Game thoughts Wichita State

[Gold*]

Terrible first half. They played like dookie in the second half and we didn’t play as bad. Have to hit the free throws. We still have players, but not practicing with the team for 11 days will do it.

It’s not as bad as it seems but it ain’t good either.

 

[I.I.]

Causes of terrible loss:

1. No perimeter defense (NONE) first half.
2. Terrible offense and shot selection first half.
3. Couldn’t hit free throws on our home court.
4. Very sub par coaching and slow to adjust.

 

[t-townpod]

We still are a guard dominated team without good shooters. That’s a disaster. We have talent but not shooting it negates the talent. Feel so sorry for Rachal trying to do everything with little support.
This will be a rough year if shooting does not come around.

 

[drboobay]

Really hard to see this season amounting to much.

 

[Tulsafanzz]

Tough loss. We should beat that team. Wichita was very shaky late and we didn’t take advantage of that. I think we will beat them in Wichita.

It’s a good thing we have talent. Once we get this collection of individual players to play as a team, we might be pretty good. We did play pretty good defense in the second half.

As ugly as we played at times, we actually would have won if we just hit a decent % of our FTs.

 

[hotterthanyourhusbandTU]

Rachal is basically the team. He’s a baller. I wish he had some individual offensive talent around him.

For this team to win, they will have to play GREAT as a team, especially on the defensive end.

Hopefully some more practice time will get them a few wins in conference this year.

 

[drboobay]

Same old problems.

Poor shooting.

Questionable game management.

Poor execution at crunch time.

Leaving open shooters.

Poor ft shooting.

Scoring droughts.

At least we are losing to a higher quality of team so far! Hooray!

 

[nevadanatural]

Tough loss. We should beat that team. Wichita was very shaky late and we didn’t take advantage of that. I think we will beat them in Wichita.

It’s a good thing we have talent. Once we get this collection of individual players to play as a team, we might be pretty good. We did play pretty good defense in the second half.

As ugly as we played at times, we actually would have won if we just hit a decent % of our FTs.

This, we had enough free shots to win we just didn’t make them.

 

[TUPond]

Rachal is basically the team. He’s a baller. I wish he had some individual offensive talent around him.

For this team to win, they will have to play GREAT as a team, especially on the defensive end.

Hopefully some more practice time will get them a few wins in conference this year.

If all we’re hoping for is a few conference wins then Haith needs to go. He said this was his most talented team. I don’t see it.

 

[hotterthanyourhusbandTU]

Definitely wanting and hoping for more, but it doesn’t look viable...

 

[drboobay]

If all we’re hoping for is a few conference wins then Haith needs to go. He said this was his most talented team. I don’t see it.

I am really tired of this year in and year out. Fighting to surpass low expectations does not interest me.

 

[URedskin54]

We played to our weaknesses for an entire game and didn’t defend for a half and still only lost because we couldn’t make a free throw. It’s easy to see us being just a little less disjointed to start the year and looking in pretty good shape, but that’s every year

 

[TULSARISING]

I’m now ready to watch us kick the crap out of Cincinnati

 

[TUPond]

I am really tired of this year in and year out. Fighting to surpass low expectations does not interest me.

I thought the goal for this basketball program was to get back to making deep runs in the NCAA tournament. Now the goal seems to be to just surpass low expectations every year.

 

[mcane]

In ready to fire Haith now or later.

I’ve donated out my A$$ to the athletic program. The basketball program is in terrible shape

Despite our amazing football
season, I think the team has won despite terrible decisions by Monty. I would be thrilled to see him leave as well.

Maybe it is finally time for TU to drop D1 athletics.

 

[goldenhurricane2]

Maybe it is finally time for TU to drop D1 athletics.

Uh... no. 🤦🏼‍♂️

 

[TULSARISING]

In ready to fire Haith now or later.

I’ve donated out my A$$ to the athletic program. The basketball program is in terrible shape

Despite our amazing football
season, I think the team has won despite terrible decisions by Monty. I would be thrilled to see him leave as well.

Maybe it is finally time for TU to drop D1 athletics.

I think a big part of the problem is gone now ... Dr Derek Gragg

 

[Gold*]

I’m willing to give a lot of people a break this year. Patience matters a lot. I think that’s a lesson from this year. Also, another lesson is life is short and precious.

If this goes on again next year, pull the plug. Firing someone this year is tasteless. Texas wouldn’t even do it. The schools that have made changes in football are wannabes. There are just too many horrific and crazy things this year to take dudes shooting a ball in a hoop so seriously.

 

['Cane-man]

We have a number of "talented" players who are playing like Rec Center guys. We've traded the match-up zone to the matador defense.

 

[I.I.]

Wojcik simply scheduled weak teams to get 20 wins and a contract extension. Haith simply points out he did better than the media expected.

