Rivaldo Soares ‘23 Highlights

[skyvue]

Originally Posted by Soonerguy06

The important thing to me is he's not a step-down from Hill. He appears to be just as good as him. And around the same size and build. Heck we might find out that he's actually better. I'm going to be optimistic! Bringing three players in in as many days is impressive to me!

He's 30 pounds lighter than Hill. Whether that's a good thing or bad will depend on how he's used, I suppose.

But his stats were worse than Hill's virtually across the board. I posted a direct statistical comparison between them in another thread.

All that said, Soares has been a guard, not a forward, so comparing him to Hill doesn't really make sense unless Coach Moser plans to use him in an entirely different role than he's previously played.

[WTSooner]

Soares is less of a small 4 than Hill was. Not saying we don't end up playing him there, or going small, but Soares probably shouldn't play the 4 for OU.

We'll have to wait until the roster is set to see if that may or may not be the plan for him. Best I can tell, he was never the 4 for Oregon.

[TEvans4Three]

Originally Posted by WTSooner

Soares is less of a small 4 than Hill was. Not saying we don't end up playing him there, or going small, but Soares probably shouldn't play the 4 for OU.

We'll have to wait until the roster is set to see if that may or may not be the plan for him. Best I can tell, he was never the 4 for Oregon.

Correct, Soares played the 2 and 3 spots at Oregon. Majority being the 3.

[TEvans4Three]

Originally Posted by skyvue

He's 30 pounds lighter than Hill. Whether that's a good thing or bad will depend on how he's used, I suppose.

But his stats were worse than Hill's virtually across the board. I posted a direct statistical comparison between them in another thread.

All that said, Soares has been a guard, not a forward, so comparing him to Hill doesn't really make sense unless Coach Moser plans to use him in an entirely different role than he's previously played.

Originally Posted by TEvans4Three

***Note, I made a mistake highlighting the TO for Hugley IV and Soares being green. (lower number = better)

Here are the side-by side stats.

[CoachTalk]

Originally Posted by TEvans4Three

Correct, Soares played the 2 and 3 spots at Oregon. Majority being the 3.

Loves high post area. I think you’ll see uptick in 3’s %.

Gates a fan obviously. Maybe sees more than boss at Oregon.

[TEvans4Three]

Originally Posted by CoachTalk

Loves high post area. I think you’ll see uptick in 3’s %.

Gates a fan obviously. Maybe sees more than boss at Oregon.

I have seen a lot of him taking the 12-15 footers, which really brings out my inner giddy-ness. Terry Evans was a big proponent on the elbows as being the make or break for a shot-maker/taker. So I am a fan of someone who can pull-up from that range, regardless of what new age stats say.

**Not a post glorifying lower shot %s, just a post talking about the joys of the forgotten mid-range game**

[NYC-Fool]

Also note that Soares played on a better team with other players more capable of scoring. Fit impacts apples to apples stat comparison, and it’s telling that Soares started and played big minutes (suggesting he has intangibles not recognized in the stat sheet).

[Eielson]

Originally Posted by skyvue

All that said, Soares has been a guard, not a forward, so comparing him to Hill doesn't really make sense unless Coach Moser plans to use him in an entirely different role than he's previously played.

He's a guy that can guard position 1-4 and does just about everything well except shoot. It's a pretty natural comparison, even if the position he ends up playing for us is different.

Without a question, it's great to have a guy like this. I just worry that we may end up with too many of them. Having said that, there's still time for him to improve his shooting, and numbers from 1-2 college seasons don't always represent how good you actually are as a shooter. Take Austin Reaves' numbers at OU -- not terribly different. I would love for us to add another shooter or two in case that doesn't happen.

[skyvue]

Originally Posted by NYC-Fool

(suggesting he has intangibles not recognized in the stat sheet).

Hill has those too, but some posters here refused to credit him for them.

I wonder how much better Oregon actually was. They finished 12 spots ahead of OU in Kenpom, which isn't a huge gap, but like OU, they missed the tourney. They received an NIT invite, but they had a winning record, which explains that. And they played in a weaker conference, which largely explains their better record.

