Time to reward Woods with a start

[Dawg04]

Numbers don't lie. I think Wilder is better off the bench anyway and Woods has outplayed our other guards.

FG PERCENTAGE FG ATT Pct
Woods, Eric......... 14 24 .583
Wilder, Michael..... 12 61 .197

3-POINT PERCENTAGE 3FG ATT Pct
Woods, Eric......... 5 11 .455
Wilder, Michael..... 5 31 .161

Wilder 22.6 minutes per game
Woods 14.3 minutes

[american]

I've been thinking the same thing for several games now. He has had some impressive assists also. SMU had to call a time out to figure out how to defend him at one point in the game last night.

[Soonerdawg]

I agree Woods is a great one, already. I would agree that he is getting close to being a "go to" guy, and there is no doubt about the fact that Richard is recognizing that. However, I saw a faint hint of overload on the part of Woods late in the SMU game. I think Richard has his finger on Wood's pulse. When Wood's confidence is 100%, Richard's confidence in Woods will be the same.

[boxerdog]

Granted, I am on the Woods bandwagon myself, but there are some reasons Wilder plays so much. First off, he is an excellent defensive player. He plays a smothering coverage on the dribbler; he is good at taking charges, he gets steals; and he can even block a shot or two. Secondly, if he ever finds his game, he can go off. Richard is well aware of Mike's capabilities, he sees them every day in practice. The problem is, he still hasn't found any offensive game. I do recall writing him off prematurely last year. And then, by the end of the season, he was our best 3 point shooter.

In spite of all that, Woods still has my vote to play more at this point in the season. He is a complete basketball player. Did I already mention, I really like this kid?

[b_hoss_mac]

Dawg04,

The only negatives to starting Eric Woods over Michael Wilder (or Bruce Edwards) are his lack of defense and lack of stamina. This was extremely evident during the Texas game. Eric played just five minutes in the game (and we were in the 1-2-2 matchup zone), yet he was physically exhausted when he was taken out of the game. Towards the end of his "shift", Eric went for a steal (that he didn't get) and kind of loafed back to his position in the zone. Now granted, he (and Jeremy Johnston) are just freshman. The stamina and defense (due to the speed and power of the college game, as compared to high school) will come with time. But I think that is the main reason they aren't getting as many minutes now, as maybe they will get at the end of the conference season.

I do love Eric's ability to handle the rock. And he's absolutely the most deadly threat from behind the arc that we have. I also think that he might be a better ball handler than Michael Wilder, but Wilder is a much better passer. I'm still looking for Wilder to have a big game that gets his confidence going, but until that happens... I would like to see Woods and Dean getting some more minutes. I just don't know if Woods is ready to start and play 25 minutes.

[Tech77]

When I saw Sooner's reply it was pretty much exactly what I was going to say. Woods seemed to get a little uptight toward the end of the game. He's just a freshman. I'd say Coach Richard did a real good job of getting guys in and out of the game at just the right time Saturday. Great game, Dogs!!!!

[Dwayne From Minden]

He is a Freshman who is making a MAJOR contribution off the bench -

If it ain't broke, don't fix it -

Let his confidence grow some more, atleast to the half way point of the season -

If anything needs to be done - increase his minutes off the bench -

And remember, it was I who told ya'll this kid would be the TOP newcomer -