1981- Won NIT
1982-NCAA
1984-NCAA
1985-NCAA
1986-NCAA
1987-NCAA

--JD Barnett ERA

1994-NCAA
1995-NCAA
1996-NCAA
1997-NCAA
1999-NCAA
2000-NCAA
2001-Won NIT
2002-NCAA
2003-NCAA

John Phillips ERA

Doug Wojcik ERA Nothing ( 7 seasons )

2014- NCAA-Manning

Frank Haith ERA (7 seasons )

2016-NCAA Gifted the last at-large.


2021- Doesn't look good at this point.

 

[TULSARISING]

I’m willing to give a lot of people a break this year. Patience matters a lot. I think that’s a lesson from this year. Also, another lesson is life is short and precious.

If this goes on again next year, pull the plug. Firing someone this year is tasteless. Texas wouldn’t even do it. The schools that have made changes in football are wannabes. There are just too many horrific and crazy things this year to take dudes shooting a ball in a hoop so seriously.

I nominate this for post of the year! Well said Gold!

 

[Gmoney4WW]

We did play pretty good defense in the second half.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Maybe it is finally time for TU to drop D1 athletics.

In case you missed it, I took a high school senior for a campus visit last week and the very first thing mentioned during the presentation was the football team. D1 athletics is still a big deal.

 

[drboobay]

I nominate this for post of the year! Well said Gold!

I agree with this actually. But I am losing passion for basketball. For example, I won't even be up all night upset because of the loss. That's sad, and frankly my expectations have slowly lowered year after year after year as well.

What am I supposed to obsess over a decade from now when I retire if this continues?

 

[mcane]

I fought hard for TU not to drop football despite the recommendation of the
accreditation committee. I too am losing interest.

 

[drboobay]

Our football team's magical run has been a real blessing during Covid. It shows what d1 sports can do for a university and community - despite the non competitive nature of how FBS is organized and the irregularities of gaming the system. It was due almost completely to the oddity that football teams are actually multiple teams, and one of those - the defense - excelled to such a degree they dragged the other teams along.

It is hard to see how that could happen with a Haith basketball team.

 

[Gold*]

I’m surprised by how people are jumping ship on Haith. Don’t you know how this ends? He’s resilient.

He has put more players on the path the NBA than anyone we’ve had since Nolan. That matters in recruiting. He loses games he shouldn’t and then finds a way to make us relevant, at least most years. He’s won games that no one thought possible, then lost games no one thought possible. We beat UCONN, off an NC, and lost to Southeastern Oklahoma in the same year.

It’s annoying. It makes no sense. There were a couple of weeks in 2015 when many rightfully believed Deandre Wright was a first round pick. That’s insane. But that’s also our basketball team. We have really good players coming in next year. Take a deep breath and let it play out. Maybe we don’t win another game. But history shows that’s not going to happen.

We will make a bunch of weird changes and find a couple of go to plays that confound the rest of the league. We will win some games we shouldn’t. You will come back. Then your heart will break again. But you can’t not watch.

Do the posters on here deserve better? Some, like Mcane and II, rightfully do. But then we have these haters that deserve to be proven wrong. And Haith will do that. That’s just what he does again and again.

 

[drboobay]

I posted somewhere that we will improve, have some unexpected wins and outperform expectations.

But it will all be too late to make the NCAA tournament. That is the history. And for someone who watched Nolan's, Tubby's and Self's teams, it is hard to get excited by what Haith is doing.

 

[drboobay]

And to anyone who says "that was a long time ago, we cannot expect so much from Tulsa basketball today" I would say, ok then, you can feel free to enjoy what we have. I am not interested unless we have much higher expectations. You can have my seats, as a matter of fact.

 

[Gold*]

We love Nolan, but he won as many NCAA games for us as Haith.

I have a lot of questions about this crazy team. I don’t know why Ugboh starts. I don’t know why KES gets to be so emotional. Haywood is this anomaly I will never understand. Why doesn’t Jackson play all the minutes? Why does Rachal make bad passes — isn’t that Joiner’s job? What happened to Williams?

In this nutty way, our talent level has slowly improved. We have dudes who can play. We are also all pissed off about a home L with no fans after we didn’t practice. Which goes back to my point about taking a chill pill.

 

[HuffyCane]

I didn’t see the game. (I typically don’t watch any basketball except TU and only after football concludes. In some years, not until after football signing day.)

Y’all were talking like this and saying the same things this time last year. It’ll be ah-right. It was last year. We just need a big moment to get the confidence of the shooters up.



Haith knows what he’s doing, despite his frustrating decisions. Enjoy that. Those of us focused on football can’t.

 

[drboobay]

True but we were an NCAA team 3 of five years and NIT the other 2 years. We won the NIT. We got an NCAA bye when that meant something.

You cannot compare our current situation to that.

All that said it is hard to fire somebody during this weird pandemic season. But it is hard to see anything but the perpetual arc of rising to "above average" that has become tiresome.

 

[drboobay]

I didn’t see the game. (I typically don’t watch any basketball except TU and only after football concludes. In some years, not until after football signing day.)

