Zinn said on Wednesday that he has been named the girls basketball coach at Cushing, leaving one of the top programs in Class 4A looking for its third coach since 2009.

“I’m kind of anxious,” Zinn said. “I’m ready to go in there and even though they had success last year, they lose all five starters off last year’s team.”

Cushing made the Class 4A semifinals last season before losing to eventual champion Fort Gibson.

Anadarko also made the semifinals one year after winning the state title, which was Zinn’s first season.

The success he had at Anadarko made the decision tough, he said, but it ultimately came down to what was best for his family.

“It’s very hard, not only the relationship with the kids, but also with the kids we have returning and the vast amount of potential with those kids that we have,” Zinn said. “But more than anything it’s not as much of a professional move as it is a family thing.”

Darwin Franklin, the son of Millwood’s Hall of Fame boys basketball coach Varryl Franklin, was hired to lead the football team, a move that became official Monday night.

“As a former student at Millwood, we welcome him and think he will be a great addition to our staff,” Griffin said. “It will be a joy to have him and his father working together.”

Darwin Franklin is currently on staff at Centennial High School, where he served as a football assistant in the fall. Varryl Franklin has been Millwood’s basketball coach since 1978, leading the team to 12 of its state-record 15 championships.

Franklin replaces Tony Henry, who stepped down last month after he and his wife accepted teaching jobs on an oil base in Saudi Arabia.

“I’m not giving up coaching, I’m just taking a break,” Henry said. “I enjoyed my time at Millwood and I wish them the best.

“My wife and I are excited for this opportunity. The benefits are great. Our three kids will get the chance to travel and see the world, so they’re excited, too.”

Henry will be working for Saudi Aramco, teaching the children of the oil company’s employees.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

McCann coached the team the last two seasons, winning 28 total games during that span after coming over from Putnam City North.

This is the third time in as many years that Mustang finds itself in a similar situation. McCann was hired to replace Robert Foreman two years ago when he moved into an administration job with the school district. And Terry Long was brought in as the boys basketball coach last year after Alan Green was promoted into a role as the school’s athletic compliance director.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Former Santa Fe star Aaron Anderson is returning to Edmond to play at Central Oklahoma after spending his freshman season at Fresno State.

Central Oklahoma men’s basketball coach Terry Evans mined the local ranks for a strong 2013 signing class that includes a couple of players making their return to Oklahoma after some time away.

One of those is former Putnam City standout Garen Wright, who hasn’t played basketball since graduating from high school in 2009. The 6-foot-4 athlete was drafted by the Houston Astros and played professional baseball for three seasons.

Former Edmond Santa Fe star Aaron Anderson is coming home after playing his freshman season at Fresno State. He averaged 15 minutes per game and got 12 starts for the Bulldogs as a true freshman.

The Bronchos signed one of the state’s top scorers, Jacob Richardson of Porter, who averaged 32.2 points as a senior.

Midwest City product Jarrod McDaniel is returning to the team at UCO, and the team signed three junior-college prospects.

In addition to Texas native Phillip Brown of Northern-Enid, Evans signed a pair of local products in Southeast’s Trai Jordan, out of Murray State, and El Reno’s Devante Moore from Connors State, an Oklahoman Super 5 selection in 2011.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Kendal Cudjoe will be the next head coach of the Douglass boys basketball team, four-time defending Class 4A state champions.

The Cudjoe family has a strong tradition at Douglass High School, and now Kendal Cudjoe has the opportunity to build on it.

On Thursday, he was named the new boys basketball coach for the Trojans, winners of the last four Class 4A state championships.

Kendal’s father, Lawrence Cudjoe, built the basketball program into a state power during his 18-year tenure that ended in 1974. He died in 1994 and the court at Douglass now bears his name. Here’s a story about Lawrence Cudjoe, a former Harlem Globetrotter and all-around fascinating man in his own right.

Kendal Cudjoe was a standout on the basketball court at Douglass in the mid-1970s, and quarterbacked the Trojans to the 1976 state football title. He graduated in 1978.

“When you get a chance to go back and coach where you played, I think that’s every coach’s dream to at least get to do it one time,” Kendal Cudjoe said. “I’m really excited to have the opportunity to do that. For the court to be named after my father, and the rich tradition of the school, this means a whole lot to me.”

Cudjoe replaces Anthony Andrews, who was not retained after one season at Douglass.

Cudjoe spent the last four seasons as a head coach at Northwest Classen, two years with the girls team and two with the boys team.

In addition, Douglass also hired Anthony Gardner, a longtime Star Spencer boys assistant, as its new girls basketball coach.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Sanders, who spent the past season at Siloam Springs, Ark., said he signed the contract Friday afternoon to replace former coach Theresa Johnston, but has yet to meet with next season’s team at Newcastle.

A major factor in Sanders deciding to return to Oklahoma is that he felt homesick.

“I got a great team coming back,” Sanders said. “I’ve got all of my starters coming back here at Siloam, but it’s just a deal where I want to get back home. It just didn’t feel right being away from all of my family.

“I’ve always liked the town of Newcastle, the surroundings, where it’s located and I hope that I can stay there. It’s not a place where I want to go and move away. I’m coming hoping I can get a program going and establish something.”

Sanders, 53, last coached at Cache, where he guided the Bulldogs to an undefeated season and Class 4A championship in 2010 and a runner-up finish in 2011. Before that, he coached at Anadarko where he guided the Warriors to a Class 4A title in 2005.

Now, he’s hoping he can bring that success to Newcastle, which lost to Elgin in the Class 4A area tournament.

“I want to win wherever I go — not that I can — but I hope that I do,” Sanders said.

“I want to win this year. I haven’t seen them play or nothing. I hope we can get things going right away.”

Sanders retired when he left Cache following the 2011 season. His wife, Robbin, will also be an assistant principal and counselor at Newcastle.

Stephen Clark of Douglass is The Oklahoman’s pick for Super 5 Player of the Year. See all of The Oklahoman’s Super 5 and All-State teams in Sunday’s newspapers and at NewsOK.com/Sports.

____________________

The Oklahoman’s postseason basketball honors will be revealed beginning Sunday and running through April 14, but here’s your chance to weigh in. Each day, we’ll present a poll for fans to vote on their choice for Player of the Year in all the different categories — Little All-City, Big All-City and Super 5, each for boys and girls.

It began on Tuesday with the Little All-City boys fan poll, and continues today with the boys Super 5 All-State Player of the Year. Cast your vote for one of the players below, or write in your own in the “Other” box. The poll will close at 2 p.m. Friday, when the fans’ choice for Super 5 Player of the Year will be determined. The Oklahoman staff will also reveal its choice on the Varsity blog and on NewsOK.com/sports.

Here are your choices:
Stephen Clark, Douglass: The reigning Super 5 Player of the Year, Clark averaged 36 points and 12 assists to lead Douglass to its fourth title, and he surpassed the 3,000-point mark for his career.

Jaylen Lowe, Owasso: Lowe averaged 20 points a game, and kept the rest of the Rams’ offense involved as well, leading them to the state semifinals in their first tourney appearance since 2005.

Shaquille Morris, Edmond Memorial: The 6-foot-7 Wichita State signee was a double-double machine, finishing with nearly 18 points and nine rebounds per game as the Bulldogs won state for the second time in three years.

Jordan Woodard, Edmond Memorial: An Oklahoma signee, Woodard fought off a lingering hamstring injury to average 17 points and six assists per game for the state champion Bulldogs.

Seth Youngblood, Roland: Youngblood poured in 25.5 points per game, fighting off constant attention from opposing defenses, while leading the Rangers to the Class 4A state title game in an epic showdown with Douglass.

Edmond Memorial big man Shaquille Morris was announced as The Oklahoman staff’s pick as Big All-City Player of the Year. We will have a story posted online shortly. Thanks to all of you who voted in the poll.

____________________

The Oklahoman’s postseason basketball honors will be revealed beginning Sunday and running through April 14, but here’s your chance to weigh in. Each day, we’ll present a poll for fans to vote on their choice for Player of the Year in all the different categories — Little All-City, Big All-City and Super 5, each for boys and girls.

It began on Tuesday with the Little All-City boys fan poll, and continues today with the Big All-City boys. Cast your vote for one of the players below, or write in your own in the “Other” box. The poll will close at 11 a.m. Thursday, when the fans’ choice for Big All-City Player of the Year will be determined. The Oklahoman staff will also reveal its choice on the Varsity blog and on NewsOK.com/sports.

Here are your choices:
Carlbe Ervin, Edmond North: Ervin averaged 19.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists in helping the turnaround at Edmond North, which went 15-11 and came up just short of reaching the state tournament.

Shaquille Morris, Edmond Memorial: The 6-foot-7 Wichita State signee was a double-double machine, finishing with nearly 18 points and nine rebounds per game as the Bulldogs won state for the second time in three years.

Cornell Neal, Midwest City: Anchored a small but tough Midwest City lineup with 14.1 points, 5.4 assists and 3.5 steals per game as the Bombers reached the state finals and garnered a national ranking during the season.

Rashawn Thomas, Southeast: A lanky 6-foot-7 senior, Thomas finished with 22.3 points and 15.7 rebounds per game to lead Southeast back to state for the first time since 2008.

Jordan Woodard, Edmond Memorial: An Oklahoma signee, Woodard fought off a lingering hamstring injury to average 17 points and six assists per game for the state champion Bulldogs.

Large West
Jerrick Warren, Guthrie; Stephen Clark, Douglass; Bryce Beckett, Lawton MacArthur; E.J. Golightly, Chickasha; Jordan Woodard, Edmond Memorial; Tevin Foster, Lawton; Rashawn Thomas, Southeast; Galen Satoe, Anadarko; David Bush, Putnam City; Cornell Neal, Midwest City.
Coaches: Lonnie Nunley, Cache; Ryan Wagner, Piedmont

Large East
Seth Youngblood, Roland; Julio Hukill, Tecumseh; Jakob Hartsock, Bartlesville; Jaylen Lowe, Owasso; Don Simmons, Tulsa Edison; Zach Norris, Coweta; Juwan Parker, Tulsa Washington; Rico Thompson, Stillwater; Jordan Huffman, Broken Arrow; Delvan Lucas, Tulsa Central.
Coaches: Rick Johnson, Bartlesville; Scott Norris, Coweta

Small West
Branson Daugherty, Merritt; Deric Shelton, Plainview; Jake Regier, Forgan; Trevyn Woolbright, Sterling; Tony Aska, Coyle; Seth Overstreet, Laverne; Tyler Stafford, Cyril; Eric Harris, Coyle; Dallen Mercer, Velma-Alma; John Moon, Crescent.
Coaches: Eric Norton, Walters; Clint York, Lexington

Small East
Jeylyn Sharpe, Ketchum; Evan Anderson, Dale; Stoney Newton, Okemah; Kagen Castlebury, Glencoe; Zac Self, Varnum; Trent Storts, Latta; Jeremiah Winney, Weleetka; Jason Couch, Chouteau-Mazie; Jacob Richardson, Porter; Brady Bradbury, Adair.
Coaches: Brett Thomas, Weleetka; Mitchell Brown, Smithville

On Wednesday afternoon, The Oklahoman announced its winner of the Little All-City Player of the Year award, Douglass point guard and Oklahoma State signee Stephen Clark. Check back soon for more details on our selection.

____________________

The Oklahoman’s postseason basketball honors will be revealed beginning Sunday and running through April 14, but here’s your chance to weigh in. Each day, we’ll present a poll for fans to vote on their choice for Player of the Year in all the different categories — Little All-City, Big All-City and Super 5, each for boys and girls.

It begins today with Little All-City boys fan poll. Cast your vote for one of the players below, or write in your own in the “Other” box. The poll will close at 11 a.m. Wednesday, when the fans’ choice for Little All-City Player of the Year will be determined. The Oklahoman staff will also reveal its choice on the Varsity blog and on NewsOK.com/sports.

Here are your choices:
Tony Aska, Coyle: The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 19.6 points and 12.6 rebounds while blocking 109 shots in leading Coyle to the Class B state finals.

Stephen Clark, Douglass: The Oklahoma State signee posted 36 points and 12 assists per game to carry the Trojans to their fourth state title in a row.

Chauncey Collins, OKC Storm: The 6-foot-1 junior guard averaged better than 23 points and was named MVP of the national homeschool tournament, which the Storm won.

Ashford Golden, Millwood: The 6-foot-4 junior played a central role in the Falcons’ balanced attack, and he provided several key plays in their state title run.

Collin Jennings, Harrah: A 6-foot-4 junior guard, Jennings averaged 17.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.2 steals per game in helping the Panthers back to the state tournament for the first time since 2008.

Former Sequoyah-Tahlequah star Angel Goodrich helped Kansas pull off a pair of upsets to advance to the Sweet 16.

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

Unfortunately all of the former state standouts were beat out in the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Tournament, with Butler’s Rotnei Clarke (Verdigris) and Iowa State’s Tyrus McGee (Stringtown) coming closest to advancing to the Sweet 16.

On the women’s side, though, three Oklahoma high school alums helped their teams advance to the Sweet 16.

None was bigger than former Sequoyah-Tahlequah star Angel Goodrich, who helped 12th-seeded Kansas pull off a pair of upsets.

Goodrich had 20 points and eight assists in a 75-69 win over South Carolina in the second round after posting 14 points and eight assists in an opening 67-52 win over Colorado.

In Kansas’ win over South Carolina, former Norman standout Ashley Bruner had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Gamecocks in the loss.

Goodrich’s Jayhawks play top-seeded Notre Dame at 11 a.m. Sunday in Norfolk, Va.

Former Star Spencer standout Sharane Campbell also had a big start to the tournament, averaging 17 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2 steals for Oklahoma in tournament wins over Central Michigan and UCLA.

The sixth-seeded Sooners play No. 2 Tennessee at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Oklahoma City.

Duke’s Richa Jackson, a former Midwest City standout, started for the Blue Devils in wins over Hampton and Oklahoma State, totaling five points, two steals and three rebounds.

The No. 2-seed Blue Devils play No. 6 Nebraska at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Norfolk.

Amanda Marcum Enfield, a Mustang native, is the wife of Florida Gulf Coast basketball coach Andy Enfield. Here, they’re photographed with their three children.

You can bet there will be some people in Mustang closely watching the NCAA Tournament action in Philadelphia on Friday.

And we’re not talking about OU fans.

No. 15-seed Florida Gulf Coast will have a pocket of fans in Mustang — where the wife of the team’s head coach, Andy Enfield, was born and raised — pulling hard for an upset of second-seeded Georgetown in the 5:50 p.m. game.

Amanda Enfield — then known as Amanda Marcum — grew up in Mustang, but left at 18 years old to move to New York City to pursue a modeling career. Since then, she has been in such magazines as Maxin, Vogue and Elle. She has modeled for Armani, Victoria’s Secret, Tommy Hilfiger and many others, with her work taking her all over the United States, Europe and Asia.

A big Oklahoma State basketball fan, she met her husband when she was in Boston to watch the Cowboys at a 2003 NCAA Tournament second-round game. Their first date was to watch St. John’s play in the NIT.

Here’s Amanda Marcum Enfield in 1999 during a runway show for designer Donald Deal.

Andy Enfield was out of coaching when they met. He had been an assistant for the Boston Celtics for three seasons, among other jobs, but went into private business for a few years. He got back into coaching as an assistant at Florida State in 2006, and landed the FGC job in 2011.

