Three Questions about Oklahoma Hoops with Cody Stavenhagen

Oklahoma State welcomes in-state rival Oklahoma to Stillwater this Saturday for Bedlam Part 2.

When last the two teams faced off, it didn’t go so well for the Cowboys. They got blown the heck out in Norman. Maybe learning a little more about the Sooners can help prevent that from happening this time.

Cody Stavenhagen, who covers the OU basketball team for the Tulsa World was kind enough to answer three questions for me about the Sooners, including Trae Young’s weakness, OU’s offensive efficiency, and how WVU held OU’s offense down.

Phillip Slavin: We all know about Trae Young. It’s impossible to watch college basketball at this point and NOT hear about the likely player of the year. But if he has one weakness, what is it?

Cody Stavenhagen: With the way Trae Young has played, this is seriously a tough question to answer. He still averages a little more than four turnovers per game, but when you look at his usage rate (the highest in the country) and the amount of possessions OU is playing (the third-highest adjusted tempo in the country), his ball security has actually been solid. He’s not known as a defender, but he’s been adequate on the ball and can make some sneaky steals and digs from behind.

[USATSI]

I think we’ve seen West Virginia and Texas Tech get Young flustered a bit just by playing him tightly and roughing him up some. Oklahoma State even did that to some degree in Bedlam Part 1. So I think Young has shown he can be susceptible to Big 12 defenses and can particularly be thrown out of sync by pressure. Even then, he’s still put up big numbers, which goes to show you just how good he’s been. Young certainly won’t have any friends in the OSU fan base, but his game is worth appreciating because right now, we really are in the midst of a historic season.

PS: OSU doesn’t have a single player who contributes real minutes (at least 13 a game) shooting under 43 percent from the court. What makes OU such an efficient offensive team?

CS: Again, we start with Trae Young. His range completely alters the way any halfcourt team defends. The farther out you put your point guard on Young, the more room OU’s wings have to work. That, plus, the tempo OU plays at and the way the Sooners’ big men run the floor creates a ton of open looks. It’s rare to see this team take a terrible shot, and that also speaks to how good Young is at identifying and feeding open shooters.

A lot of credit also goes to Lon Kruger for letting his team play with a little bit of freedom and coaching them to understand what’s a good look and what’s not. OU is either pulling from 3 or scoring under the basket. Also have to credit Christian James for finding consistency after struggles last year, and credit freshman Brady Manek for making big shots in big games (though he’s been off since his 28 points against Oklahoma State).

PS: West Virginia was OU’s first loss in the Big 12. What did the Mountaineers do to hold OU’s offense down to one of their lowest points totals of the season at 76 points?

[USATSI]

CS: West Virginia ran a 400-level course on how to get the ball out of Trae Young’s hands. It wasn’t just that they pressured the ball. They made Young pass out of the backcourt, then stopped the ball when OU wings carried it up court. They forced OU to play a halfcourt offense, and WVU was simply more physical and better suited for such a style. Even though Young still scored 29 points against West Virginia, he only had five assists, and that ability we just talked about — finding and feeding open shooters — was totally taken away. That’s the go-to recipe for beating Oklahoma, but it takes a defense like West Virginia’s to do it.