PC to face McGuinness?
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
It has yet to be finalized but it looks like Putnam City will play Bishop McGuinness this season.
A few weeks back we reported the PC would face Lincoln (N.Y.) and McGuinness would take on Duncanville (Texas) on Dec. 11 in Oklahoma City at a venue to be named later on the ESPN family of networks.
I’m hearing rumors that now, after the injuries to McGuinness’ big man Daniel Orton (knee) and Putnam City standout Xavier Henry (facial injury), the two Oklahoma City area schools will likely face each other on Dec. 11 in Dallas at a venue which has not been determined. Lincoln will now face Duncanville.
I knew with Xavier and Daniel both unlikely to play Dec. 11, it was just a matter of time before ESPN changed their plans.
Keep checking the Oklahoman, when everything becomes official it will be in the paper.
Daniel Orton talks Kentucky
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
Here’s a transcript of my conversation with Daniel Orton
On deciding to commit on Sunday:
“Thomas Robinson committed to Kansas and Coach Self told me they were going to stop recruiting me. After that, it made sense to go ahead and commit to Kentucky,” Orton said. “I had a gut feeling about Kentucky the whole time. I loved it since the first time I went out there.”
On Kentucky Fans:
“They are wild and out of control.”
On why he decided to commit now:
“I figured I would get it out of the way and focus on my decision.”
On his relationship with Patrick Patterson:
“He helped my decision. He stayed in contact with me and we became really close. If he stays, it will benefit the program but if he doesn’t I can go in there play center and possibly do even more. (If he stays), we will benefit each other. I will make him a better player every day, he’ll make me a better player every day. Hopefully we’ll both be top draft picks and win a national championship.”
On if he felt Kentucky made him a higher priority than Kansas did:
“They both did a great job of recruiting me.” (apparently D.O. has been watching all the political debates…)
On what position he’ll play at UK:
“They said they don’t see me playing the center spot that much tho I will play it a little bit. I will play the high post, low post and maybe even step out to the three eventually.”
On UK’s new uniforms:
”The uniforms are neat. A lot of thought went into the uniforms, the tradition that went into the uniforms.”
ON the class coming in with him:
“We have a good class coming in. Villarino is a quick guard with a nice touch. Jon hood is a great shooter, excellent slasher.”
On his dream scenario at UK:
“Stay one year, be really successful and possibly will an national championship and get out of there with a ring.”
On UK fans if things aren’t going well:
“They’ll stay behind us but I know they will critize us. That’s any fans really, there are a million coaches at Kentucky, they’ll have their opinions on anything. They’ll see what you do on the court and have their opinions on what you should and shouldn’t do on the court.”
On if he feels pressure going in:
“Not right now. I don’t think I will going into it. I have prepared for this moment and I am ready for any challenge they throw at me. There is a little pressure going into it because people see Billy Gillespie is building the program back.
On the legacy he wants to leave at Kentucky:
“I want to be known for being successful at Kentucky.”
On what he needs to work on heading into his freshman year:
“I need to work on my low post game. Now I can overpower people or make a quick move. In college, they’ll be as quick as me, as fast as me, as tall as me. I also need to really develop my strength because I know they’re going to be as strong as me. I have a long way to go, I really do.”
On his press conference:
“I was surprised how many news stations and fans were there. It was incredible how many people showed up in short notice.”
Here’s some local reaction to D.O.’s commitment
Louisville courier journal reaction
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081012/SPORTS03/81012015
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081013/SPORTS03/810130460/1002/SPORTS
Here’s a clip of D.O. committing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z9RUwhxp94
goosebumps!!! 
All-City Volleyball
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
With today’s release of the All-City volleyball teams, I just wanted to blog about the tough decisions I had to make on the team… But first, I want to post what would have been the second team all-city selections…
Second Team
OH Taylor Rowton, Edmond North, Sr.
S Sam Ball, Edmond Memorial, Sr.
S Courtney Iser, Bishop McGuinness, Sr.
OH Lacy Reasons, Edmond Santa Fe, Sr.
OH Morgan Roy, Bishop McGuinness, Jr.
Libero Jessica Adams, Heritage Hall, Jr.
It was a very tough team to pick because Heritage Hall and the
Edmond schools are so dominant. Several second teamers would have been first-teamers in previous years.
Adams, Ball and Reasons were particularly hard to leave off the first team. Several people have told me Adams has college-level ability as a defender, Ball was the engine that made the 6A state champs run and Reasons was a big reason why Edmond Santa Fe ranked among 6A’s top three teams for much of the year.
Thanks to all the coaches and players who provided feedback for these selections and congrats to everyone on the success you’ve had.
Time to eat some crow
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
When the playoffs began, I went against Guthrie because I didn’t think they could get by Tulsa East Central in the Class 5A semifinals.