The couple has three kids, Aila, Lily and Marcum.

Here’s a story we wrote about Amanda when she was just starting her modeling work in Mahattan.

And here’s a story from The Naples News about her and her husband, right after he was named the head coach at FGC.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Carl Albert’s Gioya Carter was named the Suburban Conference’s MVP. (Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman)

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

Carl Albert’s Gioya Carter was named the Suburban Conference’s Most Valuable Player.

Carter, an Oklahoma signee, helped the Titans reach the semifinals of the Class 5A state tournament before losing to fellow Suburban Conference member Shawnee.

El Reno sophomore Sheridan Grey was named Newcomer of the Year and Deer Creek’s Whitney Jones the Defensive Player of the Year. Shawnee’s Wendi Wells was named the Coach of the Year.

Deer Creek’s Ashley Gibson, Piedmont’s Sarah Parker, Guthrie’s Melinda Murillo and Shawnee’s Micaela Yu and McKenzie Cooper were named to the first team.

Carl Albert’s Jordan Gilbert, Deer Creek’s Alexa Adair, Chickasha’s Dominique Golightly, Shawnee’s Bailey Taylor and Piedmont’s Ashley Almond were named second team.

El Reno’s Regan Owen, Noble’s Lauren Brown, Deer Creek’s Bayli Blanchard, Chickasha’s Sierra Hamilton and Guthrie’s Micayla Haynes were on the third team.

Last night, Mount St. Mary’s girls clinched a spot in the Class 4A state tournament with a win over Heritage Hall. You can read about that here.

Here’s the video of the last moments of the game, including Aimee Rischard’s 3-pointer that put the Rockets ahead for good:

2A girls at State Fair Friday and Saturday

Boys
At Oklahoma City University
Thursday
Latta vs. Talihina, 2 p.m.
Ketchum vs. Chouteau, 3:30 p.m.
Thomas vs. Merritt, 7 p.m.
Haworth vs. Konawa, 8:30 p.m.

-2A boys at OCU Friday, State Fair Saturday

Class 3A
Girls
Thursday at State Fair Arena
Millwood vs. Verdigris, 2 p.m.
Hugo vs. Perkins-Tryon, 3:30 p.m.
Sulphur vs. Lindsay, 7 p.m.
Sequoyah-Tahlequah vs. Adair, 8:30 p.m.

-At State Fair Friday and Saturday

Boys
At Yukon
Sperry vs. Sequoyah-Tahlequah, 2 p.m.
Okemah vs. Crooked Oak, 3:30 p.m.
Hugo vs. Millwood, 7 p.m.
Verdigris vs. Centennial, 8:30 p.m.

-At State Fair Friday and Saturday

Class 4A
Girls
Thursday
At Southern Nazarene
Harrah vs. Cushing, 2 p.m.
Weatherford vs. Fort Gibson, 3:30 p.m.
Anadarko vs. Vinita, 7 p.m.
Mount St. Mary vs. Byng, 8:30 p.m.

-At SNU Friday, State Fair Saturday

Boys
Thursday
At Choctaw
Tulsa McLain vs. Anadarko, 2 p.m.
Muldrow vs. Douglass, 3:30 p.m.
Victory Christian vs. Harrah, 7 p.m.
Roland vs. Tulsa Webster, 8:30 p.m.

-At State Fair Friday and Saturday

“Ralph was really dedicated, just a tireless worker who put his heart and soul into trying to improve our program the last five years,” Yukon athletic director David Fisher said. “It wasn’t an easy task when you’re playing in the toughest conference in the state. But he did everything with high energy and integrity.”

The Millers were 2-18 this season, their worst record in Nigro’s five years. The season ended last Friday with a playoff loss at third-ranked Putnam City.

Fisher said the search process for Yukon’s next coach will begin after the state tournament, which concludes March 9.

Here are the schedules:

Class B
Boys
At State Fair Arena
Thursday
Moyers vs. Big Pasture, 2 p.m.
*Arnett vs. Burlington -OR- Mulhall-Orlando, 3:30 p.m.
Fargo vs. Red Oak, 7 p.m.
Coyle vs. Forgan, 8:30 p.m.

Friday
Moyers/Big Pasture winner vs. Arnett/Burlington/Mulhall-Orlando winner, 9 a.m.
Fargo/Red Oak winner vs. Coyle/Forgan winner, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday
Championship game, 7:15 p.m.

Girls
At Carl Albert
Thursday
Timberlake vs. Erick, 2 p.m.
Shattuck vs. Red Oak, 3:30 p.m.
Lomega vs. Leedey, 7 p.m.
Hammon vs. Deer Creek-Lamont, 8:30 p.m.

Friday
At State Fair
Timberlake/Erick winner vs. Shattuck/Red Oak winner, 10:30 a.m.
Lomega/Leedey vs. Hammon/Deer Creek-Lamont winner, 6 p.m.

Saturday
Championship game, noon

*-The Burlington/Mulhall-Orlando boys area tournament game has been postponed until 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center in Enid, weather-permitting.

Class A
Boys
At Southern Nazarene
Thursday
Fort Cobb-Broxton vs. Velma-Alma, 2 p.m.
Cheyenne-Reydon vs. Glencoe, 3:30 p.m.
Wright City vs. Sterling, 7 p.m.
Weleetka vs. Laverne, 8:30 p.m.

Friday
At State Fair
Cheyenne-Reydon/Glencoe winner vs. Wright City/Sterling winner, noon
Fort Cobb-Broxton/Velma-Alma winner vs. Weleetka/Laverne winner, 1:30 p.m.

Saturday
Championship game, 1:45 p.m.

Girls
At Oklahoma City University
Thursday
Okarche vs. Sterling, 2 p.m.
Frontier vs. Turner, 3:30 p.m.
Fort Cobb-Broxton vs. Kiowa, 7 p.m.
Cheyenne-Reydon vs. Pond Creek-Hunter, 8:30 p.m.

Friday
At State Fair
Okarche/Sterling winner vs. Frontier/Turner winner, 4:30 p.m.
Fort Cobb-Broxton/Kiowa winner vs. Cheyenne-Reydon/Pond Creek-Hunter winner, 9 p.m.

Saturday
Championship game, 5:30 p.m.

Class 6A
BOYS
EAST
At Tulsa Rogers
Friday
Winner’s Bracket
Owasso vs. Broken Arrow, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Stillwater vs. Bixby, 8 p.m.

At Catoosa
Winner’s Bracket
Tulsa Union vs. Jenks, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Tulsa Washington vs. Bartlesville, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Catoosa
Stillwater/Bixby winner vs. Owasso/Broken Arrow loser, 8 p.m.
Tulsa Washington/Bartlesville winner vs. Tulsa Union/Jenks loser, 6:30 p.m.

WEST
At Choctaw
Friday
Winner’s Bracket
Midwest City vs. Edmond Santa Fe, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Edmond North vs. Putnam City

At Norman North
Winner’s Bracket
Edmond Memorial vs. Putnam City West, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Putnam City North vs. Lawton Eisenhower, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Norman North
Putnam City North/Lawton Eisenhower winner vs. Edmond Memorial/Putnam City West loser, 6:30 p.m.
Edmond North/Putnam City winner vs. Midwest City/Edmond Santa Fe loser, 8 p.m.

GIRLS
EAST
Thursday
At Catoosa
Winner’s Bracket
Muskogee vs. Tulsa Washington, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Jenks vs. Tulsa Union

At Tulsa Rogers
Loser’s Bracket
Broken Arrow vs. Mustang, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Bartlesville vs. Bixby, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Catoosa
Broken Arrow/Mustang winner vs. Bartlesville/Bixby loser, 1:30 p.m.
Jenks/Tulsa Union winner vs. Muskogee/Tulsa Washington loser, 3 p.m.

WEST
Thursday
At Choctaw
Winner’s Bracket
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Putnam City, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Norman vs. Southmoore, 8 p.m.

At Harrah
Loser’s Bracket
Lawton Eisenhower vs. Choctaw, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Norman North vs. Edmond Memorial, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Harrah
Lawton Eisenhower/Choctaw winner vs. Norman North/Edmond Memorial loser, 1:30 p.m.
Norman/Southmoore winner vs. Edmond Santa Fe/Putnam City loser, 3 p.m.

CLASS 5A
BOYS
EAST
Friday
At Bixby
Winner’s Bracket
Tulsa Memorial vs. Tulsa Kelley, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Chickasha vs. Guthrie, 8 p.m.

At Sapulpa
Winner’s Bracket
Coweta vs. Tulsa Edison, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Skiatook vs. Noble, 8 p.m.

At Bixby
Saturday
Skiatook/Noble winner vs. Coweta/Tulsa Edison loser, 6:30 p.m.
Chickasha/Guthrie winner vs. Tulsa Memorial/Tulsa Kelley loser, 8 p.m.

WEST
Friday
At Edmond North
Winner’s Bracket
Bishop McGuinness vs. Lawton MacArthur, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Del City vs. Capitol Hill, 8 p.m.

At Edmond Memorial
Winner’s Bracket
Carl Albert vs. Southeast, 6:30 p.m.
Western Heights vs. Piedmont, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Edmond Memorial
Western Heights/Piedmont winner vs. Carl Albert/Southeast loser, 6:30 p.m.
Del City/Capitol Hill winner vs. Bishop McGuinness/Lawton MacArthur loser, 8 p.m.

GIRLS
EAST
Thursday
At Bixby
Loser’s Bracket
Chickasha at Tulsa Edison, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Tulsa East Central at Collinsville, 8 p.m.

At Sapulpa
Winner’s Bracket
Tahlequah vs. Tulsa Memorial, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Grove vs. Tulsa Kelley, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Sapulpa
Grove/Tulsa Kelley winner vs. Tahlequah/Tulsa Memorial loser, 1:30 p.m.
Chickasha/Tulsa Edison winner vs. Tulsa East Central/Collinsville loser, 3 p.m.

WEST
Thursday
At Edmond North
Loser’s Bracket
Del City vs. Ardmore, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Shawnee vs. Piedmont, 8 p.m.

At Edmond Memorial
Loser’s Bracket
El Reno vs. Lawton MacArthur, 6:30 p.m.
Carl Albert vs. Deer Creek, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Edmond North
El Reno/Lawton MacArthur winner vs. Carl Albert/Deer Creek loser, 1:30 p.m.
Del City/Ardmore winner vs. Shawnee/Piedmont loser, 3 p.m.

In addition to the OKC Storm boys and girls teams, the event will also include Sunrise Christian from Wichita, Kan., which is led by Oklahoma commit Jacob Hammond. A 6-foot-10 junior forward, Hammond played last season for the Storm.

Prime Prep Academy, the Dallas-area school started by NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, will participate as well. Both Prime Prep and Sunrise are ranked in most national polls.

Other teams participating include Planet Academy from Phoenix, Word of Life boys and girls from Wichita, God’s Academy boys and girls from Dallas and the St. Louis Patriettes girls team.

Friday’s games will begin at noon, with the first game Saturday to tip off at 9 a.m.

Here is the full Storm Festival Schedule

Friday
Noon: OKC Storm vs Word of Life
1:15 p.m.: OKC Storm Girls vs Word of Life Girls
2:45 p.m.: Sunrise Christian vs Planet Academy
4:15 p.m.: Gods Academy vs Prime Prep
5:45 p.m.: St Louis vs God’s Academy Girls
7 p.m.: OKC Storm vs Planet Academy
8:30 p.m.: Prime Prep vs Sunrise Christian Black

Saturday
9 a.m.: St Louis vs OKC Storm Girls
10:15 a.m.: Word of Life vs God’s Academy
11:30 a.m.: OKC Storm vs Sunrise Christian Black
1 p.m.: St Louis vs Word of Life Girls
2:30 p.m.: Planet Academy vs God’s Academy
4 p.m.: Sunrise Christain vs Prime Prep

Tuesday’s snowstorm wiped out a lot of good basketball games, but Friday’s schedule is packed, too, and we’re giving the fans the chance to pick which matchup The Oklahoman high school sports staff should cover.

The final week of the regular season for the big schools includes several rivalry games around the metro area, while Class 4A and below are in the playoffs already, creating some unique matchups to pick from for the Fans’ Choice Game of the Week.

Fans can vote in the poll now in the poll below. We will have a reporter and photographer at the girls and boys games between the two schools chosen. The poll will close at 4 p.m. Thursday, and game coverage will be included in Saturday’s Oklahoman.

Below is the poll for the Fans’ Choice Game of the Week. We will have a reporter and photographer at the girls and boys game between the two schools chosen. The poll below will close at 4 p.m. Thursday, and game coverage will be included in Saturday’s Oklahoman.

Cast your vote now.

The Dale girls’ only loss this season was to Bethel, so I’m sure there will be a revenge factor in play. Of course, since this was the fans’ choice, I expect to see a lot of you there on Friday night. The louder the better.

-Scott Wright, The Oklahoman

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We’re giving the fans a chance to decide which high school basketball matchup The Oklahoman high school sports staff should cover Friday night.

We will have a reporter and photographer at the girls and boys game between the two schools chosen. The poll below will close at 4 p.m. Thursday, and game coverage will be included in Saturday’s Oklahoman.

Cast your vote in the poll below.

In this provided photo, U.S. Grant and Southeast boys basketball players are seen Tuesday night gathering in a circle during a moment of silence to remember former U.S. Grant player Anthony Hartfield, who was killed Monday.

A circle of red and blue formed at midcourt Tuesday night when players from the U.S. Grant and Southeast boys basketball teams locked arms during a moment of silence to remember former Grant player Anthony Hartfield.

The 20-year-old Hartfield was shot and killed in an apparent botched robbery attempt at his home on Monday. Here’s the story.

U.S. Grant is also planning something special to remember Hartfield at its homecoming game against John Marshall on Feb. 1. Hartfield was a two-time Big All-City and All-State honorable mention selection by The Oklahoman during his career at U.S. Grant.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Midwest City’s boys basketball team has jumped out to a hot start.

The Bombers have won each of their first six games by 25 or more points and reached triple digits in their 101-72 win over Mustang in the Mid-Del Holiday Classic last week.

Now, Midwest City is earning national recognition. The Bombers moved into MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25 national basketball rankings at No. 21.

The Bombers resume play at Westmoore on Friday.

Putnam City caoch A.D. Burtschi with his team after recording his 700th victory Friday night.

Putnam City boys basketball coach A.D. Burtschi won his 700th career game Friday night in a 52-35 victory over Baldwin County (Ala.) at the Wildcat Holiday Classic in Pensacola, Fla.

Burtschi began his career at Mount St. Mary, but is in his 30th season at Putnam City, where the vast majority of his victories have come. Burtschi has won four state championships at PC, and has just 251 career losses.

The Pirates are 9-0 on the season and ranked No. 3 in Class 6A.

Trier, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard, has already been on the national map for a while, with offers from top programs from all over the country, and the athletic ability he shows here is only part of the package. He can shoot, handle and defend.

Considering he shot a TV commercial with Carmelo Anthony and was featured in a New York Times story all before he reached seventh grade, he’s used to the spotlight.

Originally from Seattle, Trier moved to Oklahoma in eighth grade, when he was already considered one of the top national prospects at his age. He’s still viewed as one of the top players in the 2015 class nationally, and one of the most pursued recruits in the state in any class.

