Clarke made me a HORSE on his way to the record
By Ray Martin – I went home last weekend. Not to see the family or hang out with old friends, but to play a friendly game of HORSE with my former teammate, and Arkansas signee, Rotnei Clarke. I let Rotnei win, of course, and I interviewed him in the process and asked him about college, the playoffs and closing in on the all-time career state scoring record. Here’s the video, and be sure to read Ryan Aber’s story about Clarke and Keiton Page’s race to the record in today’s Oklahoman.
sharedVideo(1424714339)
The race is on!
By Ray Martin -
Rotnei Clarke and Keiton Page are both likely to break the Oklahoma small-school state scoring record sometime in the next few weeks.
Ryan Aber will have that story in next Sunday’s Oklahoman. Stay tuned for the latest on NewsOk to find out who breaks the record first, and when.
Until then, enjoy this video of Clarke and Page going head to head earlier this season at the Tournament of Champions in Tulsa.
sharedVideo(1360352638)
Bassett to “bloody noses” at OSU
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
I was in Tuttle this morning, watching Cooper Bassett, a 6-foot-5, 235 pound tight end, sign with Oklahoma State.
The first thing Bassett told me was that he is the player who will “bloody noses” at practice next fall in Stillwater.
I believe him.
After seeing Bassett for the first time, I am convinced that OSU is getting a steal. He is shaped like a greek god, and from what I hear, he plays football like one too.
Tuttle didn’t throw much last season, so Bassett’s receiving numbers are nothing extravagant. On defense, though, he racked up 10 sacks at defensive end. He spent his time on offense throwing monster blocks, which opened up Tuttle’s running game.
Bassett was a four year starter for the Tigers, leading them to a state title in ’05, and a semi-finals appearance in ’07.
For more on Bassett check out the signing day coverage at NewsOk, or Mike Baldwin’s recent story featured in Saturday’s Oklahoman.
Success plagues Newcastle
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Winning tournaments hasn’t exactly boosted Newcastle’s confidence this season. In fact, finishing second in a both of the tournaments the Racers have won (Bethel and Newcastle) may have given Newcastle two more conference wins.
Instead, the Racers have lost overtime games after winning the Bethel and Newcastle tourney’s. They lost at Tuttle following the Bethel win, and lost 46-45 to Purcell last night.
Newcastle coach Wes Pulliam said his team is still learning to play with success.
“You have to come off of an exciting three games and it is hard to keep your focus,” he said.
I hope, for Newcastle’s sake, that problem is fixed when the playoffs roll around. If the Racers can’t handle winning meaningless regular season tournaments, how will it play after winning a district or regional championship?
Page joins 3,000 point club
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Pawnee guard Keiton Page surpassed the 3,000 career point margin tonight with a 48-point performance in finals of the North Country Tournament in Tonkawa.
Page led Pawnee in an 86-65 rout of Alva, and has 3,030 points for his career, and counting.
The Oklahoma State signee joins Verdigris guard Rotnei Clarke, Kelenna Azubuike, Ty Harmon and Kenneth Johnson as the only Oklahoma high school basketball players to reach 3,000.
Clarke reached the mark earlier this year.
Class 5A supremacy at stake tonight
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
The top two teams in class 5A boys basketball square off tonight in the finals of the Jenks Invitational.
The top ranked Tulsa Washington Hornets (11-0) upset host Jenks 47-39 in Friday night’s semi-finals. It was the first time Tulsa Washington beat Jenks in its last four attempts.
No. 2 Tulsa East Central (11-2), which won the Tournament of Champions earlier this season, edged Edmond Santa Fe 56-55 Friday. Santa Fe guard Nic Combs’ 19-foot shot was blocked as time expired.
The game will be televised on Cox channel 7 tonight at 8:30. Don’t stress, though, if you have plans. Something tells me we’ll see these two go at it again in, say, six weeks at the state tournament.
