Late start, LHN. Oh well.
Still no AK Mawein, Alton Mason or Rick Issanza - COVID protocols.
Porter Moser
I ask about first OU-Texas?
I think the guys know, they know the history of the rivalry. I think they know the history of the two programs and so I don't think there's any hyping that up. It's just been, these games come so quick so yesterday was about recapping what we did well, what we needed to do better against Iowa State. And then we jumped right into Texas. And so they come so quick, it's not like you've got sometimes in football where you've got a week or two weeks off. It's happening so fast, but they know. They know OU-Texas. I think they're familiar with that. But it's been about this basketball team, Texas' basketball team. Really one of the top teams in the country, the way they defend, their offensive weapons. So it's been about what we need to do to take away some of their strengths.
Absolutely (love the rivalry). You love it. You love the fan bases. You love the traditions. Absolutely. There's nothing not to like about it. OU-Texas, for sure.
Cleaning up the glass vs. ISU?
We talked about it right after the Baylor game and I talked to you guys about it, it's a slippery slope. We got so many texts and so many people saying 'hey, it was great. You played the No. 1 team in the country close on their home floor.' But that's not was it was about. We walked away saying we have to take care of the ball and we have to rebound. We got smashed on the glass against Baylor. 18-0 on second-chance. We outrebounded Arkansas. We outrebounded Florida. Two very good rebounding teams. In all of our wins, we've won the rebounding battle. In all of our losses, we've lost. We've talked about that. We went in and I thought we did a really good job of boxing out. Against Baylor, we had arm check-offs. You can't have arm check-offs in this league. Guys are too big, too physical. You've got to get your technique - low and leveraged. I thought we did that. We showed a lot of clips yesterday of great box outs. Our guys know they can do it. They've done it against some really good rebounding teams. It's just got to be night in, night out. It going to definitely have to be that way against Texas. They smash the glass as well.
Bijan's improvement?
The last two games, he's gotten his strengths into the game. His strengths really is facilitating. He sees the floor so well. He's more confident going downhill. I think earlier in the year, he was a little more cautious. He's getting his strengths. His strength is seeing the floor and facilitating, creating shots for other, starting that domino. As all young guys do, they have to still continue to work on their weaknesses - defense, taking care of the ball. He's got way more of a voice. I saw him a couple of times really talking and directing traffic. We came into a timeout and there's a picture of me and him talking. We were talking some things through. He's getting his voice into the game, as point guards have to do. You can't be a quiet point guard. I think sometimes when you are a freshman and you are overthinking. Being quiet is a natural byproduct of overthinking. I think he's now starting to facilitate, he's confident, he's getting his voice into the game. He's getting his strengths into the game - his defense, taking care of the ball. And just like all of our freshman, he has to continue to work on those.
Still no AK Mawein, Alton Mason or Rick Issanza - COVID protocols.
Porter Moser
I ask about first OU-Texas?
I think the guys know, they know the history of the rivalry. I think they know the history of the two programs and so I don't think there's any hyping that up. It's just been, these games come so quick so yesterday was about recapping what we did well, what we needed to do better against Iowa State. And then we jumped right into Texas. And so they come so quick, it's not like you've got sometimes in football where you've got a week or two weeks off. It's happening so fast, but they know. They know OU-Texas. I think they're familiar with that. But it's been about this basketball team, Texas' basketball team. Really one of the top teams in the country, the way they defend, their offensive weapons. So it's been about what we need to do to take away some of their strengths.
Absolutely (love the rivalry). You love it. You love the fan bases. You love the traditions. Absolutely. There's nothing not to like about it. OU-Texas, for sure.
Cleaning up the glass vs. ISU?
We talked about it right after the Baylor game and I talked to you guys about it, it's a slippery slope. We got so many texts and so many people saying 'hey, it was great. You played the No. 1 team in the country close on their home floor.' But that's not was it was about. We walked away saying we have to take care of the ball and we have to rebound. We got smashed on the glass against Baylor. 18-0 on second-chance. We outrebounded Arkansas. We outrebounded Florida. Two very good rebounding teams. In all of our wins, we've won the rebounding battle. In all of our losses, we've lost. We've talked about that. We went in and I thought we did a really good job of boxing out. Against Baylor, we had arm check-offs. You can't have arm check-offs in this league. Guys are too big, too physical. You've got to get your technique - low and leveraged. I thought we did that. We showed a lot of clips yesterday of great box outs. Our guys know they can do it. They've done it against some really good rebounding teams. It's just got to be night in, night out. It going to definitely have to be that way against Texas. They smash the glass as well.
Bijan's improvement?
The last two games, he's gotten his strengths into the game. His strengths really is facilitating. He sees the floor so well. He's more confident going downhill. I think earlier in the year, he was a little more cautious. He's getting his strengths. His strength is seeing the floor and facilitating, creating shots for other, starting that domino. As all young guys do, they have to still continue to work on their weaknesses - defense, taking care of the ball. He's got way more of a voice. I saw him a couple of times really talking and directing traffic. We came into a timeout and there's a picture of me and him talking. We were talking some things through. He's getting his voice into the game, as point guards have to do. You can't be a quiet point guard. I think sometimes when you are a freshman and you are overthinking. Being quiet is a natural byproduct of overthinking. I think he's now starting to facilitate, he's confident, he's getting his voice into the game. He's getting his strengths into the game - his defense, taking care of the ball. And just like all of our freshman, he has to continue to work on those.