Here’s the dunk:

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Burlington coach Kirsten Pruett hadn’t seen anything like it.

It isn’t likely anyone else involved had either.

Friday night, Pruett’s Lady Elks needed three overtimes to beat Lomega 111-103, led by Tiffany Rieger’s 57 points.

“It was a heck of a game,” Pruett said. “But in all honesty, it was really kind of slow in the first half.”

It was a one-point game at the break, 30-29, then Burlington fell behind by as many as 16 in the third quarter.

“Because of the score, it seems ridiculous to talk about how good our defense was but it was defense that got us back into it in the third quarter,” Pruett said.

Katelyn Garvie scored 26, including several key free throws in the second overtime to keep the game alive.

Burlington pulled away in the third overtime to improve to 4-0.

The Lady Elks play Kremlin-Hillsdale on Tuesday night.

Morris, a 6-foot-8, 262-pound senior, chose the Shockers over Oral Roberts, Lamar and Florida Gulf Coast, announcing his decision live via webcast on NewsOK.com.

“Wichita State is getting a kid who is just now starting to tap into some of the physical promise he has,” Edmond Memorial coach Shane Cowherd said. “He’s very explosive, and his quickness belies his size. He’s so physically strong, but he’s very quick, almost cat-quick at times. He’s very mobile, and he’s starting to tap into those tools.”

Morris averaged 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds at Edmond Santa Fe last season, and moved to Memorial in the summer. He adds a post presence to the Bulldogs’ lineup that has been absent in recent seasons.

Edmond Memorial reached the state finals the last two seasons, winning it all in 2011, without a player taller than 6-foot-4 on the roster.

“He gives us a low-post scorer, a shot blocker and a rebounder,” Cowherd said. “He allows us to do some things defensively that we haven’t been able to do in the past. The guys on the perimeter know they have somebody behind them anchoring the rim.

“He’s a fun kid who fits in really well with our boys, and he’s a great teammate.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Shaquille Morris, left, will announce his college decision live on NewsOK Varsity at 5 p.m. today. The 6-foot-8 power forward is choosing between Wichita State, Oral Roberts, Lamar and Florida Gulf Coast.

Edmond Memorial basketball player Shaquille Morris will announce his college decision live on NewsOK Varsity at 5 p.m. Monday.

The 6-foot-8 senior power forward will decide between Wichita State, Oral Roberts, Lamar and Florida Gulf Coast.

Morris was a key player for Edmond Santa Fe the last two seasons, but moved to Memorial in the summer, where he will pair with point guard Jordan Woodard, an Oklahoma commit.

Morris averaged 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds as a junior last season on an Edmond Santa Fe team that reached the Class 6A state semifinals.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass junior defensive end Deondre Clark will attend both the Oklahoma-Texas and Baylor-TCU games Saturday as part of a busy recruiting weekend. His older brother, Stephen, will be with him at Baylor as part of his basketball recruiting trip.

Douglass brothers Stephen and Deondre Clark will team up for a day full of recruiting trips on Saturday.

Deondre, a highly recruited 6-foot-3, 235-pound junior defensive end, will begin the day with the Oklahoma-Texas game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas along with several other Sooners recruits. OU was one of the first programs to offer Deondre Clark, whose offer list has reached double-digits now, including Oklahoma State, LSU, Missouri and Texas Tech.

Stephen and Deondre will both head to Waco, Texas, to visit Baylor for its football game against TCU at 6 p.m.

Deondre Clark doesn’t have a Baylor offer yet, but could be closing in on one.

“They said they’re close, so maybe when I’m down there,” Deondre said. “It’s gonna be a fun day. I’m looking forward to the OU-Texas game. I’ve never been in an atmosphere like that.”

The Baylor trip is the second of four scheduled official visits for Stephen Clark, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound point guard who is the state’s top senior basketball prospect.

Stephen Clark visited UCLA last weekend, and will make trips to OSU and Florida State later this month. He also attended OSU’s game against Texas on Sept. 29. He plans to make a college decision in time to sign during the November signing period.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

The suit is in regard to Ingersoll accepting an offer to become the basketball coach at Douglass High School in June, then having the offer rescinded less than a week later.

In paperwork filed Oct. 5 with the EEOC, Ingersoll, age 59, says he met with OKCPS Superintendent Karl Springer in June to inquire about the reason for the offer being rescinded and Springer told him it was due to the “‘totality of our relationship,’ which he declined to elaborate on. No reason was given for hiring a younger, less experienced person for the job.”

Ingersoll told The Oklahoman Tuesday that “my attorney and I did not feel that was an adequate explanation.”

Anthony Andrews, 49, was hired in July as the Douglass coach. Previously, he was the head coach at the Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tenn., and he coached travel teams on the summer circuit. He most recently had worked as an assistant coach at Newcastle.

“As of (Tuesday), the Oklahoma City Public School District administration has not been served with a lawsuit from Phil Ingersoll alleging discrimination,” Springer said.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Tim Flatt, the executive director of the National Christian Homeschool Championships, which oversees the national homeschool championship tournament, told HSLive365.com that Monday night Trier’s mother intends to move to Tulsa, which would make the sophomore shooting guard eligible to play for Tulsa Northeast Oklahoma Association of Homeschools (NOAH) in the coming season.

After playing the last two seasons for the homeschool Oklahoma City Storm, Trier moved to Tulsa with a family friend, but his transfer request to join the NOAH Jaguars was denied last week, because his mother, Marcie, still lived in Oklahoma City.

“After confirming the move of the Trier family to Tulsa, Allonzo Trier will be eligible to play for Tulsa NOAH during the 2012-13 basketball season,” Flatt said. “This has really been a good process for the NCHC. We are happy that NOAH made a proper appeal, the Eligibility Advisory Board made a ruling based on the guidelines, NOAH accepted the EAB ruling and Marcie Trier was able to make a huge sacrifice and move to Tulsa to meet the NCHBC guidelines.”

Trier averaged 24.5 points per game last season and became the first freshman homeschool player in the country to surpass 1,000 points. After a strong summer with the OKC-based Athletes First AAU team, Trier received several scholarship offers, including all four in-state schools and other top programs around the region.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Former OKC Storm guard Allonzo Trier had his transfer to Tulsa NOAH denied, leaving his immediate basketball future up in the air.

Former Oklahoma City Storm basketball star Allonzo Trier learned Monday that his transfer request to Tulsa NOAH has been denied, leaving his immediate basketball future in uncertainty.

According to HSLive365.com, a website dedicated to covering homeschool sports, the request and subsequent appeal were denied because of National Christian Homeschool Championships rule that states: “A player must live at home with his/her parent, legal guardian or legally responsible person (in the case of foster children or other family hardships) in order to be considered homeschooled.”

Sources told The Oklahoman that Trier recently moved to Tulsa with a close family friend, while his mother remained at her home in Oklahoma City.

Tim Flatt, a former head coach of the OKC Storm now serving as the Executive Director of the NCHC, released the following statement:

“This is both a good day and a sad day for the NCHC. It is very good that once again the Eligibility Advisory Board has voted to maintain a high standard for transfers, as it is important that when private and public schools play our teams they can be confident that they are playing teams that are true local teams, not AAU teams that can recruit without restriction. On the other hand it most likely ends the homeschool career of Allonzo Trier who is one of the top players to ever play homeschool basketball.”

Flatt coached Trier as an eighth-grader with the Storm.

Trier could not be reached by The Oklahoman for comment regarding where he’ll play the upcoming season.

Only a sophomore, Trier already has nearly a dozen scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the region, including all four state schools.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

While participation in high school sports among girls grew nationally, girls participation in Oklahoma took a dip during the 2011-12 school year, according to an annual participation study released Thursday.

The High School Athletics Participation Survey is conducted annually by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Nationally, overall participation grew for the 23rd consecutive year, thanks to the growth in girls participants.

More than 33,984 more girls participated in 2011-12 than in 2010-11, according to the survey.

Overall boys participation dipped for the first time since 1992-93, dropping 9,419 to 4,484,987.

In Oklahoma, girls participation dropped from 44,112 a year ago to 42,664 this year.
Boys participation here rose from 42,694 to 44,284 during the time, for an overall growth to 86,948.

Here’s a look at individual sports with the number of schools participating last school year followed by the number of athletes. The 2010-11 numbers are in parentheses:

Girls
Basketball: 481-7,215 (475-7,125)
Competitive spirit squad: 200-4,000 (180-3,900)
Cross country: 275-2,800 (275-2,800)
Golf: 218-1,289 (218-1,265)
Soccer: 114-2,975 (114, 2,500)
Softball, slowpitch: 300-6,560 (300-6,560)
Softball, fastpitch: 450-10.450 (450-10,450)
Swimming and diving: 43-425 (43-500)
Tennis: 114-770 (114-912)
Track and field, outdoor: 369-3,276 (369-5,800)
Volleyball: 121-2,904 (121-2,300)

Boys
Baseball: 427-8,540 (423-6,032)
Basketball: 481-7,215 (473-7,095)
Competitive spirit squads: 20(0)-87 (20-40)
Cross country: 275-2,750 (275-2,750)
Football, 8-man: 75-1,596 (75-1,500)
Football, 11-man: 269-11,298 (269-12,500)
Golf: 247-1,306 (247-1,265)
Soccer: 117-2,850 (117-2,600)
Swimming and diving: 43-420 (43-500)
Tennis: 114-774 (114-912)
Track and field, outdoor: 369-4,368 (369-4,500)
Wrestling: 146-3,080 (146-3,000)

Edmond Memorial point guard Jordan Woodard will announce his college decision live on NewsOK.com/Varsity at 5 p.m. Thursday. He's deciding between Oklahoma, Memphis and San Francisco.

Oklahoma, Stanford, Memphis and San Francisco are among the college basketball programs Edmond Memorial point guard Jordan Woodard will choose between when he appears live on NewsOK.com at 5 p.m. Thursday to announce his college decision.

The announcement will be available to view live at www.newsok.com/varsity as Woodard appears with his family and coach Shane Cowherd to give his verbal commitment.

Woodard has long said he hoped to commit before the season, and thus, be able to sign during the early period, which opens Nov. 14. Verbal commitments are non-binding.

Woodard averaged 13.1 points, 4.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals as a junior as he and brother James Woodard led the Bulldogs to the Class 6A state finals, losing to Tulsa Union. Woodard was the starting point guard on Edmond Memorial’s state title team in 2011 as well.

Oklahoma was the first team to offer Woodard, that coming last August as coach Lon Kruger began to emphasize his pursuit of in-state players. Memphis and San Francisco, who have both been hitting the state hard for recruits the last couple of years, came in with offers shortly after, and Stanford joined the fray later.

Kansas coach Bill Self, a former Bulldog himself, also showed interest, as did coaches at Iowa, Kansas State and a few other places.

With the departure of Douglass point guard Stephen Clark to a Las Vegas prep school, there’s no argument that Woodard is the top senior player in the Oklahoma City area, and one of the two most recruited prospects in the state. He’s joined on that list by Tulsa Washington’s Juwan Parker, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who verbally committed to Georgia last week.

Douglass standout Stephen Clark was the boys basketball (and best dressed) Player of the Year as a junior, but he'll spend his senior season at Quest Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas.

As it turns out, star point guard Stephen Clark won’t spend his senior season at Douglass after all.

According to his mother, Dorshell Clark, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound scoring machine flew out Saturday morning to Las Vegas, where he will attend Quest Preparatory Academy for his final year before entering college next summer, in a story originally reported by ESPN.com.

Stephen Clark had toyed with the idea of graduating early and enrolling in college this summer. While his academics were in order, he felt like he didn’t have enough time to make the proper decision. His options were limited as well, with only a few of the nearly 30 programs recruiting him having an open scholarship spot for the coming year.

The idea of leaving Douglass was prompted in May, when coach Terry Long, a lifelong friend of the Clark family, left the school to become the head coach at Mustang.

“I think Stephen still had his mind made up that he wanted to leave since Terry wasn’t going to be there,” Dorshell Clark said. “He told me he had nothing else to prove here. He didn’t want to win another title without Terry.”

Clark was the leading scorer the last three seasons for Douglass, which won the Class 4A state championship each season. Clark averaged 25 points and 11 assists per game as a junior, earning The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year honor, among other notable awards.

He is being recruited by top programs in the state and across the country, from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, to Kentucky, UCLA and Connecticut. He believes Quest Prep gives him the opportunity to play against more and better competition on a national level to prepare himself for the college game.

“He told me he wants to go play against the best guys out there, and that wasn’t going to be there at Douglass,” Dorshell Clark said. “He deserves to get what he thinks he needs to get to the next level.”

Quest Prep is in its first year of existence. Stephen and Dorshell Clark visited the new campus two weeks ago.

“It’s a brand new place, and they painted a really pretty picture,” Dorshell Clark said. “They want Stephen to be the face of their program.

“He really likes the idea of being away from everybody back here. He feels he can go somewhere and focus on his game. No friends, no girls distracting him.”

Clark’s family will remain in Oklahoma City, including his younger brother, Deondre Clark, a highly recruited football player at Douglass.

Deondre Clark, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior defensive end, already has at least a dozen offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, LSU and Missouri.

Dorshell Clark said they have arranged it with Douglass so Stephen can return to graduate with his classmates in May. He had already passed the proper credits to qualify for graduation earlier this summer.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Trier already has offers from Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Oral Roberts, Houston and a few others. He said he plans to make visits to OU, OSU and Tulsa in the coming weeks, as the start of his sophomore season nears.

An Oklahoman Little All-City selection last season, Trier averaged 24.5 points per game for the Oklahoma City Storm, leading them to the homeschool national championship game.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

The All-Staters and Special Olympians took a moment to pose together for a team photo.

Being an All-Stater is a unique and valuable opportunity — not just because of the chance to play in an All-State game.

Here are some photos and a video of All-State athletes spending a day at Oral Roberts’ Mabee Center shooting hoops with athletes from the Special Olympics.

Thanks to the folks with the All-State Games and Oklahoma Coaches Association for the images.

Juwan Parker of Tulsa Washington will choose between Memphis, Georgia and Stanford when he announces his college decision on Aug. 19.

Tulsa Washington basketball standout Juwan Parker announced online that Memphis, Georgia and Stanford are his final three college choices, and he’ll commit on Aug. 19.

Parker, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard and a two-time selection to The Oklahoman’s Super 5 team, has more than 20 scholarship offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa.

He will announce his decision on the National Recruiting Spotlight blog, where he also revealed his final three choices right here.

Memphis and Georgia were among the first programs to offer Parker a scholarship, and Stanford joined the race late, because of the stringent academic standards at the school, according to Parker.

Parker has averaged a double-double over his last two seasons. His summer was cut short because of a toe injury that required surgery.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Deer Creek's Garrett Hermanski is among three new players selected for the All-State boys basketball game Thursday night at Oral Roberts.

Edmond Memorial’s James Woodard and Lawton Eisenhower’s D’Andre Wright are among a trio of players to withdraw from the All-State boys basketball game. The pair of incoming freshmen at Tulsa will be replaced by Deer Creek’s Garrett Hermanski and Ardmore’s Travis Galbreath on the Large West team.

On the Large East roster, Victory Christian’s L.J. Ross is being replaced by Kansas’ Corey Cowan.