[TINY]

Originally Posted by NYC-Fool

Also note that Soares played on a better team with other players more capable of scoring. Fit impacts apples to apples stat comparison, and it’s telling that Soares started and played big minutes (suggesting he has intangibles not recognized in the stat sheet).

Correct. Soares was 6th in field goal attempts on the team. He would have had to shoot it more if he was on OU last year, which would have resulted in more PPG.

Soares is an experienced p5 starter from a good program. Dana knows what he is doing, and he liked Soares as a starter. Gates clearly likes him, too. It is a pretty good pick up.

[Eielson]

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...-reaves-1.html

Jr: 38.1 FG%, 25.9 3PT%
Sr: 44.3 FG%, 30.5 3PT%

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...-soares-1.html

Sr: 38.1 FG%, 25.3 3PT%
Jr: 43.2 FG%, 26.8 3 PT%

Eerily similar.

[NYC-Fool]

Originally Posted by skyvue

Hill has those too, but some posters here refused to credit him for them.

I wonder how much better Oregon actually was. They finished 12 spots ahead of OU in Kenpom, which isn't a huge gap, but like OU, they missed the tourney. They received an NIT invite, but they had a winning record, which explains that. And they played in a weaker conference, which largely explains their better record.

Oregon underperformed this year. No doubt. But they also had a very strong roster of talented players (with some 5 stars) and a well regarded coach. Over the past 3-4 years, I suspect you would agree that Oregon has been a better program. And I’m all for taking players from successful programs.

As for Hill, I agree that he has intangibles and I agree that Soares and Hill bring similar things to the table. But (unlike most) I comp Soares to Groves or Noland — and in my mind is an upgrade.

[soonerchuck]

Originally Posted by NYC-Fool

Oregon underperformed this year. No doubt. But they also had a very strong roster of talented players (with some 5 stars) and a well regarded coach. Over the past 3-4 years, I suspect you would agree that Oregon has been a better program. And I’m all for taking players from successful programs.

As for Hill, I agree that he has intangibles and I agree that Soares and Hill bring similar things to the table. But (unlike most) I comp Soares to Groves or Noland — and in my mind is an upgrade.

I concur with this. His apparent fearlessness to drive well into mid-range jumper shots and get them off without having to resort to doing a severe fall-away reminds me somewhat of Reaves. Most of our guards last year would rather keep passing the ball around the perimeter than take on a defender that was well positioned to guard them. He also has a good FT percentage.

[steverocks35]

Originally Posted by soonerchuck

I concur with this. His apparent fearlessness to drive well into mid-range jumper shots and get them off without having to resort to doing a severe fall-away reminds me somewhat of Reaves. Most of our guards last year would rather keep passing the ball around the perimeter than take on a defender that was well positioned to guard them. He also has a good FT percentage.

He averaged 7 points a game so I don't know how "fearless" he is.

[steverocks35]

Not only did he average 7 points a game but he's about to be playing against much better competition with less talented teammates. I hope he blooms into a stud but I have concerns.

[Boom Soon]

Kinda reminds me of Christian James. This pickup is all about perspective. If he's a replacement for Hill then I'm not super thrilled. But I highly doubt this coaching staff would bring a guy in to play out of position, and I doubt he would come to OU unless he knew he would be playing guard. But, if he's a replacement for J. Gorves or Noland or even Bamisile then I think this a good get. If nothing else he will add some athleticism and toughness to the team that OU didn't have last year.

[MFDChief]

I watched some of the Oregon vs. Houston game on YouTube to try and get a better perspective of Soares. He didn’t start this particular game but came in about the 15 minute mark and played starter minutes. He is very athletic and bigger than I thought he was. He moves well on defense but as some have pointed out offense is not his strong suit. He will be a good addition to the team overall but don’t expect him to be a high volume scorer.

[soonerchuck]

Originally Posted by steverocks35

He averaged 7 points a game so I don't know how "fearless" he is.

I said fearless, not necessarily high scoring since that means he would have to be a volume shooter. He seems to let his teammates who are higher percentage shooters take most of the shots as he should. Maybe you need to watch his highlights video (all the way to the end) and see how many times he drove hard , knocking defenders back who got in his way. He was impressive driving against someone guarding him and rising up to get off a scoring shot with someone right in his face. He also proved he is not afraid to take the shot when the game is on the line. But I'm confident that you will be more than happy to tell us all that you were not impressed.

