind. This will not help this year however. The Sooners need to find a way for Williams to help this team. The current scheme does not help her much. She is too small to play inside well and does not shoot well from outside. Maybe a high-low post scheme would help her and Vann both to be better. it might help the Culliton-Johnson-Allen trio as well. But that is not THE Baranczyk offense. But I am not sure this team has the payers this year for the Branczyk's scheme.
I think the Big 12 play will be very tough for the Sooners. Coach Baranczyk seemed overwhelmed and more than disappointed yesterday after the game. She was looking for words that were not there I thought. The first six Big 12 games are against teams that are 59-12 as of today. A good start might be 2-4 in Big 12 play. It is truly a rebuilding season at this point. Whether the team can decide to approach the season as such, I doubt. It is not in the mindset of many coaches to do so. If I was to be asked an over-under on 12 wins for the Sooner by the end of the season, meaning 6 wins in the Big 12. I would choose under. But I would hope I was wrong.
Good luck to the Sooners going forward in the Big 12. I will be there watching unless I am at Softball.
Boomer Sooner!
I remember when the season looked promising when the Sooners started the season with a 5-0 record with wins over Ole Miss and Virginia and scoring at least 80 points a game in their first five games. In their last 6 games that have not scored more than 76 points in their 5 losses and averaged only 66.8 pts per game in the 5 losses. More disturbing to me is that the Sooners have allowed 72.3 pts game on defense in the last 6 games.
I have come to the conclusion that the Sooners have a real problem playing defense. The problem is two-fold in my mind. They really do not have an adequate defender inside the paint. If they try to play strong defense inside they get into foul trouble often. The inside depth is hit and miss off the bench. They also have problems guarding outside people on dribble penetration. The Sooners end up repeatedly trailing the player dribbling towards the bucket. At the best they are beside the player, never in front of the player with the ball. Probably the best thing they do on defense is rebound.
On offense, when the three's do not fall, the Sooners struggle to score consistently. The last two season under Coach Baranczyk there was always Madi Williams or Ana Llanusa to take the shot with the shot approaching zero. This year no one has stepped up at all to fill that role. Maybe the bigger problem is that the Sooners sometimes settle to shoot a three with over 15 seconds left on the shot clock. Impatience is an issue I think. I am no longer sure that this team is a team of good shooters. From the free throw line they are now under 70% for the season. That is not a sign of a team of good shooters, maybe not even average shooters. Only two players shoot over 40% from the field and from beyond the arc. Those two are Joens and Verhulst. Vann is leading the Sooners in scoring because she shoots 50% more shots than any other player. Joens is probably getting the most out of her talent for the Sooners.
I realized the game was being played yesterday when I saw a post her about the game. I was then able to get to ESPN+ to watch the game. I tuned in with about 3 minutes left in the game with OU leading 66-62. Before I knew it the score was 68-68 as Southern scored two 3-point plays, one the old-fashioned way and one one from downtown. As Reyna Scott made 2 of 4 free throws the score was tied for the last time at 70-70. As Southern scored the final 9 points, the Sooners had 4 turnovers and a missed three and a missed 2-point attempt. I must say that it was very ugly. During those minutes Vann was on the bench after what was described as a hard slap in the face. I did not see the play. But she had her warmup on, not looking like she was ready to play. But even with Vann not in the game, OU should have not played as poorly as they did down the stretch. Southern outscored theSsooenrs 17-3 down the stretch to win the game. Southern outscored the Sooners in the 4thQ 28-12 to win by 9 points.
The Sooners had 27 turnovers against Souther, a 1-9 team. Thirteen of the turnovers were by Verhulst and Williams added together. They are now averaging 20 turnovers a game. Twenty, that is at least 18 points game they lose if they shoot just under 50% from the field, maybe more if some are three's. The defense is not good enough to make up for that. Not right now anyway.
Here is the Sooner staff wrtiers article about yesterday's loss.
https://soonersports.com/news/2023/12/2 ... s-southern
Where are the Sooners now at 6-5 and a week before they open Big 12 Conference play? An honest might be, lost? Another one could be, rebuilding? It is going to be very tough for an undersized, poor defensive team to compete in the Big 12 this season. They Sooners do not have the speed on offense that they have had. Llanusa and Williams gave OU an advantage. They no longer have that advantage as only Keys and Tot run the floor and handle the ball well. Scott could but she forces too many long tough passes. The Sooners do not have a scorer to rely on at all. Vann is probably the most reliable scorer but she takes many shots to do so. Joens would be next but she is a catch and shoot player and needs a passer and a screen to get open often.
I think that the Sooners need to develop every young player they can at this point. They have everyone back for next season except Tucker I believe. Next season thy get Liz Scott back inside and Vann's younger sister at 5'9" as a guard and a 6'1" forward in Caya Smith both from the state of Oklahoma. There has to be some honest development of an inside player to help Liz Scott next season and beyond. One or two of Culliton, Johnson and Allen probably need lots of playing time to see which one or two can play at this level inside against the nigs they wil face in the SEC. It that is delayed, the results down the line will be slowed in my mind. This will not help this year however. The Sooners need to find a way for Williams to help this team. The current scheme does not help her much. She is too small to play inside well and does not shoot well from outside. Maybe a high-low post scheme would help her and Vann both to be better. it might help the Culliton-Johnson-Allen trio as well. But that is not THE Baranczyk offense. But I am not sure this team has the payers this year for the Branczyk's scheme.
I think the Big 12 play will be very tough for the Sooners. Coach Baranczyk seemed overwhelmed and more than disappointed yesterday after the game. She was looking for words that were not there I thought. The first six Big 12 games are against teams that are 59-12 as of today. A good start might be 2-4 in Big 12 play. It is truly a rebuilding season at this point. Whether the team can decide to approach the season as such, I doubt. It is not in the mindset of many coaches to do so. If I was to be asked an over-under on 12 wins for the Sooner by the end of the season, meaning 6 wins in the Big 12. I would choose under. But I would hope I was wrong.
Good luck to the Sooners going forward in the Big 12. I will be there watching unless I am at Softball.
Boomer Sooner!