Another player who needed a good game in a high profile matchup for both his teams sake as well as his own personal draft stock is Oklahoma point guard
Terrell Everett. The senior Everett has been suffering from a very up and down season so far, struggling with his decision making at times, being erratic with his shot selection, turnovers and leadership from the point and seeing his confidence fluctuate dramatically, especially in his perimeter shot. Oklahoma will go as far as their 6-4 playmaker will take them this year, and when Everett played poorly, the entire team lost its rhythm, resulting in a couple of losses that most Sooner fans would not have anticipated heading into the season.
Against the top team in the Big 12 and one of the best teams in the country overall in Texas that all changed, though, as Everett was the best player on the floor for many key stretches in the game and was terrific on both ends of the floor leading his team to a huge victory in front of 22 NBA scouts on primetime television.
Defensively he did a terrific job on
Daniel Gibson, keeping him out of the lane almost the entire game, forcing him into many tough shots with his size and length and winning the marquee matchup handily outside of the points Gibson managed to rack up in garbage time.
Offensively, Everett did a good job controlling the tempo and running his team patiently and unselfishly, getting into the lane repeatedly using his great first step and finding the open man on the drive and dish time after time. He looked smooth and extremely confident, making the right decisions and showing terrific upside as a big, long, athletic point guard. Unlike his Texas counterpoints on the other end of the floor, Everett showed the ability to get his big men involved whether with a simple fundamental post-entry lob or bounce pass or even being a little more spectacular with some awesome alleyoop heaves from well beyond the three point line to a soaring
Taj Gray. Despite appearing to force his shot from the perimeter a bit in the 1st half, Everett still knocked down a couple of three pointers and was even more impressive hitting tough shots off the dribble from mid-range.
All in all this was a terrific display of potential from the quiet lefty point guard, but even more important beyond his upside as a tall NBA point guard will be the way he follows up this performance for the rest of the season. Everett has been too erratic for a senior playing such an important position for his team, averaging over 4 turnovers per game and shooting just 40% from the field and 29% from behind the arc. OU will need him in similar form to be able to live up to their extremely high potential and make a run at the final four. They have the talent to do so and then some, but will need Everett at his absolute best.
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