Y’all were talking like this and saying the same things this time last year. It’ll be ah-right. It was last year. We just need a big moment to get the confidence of the shooters up.

Haith knows what he’s doing, despite his frustrating decisions. Enjoy that. Those of us focused on football can’t.

We are not going dancing last year either Huffy. Last season is not what we need to replicate, though it seems the best we could hope for.

Would delight in being wrong.

 

[HuffyCane]

True but we were an NCAA team 3 of five years and NIT the other 2 years. We won the NIT. We got an NCAA bye when that meant something.

You cannot compare our current situation to that.

All that said it is hard to fire somebody during this weird pandemic season. But it is hard to see anything but the perpetual arc of rising to "above average" that has become tiresome.

This. Nolan coached before the field was expanded and during an era when few games were televised. If you think football playoffs are biased now, Oh boy, you weren’t around in the late 70s and early 80s.

Our first five were amongst the best in the country. Teams across the nation were afraid of us. Coaches said they were glad to be playing xyz teams instead of us. Coaches at OU and OSU would get fired for saying that today.

I have started to loathe the tired Nolan narrative that we drag up each year. We sound like aging Minnesota fans struggling to talk about the Rose Bowl teams of the 30’s.

It might be true that Nolan has the same wins. But the opportunities were much fewer and what had to be done to get there is incomparable. Nolan’s talent level in comparison to the rest of Division 1 was equal. We had a couple of guys that would have played at Duke or UNC if given the chance. Haith has infinitely better resources and support and doesn’t have to fight through 130 years of overt racism (though Tulsa still gives Haith a dose from time to time) but has been unable to attract that type of talent - in part due to weaknesses in the system and school beyond his control.

It’s OK to knock Haiti’s wins, but it’s grapes to pumpkins comparing Nolan to Haith.

 

[HuffyCane]

We are not going dancing last year either Huffy. Last season is not what we need to replicate, though it seems the best we could hope for.

Would delight in being wrong.

Was referring to winning the conference out right until that shot in Philly rimmed out.

 

[drboobay]

This. Nolan coached before the field was expanded and during an era when few games were televised. If you think football playoffs are biased now, Oh boy, you weren’t around in the late 70s and early 80s.

Our first five were amongst the best in the country. Teams across the nation were afraid of us. Coaches said they were glad to be playing xyz teams instead of us. Coaches at OU and OSU would get fired for saying that today.

I have started to loathe the tired Nolan narrative that we drag up each year. We sound like aging Minnesota fans struggling to talk about the Rose Bowl teams of the 30’s.

It might be true that Nolan has the same wins. But the opportunities were much fewer and what had to be done to get there is incomparable. Nolan’s talent level in comparison to the rest of Division 1 was equal. We had a couple of guys that would have played at Duke or UNC if given the chance. Haith has infinitely better resources and support and doesn’t have to fight through 130 years of overt racism (though Tulsa still gives Haith a dose from time to time) but has been unable to attract that type of talent - in part due to weaknesses in the system and school beyond his control.

It’s OK to knock Haiti’s wins, but it’s grapes to pumpkins comparing Nolan to Haith.

Exactly! I hate coming back to this stale point but it happens to be my reality and the very high standard that set my expectations. And it was not a five year anomoly - we had two other eras of subsequent success (though if you watch old videos of our 1982 team that was our talent level peak).

Digging a hole every season and then saying "we will improve " is a tired narrative in comparison and I have to compare.

 

[HuffyCane]

I’ll give you that Haith’s style is almost coaching through Munchhausen by Proxy Syndrome. He creates a hole, then the players dig out, and he gets the credit for saving the day. Maddening.

 

[drboobay]

I can say it simply without referring to old eras.

1. My primary interest in watching TU basketball is seeing the team in the NCAA tournament.
2. Regular, crappy starts make this unlikely every year.
3. The rest of the season becomes much less interesting due to this problem despite the inevitable rally
4. The consistency of this problem year after year is discouraging and increasingly squelches interest

 

[TU 1978]

It very disappointing to see how we have regressed on defense. It is as if Haith, Seals and Johnson learned nothing from Wainwright while he was on the staff. Apparently the new addition to the staff - Lane - adds nothing. Losing the preseason games this year didn’t help Haith, who in prior years takes unnecessary losses in these games while figuring out combinations of players that work well together. He’s apparently still figuring out who works well together, although the inexplicable removal of Jackson from the lineup after he’s given the team energy and a boost on both ends of the court continues to frustrate me. I turned off the game at halftime, noticed the score had miraculously narrowed and so I turned it back on and watched the comeback. Defensive intensity and effort was better in the second half, although nowhere near where it needs to be or where it was last year. Haith, Seals and Johnson need to get their together.

 

[HuffyCane]

Couldnt sleep.

Watched the highlights

Somebody needs to tell Rey we need him to play like Kylo.