The All-State boys basketball games begin with the small-school game at 7 p.m. Thursday at Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center. The large-school game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Del City is the largest school in Class 5A, ranking 33rd-largest in the state, with an average attendance of 1,254.20. Tulsa Hale moved into the top 32 schools and will jump from 5A to 6A, swapping spots with Tulsa Edison. Piedmont moved up from 4A to 5A for basketball and other sports that reclassify yearly, switching with Tulsa Central.

Broken Arrow remains the largest school in the state with an average attendance of 4,588.21, while Tulsa Union is second with 4,237.14.

Mustang is fifth overall, and the largest school on the west side of the state at 2,473.48.

Sports that use a two-year district rotation, like football, are not impacted by the current numbers, having used last year’s ADM to set districts for the coming season, as well as the 2013-14.

In other noteworthy changes, Deer Creek continues to climb in attendance, now among the top 10 Class 5A schools. Yukon saw a jump of nearly 200 students with the move to its new campus last year, and ranks eighth-largest in the state.

Douglass saw its attendance drop by 17 students, moving it out of the top 96. That has little impact on the upcoming year, but if it remains in that position a year from now, the Trojans will drop to 3A in football for the next redistricting cycle.

Official classes for the sports that reclassify yearly will be determined next week during the Oklahoma Coaches Association clinic in Tulsa.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Tecumseh’s Thornton hired as Norman basketball coach

Matt Thornton’s basketball coaching career is taking a trip along Highway 9.

The Tecumseh boys coach was hired by Norman this week, filling the void created when Jeff McCullough left after two years to return to Texas.

Thornton has been a head coach for five seasons at Tecumseh, reaching the state semifinals in 2011.

Thornton is originally from Moore, and worked as an assistant coach at Westmoore prior to becoming a head coach.

Tecumseh might not be a place you immediately think about for producing top-notch basketball coaches, but the school has turned out some good ones in the recent past.

Jenks’ Clay Martin was a head coach there, as was Del City’s Tim Stogsdill. In addition, Plainview head man Jeremy Stewart was an assistant for the Savages, as was former Edmond Santa Fe coach Shawn Schenk. Now, Thornton adds his name to the list after a successful five-year stint in T-Town.

He takes over a young but talented team at Norman, though the Tigers did lose some valuable, athletic players from last year’s team. On top of that, Thornton is taking over very late, meaning he missed summer leagues and won’t have a lot of time to get to know his new team.

Norman North picks Paul as new AD

In addition to the hire of Thornton, Norman Public Schools officials approved the hire of former Bethel football coach Eddie Paul as Norman North’s new site athletic director.

He will replace Jack Harvey, who has retired. Paul is a long-time coach in Oklahoma and Texas, spending the last two seasons at Bethel.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Andrews’ hire was approved by the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education on Monday night, officially filling the void of Terry Long, who left in May to become the head coach at Mustang.

“This is a tremendous opportunity,” said Andrews, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Newcastle. “I don’t know what my biggest challenge will be, other than continuing the tradition. Terry Long built a great program, and I look forward to getting going at Douglass.”

Andrews takes over a Trojan squad led by senior-to-be Stephen Clark, The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year last season. Clark has led Douglass to state championships in each of his first three seasons.

Of course, state titles are a common expectation for Andrews. He won four as a player at Millwood under coach Varryl Franklin from 1978-81.

He started his college career at Central Oklahoma under coach Eddie Evans, the father of current UCO coach Terry Evans. But after Eddie Evans was let go, Andrews decided to leave as well, ultimately finishing his playing career with two seasons at Oklahoma State. There, he briefly teamed with older brother Lorenza Andrews.

Anthony Andrews turned down invitations to two NBA camps and went to work for Conoco, working in Billings, Mont., Houston and Chattanooga, Tenn.

He moved back to Oklahoma three years ago, and spent a year helping the basketball programs at Millwood and in the OKCPS district.

Previously, he was the head coach at the Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, and he coached travel teams on the AAU circuit as well.

Andrews also has a family connection to Douglass. Both of his parents attended the school, and his father was on the Trojans’ 1949 team that won a state championship prior to being admitted to the OSSAA.

“Douglass has a great tradition, and I want it to be a perennial power, not just in the state, but in this part of the country,” Andrews said. “Terry had already started that, traveling out of state, and that’s something we want to continue. I’d like to get this program on the national map and stay there.”

Andrews’ hire ends a long — and sometimes strange — coaching search at Douglass. Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll, who won three state titles at Douglass in the 1980s, had accepted an offer to return as the Trojans’ coach, but had the offer rescinded four days later. The two sides have since cleared the air over what could have been an ugly situation.

In addition, Clark toyed with the idea of graduating early and beginning his college career in the fall. But he chose instead to remain in high school for his senior season. Clark was one of two players who were part of the interview committee that selected Andrews.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

OKC Storm guard Allonzo Trier, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard who will be a sophomore in the fall, has received scholarship offers from Oklahoma State and Tulsa.

OKC Storm sophomore-to-be Allonzo Trier has never lacked for motivation to make himself a better basketball player, and his first two college scholarship offers aren’t going to change that.

In fact, they might push him even harder.

Trier, rated as one of the nation’s top players in the class of 2015, received offers from Oklahoma State and Tulsa on Wednesday, the first of many to come for the young player.

“The offers are great, but it’s nothing special and doesn’t mean I made it yet,” Trier said. “It just means it’s time for me to continue to get better and improve, and if I do that, more offers will come.”

Trier also is being recruited by Oklahoma and a several other programs across the country. A strong summer performance has helped Trier grab even more attention.

In addition to playing with the Athletes First AAU squad, he was rated as a top-10 player at the Nike Elite 100 camp earlier this month.

Trier, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 24.5 points per game and helped the OKC Storm to a runner-up finish in the National Homeschool Tournament as a freshman. He finished the year with more than 1,000 total points, setting the national homeschool record for scoring by a freshman.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Karl Springer isn't hiding his Thunder Pride anymore. He has placed a friendly wager on the NBA Finals with the Miami-Dade County superintendent.

Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Karl Springer and Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho are putting their city support in action.

The two have agreed on a friendly wager on the NBA Finals series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat.

The Heat lead the series 2-1 heading into Game 4 Tuesday night in Miami.

If the Heat win the series, Springer will wear a Heat jersey and teach a class on Florida history at an OKCPS school after classes resume Aug. 1. If the Thunder wins, Carvalho will wear a Thunder jersey and teach a lesson on Oklahoma history to Miami-Dade County students in August.

“I am looking forward to seeing the pictures from Miami when Mr. Carvalho wears the OKC Thunder blue,” Springer said. “I have full confidence in our team and this is a great chance for Floridians to learn more about Oklahoma City and our state.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass basketball star Stephen Clark, seated center in the photo with his mother and brothers, will officially be staying at Douglass for his senior season, rather than graduating early to enter college in the fall.

The wild roller-coaster ride that the last month has been appears to finally be over for Douglass basketball standout Stephen Clark.

In a text message to The Oklahoman late Monday night, his mother, Dorshell Clark, confirmed that her son will remain at Douglass, rather than graduate early to enter college in the fall.

“Stephen advised me (Monday night) that he wants to stay in school and complete his senior season,” Dorshell Clark said. “He said he didn’t give himself enough time to make such a big decision.”

Stephen Clark had been looking into opportunities at a half-dozen or more colleges for the fall, but he’ll have four times as many possibilities by staying in the 2013 class. Harvard is the latest program to come on board in pursuit of the 5-foot-11, 175-pound point guard, who has more than 25 scholarship offers.

Clark averaged 25 points and 11 assists as a junior, leading the Trojans to their third consecutive state championship. By staying, he’ll get one more season with his younger brother, Deondre, who plays basketball, but has developed into a highly targeted football prospect. He will be a junior in the fall, but already has seven major-college offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and LSU.

One piece of the Douglass basketball puzzle remains unsolved, however. The Trojans still don’t have a coach, following Terry Long’s departure to take the head job at Mustang.

Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll, who worked as the athletic director for Oklahoma City Public Schools until February 2011, had accepted the job, but had the offer rescinded last week. Yet that volatile situation has calmed, according to Ingersoll, who recently met with OKCPS Superintendent Karl Springer.

“I got to meet with the superintendent and he took full responsibility for what we both saw as mistakes in the interview and job offer process,” Ingersoll said. “He said he could not recommend me to the Board of Directors because of the totality of our relationship.

“Now I can move on with my life, and I wish the Douglass program all the luck, and hopefully success, in the world.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Reports surfaced on Friday that the Douglass High School basketball standout was not going to graduate early and would stay in high school for his senior year. But his mother, Dorshell Clark, told The Oklahoman on Saturday night that the decision “hasn’t been finalized.”

“He’s still going to go out to UCLA on Monday for a visit,” she said. “I talked to the coach at Virginia this weekend. We might be going to Stanford at some point. We haven’t said aye or nay on this right now.”

Part of the holdup continues to revolve around the vacant head coaching position at Douglass. Phil Ingersoll accepted an offer to take the job, but had the offer rescinded four days later. Now the school is once again looking for the person who will replace Terry Long, who left to take the head job at Mustang last month.

The whole situation seems to remain unsettled, and it’s unclear when that might change.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

OKCPS district athletic director Keith Sinor could not be reached for comment prior to the story being published, but the school district responded on Wednesday with an email about the topic, noting that the administrators are limited in what they can say publicly about personnel matters within the district.

Here is the statement provided to The Oklahoman via email on Wednesday regarding Ingersoll and the head boys basketball coaching position at Douglass:

“Oklahoma City Public School District administration has decided to go in a different direction.” –Karl Springer, OKCPS Superintendent

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

The star point guard is in the process of completing the necessary courses to be able to graduate early, and he has scheduled visits to Oklahoma State and UCLA, though he is looking at other schools as well, should he decide to reclassify into the class of 2012. Connecticut, Missouri and Florida State have also been among colleges Clark has considered.

However, Wednesday’s news that former Douglass coach Phil Ingersoll is expected to come out of retirement to coach the Trojans could play a part in the decision.

Ingersoll has occasionally visited Douglass practices and games over the years. He was the head coach for Terry Long, who led the Trojans to three straight 4A titles with Clark as his leading scorer. Long left to take the head coaching job at Mustang last month. Clark and Ingersoll also attend the same church.

“He coached my coaches,” Clark said. “I like the way my coaches are, so I’d probably like the way he coaches.”

Clark has said he hopes to make a decision by the end of June. Since the National Letter of Intent signing period has already passed, Clark would not be required to sign with a college. He would make his decision, then enroll in classes when he chooses to begin.

“I feel a lot closer to a decision, but I still want to get the opinion from the people who are close to me and I know have my best interest at heart,” he said. “Right now, I’m just working to finish these classes and go take some visits.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Last basketball season was a special one for the Douglass Trojans in more ways than one.

Not only did they win their third straight Class 4A state championship, they were followed for parts of the season by an MTV camera crew working on a documentary called “Nothing But Net,” which goes inside the lives of players at Douglass and New York City’s Wadleigh High School in Harlem.

As part of the show, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant visited Douglass to mentor the students and discuss his path to the NBA.

“He let us know what we need to be doing and the choices we need to make to get where he is,” said Douglass point guard Stephen Clark. “He told us about eating right and going to bed at night.

“It was a great experience. Being part of what we got to do has really been a blessing, and that was a big part of it.”

Clark and his teammates were given some all-black Nike Kevin Durant shoes as well.

Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks served as a mentor at Wadleigh.

“Nothing but Net” will air as a two-part series at noon Sunday and June 17 on MTV2.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll is expected to come out of retirement and return to Douglass as its new boys basketball coach.

A search committee set out to find Douglass’ new boys basketball coach, and found one of their old ones.

Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll is expected to come out of retirement to take over the Trojans, assuming the search committee’s recommendation passes through all the formalities with the Oklahoma City Public Schools administration.

“There’s still some paperwork and things, but I don’t expect any hangups,” district athletic director Keith Sinor told The Oklahoman Wednesday morning.

Ingersoll won three state championships coaching Douglass in the 1980s, then won two at Northeast in 2002 and 2004 before walking away from coaching.

He will replace Terry Long, who left last month to become the head coach at Mustang after leading the Trojans to three consecutive Class 4A state titles. Long played for Ingersoll in the 1980s.

“This is good for the school,” said Douglass athletic director Willis Alexander, who also played for Ingersoll. “He understands Douglass High School. He helped build the program into what it is now. I’m happy for him, and I’m happy that the school gets a good coach, who really cares about the school, the kids and the community.”

In an unrelated change, Alexander will step down as the school’s athletic director, and serve only as the Trojans’ football coach next school year, a move that, in part, will allow him to spend more time with his young children.

Matt Peters, a former Douglass girls basketball coach, will fill the void as on-site athletic director.

Ingersoll has been involved with OKCPS on a coaching or administrative level for the better part of four decades. One of his first coaching jobs was as an assistant at Star Spencer, where he was part of three straight titles under coach Johnnie Johnson in the late 1970s.

He left coaching in 2004, and in 2007, he was hired as the athletic director at OKCPS, but announced his retirement in the spring of 2011.

At that time, he wanted to turn his focus to the trial of a man who had been accused of murdering Ingersoll’s 21-year-old son in a drive-by shooting. The man was found not guilty last November.

“For what he’s been through, this is healthy for him,” Alexander said. “When he was the district AD, I still called him ‘Coach,’ and I always will. This is a good situation. He’s a veteran coach who understands the dynamics of Oklahoma City Public Schools and Douglass High School.

“This is not a guy at his first rodeo.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Norman High is the latest big school in the Oklahoma City metro area looking for a new boys basketball coach. Jeff McCullough is leaving the school to become the head coach at Allen, Texas.

Jeff McCullough wasn’t looking to leave Norman. But an opportunity presented itself, and he couldn’t pass it up.

McCullough has stepped down as Norman’s boys basketball coach to accept the same position in Allen, Texas, located just northeast of Dallas.

“Someone told me it’s the third-largest school in Texas,” McCullough said. “It’s a good program and a good community, and it gets us back closer to family.”

McCullough came to Norman from his hometown of Sherman, Texas, where he coached current OU player Cameron Clark. McCullough took over a program on hard times, coming off a 4-22 season, but led them to double-digit win totals in each of his two seasons. The Tigers were 14-10 this year.

“I wasn’t trying to leave Norman,” McCullough said. “I’ve been really happy with the direction of the program, and I was excited about the team that’s coming back next year.”

Norman joins the list of quality boys basketball jobs that have been — or remain — open in the metro area. Vacancies at Edmond Santa Fe, Mustang, Edmond North, Guthrie and Mount St. Mary have been filled, and Douglass is still searching for its next coach.

Former Edmond Santa Fe head coach Shawn Schenk is still in the market for a new job, and could be a candidate at Norman.

Douglass is attracting some interesting names as well, including Hall of Famer Phil Ingersoll, according to sources. Ingersoll, who retired as athletic director of Oklahoma City Public Schools in February 2011, coached five state championship teams in 15 seasons split between Douglass and Northeast.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Westmoore basketball experienced a strong turnaround this season, and Kyle Lakin and Beau Palmer were a big part of that.

Now, both of them have solidified their college futures, each signing letters of intent in the last week.

