Hornets should claim top spot
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
I think it’s safe to say Tulsa Washington deserves to take the top spot in the Class 5A poll. The Hornets beat top ranked Tulsa East Central 46-20 tonight, one week after pounding Carl Albert 40-7.
That’s impressive. Much more impressive than anything No. 4 Bixby, No. 3 Lawton Mac or No. 2 Guthrie have done thus far (not their fault, they haven’t had the chance to knock off No. 1 and No. 2).
Pollsters: Give the Hornets the top spot. They deserve it.
Some things are more important than the gold ball
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Saturday was a crazy day of basketball, to say the least. If you read The Oklahoman Monday, I hope you’re convinced it was the best day of high school basketball ever in this state.
So I waited for the smoke to clear to write about this. It’s something that stuck out to me at the Big House. In the midst of post game interviews and racing to make deadlines, I couldn’t get this out of my mind.
When I went to the Sequoyah-Tahlequah locker room following the 3A boys title game Saturday, I saw Chris Little, one of Sequoyah’s seniors, come out of the locker room and start crying. He wasn’t crying because he had just lost in the finals to Verdigris, or because he would likely never play another organized basketball game.
He was crying at the sight of dozens of little kids crowding around him for hugs and autographs.
“No other feeling like this in the world,” Little said while signing a shirt, and tears streaming down his face. “I would rather have this support than any state title.”
Some of the kids had shirts with Little’s name and picture imprinted on them. Others supported “I want to be like Mike” shirts, with Sequoyah guard Mike Soap’s picture in the middle. They were Jordan to these kids, and there is no doubt every move they made on the court that week was observed and noted by kids who want to play in that same title game some day.
“I just hope after four years, I was a good role model to these kids,” Little said while choking up. “They really look up to us.”
Little had just lost the biggest high school basketball game of his career, in front of nearly 13,000 people, and rather than whining about referees and what could have been, like many Sequoyah fans were around that locker room, he was worried about the impressions he made, the minds he molded during his career.
I became a Chris Little fan right then and there.
Some things are more important than the gold ball.
Can anyone stop the Indians?
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
I have spent a day and a half at State Fair Arena watching the 3A boys, and I know one thing for sure: If anyone other than Sequoyah Tahlequah is going to win this thing, they have to stop Mike Soap and Bucky Ross.
It’s a tall order, and I’m not so sure any can get it done.
Soap and Ross have combined for 86 points in two state tournament wins, and Sequoyah has cruised in both.
Sure, that’s not so impressive compared to Rotnei Clarke doing the same thing on his own, but the Indians have a host of role players. Good ones.
The Indians came from behind to beat Millwood today, and will take on the winner of John Marshall/Verdigris tomorrow at 5:45 at the Big House.
Keep checking NewsOK for updates.
An upset in the making
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
It’s halftime here at State Fair Arena, where No. 5 John Marshall leads Morris 23-21. in a 3A boys high school basketball quarterfinal.
Morris led most of the first half, but John Marshall staged an 8-2 run to close the half.
UPDATE: JM escaped 63-52.
Keep checking NewsOK for live scores and updates.
First game at the Big House is a good one
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
It’s halftime here at State Fair Arena, and Sequoyah-Tahlequah leads Plainview 39-29 in a boys 3A quarterfinal game.
It’s already shaping up to be one of the most exciting games I have seen this season.
It’s fast-paced. Players are making big big shots, many coming from well beyond the 3-point line.
And the best part: I’ve already seen four dunks. Two from Sequoyah forward Mike Soap, and two from Plainview forward and OSU football signee Justin Blackmon.
Soap scored on a reverse dunk with one minute left in the half to put the Indians up by 12, their largest lead of the half.
Stay tuned…
This week, Sequoyah has home-court advantage
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Not many teams draw a large fan base at 2 p.m. on a Thursday.
But the Sequoyah-Tahlequah Indian fans were hoopin’ and hollerin’ more than an hour before tipoff at State Fair Arena. .
A Sequoyah fan told me they expect to fill up one side of the big house if the Indians or Lady Indians advance past the first round.
Sequoyah leads Plainview 14-9 late in the first quarter.
