Tag: Luke Northweather

‘I’ve got to be better as a head coach for him’: Porter Moser believes he has to help Luke Northweather more

Porter Moser believes it’s up to him to help out freshman Luke Northweather more.

The Oklahoma Sooners were down two key reserves, Rivaldo Soares and John Hugley, in their game against the Kansas Jayhawks and it’s unclear when they’ll return. One of the guys who had to step up in that game was freshman [autotag]Luke Northweather[/autotag].

Northweather struggled in the game going 1 of 4 with two points and one rebound in 16 minutes. Ultimately, the game and moment just looked too big for him. Which is common for a lot of young players.

Porter Moser talked about how he has to help him come along a little faster. “We’ve got to help him as a coach,” Moser said. “With his confidence, he’s a good passer but he was getting kind of caught there with one dribble and picking it up. I’ve got to help him. I’ve got to be better as a head coach for him. He’s young and we’ve got to get through it. When he gets through this, he’s going to help us a lot. The guys see it in practice every day doing some of the things. It’s going to translate. I need to help him get that to translate.”

Northweather has shown some flashes of being a solid player for Oklahoma but it’s the freshman mistakes and not being sure of himself that is holding him back right now. But as Moser said, if he can figure it out, he has a chance to be a good college player.

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Oklahoma Sooners dominated by Baylor Bears 79-62

Baylor drills Oklahoma 79-62 as Oklahoma also loses Rivaldo Soares to an ankle injury.

Oklahoma’s season has been rock solid for the most part. They entered Tuesday night well on pace for 20 wins and well-positioned for a return to the NCAA Tournament. After they went undefeated last week, the Sooners knew they would have a significant jump in competition this week, with games against Baylor and Kansas on deck.

The first of those daunting games saw them travel to Waco, Texas, on Tuesday night for the first time since Baylor opened their shiny new basketball arena. Things weren’t bad to start as the Sooners and Bears traded baskets and raced out to a 20-20 stalemate in the first half.

Javian McCollum, Sam Godwin, and Milos Uzan were the stars of the first half. According to the ESPN2 broadcast, Jalon Moore had been battling the flu before the game. To rub salt in the wound, John Hugley was announced as out because of a knee injury. Moore was taking longer than regular breaks, likely due to fatigue, so freshman Luke Northweather was first off the bench.

Rivaldo Soares continued his excellent run, leading the Sooners with 17 points.

With the score 20-20, Baylor went on a 20-7 run to close out the half, sparked by their suffocating defense and Baylor’s flurry of three-point jumpers. Jayden Nunn was the biggest culprit, with three triples during the Bears’ flurry, and added another two points to end the half.

Nunn and Baylor guard RayJ Dennis were dominant, and the Sooners had no answer as the duo combined for 26 of Baylor’s 40 first-half points.

The second half didn’t get any better. In fact, things got worse. The Sooners came out lifeless as Baylor pushed out to a 21-point lead, the largest deficit the Sooners have faced all year. Rivaldo Soares injured his ankle and had to leave the game with just five minutes remaining.

Baylor continued raining down three-pointers, making a total of 11, which would be the most the Sooners have allowed from distance all season long. Baylor finished the game shooting over 50 percent.

Oklahoma turned the ball over 12 times, which Baylor turned into 22 points. The Sooners could only turn five Bears turnovers into just six points. That was the story of the game for the Sooners.

All eyes now turn to the health of Rivaldo Soares, one of the most indispensable players on Oklahoma’s roster. His ascension has been a revelation, and he’s comfortably been the Sooners’ most important player for a month now.

OU will welcome Kansas to the Lloyd Noble Center at 3 p.m. Saturday for the final time as Big 12 foes. Both teams are banged up, but someone must win this game. Oklahoma will seek revenge for last month’s loss to the Jayhawks in Lawrence.

Baylor will head out to take on West Virginia on the road this Saturday.

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Luke Northweather provides spark off the bench for the Oklahoma Sooners

Luke Northweather might have been the surprise player off the bench who provided a spark against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Oklahoma Sooners need more production from their bench. Against TCU, the bench scored 18 points, but 14 of those were from [autotag]John Hugley IV[/autotag], who basically played starter minutes due to foul trouble for [autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag].

Against Kansas, the bench scored only 11 points. But six of those came from a surprise player. [autotag]Luke Northweather[/autotag] who has only played in 11 of Oklahoma’s 16 games. He hadn’t played any Big 12 minutes before getting some run in Allen Fieldhouse against Kansas. But Northweather came in and gave the Sooners six points on 2 of 3 from the three-point line.

While hitting those shots was good to see, Porter Moser said it was something else about his performance that caught his eye. “What I liked, even in the first half, he looked comfortable,” Moser said. “He looked like the moment, he wasn’t afraid of the moment. That was the sign that I saw. I thought he embraced the moment.”

It remains to be seen if Northweather will get more minutes as the season goes on, but the Sooners are in desperate need of someone to step up off of the bench to give them some scoring. [autotag]Le’Tre Darthard[/autotag], [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] and Hugley have shown they can do that but not on a consistent basis to this point.

If Northweather can come in and add to that, it gives Oklahoma even more weapons as the season goes on.

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5 takeaways in the aftermath of No. 9 Oklahoma’s loss to No. 3 Kansas 78-66

5 takeaways from the No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners loss to the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Saturday had the chance to be a special day for the Oklahoma basketball team. Still, it feels like another opportunity wasted as the Sooners failed to capitalize on a significant chance to beat the Kansas Jayhawks at home for the first time in 30 years.

Oklahoma came into the game after a tough loss in their Big 12 road opener against TCU. The Sooners fell flat in the second half of that game and did virtually the same in the second half of the showdown with Kansas on Saturday.

The Sooners went blow for blow with the Jayhawks in the first half. Javian McCollum had 12 pts, while sophomore Otega Oweh scored seven points to accompany Milos Uzan’s seven first-half points.

Foul trouble plagued OU’s attempts to defend K.J. Adams in the first half as he poured in 15 points. The second half saw the Sooners struggle on both ends of the floor. Oklahoma had two stretches where they missed six of seven shots, allowing Kansas to push the lead to double-digits.

Kansas would cruise to the finish line and win by 12.

We have five takeaways in the game’s aftermath as the Sooners look to regroup from back-to-back Big 12 losses.

Wisconsin basketball makes the top three for 2022 F Luke Northweather

Wisconsin basketball makes the top three for 2022 F Luke Northweather. #Badgers

Armed with three scholarships, and having just one recruit signed in the 2022 class (Essegian), it would appear that Greg Gard and company might be looking to add another big man to their incoming class. 

It was reported that three-star forward Luke Northweather from Jefferson City, Missouri would be taking an official visit to Wisconsin this week, and now it would appear he’s also trimmed up his list. 

The Blair Oaks High School standout stated that moving forward in his recruitment he is going to be focused on Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. 

The 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward was the Missouri Gatorade State Player of the Year as a senior, posting averages of 29 points and 11 rebounds on 70% shooting from the field.

Northweather has an intriguing skill-set that would undoubtedly fit well at a school like Wisconsin. He’s a back to the basket big man capable of stepping out and knocking down three’s, all while being a more than willing passer.

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