Lakin, pictured on the left, will continue his basketball career at McPherson (Kan.) College, while Palmer signed with Hesston (Kan.) College, seen in the photo on the right.

Lakin, a point guard, averaged 7.6 points and nearly three assists per game in guiding the Jaguars’ strong turnaround under coach Scott Hodges this season. Palmer averaged 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Jags, providing a strong presence all over the floor.

Westmoore nearly doubled its win total from a year ago, finishing 14-10 on the season.

Douglass junior basketball standout Stephen Clark, front, is considering the idea of graduating a year early and enrolling in college this fall.

The shock of losing his head coach to another school has shaken Douglass basketball star Stephen Clark to the point that he is considering reclassification to graduate a year early and enter college this fall, his mother told The Oklahoman Friday.

Clark’s mother, Dorshell Clark, said her son has checked with the school to make sure he has the proper credits to graduate early, and the family has been working in accordance with NCAA Clearinghouse guidelines since early in his high school career, when it became clear he would be a Division I recruit. (Clark’s first scholarship offer came at the end of his freshman year.)

Clark is a strong student, and has been doing advanced work in some of his classes, long before this option presented itself.

Dorshell Clark said Stephen hasn’t made an official decision yet, but in addition to making sure his schoolwork is in order, they have contacted some of the more than two dozen college programs recruiting him to see if they would have an opening for him in the class of 2012, instead of 2013.

“We haven’t called all of them, but we’ve called some of them,” she said. “We haven’t been told ‘No’ yet.”

The idea was prompted with news early this week that long-time Douglass coach Terry Long — also a long-time friend of Dorshell Clark – was leaving to become the new head coach at Mustang.

It has been very important to Clark to graduate from Douglass, where his mother and two older brothers each graduated from, but he doesn’t want to play for another coach in his senior year.

“It really breaks my heart. I’m not ready for him to be finished with high school yet,” Dorshell Clark said. “But right now, he sees it as a possible option.”

Stephen Clark, 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, was The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year after averaging 25 points and 11 assists as a junior, leading the Trojans to their third consecutive Class 4A state title. Clark has been the leading scorer on all three championship teams.

Considered a top-100 recruit in the 2013 class by virtually every national recruiting service, Clark has more than 25 scholarship offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, Missouri, Arkansas, Florida State, Marquette, Georgia and Memphis.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

New Mt. St. Mary coach Andy Fisher with the Rockets' seniors-to-be

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

A day after officially getting the job as Mount St. Mary head boys basketball coach, Andy Fisher met with his new team.
“I can’t wait to get started,” Fisher said. “It’s a great opportunity and Lenny (Hatchett) did a great job here.”
Fisher replaces Hatchett, who led the Rockets to three consecutive state tournaments from 2009-2011. Hatchett recently left to take the job at Edmond Santa Fe.
“We had numerous candidates for this position and after visiting with coaches throughout the state of Oklahoma, Andy Fisher’s name came to the forefront,” Mount St. Mary principal Talita DeNegri said in a release announcing the hire Friday. “Once I sat down with him, he had a special presence about him and a distinct insight into who we are and what we are all about at The Mount.
“He has an extreme passion for kids, an incredible knowledge of the game of basketball and he has the leadership skills to continue to enhance the tradition of Rocket basketball.”
Fisher was an assistant for seven years under Tondrell Durham. The Irish won four state titles during his time there including this year’s Class 4A title.
“I’m really going to miss those guys,” Fisher said Thursday. “I had a great time there and learned a lot. It just felt like the time was right.”

The Mustang Board of Education approved the move at its regular meeting late Monday night.

Long will fill the void created when Alan Green moved into a full-time role as the school’s compliance officer, which was announced last month.

Long was also considered a candidate for the head job at Edmond Santa Fe, which went to former Mount St. Mary coach Lenny Hatchett last month.

Mustang, which is the largest school on the west side of the state, was riddled by injuries last season and struggled to a .500 record. But in the 2010-11 season, the Broncos were a top-five team, despite falling one win short of the state tournament.

Over the last three seasons at Douglass, Long’s teams lost seven games — six of those to out-of-state competition. The Trojans were led by point guard Stephen Clark, a nationally recruited prospect who will be a senior next season.

Douglass will be a highly sought-after coaching position, along with current vacancies at Guthrie and Mount St. Mary.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass' Te'era Williams was the Little All-City Player of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first state tournament in 20 years. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Douglass girls’ basketball standout Te’era Williams has signed with Texas Southern, her mother said

Williams, who was The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Player of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first state tournament in 20 years, had signed with Grambling State, but was granted a release after coach Donnita Rogers was fired.

Williams averaged 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals as a senior.

Sanders led Cache to an undefeated season and a Class 4A state championship in 2010, and a runner-up finish in 2011.

Last May, Sanders had accepted Choctaw’s open girls’ basketball coaching position, but backed out before officially resigning at Cache and stayed one more year.

Nunley said Cache, which lost in the area semifinals in 2012, has a strong freshman class coming up.

Western Heights' Antoinet Webster has signed with Tulsa, her coach said. PHOTO BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Western Heights guard Antoinet Webster finally found a college basketball home.

Webster, whose lack of any NCAA Division I offers was the subject of an Oklahoman story earlier this year, signed with Tulsa, Jets coach Carol Beall said.

Webster averaged 19.2 points as a senior for Western Heights, which missed the Class 5A state tournament for the first time in three seasons. Webster (5-foot-9) was forced to shoulder the load for the inexperienced Jets.

Webster joins a Tulsa recruiting class of 2012 that includes a few big names around the metro — Shawnee’s Kelsee Grovey and Kaitlyn Ramirez and Midwest City’s Ashley Clark.

Shawnee's Taylor Cooper (10) has signed with Oral Roberts. PHOTO BY MATT BARNARD, TULSA WORLD

There’s lots of news coming out about Oral Roberts’ womens basketball program today.

First, a source confirmed that coach Jerry Finkbeiner, who has been with the program since 1996, will be introduced as Utah State’s next coach at an 11 a.m. press conference Thursday.

Finkbeiner won three straight NAIA national titles from 1994-96 at Southern Nazarene in Bethany. The news of his departure was first reported by the Tulsa World late Tuesday.

Also breaking Wednesday was that sophomore Jenni Bryan will transfer from Oklahoma State to ORU. Bryan, from Coweta, was granted a release by the Cowgirls, coach Jim Littell said in a text, and a source confirmed she’d join the Golden Eagles.

One of the folks in the Oklahoma City area most directly impacted by all of this is Shawnee senior forward Taylor Cooper, who signed with ORU in November.

Cooper was the Golden Eagles’ only high school signee for the class of 2012, and she picked ORU over offers from bigger schools.

From an outsider’s perspective, it seems to me Finkbeiner and Co. intended to build the future of their program around her. And the future certainly appears bright because the Golden Eagles just wrapped up a third consecutive 20-plus win season.

But will Cooper stick with ORU? She has developed a close relationship with assistant coach Misti Cussen, who is a possible candidate to succeed Finkbeiner.

Cooper was on our Super 5 team for 2012 after helping lead Shawnee to an unbeaten season and the Class 5A state championship. She averaged 13.2 points and 6.1 rebounds as a senior.

She said then that she picked ORU largely because of the coaches, who she said “reminded me of my parents.”

Only time will tell what Cooper will decide, but should she ask for and be granted a release, it would be a big blow to the ORU program, a program that has been through a whirlwind couple of days.

Bishop McGuinness coach Tondrell Durham has been mentioned by sources as a candidate for the Edmond Santa Fe job.

EDMOND — Edmond Public Schools will recommend the hiring of boys basketball coaches for Edmond Santa Fe and Edmond North to the school board Tuesday morning, district athletic director Mike Nunley said.

Edmond Santa Fe is hiring its third-ever boys basketball coach after Shawn Schenk was dismissed in late March.

Schenk was Santa Fe’s coach for six seasons. Last month, the Wolves advanced to the 6A semifinals.

Bishop McGuinness coach Tondrell Durham, Douglass’ Terry Long and Mount St. Mary’s Lenny Hatchett have all been mentioned by sources as candidates for the Edmond Santa Fe job.

Durham’s Irish squad won the Class 5A state championship last month. It was Durham’s fifth title with the school since he became coach in 2001.

Long won his third consecutive 4A title last month at Douglass, while Hatchett has been Mount St. Mary’s coach since 2004.

For Edmond North, it will be the school’s fourth boys basketball coach in four seasons. Quinn Wooldridge, who was hired last summer, resigned to become head coach at Southwestern Christian University in Bethany earlier this month.

Edmond North athletic director Tom Snider said then long-term stability would be one of the main criteria in hiring Wooldridge’s replacement.

Harrah girls basketball player Sara Rogers died Tuesday after a car accident.

Funeral services for Sara Rogers, the 16-year old Harrah basketball player who died after a car accident earlier this week, will be Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Harrah High School gymnasium.

Those attending the ceremony are being asked to wear Harrah or Duke clothing, because those were Rogers’ favorite teams.

Rogers was pulling out of Harrah’s Sonic Drive-In when she was hit by another car at around 4 p.m. Tuesday. She was taken by helicopter to OU Medical Center, where she died of her injuries.

Douglass sophomore Deondre Clark, back center, gives the family another sought-after recruiting prospect, this one on the football field.

The first official scholarship offer is on the table for Douglass sophomore defensive end Deondre Clark.

Oklahoma State extended an offer on Thursday, Douglass coach Willis Alexander said.

Clark played a significant amount as a freshman on Douglass’ Class 4A state championship team in 2010, and started at both defensive end and tight end as a sophomore.

He finished the season with 75 tackles, 18 sacks and 16 quarterback hurries, as well as 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

Clark has a busy summer planned, with stops at a variety of major-college camps and elite combines.

Clark, 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, is the younger — but much bigger — brother of Douglass basketball star Stephen Clark, a 5-foot-11 junior who has more than 20 scholarship offers, including OSU.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Pete Papahronis, who coached Guthrie to back-to-back boys state championships in 2008 and 2009, is moving over to coach girls basketball at the school.

Guthrie will start a search for a new boys coach immediately, a release form the school said.

The boys went 17-11 this season, making the semifinals of the 5A tournament.

Papahronis coached Guthrie’s boys for nine seasons, leading the Bluejays to five state tournament appearances.

Papahronis takes over for Terry Carris, who resigned earlier this year after five years in his latest stint at Guthrie.

Carris had taken the Bluejays to the 1985 and 1986 state tournaments during his first stint at Guthrie.

Douglass basketball standout Te'era Williams, left, and her mother, Lenora Love, right. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Douglass’ Te’era Williams got a release from her Grambling State letter of intent after all.

Grambling State athletic director Percy Caldwell reversed the previous denial and informed Williams and her mother, Lenora Love, in an email Friday morning.

Last week, the Douglass basketball standout was denied the release she requested after coach Donnita Rogers was fired in March.

Williams signed with Grambling State in November. After her release was denied, Williams began visiting junior colleges. She wouldn’t have needed a release to play at the junior-college level.

But if she wanted to begin her NCAA Division I hoops career at any other school besides Grambling State in the fall, she needed the release she was granted Friday.

Now, Williams is left hoping that a Division I school still has a scholarship available for her. She said last month she was interested in Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Wichita State.

Williams was The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Player of the Year after averaging 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals per game as a senior, when she led Douglass to its first state tournament appearance in 20 years.

Millwood's Quira Demery, right, will play college basketball at Tennessee Tech,. PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN

Millwood senior basketball standout Quira Demery signed with Tennessee Tech, which plays NCAA Division I basketball in the Ohio Valley Conference, on Thursday.

Demery led Millwood to the Class 3A state championship as a senior, averaging15.9 points per game through the season.

In the state tournament, Demery averaged 16.7 points, including a 21-point, 11-rebound performance in the Falcons’ title-game win over Prague.

Demery’s performance helped Millwood snap a three-year streak of runner-up finishes.

Former Bridge Creek star Ryan Spangler, The Oklahoman's 2011 Super 5 Player of the Year, was granted his release from Gonzaga and plans to visit OU this weekend.

Former Bridge Creek star Ryan Spangler has been released from his scholarship at Gonzaga and will visit Oklahoma this weekend, he said.

The Spokane Spokesman-Review reported that Spangler had been granted his release on Wednesday with hopes of transferring closer to home. Spangler said he had informed a few schools of his release, including OU, Tulsa, Oral Roberts and Arkansas.

“I just feel like I needed to be closer to my family,” said Spangler, The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year in 2011. “OU is my first stop. I’m going to fly in Friday to visit OU, then fly out Sunday. I’ve heard a lot of good things about coach (Lon) Kruger and his staff. They have two scholarships open, and they seem pretty excited to talk with me.”

Spangler, a 6-foot-8, 232-pound forward, appeared in 22 games as a true freshman last season, averaging 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in a reserve role.

He had one of his better games with four points and eight boards in the NCAA Tournament win over West Virginia. He would be required to sit out next season at a Division I program, and would have three years of eligibility remaining.

“I just look at that as a positive,” he said. “It’s just a year for me to get better and mature.

“I felt like I had a great freshman year, and I got way better. I wish I could have played more, but that’s just part of it when you’re a freshman.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass' Te'era Williams was the Little All-City Player of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first state tournament in 20 years. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Douglass senior basketball standout Te’era Williams was denied a release from her letter of intent by Grambling State, her mother said.

Williams, who signed with Grambling State in November, requested the release in March after coach Donnita Rogers was fired. Lenora Love, Williams’ mother, said they are appealing Grambling’s denial but are also looking at junior colleges as a backup plan, starting with a Tuesday visit to Carl Albert State College in Poteau.

Williams wouldn’t need a release from Grambling to play at a junior college, and could transfer anywhere after one year.

Williams was The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Player of the Year after averaging 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals per game as a senior, when she led Douglass to its first state tournament appearance in 20 years.

Londaryl Perry teaches his history class at Northeast Academy. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

This is the final post in a five-part blog series, continuing the life story of Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Coach of the Year.

Perry was profiled in Tuesday’s newspaper, but his life story is too fascinating to be held to one story. This blog post will focus on Perry’s military career. Here is the full blog schedule:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 34, Londaryl Perry received word that another uncle had died because of drugs.

His uncle James, who had no insurance and had been a drug addict for most of his life, didn’t have an overdose. The drugs just finally took a toll on his body.

“This particular uncle, even though he was on drugs, he was probably the happiest druggie and alcoholic you’d ever meet,” Perry said. “He was always happy and he was going to make you smile.”

Perry was in Iraq for the second time, this time as a civilian contractor, when his cousin told him about James’ death.

The family was scrambling around, trying to find a way to pay for funeral and burial costs. They had decided to cremate him and not have a funeral because they didn’t have enough money.

Perry told his cousin to get with a funeral service and tell him how much it costs. He offered to pay for everything, on the condition that a letter he wrote would be read at the funeral.

The family agreed, and Perry wrote a letter pleading for his family to change. Getting off drugs was part of it, but Perry also wanted his family to be closer.

Now that Perry is back in Oklahoma City, he makes sure they live up to it. Every family holiday is spent at Perry’s home, with around 40 people there each time — including Perry’s mother.

She claims to be clean, but no one is really sure whether to believe her or not. She lives with one of Perry’s younger brothers.

“She’s 53, but she’s 21 in her head,” said Jermey Perry, Londaryl’s youngest brother who is 25 now.

