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Glenn Taylor Jr. answered the OU challenge, gotta do it again

Bob Przybyloby:Bob Przybylo•01/28/25•

BPrzybylo

OU basketball has looked a little different in the last five halves. Again, if it took an 0-4 start to wake up everybody, so be it.

The Sooners have now won back-to-back games, including their first road SEC victory ever by taking down Arkansas.

A big reason for that? The inspired play of Glenn Taylor Jr. No, it doesn’t look like Taylor is going to be a starter for this team. But he’s part of that second shift, as termed by head coach Porter Moser.

That second shift was huge in Fayetteville.

“We really were on him about being great at your role, man,” Moser said. “’You gotta be a better defender, a tough (defender). You got the body of SEC guys, you gotta be a physical, better defender.’ And then rebound. And he got six rebounds. I tell him all the time, man, ‘when your feet are set, when your feet are set, that’s your best three. When you stay into it.’

“When you can see him down and ready, he hit two threes. His feet were set. He missed his first two, and we were just like ‘good shots.’ It’s very similar to Rivaldo Soares last year. When his feet are set, instead of taking ’em off the move or off the dribble, when Glenn’s feet are set, he’s really a good shooter. But I loved that he got himself going by just having a mindset of, he was going to be great at defense and rebounding.”

Taylor finished with eight points, six rebounds and two assists. It’s very easy to see his physical presence, and he has done a good job of using that size.

Like everybody else on the team, it’s about consistency.

Fears answering the bell

OU has been tougher in the last couple of games. And if you want the No. 1 example of that? It’s freshman star point guard Jeremiah Fears.

A little lost during the initial three games, Fears has found himself in the next three games. Included in that initial trio, though, was a clunker against Texas A&M.

“Physicality. Buzz’s teams, and we saw it firsthand, his culture of how physical they play—they forced us into 18 turnovers, then we had 30 points off turnovers. That was the whole thing,” Moser said. “They really were physical with you. They do just a really good job at it, rotate, scramble. Play so hard, and then they rebound. They get a lot more shot attempts than you because they’re creating it themselves on the offensive glass, and they’re turning you over.”

Fears was the leading scorer against for OU against the Razorbacks. He has been cutting down the turnovers despite the high usage rate. Everybody is sort of back to realizing how good he is once again.

“He’s getting back to where he was. He kind of started out the season and got through nonconference, got through the Bahamas, got through Michigan, you see him,” Moser said. “For whatever reason—he’s young—the conference, but now I look at him, he’s a lot more physical and confident with the ball. He gives us a higher ceiling, for sure.”

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