Stay tuned to NewsOK for live updates of State Tournament games.
Revenge on their minds
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
The Dale girls high school basketball teams’ goal for the upcoming state tournament is clear: get to the finals, and avenge a regular season, triple-overtime loss to top-ranked Konawa.
Dale senior Tarra Kania said she can’t get the loss out of her mind.
“That is what we have been thinking about since they beat us in overtime,” Kania said. “They should be in the finals, and we are ready to get back and play them and get revenge.”
Dale reached its 24th state tournament by avenging a regional loss to Cordell Saturday.
Dale defeated Cordell, 38-34 in overtime Saturday to advance, and keep its hopes of a seventh state championship alive.
During the area consolation win, Kania said she thought about how disappointing it would be not to get another shot at Konawa.
“It crossed my mind that we might not make it,” Kania said. “It motivated me, and I knew what we had to do and we did it.”
Say tuned to NewsOK and State Tournament Central for live updates Thurs.-Sat.
The transfer that saved Norman
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
I’m sure when Norman girls high school basketball coach Matilda Mossman walked off the court tonight after Norman defeated Del City 60-50 to advance to the 6A state tournament, she thought something like “thank goodness for that transfer”.
The transfer of the Ramon sisters, who came to Norman from Mustang before the beginning of the season, has saved Norman’s season.
Lacy Ramon, the older of the two, scorched Del City for 25 points, 14 in the second half to make Norman the hottest 6A team entering the state tourney. She scored 23 in the regional final a week earlier.
Ramon has already won a state title in her sophomore year at Mustang, and went to the finals as a junior. Perhaps more important than her numbers is that experience and leadership.
If not for those Ramons, I say 6A No. 5 Norman wouldn’t have made it to that game, much less beat the No. 4 team by 10.
So, coach Mossman, I’ll say it for you. Thank goodness for that transfer.
Check out stats and highlights from that game and others at NewsOK.
ESPN? Please.
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
When Blake Jackson, our multimedia reporter, suggested I play a game of HORSE in a video with Verdigris guard Rotnei Clarke, I knew it was a good idea.
But I never envisioned ESPN, the king of sports media, copying Blake’s work. Analyst Bill Walton played a game of HORSE with actor Will Ferrell, who plays in the movie “Semi-Pro”, which is set to release Friday.
The least Walton could have done was give me a call, shoot me an e-mail, heck, even put a disclaimer on his video!
Sure, ESPN has a few more resources and technological advantages than we do here at The Oklahoman. And sure, Bill Walton shooting hoops with Will Ferrell probably gets a few more hits than my video with Clarke. I’ll even concede that Walton is a better reporter than yours truly, and he probably had better questions for Ferrell in their interview.
But none of that takes away from the fact that his idea (or whoever it was that ripped us off) was completely unoriginal. The story behind their video is nothing more than two famous people who dressed up in Halloween costumes to shoot a few hoops, embarrassing themselves in process. It’s lame at best. Did Walton play high school ball with Ferrell? I think not. Did Walton hang out with Ferrell on the weekends, have dinner with his family on numerous occasions, and cry with him after losing in the state semi-finals? No way.
That’s what makes our video top notch, and original.
Thanks, Blake.
Oklahoma basketball’s hidden treasure?
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Not many people know about Rex Farmer. But there are a few premier high schools in Oklahoma that know him plenty well.
Farmer is a 6-foot-6 freshman forward that leads the Oklahoma City Storm, one of Oklahoma City’s two home-school teams. And by lead them, I mean almost single handedly propelled the Storm to wins over big teams this season, such as Star Spencer, Lawton Mac and Enid. The latter two are 6A school, while Star has been ranked in the top five in class 4A most of the year.
All that being said, I want to encourage an interesting discussion on this blog. Where would the Storm be if they were sanctioned by the OSSAA? Where would they be ranked, and in what class? Would they be playing at the Big House this weekend for a state title?
I think those are interesting questions. Before you answer, read my previous note on Farmer by clicking his name above, and consider that the Storm reached the finals of both tournaments it played in this year, against pretty salty public school competition.
As the playoffs come to a close, there is without a doubt a host of teams thankful they didn’t have to worry about Rex Farmer this post season.