“She doesn’t like talking about (the past). She knows she did wrong.”

Londaryl describes his relationship with his mother as “cordial.”

“We have conversations,” he said. “We speak, but it’s just different (than a normal mother-son relationship).

“If she’s not on drugs, what did she do to get off them? I don’t know. Because the whole time I was raising my brothers, she was still on them.

“I don’t know what her motivation was or is to get off drugs. … It’s fortunate that she’s still alive because of how long she was on drugs.”

But still, Perry said there is no bitterness about how he was treated as a child. He still wants his family to be close, and that’s why he tries to get everyone together on holidays.

“We try to get our family together because our family is not close-knit,” Perry said. “We try to have those times where we come together and try to enjoy each other.”

Quinn Wooldridge, who was hired last summer, resigned to become head coach at Southwestern Christian University in Bethany. Wooldridge will replace Mark Arthur, the school’s athletic director who has been basketball coach for 20 years.

Wooldridge was a men’s basketball assistant at Oklahoma City University before taking the Edmond North job, and was previously McAlester’s head coach from 2003-2005.

Edmond North athletic director Tom Snider said Wooldridge’s departure is disappointing because the boys basketball program, which was 5-18 this season, needs stability.

“(Before he was hired), one of the main things we talked about was getting stability with this program,” Snider said. “But, life happens, as they say.”

Snider said he hopes to have a new coach hired before the May school board meeting, and that long-term stability will again be one of the main criteria in making a hire.

“It was hard to go down there and tell those kids that this has happened again,” Snider said. “The kids were really disappointed.”

Northeast girls coach Londaryl Perry went to Iraq twice. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

This is Part 4 in a five-part blog series, continuing the life story of Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Coach of the Year.

Perry was profiledled in Tuesday’s newspaper, but his life story is too fascinating to be held to one story. This blog post will focus on Perry’s military career. Here is the full blog schedule:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 28, Londaryl Perry joined the Army.

Perry had been an assistant coach at Putnam City West since he graduated from Central Oklahoma, but the student loan debt he was carrying became too much.

He was sent to Iraq in October 2003 — seven months after the war there began.

Perry was stationed at the Baghdad International Airport and worked with secure, encrypted telecommunications.

“We were getting bombed every. Single. Night,” Perry said of his time at the airport. “It became like clockwork; we’d get bombed somewhere around midnight, and then again between 5 and 6 in the morning.”

Fortunately, Perry didn’t lose any friends in Iraq.

After his tour in Iraq was completed, he stayed in the Army until 2007. Much of his time was spent playing for a military basketball team.

His last day in the Army was President’s Day in 2007. Almost immediately after that, he became a private military contractor, and returned to Iraq about seven months later.

“It was very different, being a civilian contractor vs. being a soldier,” Perry said. “Both experiences were very rewarding.”

As a contractor, Perry was responsible for putting Electronic countermeasures (ECMs) on vehicles, which send out radio pules and jam radio signals to stop insurgent’s bombs.

He said his job as a civilian contractor was “a little more rewarding,” because he knows he saved the lives of American military personnel. He worked more with the Marines and the Navy during his second trip to Iraq.

“We had a lot of instances where it was proven to have worked,” Perry said of the ECMs.

He spent a little over a year in Iraq the second time before he returned home to both reunite with his family and get back into coaching, which he missed.

Large East
Taylor Cooper, Shawnee
U’Knique Gaines, Tulsa East Central
Jodi Glover, Fort Gibson
Devaughn Gray, Tulsa Washington
Lashanda Green McAlester
Kelsee Grovey, Shawnee
Madison Mercado, Sapulpa
Lanesha Middleton, Stillwater
Caitlyn Spurgeon, Vinita
Miranda Taylor, Claremore
Coaches: Carl Treat, Stillwater; Matt Sweeney, Oologah

Large West
Kylie Boggess, Piedmont
Ashley Clark, Midwest City
Alie Decker, Edmond Memorial
Daisha Gonzaque, Edmond Santa Fe
Rasheeda Kabba, Westmoore
Toni Smith, Del City
Kati Sullivan, Anadarko
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe
Antoinet Webster, Western Heights
Te’era Williams, Douglass
Coaches: Jeff Mahoney, Elgin; Dandy Peeler, Edmond Memorial

Small East
Courtney Backward, Salina
Kelsey Barnwell, Kansas
Megan Brown, Howe
Hayley Bryan, Copan
Courtney Cowan, Kansas
Pete Douglas, Oktaha
Charitee Evans, Red Oak
Shanna Harrison, Adair
Kenzie Solberg, Chandler
Brooke Watkins, Prague
Coaches: Brandon Lindly, Wright City; Mike Buntin, Verdigris

Small West
Jamie Brown, Chattanooga
Lexie Brown, Hammon
Casi Cornell, Thomas
Kori Fast, Fairview
Jordan Garner, Amber-Pocasset
Bailey McBride, Chattanooga
Lacey Paulk, Washington
Katelyn Richardson, Calumet
Jordynn Van Pelt, Snyder
Shayla Williams, Northeast
Coaches: Cherie Myers, Okarche; Kirk Harris, Marlow

Northeast coach Londaryl Perry's first coaching job was at Putnam City West under Mike Nunley. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

This is Part 3 in a five-part blog series, continuing the life story of Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Coach of the Year.

Perry was profiled in Tuesday’s newspaper, but his life story is too fascinating to be held to one story. This blog post will focus on his first coaching job, when he was an assistant boys coach at Putnam City West under Mike Nunley. Here is the full blog schedule:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 24, Londaryl Perry got his first coaching job.

He became a boys assistant coach under Mike Nunley at his alma mater, Putnam City West.

Nunley became another important friend and mentor for Perry.

“When I first spoke with Mike, I just had a feeling that this man is somebody special,” Perry said.

For his part, Nunley knew pretty quick that Perry was a natural coach.

“What he had was a passion for teaching kids the game of basketball,” said Nunley, now the athletic director for Edmond Public Schools.

Nunley remembers that kids were drawn to Perry, and just generally wanted to be around him. Perry still has that appeal to kids today at Northeast, where he regularly gets hugs as he walks through the school halls.

But what really impressed Nunley was Perry’s attitude.

“Early on, we had a parent meeting,” Nunley said. “Someone was unhappy.”

Nunley remembers Perry looking at him and putting his hand out, palm side up.

“Coach Nunley, most people are looking for a handout,” Perry told him before twisting his hand.

“I’m looking for a handshake.”

That outlook was especially impressive considering Perry’s difficult background.

“He had every right to not be a positive member of society,” Nunley said. “There was nothing. But he never used it as a crutch or an excuse.”

Perry said Nunley taught him patience, and also gave him the opportunity to learn how to be a coach.

“Sometimes, he would just walk out of practice and let me take over,” Perry said. “He would put me there to take control and get the feeling of being a coach.”

Nunley remains a mentor for Perry today. Early in this — his first — season with the Northeast girls, he called Nunley when he had trouble getting through to his team.

The girls weren’t responding to Perry’s aggressive approach; Nunley said Perry was so good at basketball, that he sometimes struggled to communicate with those who weren’t as talented.

“The game was so easy to him,” Nunley said. “He was Russell Westbrook before Russell Westbrook.”

But he also had to learn that girls sometimes need a different sort of leadership.

“I told him he needed to treat all of those girls as if they were his daughters,” Nunley said.

Once he started looking at it from that perspective, things improved.

“I can not talk to Mike for several months, and when I do it’s a great conversation,” Perry said. “He’s a great man and mentor.”

Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

This is Part 2 of five-part blog series, continuing the life story of Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, who I featured in Tuesday’s newspaper.

Today, I’ll focus more on Perry’s relationship with his mother and two brothers. Here is the full blog schedule:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 13, Londaryl Perry almost decided life was too much.

“Who gives a damn about me?” Perry thought as he briefly considered suicide.

“Who cares if I live or die?”
He watched his uncle die with his own eyes after a drug overdose. His father died after overdosing on heroin.

But the continuing nightmare was the home life with his mother, who regularly called him a “bastard” and “ugly.”

Yes, Londaryl Perry’s mother wasn’t just dismissive and unattentive. She displayed a genuine disdain for her oldest son.

Londaryl’s mother has claimed for years that she was raped as a 16-year old, which is how she became pregnant with him.

“She says she wasn’t sexually active (when he was conceived),” Londaryl said. “My mother has never changed that story after all these years, that he raped her.”

Because he shares some physical features with his father, Londaryl believes much of the anger his mother showered him with is because of the alleged rape.

“I feel like I was a reminder of him, and all that hatred was taken out on me,” Londaryl said. “To know you’re born out of that, and to be treated like that …

“I was like, ‘What do I do?’”

Even though his mother’s addiction resulted in her often neglecting his two younger brothers, they never got the insults that Londaryl did.

“For both of my little brothers, it was different,” Londaryl said. “She cherished them, and she resented me.”

Perry’s wife Shana, who he’s known since he was in the eighth grade and dated throughout high school, remembers coming home with Perry after a game one night.

There was a house full of addicts, getting high with Londaryl’s mother.

He kicked all of his mother’s friends out of the house, and the two began arguing.

Perry’s mother picked up his basketball, clutched it between her hands and said she was so upset that, “I wish I had a rock this big that I could smoke.”

“You think of home as being a safe place, and it wasn’t for him,” Shana Perry said.

Still, he made sure to come home every day to look after his brothers. After a two-year career at Seminole State junior college, he walked on to Central Oklahoma’s basketball team. A short while later, he decided he’d had enough of his mother’s treatment of his brothers.

No food in the house, a lack of clothing. It had to stop. Shana, now principal at Del Crest Middle School, and Londaryl had just gotten married and were both in college to become teachers.

Londaryl and Shana, now the principal at Del Crest Middle School in Del City, were both in school to become educators.

“The conversation we had was about how we are both wanting to be educators so we can make a difference in children’s lives,” said Shana Perry. “Here are his brothers that need someone to make a difference for them right now.”

The difference they made was substantial. Clifford, then 13-years old, and Jermey, then 10, suddenly lived with adults who cared about them. Who asked questions about what they were up to, and made sure they were fed and clothed.

“As kids, we would just leave for seven or eight hours at a time,” said Jermey Perry, now 25-years old. “She was more worried about her friends than us.”

Both of Londaryl’s brothers are now married with careers and children.

Jermey Perry admits he’d “probably be in jail” without Londaryl and Shana taking custody.

After Londaryl Perry graduated from UCO in 1998, he took a job as an assistant coach at Putnam City West under Mike Nunley, who is now the athletic director for Edmond Public Schools.

Nunley thinks Londaryl Perry did more for Clifford and Jermey than keep them out of jail.

“He didn’t save them from a life of crime,” Nunley said, “He saved them from death.”

Nunley remembers things being very difficult for Londaryl as he tried to be both a parent and a brother to the two kids.

“It was super challenging,” Nunley said. “One of his brothers played for us, and that was really hard on Londaryl. He had huge expectations for him; he wanted his brother to experience the success that he did.

“He wore every single hat. He was his big brother, his coach and his father figure.”

Christiansen and Edmonds will be joined by the likes of James Woodard from Edmond Memorial, Norman’s Rico Hogan, El Reno’s Conner Haydon and Mount St. Mary’s Justin Wagner for the Large West.

The Washington pair of Cal Andrews and Jesse Nixon will play for the Small West, along with Centennial guard Da’Sean Carolina.

The games will be played July 26 at Oral Roberts’ Mabee Center. The Small School game will tip off at 7 p.m. with the Large School game at 8:30.

OCA Boys Basketball All-State Rosters

Large West
Conner Haydon, El Reno; D’Andre Wright, Lawton Eisenhower; Jared Griffin, Duncan; James Woodard, Edmond Memorial; Tyler Melton, Anadarko; Justin Wagner, Mount St. Mary’s; Quinton Paras, Lawton MacArthur; Matt Christiansen, Bishop McGuinness; Joe Edmonds, Bishop McGuinness; Rico Hogan, Norman.
Coaches: Butch Roberts, Norman North; Matt Bailey, Deer Creek.

Large East
J.C. Hartzler, Tulsa Union; Sedrick Johnson, Tulsa Union; Tate O’Grady, Byng; Jake Bullard, Vinita; Ramon Benson, Bartlesville; Kaleb Porter, Tulsa East Central; Dejoun Sanders, Shawnee; Jacob Bittle, Bixby; Ehron Ponds, Tulsa Edison; Cody Crase, Jenks.
Coaches: Tony Roach, Vinita; Mark Vancuren, Owasso.

Small West
Austin Thrash, Cheyenne-Reydon; Jesse Nixon, Washington; Cal Andrews, Washington; Rhett Radcliff, Forgan; Ryan Radcliff, Forgan; Derek Gabriel, Pioneer; Corbin Byford, Velma-Alma; Garrett Butler, Burlington; Gavan Steinmetz, Fort Cobb-Broxton; Da’Sean Carolina, Centennial.
Coaches: Todd Kerr, Forgan; Scott Raper, Centennial.

Small East
Quinton Threadgill, Haworth; L.J. Ross, Victory Christian; John Lazenby, Glencoe; Brendon Johnson, Varnum; C.J. Cole, Sperry; Johnathon Buckley, Kellyville; Kolby Johnson, Caddo; Chance LeBlanc, Preston; Dwight McElroy, Chouteau-Mazie; Caleb Smith, Weleetka.
Coaches: Joel Dickerson, Wright City; Lance Kight, Sperry.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry during the Class 2A state tournament. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

I wrote a story for Tuesday’s newspaper about Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, who was raised in a home with a drug-addicted mother and his two younger brothers. When Perry was 21-years old, he took his mother to court and was given custody of his two brothers. Both of them now have careers, wives and children.

Perry’s childhood was extremely difficult, and his life story goes well beyond what was in Tuesday’s newspaper article. I decided to continue Londaryl Perry’s story in a five-part blog series. I’ll release a new blog each day focusing on a different aspect of Perry’s fascinating, often chilling, life story.

Today, I’ll write about his basketball career and how hoops, in many ways, saved his life. Here is the list of the blogs I’ll release each day:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 8, Londaryl Perry was introduced to basketball.

His family bounced around Oklahoma City from apartment to apartment, and in the summer before his third-grade year, he was playing with some kids at a park.

One other boy asked Londaryl to play on his summer league team, the Colts.

“We would just go out there and play, and I just kept playing,” Londaryl said.

He had natural talent and loved the game, but basketball was also a welcome distraction from a miserable home life with a mother who not only ignored her oldest son, but showed genuine disdain toward him.

She made fun of him in front of her friends, mocking the clothes he wore and calling him awful names.

The one family member Londaryl remembers really showing him affection and love was his uncle Jerome, who also lived in Oklahoma City and now lives in Denton, Texas.

“I remember him coming to me one day, telling me how he didn’t think his mom loved him because she was doing drugs and she was never there for him,” Jerome Perry said.

“Like a lot of little kids, he always wanted to make his mom proud. But she never took out time for him.”

She didn’t even take out time to watch him play basketball. In a hoops career that lasted through four years of college, Londaryl’s mother saw him play exactly twice, and she had to be dragged there both times by other parents.

“Even when he was a little boy, he was a great basketball player,” Jerome Perry said.

“I used to always try to tell his mom, ‘You need to go see him; your son is great out there,’ but she was too busy worrying about getting high and doing drugs.”