Now, I’m eating crow.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. Guthrie has dominated opponents all season and that didn’t change tonight. 45-14 was the final score but the game was over midway through the third quarter. Guthrie’s first-round win over Ardmore was my first time seeing the Bluejays up close and I came away impressed, and frankly if I could have changed my pick I would have, but I stuck by my decision all week.
There is no doubt in my mind Guthrie will raise the gold ball next week.
Lawton MacArthur and Bixby may hate to see that but maybe they should read that with a smile… after all, I picked Carl Albert to win it all (i.e. more crow).
Upset of the week
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
It’s playoff time and which means it’s time to make some predictions.
While I don’t expect many upsets this week, I do expect Westmoore to go down to Lawton tonight and knock off the Wolverines.
Westmoore is physical and it seems they’ve gotten things back on the right track now that they’ve moved Craig Ralls back to his running back spot. Ralls is a very good runner and I think he’ll be the difference tonight. The Jags will wear down Lawton and make it a very fun bus ride back to Moore.
Final score: Westmoore 27, Lawton 24.
The most underrated player I’ve seen this year
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
Looking back at the first eight weeks of the season, I decided to try to figure out who I felt was the most underrated player I’ve seen in person this season.
It took a while but it’s become pretty clear to me:
Western Heights running back Will McCullough.
I saw McCullough in his team’s loss to Duncan but he impressed me nonetheless. A big back with power and speed, McCullough’s a guy I think can play at the next level. As of today he has 85 carries for 894 yards (10.5 per carry) and six touchdowns. Impressive numbers for an impressive back.
If you have Friday night free, consider going to Western Heights and watching McCullough play. The Jets are hosting No. 4 Lawton MacArthur, and if McCullough has a great game against Lawton Mac, he can have success against anyone.
Midwest City is quietly setting up for a deep playoff run
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
Midwest City is undefeated. Yet is seems nobody is talking about the 7-0 Bombers. Led by Tim and John Flanders, Midwest City has a tough running game and fast, athletic defense.
Nonetheless when I think about the top teams in Class 6A the Bombers aren’t the first to come to mind. I think about the obvious East side powers then Norman North and Midwest City comes in later on down the line.
I saw the Bombers beat Moore and I was impressed with the speed of their defense. I think when push comes to shove, Midwest City will make a deep run into the playoffs but they’ll have to develop a passing attack to balance their power running game in order to win a state title.
But keep an eye on the Bombers, most people aren’t talking about them now but it’s likely we could be in November…
Heritage Hall got its revenge
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
One thing that could be overlooked after Heritage Hall’s 34-14 win over Millwood on Friday night was the play of Tanner France.
When I covered the Polo Bowl to start the season, France really stood out to me and he did again tonight. He’s small but very quick with good feet, vision and agility. The only thing that may keep him from playing division I football is his lack of size, lucky for him, he’s just a sophomore so a growth spurt isn’t out of the question.
He averaged almost 10 yards a pop on his way to 122 yards tonight, so keep an eye on Tanner France. That’s going to become a household name in the near future.
Millwood’s Richardson struggled against McGuinness
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
Millwood freshman QB Kevonte Richardson had a tough time against Bishop McGuinness. Simply put, the defending Class 4A champions took advantage of the freshman’s inexperience. In talking to Richardson and Millwood center Christian Crigler this week, I asked them about that game. Here’s what they said:
Crigler: “My No. 1 statement to Kevonte is to stay in the game. Things are going to go bad and he gets his head down but when you do that it leads to more mistakes. I stress to him to keep your head up and keep playing. We know we can overcome anything.”
Richardson: “Toward’s the end of the McGuinness game, it (the game) started slowing down. When it got into district it automatically slowed down for me. If you play against a tough defenses going into district you’ll be pretty strong.”
It’s interesting Kevonte said that because I was at that game I can remember when it seemed like the light turned on for Kevonte. Late in the 4th quarter, he started to make some plays and play with more confidence. It will be interesting to see what he does in tonight’s game with Heritage Hall. It’s his first TV experience so the nerves will be in full effect.
Clarke narrows list to five
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
Verdigris star Rotnei Clarke has narrowed his list to five: Arkansas, Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Oklahoma State and Gonzaga.
OSU recently got into the mix for Clarke and apparently he’s just as interested since they made his final five. I think OSU would be a great fit for Rotnei. He stays near home and he could be the sharp shooter the Cowboys need, not to mention he’d be playing with a team which boasts several good passers.
Arkansas and Gonzaga would be a good fits for him also.
Don’t count out Tulsa. People have been overlooking them and rarely mention them when talking about his recruitment yet there they are in his final five.
Notably missing is OU. I’ve heard OU liked Rotnei a lot but they liked him at the point, which I’m not sure about. Rotnei would be perfect on the wing, killing defenses which slacked off. Thus, having him run the offense doesn’t take advantage of his exceptional ability to score.
