Early work paying off for Sooners

By John Shinn
The Norman Transcript

November 26, 2005 02:01 am

— Transcript Sports Writer
For Oklahoma to reach its potential, outside shooting must become a reliable part of its offense. Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout have the size and talent to anchor themselves in the paint. It’s up to OU’s backcourt to give defenders a reason not to join them there.
Last Wednesday against Binghamton, the Sooners started making a case for that very thing.
OU connected on 11-of-20 3-point attempts in an 88-60 victory. It was the most shots the Sooners had attempted from beyond the arc in more than a year. Guard David Godbold was good on his first three 3-point attempts and finished the game 4-of-7 beyond the arc.
“I thought I did better than in the past,” he said. “I’ve been working on it, so I had a little more confidence.”
He’s not the only Sooner gaining confidence. Michael Neal was 4-of-9, Chris Walker was 1-for-1 and Terrell Everett was 1-for-2.
The surge could be a fluke, but OU coach Kelvin Sampson doesn’t think so.
After the Binghamton victory he pointed toward something else.
Each morning there’s been a voluntary practice at OU’s practice gym. There’s no rebounding, no defense — just shooting.
It’s called the “Breakfast Club.” And the Sooners appear to be feasting from the extra work.
“All they do is work with the guys on their strokes,” Sampson said. “I think we’re going to keep that going. You can really see the guys gaining a lot of confidence from it. There’s a sign in our practice area that says ‘Hard Work Pays Off’ and our kids believe that.”
If the performance against Binghamton was any indication, seeing is believing.
And anything that can extend defenses away from Gray and Bookout is good news for the Sooners.
“We’re not going to overcomplicate things,” Sampson said. “It’s a simple game, and our goal is to keep getting better.”
OU (2-0) should get a better idea of how much it has improved when it faces Belmont at 8 tonight at Lloyd Noble Center.
The Bruins (2-0) have beaten Wright State and Tennessee-Chattanooga and one of the reasons has been their 3-point shooting. They’ve connected on 26-of-42 attempts thus far. Guard Justin Taylor leads the way, averaging 24 points.
“It just keeps getting tougher from here, and we’ve got to get tougher, too,” Sampson said.
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com