Perry didn’t realize a college basketball career was possible until he was 16 and a junior at Putnam City West.

One day, PC West coach Dick Balenseifen walked down the hall with Perry and handed him a letter from a junior college in Kansas.

“What is this for?” Perry asked his coach.

“This is the middle of my junior year, and I had no idea I could go to college and play basketball,” Perry said. “I never even thought I could.”

Through that point in high school, Perry’s grades were bad. He was never ineligible during basketball season, but made C’s, D’s and F’s otherwise.

“I was ignorant to everything,” Perry said. “My environment that I grew up in was totally different than those other kids around me.”

From that point on, though, Perry’s grades improved dramatically while he continued to shine on the hardwood.

Perry played AAU ball between his junior and senior year. His team, the Oklahoma Trotters, went to AAU nationals at Wake Forest and did well, making it to the top 10.

He was playing in the same tournament as guys like Allen Iverson, Joe Smith, Jeff Capel and Jerry Stackhouse.

After one game, Perry was surrounded at his locker by college recruiters, who began asking him questions. But when they asked about his grades, Perry became defensive and told them to leave him alone.

“I told them they were wasting their time, because I don’t have the grades to go to college,” Perry said. “I had this high moment, being surrounded like that, and then I hit a low.”

As a senior, Perry averaged 20.5 points per game and earned a spot on The Oklahoman’s Big All-City team. But still, his early grade issues likely cost him an opportunity to play Division I basketball.

He went to Seminole State College, where he played for two seasons.

Between his freshman and sophomore seasons, he came home to Oklahoma City and worked every day at a tree service.

He would work from early in the morning until 5 p.m. each day, and then take college courses in the evenings.

“By doing that, I had no basketball in the summer and I gained weight,” Perry said. “Because of that, a lot of my options went away.”

Perry remembers one Division I coach coming to Seminole and saying that, because he had gained weight, it didn’t look like he cared about basketball.

According to Perry, word spread from that point and his options for big-time hoops after junior college became very limited.

So he walked on at Central Oklahoma, where he eventually earned a scholarship. He graduated from UCO in 1998.

“When I look back on it, it was a blessing,” Perry said, because he was able to take custody of his brothers and help raise them.

A few years later, when he was in the Army, Perry joined a military basketball team. He got to travel all over Europe playing basketball. In 2006 his team, the Wiesbaden Eagles, won the Army-Europe community-level basketball tournament. Here is a Stars and Stripes story on the championship game victory, during which Perry scored 31 points. There is also a photo of him playing with the article.

****************************************************

Finally, when I Googled “Londaryl Perry,” I came across this highlight video on YouTube that his son posted. The video shows highlights of Perry playing basketball in high school and college, so enjoy.

Centennial boys basketball coach Scott Raper danced with the school mascot, among other things, during the team's Class 3A boys basketball state championship celebration on Friday.

To celebrate their repeat as Class 3A boys basketball champions, the Centennial players didn’t want to simply repeat the embarrassment of coach Scott Raper that they enjoyed last year.

They wanted to surpass it.

So rather than shaving their coach’s head, like they did to celebrate last year’s state title, they made him wear a dress — while they shaved his head.

“This is what the kids asked for,” said Raper, who has been Centennial’s head coach since the school opened in 2007. “They did what we asked for, so I wanted to do this for them.”

The Bison were highly ranked all season, but lost during the regional playoffs, which sparked their title run. Raper said it was important for the team to forget about what it accomplished last season and focus on the task ahead.

“We wore our championship rings for about the first four games of the season,” Raper said. “And then I said, ‘That’s it. I don’t want to see another ring. Last year is over with.’”

If the Bison pull off the three-peat next season, what will Raper have to do then?

“I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me,” Raper said with a grin, adding that he would donate $250 to the school’s food bank if the team wins a third title.

NOTE: Video of the event will be posted the blog soon as well.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

All-Conference
First Team
Ashley Clark, Midwest City
Alie Decker, Edmond Memorial
Carolee Dillard, Midwest City
Taylor Ely, Norman
Bri Kuestersteffen, Norman North
Toni Smith, Del City

Second Team
Brittany Alavinejad, Westmoore
Serithia Hawkins, Southmoore
Sydney Hill, Edmond Memorial
Mariah Jackson, Del City
Kayla Tucker, Southmoore

Third Team
Bethany Cox, Norman
Jami Hensley, Westmoore
Rasheeda Kabba, Westmoore
Amanda Patterson, Moore
Haley Woodard, Norman North

Honorable Mention
Dionna Collins (Del City), Piper Kalthoff (Del City), Jenny Roy (Edmond Memorial),
Alyssa Hand (Edmond Memorial), Jasmine Gaddis (Midwest City), Jasauen Beard (Midwest City), Adrianna White (Midwest City), Reagan Widener (Midwest City),
Tori Thomas (Norman North), Kabria Harkey (Westmoore),

Kevin Kelly said he won't return as Blanchard girls' basketball coach next season. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Blanchard girls basketball coach Kevin Kelly and superintendent Jim Beckham agree: Kelly hasn’t been fired and hasn’t resigned.

But Kelly told The Oklahoman on Monday that the Blanchard administration has opened his position up for applications.

The Lions were 23-4 in 2011-12, Kelly’s fourth season, during which the team went on an 18-game win streak and made a Class 4A area tournament appearance.

Beckham said he can’t comment on personnel issues, but that Kelly has not been dismissed and hasn’t quit.

Kelly, 32, is still teaching at Blanchard and echoed Beckham’s statement that he hasn’t been fired, but said he was called into the superintendent’s office shortly after the Lions’ season-ending loss to Cushing.

“I was told that expectations were not met, and they were opening my job up,” Kelly said.

Beckham wouldn’t confirm or deny if that conversation took place.

Kelly, originally from Plano, Texas, has spent six years at Blanchard; the last four as the girls’ head coach. Kelly went 72-35 during that run. Blanchard has not sent a girls’ basketball team to the state tournament in the five-on-five era.

Kelly was named the Canadian Valley Conference’s Coach of the Year for the last two seasons, and will coach the Middle West team at the Oklahoma Girls’ Basketball Coaches Association All-State games on June 2 in Weatherford.

“I’ve had parent complaints about me being too tough on the kids,” Kelly said. “I challenged them not only basketball-wise, but mentally and physically.

“I’ve been there six years, and (parents) have complained that whole time. I coach with tough love. When it comes down to it, I’m a young guy with old-school values. Sometimes parents don’t see it that way.”

During the 2011-12 season, Kelly’s team made headlines for its 18-game winning streak, which lasted from late December until back-to-back playoff losses that ended its season.

The Lions’ season-ending defeat was the toughest to swallow. Blanchard led Cushing by 7 points with 45 seconds left, but lost 40-39 in regulation.

“I’ll never get over how we lost our last basketball game,” Kelly said. “I’ll move on from it, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over that one.”

Kelly, who played college basketball at Southeastern Oklahoma State, said he is currently looking for another girls basketball head coaching job in Oklahoma.

“I like coaching girls,” Kelly said. “I heard on TV the other day, and I’ve been telling myself this a lot lately, ‘Don’t do what you want to do; do what you’re meant to do.’ I think I’m meant to coach girls basketball somewhere.”

Defensive Players of the Year: Jordan Thomas, Edmond Memorial, and Cornell Neal, Midwest City

Offensive Players of the Year: Jordan Woodard, Edmond Memorial, and Rico Hogan, Norman

Coach of the Year: Shane Cowherd, Edmond Memorial

Newcomer of the Year: Terrell Savala, Edmond Memorial

First Team
James Woodard, Edmond Memorial
Jordan Woodard, Edmond Memorial
A.J. Holland, Del City
T.J. Noel, Midwest City
Rico Hogan, Norman
Cornell Neal, Midwest City

Second Team
Brett Cannon, Del City
Terrell Savala, Edmond Memorial
Connor Madole, Norman
Jordan Thomas, Edmond Memorial
Tripp Fuller, Westmoore

Third Team
Dorian Gigger, Moore
Chris Hobgood, Moore
Steffon Herd, Del City
Trey Ayala, Westmoore
Jamal Mosely, Del City

Honorable Mention:
Sam Kaplan, Norman North
Jourdan Bean, Southmoore
Maurice Davenport, Moore
Kyle Lakin, Westmoore
Beau Palmer, Westmoore
George Kittle, Norman
Daniel Harper, Norman
Keith Glover, Del City
Deonte Long, Del City
Devin Bockhaus, Midwest City
Daryck Jones, Midwest City
Torey Noel, Midwest City
Kesean Brown, Midwest City
Reggie Sloan, Edmond Memorial
Aaron Young, Edmond Memorial

Douglass’ Stephen Clark’s game morphed this season when he was asked to take on more of the scoring load instead of distributing the ball as much.
Clark’s game flourished, helping the Trojans to a third consecutive Class 4A title.
Thursday, Clark was honored with the Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
The 5-foot-10 junior guard averaged 29 points 13 assists and five rebounds per game.
He scored 40 points in Douglass’ championship-game win over Anadarko.
Clark is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, which will be announced later this month.
The award also takes into consideration off-the-court activities. Clark mas maintained a 3.88 GPA and has volunteered for multiple groups as well.
Clark is the first junior to win the award in Oklahoma since Putnam City’s Xavier Henry did in the 2007-08 season. Henry followed it up with a second award as a senior.
Other recent state award winner include Bridge Creek’s Ryan Spangler, Putnam West’s Tyler Neal and Oklahoma Christian School’s Blake Griffin.

Clark will be playing for a US junior team that will compete in Mannheim, Germany, from April 3-14 in an event with teams from 15 other countries, including Argentina, Australia, China, Serbia and Spain.

Because it is not directly tied to the Olympic team or an Olympic-sanctioned event, the families must pay travel costs due to NCAA recruiting rules.

The fundraiser service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Voice of Praise Baptist Church at 2200 Culbertson Dr., in Oklahoma City. The church’s pastor, Rev. Tony F. Wise, will be joined by guest speaker Rev. Teron V. Gaddis, a pastor and teacher at Greater Bethel Baptist Church.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Edmond Memorial's James Woodard signed with Tulsa in November, and he's closely watching to see who the program hires as its next head coach.

Edmond Memorial senior James Woodard isn’t currently planning to seek a release from his letter of intent with the Tulsa basketball program. But he’s keeping an eye on things with the Golden Hurricane.

TU fired head coach Doug Wojcik on March 11, and the replacement process is ongoing. Woodard has been in contact with Lawton Eisenhower forward D’Andre Wright about the situation.

Both have signed letters of intent, but could be granted their release from the commitment because of Wojcik’s firing.

“I’m keeping a close eye on it to see if they make any decisions soon, because if not, I’ll have to start making my decisions,” Woodard said. “I talked to (Wright) last week. We met with the athletic director (Ross Parmley). We’re trying to get all the information we can, so we can see if we need to stay or try to find another school.

“As of now, I’m still going to TU. I’m just waiting to see what they decide on in the next few weeks and go from there.”

Lawton Eisenhower coach Bruce Harrington said Wright is also waiting and watching. Wright, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds in helping the Eagles reach the state tournament.

Woodard, a 6-foot-3 wing, led Memorial with 14 points and seven rebounds per game as the Bulldogs finished as the Class 6A runner-up to Tulsa Union.

The next letter of intent signing period for basketball opens April 11, at which time, several other scholarships will begin to be filled. There’s always some shuffling when coaches leave and players go to other schools, so the domino effect could cause some currently filled spots to come open as well.

It’s a hectic time, and very stressful for a kid caught in the middle of it. For those who are interested, here’s a link to a Tulsa World story from Sunday detailing a few potential candidates at Tulsa.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Casady’s Casey Roberts was named first-team All-Southwest Preparatory Conference while two teammates were also honored.
Jason Shelley also made the All-SPC team while Graham Bennett earned honorable mention honors.
Roberts averaged 11.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 4.1 assists for the Cyclones.
Shelley led Casady with 11.3 points per game, while added 8.8 rebounds.
Bennett averages 8.0 points and 10.4 rebounds.

The Oklahoma Girls Basketball Coaches Association announced its six All-State teams Friday after a week of tryouts.

The three OGBCA All-State games, which are scheduled for Saturday, June 2 at Weatherford High School, will feature small, middle and large schools.

LARGE SCHOOL ROSTERS

WEST

Courtney Walker (Edmond Santa Fe); Alie Decker (Edmond Memorial); Ashley Clark (Midwest City); Antoinet Webster (Western Heights); Sydney Hill (Edmond Memorial); Elyse Hight (Bishop McGuinness); Toni Smith (Del City); Daisha Gonzaque (Edmond Santa Fe); Adrianna White (Midwest City); Toni Cheadle (Carl Albert).

Coaches: Paul Bass (Edmond Santa Fe); Karri Sears (Del City).

EAST

Kelsee Grovey (Shawnee); Madison Mercado (Sapulpa); Taylor Cooper (Shawnee); Devaughn Gray (Tulsa Washington); U’Knique Gaines (Tulsa East Central); LaNesha Middleton (Stillwater); Miranda Taylor (Claremore); Chelsie Keys (Muskogee); Lashanda Green (McAlester); Taylor Hurd (Jenks).

Coaches: Richard Bassett (Grove); Doyle Roland (Muskogee).

MIDDLE SCHOOL ROSTERS

WEST

Quira Demery (Millwood); Te’era Williams (Douglass); Lacey Paulk (Washington); Kati Sullivan (Anadarko); Jennifer Williams (Clinton); Madison Ward (Cache); Courtney Robinson (Blanchard); Amalea Hunter (Woodward); Kylie Boggess (Piedmont); Ashlyn Carroll (Chisholm).

Coaches: Kevin Kelly (Blanchard); Kirk Harris (Marlow).

EAST

Kelsey Barnwell (Kansas); Caitlyn Spurgeon (Vinita); Jodi Glover (Fort Gibson); Kenzie Solberg (Chandler); Courtney Cowan (Kansas); Brooke Watkins (Prague); Courtney Backward (Salina); Megan Ritter (Jay); Ashleigh Hutchings (Berryhill); Kardriunna Young (Idabel).

Coaches: Matt Sweeney (Oologah); Rick Ott (Inola).

SMALL SCHOOL ROSTERS

WEST

Jaime Brown (Chattanooga); Lexie Brown (Hammon); Casi Cornell (Thomas); Nikki Hager (Sayre); Jordan Garber (Amber-Pocasset); Haley Halcomb (Pond Creek-Hunter); Kori Fast (Fairview); Bailey McBride (Chattanooga); Jessica Penner (Corn Bible); Katelyn Richardson (Calumet); Lindsey Smith (Big Pasture); Hannah Stevens (Turner); Rylie Swanson (Alva); Jordynn VanPelt (Snyder); Shayla Williams (Northeast).

Coach: Terry Fellenstein (Corn Bible).

EAST

Pete Douglas (Oktaha); Megan Brown (Howe); Haley Bryan (Copan); Darian Black (Frontier); Tiffany Young (Frontier); Anna Eslinger (Ripley); Tiffeny Layton (Kiowa); Cydney Dillard (Central Sallisaw); Charitte Evans (Red Oak); McKenzie Cranford (Tonkawa); Hannah Thomas (Oklahoma Union); Shelley Swicegood (Colcord); Whitney Brown (Oktaha); Landry James (Talihina); Taylor Benson (Oklahoma Union).