No Storm shelter in Deer Creek
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
The Oklahoma City Storm is roaring through the Deer Creek high school basketball tournament.
The home-school team upset 6A’s Enid 49-47 Thursday and shocked 4A No. 3 Star Spencer 71-66 tonight. The Storm face Putnam City North in the finals Saturday.
Freshman Rex Farmer, a 6-foot-6 freshman, scored with less than one second remaining Thursday to give the Storm a 49-47 victory over Enid. Farmer scored a team high 18 tonight against Star.
I guess the days of inviting home-school teams to your tournaments so the top seeds have an easy road to the semi-finals are over, huh?
Prep Tournament Tour
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Just in case you have missed Ryan Aber and Brandon Chatmon’s Prep Tournament Tour coverage, check out the latest videos and blogs from their week-long journey to six of Oklahoma’s high school basketball tournaments.
Check out NewsOk for daily updates. Tonight, Aber and Chatmon are in Jenks at the Jenks Invitational. Tomorrow they travel to Poteau for the LeFlore County Tournament.
Morris emerging as one of 3A’s best, despite first loss
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
The Morris Eagles dropped their first game of the season Saturday night, 74-71 at the hands of Eufala in class 3A high school basketball.
Morris played Saturday without senior guard Jamel Rucker, who was on a football recruiting visit at Missouri Southern.
“He is our best athlete,” Morris coach Brent Giddens said. “He runs faster, jumps higher and gets more rebounds than anyone on our team.”
Senior point guard Jordan Reed missed a 3-pointer as time expired that would have sent the game to overtime.
Despite the loss, Morris has emerged as one of 3A’s top teams, as it is currently ranked No. 3 behind Verdigris and Sequoyah-Tahlequah. One could make a case for Morris to take the No. 2 spot, since Verdigris lost to class A’s Clayton.
“We have a lot of experience and a lot more of an inside presence then we did last year,” Giddens said.
Giddens said the stacked competition in the 8 Star Conference will prepare Morris to play the states best teams in the playoffs.
“I think we can play with anybody,” Giddens said. “Especially because our guards are so athletic.”
Watch out for these guys in March.
Life without Nic Combs
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Edmond Santa Fe guard and leading scorer Nic Combs (17.8 ppg) will miss tonight’s game against Mustang, and likely Friday night’s matchup with Edmond North after spending most of Monday in an Oklahoma City hospital.
According to Combs’ father, William Combs, the senior became ill after No. 3 Santa Fe beat Norman last Friday in the McGuinness tournament. He was lethargic, and ultimately ineffective (scoring only four points) in Santa Fe’s final round loss to McGuinness Saturday night.
Combs was taken to the Mercy Hospital emergency room Monday morning and did not leave until midnight. Doctors said Combs experienced severe dehydration, and likely became ill because of parasites or food poisoning.
I wish Combs a quick recovery, and I’m sure his teammates do as well.
So how will Santa Fe manage without its star? For all practical purposes, we saw how it played without Combs Saturday against McGuinness. Not to negate McGuinness’s win, but a healthy Combs would have changed the entire tone of that game. I think Santa Fe can survive against Mustang and Edmond North, but if Combs decides to wait until next Thursday to return (when Santa Fe plays in the Jenks tournament), expect a loss to No. 4 Putnam North next Tuesday.
Santa Fe won at PC North earlier this season. PC North wants revenge, and they would love to try to get it without having to worry about containing Combs.
UPDATE: Well, I was wrong about Santa Fe surviving without Combs until next Tuesday. The wolves lost to Mustang tonight, 50-46. Santa Fe coach Shawn Schenk, though, said the absence of Combs is not to blame for tonight’s loss.
“We didn’t block out and gave up a ton of offensive rebounds. We didn’t guard anybody, didn’t get to the free throw line,” said Schenk, who made his team run through an additional practice after the game. “They played harder than us, and they deserved to win.”
