I think this is by far the biggest issue. The offense is basically dead when Uzan is on the bench. I really thought LJ was going to be a better floor general this year, but nope. Uzan is the key.
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Not sure about Arc but Mercy will eventually be let loose by Sampson.
He looked very tentative last night, like he was scared to shoot or do anything wrong.
We need Mercy to to eventually play loose with confidence.
He did score 4 points last night in 8 minutes but only took one shot.
I know Francis is still getting into shape but man he looked bad last night.
Our bench has to produce for us to make any type of run.
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Donât take this as dooming-- I think this team has a lot of talent and a top 5 coach in college. I wouldnât be surprised if we do well in the Big 12 and go far in the tournament.
BUTâ
I really didnât see it with all of the pre-season enthusiasm. All of the âdeepest team Sampson has ever hadâ talk. The two losses to 2 very good teams seems to confirm that this team is very good but far from great (yet.)
We lost Shead, arguably the best 2-way player in college last year and an all-time great leader, the heart and soul of the team-- and replaced him with a perfectly decent but entirely unspectacular player in Uzan.
Everybody else is basically the same. Arceneaux, while obviously still hampered by injuries, is nowhere near the 5-star recruit he came in as. Walker and Mylik shouldnât be getting serious minutes on a team with UHâs aspirations. Miller for some reason canât get minutes against good opponents. Roberts, Sharp, Cryer are all good players but not #1 options (Cryerâs tendency to fade late in games continues to be a problem.) Tugler is the only player to my eye who has taken a leap, but heâs still extremely raw offensively. Francis is what he is.
I just never saw how this team was supposed to be better/deeper than last year. I still think we can go far, and possibly even become nearly as good as last season, but swapping out Shead for Uzan (and absent Cryer, Arceneaux, or Sharp taking enormous leaps) left us as clearly worse off compared to 2023-24.
Yeah, all teams have to take time to gel, but considering we only have 1 primary player different than last yearâs roster, I donât know how much gelling is going to make a difference.
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It is November. There is a lot of basketball left.
Last yearâs team was not better in March than what it was in November/December. Mostly due to injuries.
This team is a top 10 team that could be much better in March than they are in November,
We will see.
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Growing pains around replacing Shead with Uzan were to be expected, but I think the lack of significant growth from Sharp and Arceneaux (so far) has arguably been more impactful. And Cryer, while a great player, is clearly better off being a 2nd option. Heâs just not quite good enough to overcome being the other teamâs primary defensive focus, imo.
Miller earning more minutes and having an impact on offense would be huge. Especially if he could be a threat from deep. We just donât have enough floor-spreading off the bench.
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TA is not 100%. Sharpe is a give 100% all the time type player.
My concern, if it is a concern given that it is November, is rebounding. We are not an elite rebounding team.
Our DNA historically has been great rebounding because we werenât great shooters. I donât know what we are on offense right now but Sampson will figure it out.
The Bama and Auburn games were elite college basketball games.
One other concern is who is the junkyard dog on this team. Who is the Deeky?
Tugler could be. Iâm very impressed by him.
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I doubt any team is ready for prime time five games into the season.
Coach Sampson continually talks about how the team is playing in Jan, Feb, Mar (and continuing to peak) is what is important. And that rankings right now mean little. Of course rankings matter for tournament seeding.
Itâs about preparing for the conference and the team having the best chance for making a deep March run. With enough luck to hopefully win it all.
Having 2 losses against Quad 1 teams, neutral sites, 5 games into the season is not a big deal.
UH looks to have an extremely complicated offense and defense. Itâs a work in progress on the court. They are working on various rotations, couple of new guards in particular.
Iâm higher on the Coogs today than before the season started.
Coogs offense doesnât look far off. All the players look comfortable. Decision making looks great. Itâs the execution and shot making theyâll tighten up on. I like the up tempo and getting shots off much quicker this season. Coogs appear more physical to me. Coogs are taking good shots. Just need to knock down a few more. Defense is amped up a notch from last season. Defense is already awesome and shaping up to be phenomenal.
Coach is much calmer on the sideline too.
I donât see any problemsâŠ
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Alabama and Auburn are two of the top 5 teams in the country. And we were up late against both.
With Uzan fouling out in both games. TA on a minutes restriction. And JaâVier still recovering from a groin injury.
This team is really, really good.
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Last season we played 11 games vs top 25 defenses, we averaged 63.3 a game vs them. This year we have played 2 and averaged 73.5 (not including OT).
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Man, if you donât see that Arceneaux has taken huge strides, I donât know what to tell you. His only issue is that heâs still playing limited minutes. When heâs out there, he usually looks like the best player on the court.
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Mercy looked lost on defense last night, which is why Sampson yanked him.
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We have inconsistency in the backcourt. Neither Milos nor Mylic have stepped up as a point and LJ seems to be off and unusually fatigued early. Mercy, who is bound for stardom, is not ready. Our front court is and has been lacking for ever compared to our back court. Javier never developed as hoped, Jacob (who I was looking for impact) is out. Lath is Lath and considered at this point only for backup. JoJo seems to be hit and miss depending upon the quality and physicality of the opposition.Many were anticipating this season as being Sampsons best and perhaps securing the National Championship. Sadly I do not see it.
Oats and Pearl are both excellent schemers. Those guys know what theyâre doing. I despise Oats but you canât deny he coaches well against us.
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Buy the dip
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Hopefully there is something to what you are saying, upward from here
Appeared no one wanted to the ball near the end.It appeared guys were playing scared not to upset coach.
Perhaps itâs easier fouling out, riding the bench than dealing with pressures of making mistakes.
And his guys always make bailâŠ
This game was lost because Robertâs can make a freaking free throw.
Sampson is obviously gaining more confidence in Miller but yes he lost his man several times and got a lecture or two on the sideline.
No one expects Mercy to be ready this soon but itâs encouraging to see him getting some on the job training in big games