[jpsam]

Not that it will give any warm fuzzies, but he was a JuCo All American averaging 15 / 4 and 15 / 7. Maybe there is more there.

[WichitaSooner]

Originally Posted by soonerchuck

I said fearless, not necessarily high scoring since that means he would have to be a volume shooter. He seems to let his teammates who are higher percentage shooters take most of the shots as he should. Maybe you need to watch his highlights video (all the way to the end) and see how many times he drove hard , knocking defenders back who got in his way. He was impressive driving against someone guarding him and rising up to get off a scoring shot with someone right in his face. He also proved he is not afraid to take the shot when the game is on the line. But I'm confident that you will be more than happy to tell us all that you were not impressed.

I guess I just don’t get why people place much stock in highlight reels. He has played a couple years of college basketball. Pretty much everyone who has played that much will have enough good plays to out together a 3-minute highlight video. I guarantee you the same things exist for Noland and Cortes and Jacob Groves. People seem to trick themselves into thinking, hey, maybe this guy could put it all together and do this kind of stuff all the time rather than once or twice a week.

I have seen some people post about his slashing abilities. But if he were THAT good a slasher, I just don’t see how it wouldn’t result in more numbers. I’ve said it a couple times, but if he truly is going to be a backup and fill the Jacob/CJ role, that’s great for us. It will confuse me if he is willing to do that, but that would be a positive for the team.

[TINY]

Originally Posted by WichitaSooner

I guess I just don’t get why people place much stock in highlight reels. He has played a couple years of college basketball. Pretty much everyone who has played that much will have enough good plays to out together a 3-minute highlight video. I guarantee you the same things exist for Noland and Cortes and Jacob Groves. People seem to trick themselves into thinking, hey, maybe this guy could put it all together and do this kind of stuff all the time rather than once or twice a week.

I have seen some people post about his slashing abilities. But if he were THAT good a slasher, I just don’t see how it wouldn’t result in more numbers. I’ve said it a couple times, but if he truly is going to be a backup and fill the Jacob/CJ role, that’s great for us. It will confuse me if he is willing to do that, but that would be a positive for the team.

Soares has a 6+ minute highlight reel from this year alone. Highlight reels obviously do not tell the whole story, but I doubt anyone can put together a 6 minute reel of equivalent level of play for Jacob, cj, bijan from this year.

[steverocks35]

Originally Posted by TINY

Soares has a 6+ minute highlight reel from this year alone. Highlight reels obviously do not tell the whole story, but I doubt anyone can put together a 6 minute reel of equivalent level of play for Jacob, cj, bijan from this year.

Probably not for CJ, he didn't play enough. But Bijan and Jacob? You could easily find 6 minutes of highlights.

[steverocks35]

It's still weird to me that this guy was a starter at Oregon and most people here are expecting him to come off the bench. I'm just trying to figure out what his role will be.

The player we desperately need to replace is Sherfield. So we need a guy that can shoot the 3 and create his own shot. However, I realize guys like that are not a dime a dozen.

[Swans]

Originally Posted by steverocks35

It's still weird to me that this guy was a starter at Oregon and most people here are expecting him to come off the bench. I'm just trying to figure out what his role will be.

The player we desperately need to replace is Sherfield. So we need a guy that can shoot the 3 and create his own shot. However, I realize guys like that are not a dime a dozen.

I think most people are expecting McCollum to replace Sherfield’s production. I have no clue as to how Soares is an upgrade to anyone from last year’s roster.

[BCSooners]

Originally Posted by steverocks35

It's still weird to me that this guy was a starter at Oregon and most people here are expecting him to come off the bench. I'm just trying to figure out what his role will be.

The player we desperately need to replace is Sherfield. So we need a guy that can shoot the 3 and create his own shot. However, I realize guys like that are not a dime a dozen.

I think Oweh, Cooper, & Soares will all compete for the starting 3 spot. Other 2 will play significant minutes off the bench. Soares will also probably get spot minutes at the 4. Uzan & McCollum are the only definite starters right now imo.