Coaches: David Tinkler (Latta); Scott Lowe (Central Sallisaw).

The Edmond Santa Fe girls basketball team was ranked No. 10 in the country by USA Today. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Edmond Santa Fe’s girls have been No. 1 in Oklahoma all season. Now, they are a top-10 team nationally.

USA Today has the Wolves at No. 10 in their latest girls basketball Super 25 rankings.

Santa Fe finished the 2011-12 season with a 28-0 record and a second straight Class 6A state championship, won last weekend in a 44-41 victory over Edmond Memorial.

Girls All-Metro Athletic Conference
Most Valuable Player: Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe
Offensive Player of the Year: Layton Hurley, Choctaw
Defensive Player of the Year: Daisha Gonzaque, Edmond Santa Fe
Newcomer of the Year: Da’Jah Coffey, Putnam North
Coach of the Year: Karlie Free, Edmond North

First Team
Whitney Dunn, Mustang
Daisha Gonzaque, Edmond Santa Fe
Layton Hurley, Choctaw
Kaitlyn Peterson, Edmond North
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe

Second Team
Haley Brown, Yukon
Da’Jah Coffey, Putnam North
Cameerah Graves, Edmond Santa Fe
Tamara Lee, Edmond Santa Fe
Jayden Oliver, Putnam City

All-Suburban Conference Girls
Most Valuable Player: Kelsee Grovey, Shawnee
Defensive Player of the Year: Jalyn Jackson, Deer Creek
Newcomer of the Year: Taylor Cooper, Shawnee
Coach of the Year: Wendi Wells, Shawnee

First team
Kylie Boggess, Piedmont
Gioya Carter, Carl Albert
Ashley Gibson, Deer Creek
Antoinet Webster, Western Heights
Micaela Yu, Shawnee

Second team
Ashley Almond, Piedmont
Toni Cheadle, Carl Albert
Bailey Mack, Harrah
Melinda Murillo, Guthrie
Sheronica Swindle, Western Heights

Third team
Lauren Collyer, Harrah
Sierra Hamilton, Chickasha
Haley Hill, El Reno
Mikaela Murillo, Guthrie
Sarah Parker, Piedmont

All-Suburban Conference
Most Valuable Player: Carlbe Ervin, Carl Albert
Defensive Player of the Year: Raymond Little, El Reno
Newcomer of the Year: Cameron Peters, Piedmont
Coach of the Year: Pete Papahronis, Guthrie

First team
Garrett Hermanski, Deer Creek
Conner Haydon, El Reno
Dejoun Sanders, Shawnee
Jacobi Davis, Chickasha
Kai Callins, Guthrie

Second team
Tim Tullis, Western Heights
Cameron Peters, Piedmont
Rashaad Copeland, El Reno
Leland Palmer, Noble
Colin Jennings, Harrah

Third team
Darrain Winston, Carl Albert
Dondre Brookins, Carl Albert
Collin Bricker, Piedmont
Joel Blumenthal, Deer Creek
Dillion Mooreland, Shawnee

All-Defensive Team
Darrain Winston, Carl Albert
Shron Parker, Guthrie
Adrion Williams, Piedmont
Jose Bonilla, El Reno
Anthony Clark, Deer Creek

All-Metro Athletic Conference
Coach of the Year: A.D. Burtschi, Putnam City
Player of the Year: Joe Summers, Putnam North
Offensive Player of the Year: David Bush, Putnam City
Defensive Player of the Year: Omega Harris, Putnam West
Newcomer of the Year: Justin Jones, Edmond Santa Fe

First team
David Bush, Putnam City
Aaron Anderson, Edmond Santa Fe
Tavionne Pennon, Putnam West
Shaquille Morris, Edmond Santa Fe
Ronnie Boyce, Putnam City

Second team
Omega Harris, Putnam West
J.R. Simon, Putnam North
T.J. Jones, Putnam North
Zach Laurie, Mustang
Tyler Lester, Choctaw

Third team
Justin Jones, Edmond Santa Fe
Kevin House, Putnam West
Ed Baker, Edmond North
Rodney Teal, Putnam North
Orlando Goldsmith, Putnam City

Honorable mention
Choctaw: Carson Clay, Reggie Wright
Edmond North: David Montgomery, Blake Ruben
Mustang: Levi Lum, Robert Shaw
Putnam City: Dexter Dean, Richmarr Smith
Putnam West: Deonte Ogles

6A

EDMOND SANTA FE VS. EDMOND MEMORIAL, 1:45 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Edmond Santa Fe

I honestly wouldn’t be completely shocked if Edmond Memorial pulled this one off. The Bulldogs are playing at a high level right now, but after the way Courtney Walker and the Wolves came back in the semifinal win over Midwest City, it’s impossible for me to pick against Santa Fe.

5A

SHAWNEE VS. TULSA EAST CENTRAL, 6 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Shawnee

After watching the beginning of Tulsa East Central’s semifinal win over McAlester, I really thought the Cardinals had what it takes to beat the Wolves. But then, leading scorer and rebounder Bria Pitts tore her ACL. In all likelihood, I would have picked Shawnee either way, but I definitely have to pick the Wolves now. Shawnee finishes up an unbeaten season and wins its first-ever girls’ basketball state title in a close one.

4A

ANADARKO VS. FORT GIBSON, 12:15 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Anadarko

Lakota Beatty is not only one of the state’s top juniors, but one of Oklahoma’s best players. Now that Anadarko finally got past Vinita, I expect the Warriors to take down the defending champions.

3A

MILLWOOD VS. PRAGUE, 7:30 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Prague

I picked Prague before the state tournament started, and they’ve done nothing to force me to change the pick, However, after Millwood’s semifinal win over Kansas, I gave serious consideration to switching this pick to Arnelia Spears’ Falcons. But ultimately, I have to stick with my original instinct. The Red Devils bring it home.

2A

NORTHEAST VS. FAIRVIEW, 2 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Northeast

The Northeast-Snyder semifinal had me glued to Twitter while simultaneously trying to pay attention to the Edmond Memorial-Sapulpa game I was covering. Nothing against Fairview, but it’s really too bad that game wasn’t the state title game. In his first year at the helm, Northeast’s Londaryl Perry, a former Putnam City West standout himself, has done one of the best coaching jobs in the state this year with the Vikings, regardless of Saturday’s outcome. Northeast beat Fairview in an area final, and I think they do it again.

* Nothing terribly surprising in Class 6A. The Edmond schools and Midwest City are clearly the three best teams in Class 6A, and I think we’ll get Edlam in the title game on Saturday.

* Give it up to Nikki McCann’s Mustang team. They were overmatched Thursday against Sapulpa, but getting to the state tournament with this young team is a big accomplishment. McCann has the proud Bronco girls’ basketball program headed back in the right direction, and with juniors Kendall and Mallory Brothers and freshman Bailey Flynn, this team will be good next year and should be back in the state tournament.

* Anadarko vs. Vinita in the Class 4A semifinals. That should be fantastic. Vinita has beaten the Warriors out in the first round the last three years, so Anadarko will enter this one with some extra motivation. But Caitlyn Spurgeon, who scored 33 in Thursday’s win over Jay, is a tough matchup. This game tips off at 1:30 p.m. at State Fair Arena.

* Te’era Williams’ career at Douglass ends with a disappointing loss, but that shouldn’t take away from the season she had. I mean this as no disrespect to the other Trojans players, but without Williams, Douglass wouldn’t have sniffed the state tournament. She’s a great talent, and I fully expect her to have a fine career at Grambling State.

* Like Mustang, you have to admire the job Amanda Tims did in her first year as coach at Piedmont. The Wildcats were in their first state tournament since 2001, and got a tough first-round matchup with No. 1 Fort Gibson. Piedmont loses Kylie Boggess for next season, but brings back very talented juniors Ashley Almond and Sarah Parker.

* Mount St. Mary almost got a win in their first state tournament game ever. Even with the heartbreaking loss, the Rockets’ state tournament appearance itself is a huge success. Mount St. Mary moved up to Class 4A and started three sophomores and a freshman, but still made it and almost won a game. That’s a testament to coach Rory Hamilton and the job he’s done. Expect the Rockets to be back in contention next season.

* I admit I was surprised when I saw the Kansas-Chandler score. It’s impressive that the Lions were that close to knocking off the favorites.

* Sulphur’s first state trip since 1923 started well, with a 45-43 win over Salina. Now it gets a tough semifinal matchup with No. 2 Prague, which was my state champion pick.

* Millwood will have its hands full with Kansas, but I like the Falcons to win it and get to their fifth straight state championship game.

* I’m perfectly happy to be in Tulsa for the big schools tournaments, but I really, really wish I could see tomorrow’s Northeast-Snyder Class 2A semifinal game. The defending state champs against the Vikings, who, in Londaryl Perry’s first season, have looked like the team to beat, at least in my opinion. Northeast beat Amber-Pocasset 74-46 Thursday, which I was a little shocked by. I expected the Vikings to win (they were my state pick, after all,) but not like that.

6A

EDMOND SANTA FE VS. MIDWEST CITY, NOON

Jason’s pick: Edmond Santa Fe

The Bombers are a tough team, and it’s too bad this can’t be the championship game. But I think the Wolves will be just too tough.

EDMOND MEMORIAL VS. SAPULPA, 7:30 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Edmond Memorial

The Bulldogs are hot right now. We get a third Edlam matchup between Santa Fe and Memorial for the 6A championship.

5A

SHAWNEE VS. CARL ALBERT, 10:30 A.M.

Jason’s pick: Shawnee

Carl Albert is a good team, but Shawnee is a great team. Kelsee Grovey, Taylor Cooper and the Wolves pick up another win on their way to the state title.

TULSA EAST CENTRAL VS. MCALESTER, 6 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Tulsa East Central

Cardinals are too athletic, talented and experienced to lose this one.

4A

FORT GIBSON VS. PERKINS-TRYON, 10:30 A.M.

Jason’s pick: Fort Gibson

Defending champs take care of business and get back to the title game.

VINITA VS. ANADARKO, 1:30 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Anadarko

Warriors finally best Caitlyn Spurgeon and Vinita to earn title game berth.

3A

SULPHUR VS. PRAGUE, 6 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Prague

The Red Devils were my state champion pick, and I’ll stick with them.

KANSAS VS. MILLWOOD, 7:30 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Millwood

Kansas got all it wanted from Chandler, and Millwood is even better. The Falcons advance to their fifth straight state title game with a close win.

2A

NORTHEAST VS. SNYDER, 6 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Northeast

Snyder has great talent, is well-coached and has experience. But there’s just something about this Northeast team that I like. The Vikings win on their way to the state title.

THOMAS VS. FAIRVIEW, 7:30 P.M.

Jason’s pick: Thomas

Terriers knocked off No. 1 Snyder in the area final and then beat Tonkawa in the quarterfinals. Thomas rides momentum to the title game.

* You have to feel terrible for Kate Andrews. The Bishop McGuinness senior had a really rough final high school basketball game. She had three first-half fouls, picked up her fourth less than a minute into the third quarter and sprained her ankle in the fourth. Andrews had a fantastic career and this game shouldn’t take away from that.

* The Carl Albert-Bishop McGuinness game was fun to watch and entertaining, but both teams really struggled shooting the ball. Or maybe both teams were just really good on defense. Either way, there wasn’t a lot of scoring. The Titans shot 28 percent from the field, and the Irish shot 30 percent.

* Carl Albert coach Tim Price on his team’s struggles to score this season: “We’ve had our struggles scoring throughout the year, so we’re not going to be able to outscore somebody when a game gets to the mid-50s. We’ve got to keep the score down and battle.” Mission accomplished on Thursday, but will the Titans be able to do the same Friday against Shawnee?

* Carl Albert is playing in its eighth straight girls state tournament, but is advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 2009. The Titans lost close games the last two seasons in the first round.

* Shawnee has been my pick to win Class 5A since the beginning of the season, and I saw nothing Thursday to change my mind, although a matchup with Tulsa East Central could be interesting. The Wolves didn’t look great early against Claremore, but I think that is more of a testament to the Zebras’ effort.

* Shawnee senior guard Kelsee Grovey is one of the best players in the state, regardless of class. The things she does on defense change the game and makes her team win. She doesn’t necessarily light up the box score, but if I was starting a team, she’d be one of the players I’d want on it. The last time she guarded Carl Albert’s Gioya Carter, Carter was severely limited. Will Grovey be able to do it again?

* Speaking of superlatives, Del City’s Karri Sears is one of the best coaches around. She got more out of this Del City team than I think a lot of people expected, and for that she deserves to be recognized. The Eagles lost players to injuries, played a tough schedule and suffered some tough losses, but when it came playoff time, Sears got her team to the state tournament and almost won Thursday. I would argue that if Del City hadn’t gotten in foul trouble as quickly as it did in the third quarter, it just might have beaten McAlester.

* Del City senior Toni Smith wrapped up her terrific career with a 16-point, 12-rebound effort against McAlester. Now she moves on to Fresno State.

* I’d never seen McAlester guard LaShanda Green play until Thursday, but I mentioned her as a player to watch in our 5A tournament preview video. She impressed me on Day 1. It will be interesting to see how she performs Friday against a much tougher Tulsa East Central team.

* Tulsa East Central was a machine Thursday. If it is indeed Shawnee vs. Tulsa East Central in the championship game, that could be big-time good.

* Altus was 6-15 a year ago, and finished this year 17-10 and with a state tournament berth. That’s what I’d call a very successful turnaround season.

As Edmond Santa Fe prepares to open the CLass 6A state tournament Thursday, the Wolves’ Courtney Walker was named the Gatorade Oklahoma Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Going into Thursday’s state tournament opener against Tulsa Union (2 p.m., Mabee Center), Walker is averaging 17.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 3.6 assists for the 25-0 Wolves.

The Texas A&< signee is currently ranked as the No. 33 recruit in the nation on Hoopgurlz ESPNU 100.

Walker is the first to receive the award from Santa Fe. The award honors not only athletic excellence but character and academic achievement as well. Walker is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award, which will be announced later this month.

Recent state winners included Ashley Clark (Midwest City), Richa Jackson (Midwest City), Kevi Luper (Adair), Alyssia Brewer (Sapulpa), Angel Goodrich (Sequoyah Tahlequah) and Stephanie McGee (Howe, twice).

For Class 4A-2A, all championship games will be played at State Fair Arena on Saturday. Class 4A boys and 3A girls will remain at outer locations for Friday’s semifinals. All other classes will play at the Big House Friday and Saturday.

Class 6A
Girls at Oral Roberts Mabee Center
Edmond Santa Fe. Vs. Tulsa Union, 2 p.m.
Muskogee vs. Midwest City, 3:30 p.m.
Sapulpa vs. Mustang, 7 p.m.
Edmond Memorial vs. Jenks, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
Muskogee/Midwest City winner vs. Edmond Santa Fe/Tulsa Union winner, noon
Sapulpa/Mustang winner vs. Edmond Memorial/Jenks winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 1:45 p.m.

Boys at Skiatook
Tulsa Edison vs. Putnam City, 2 p.m.
Edmond Memorial vs. Bixby, 3:30 p.m.
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Bartlesville, 7 p.m.
Tulsa Union vs. Lawton Eisenhower, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
At Mabee Center
Tulsa Edison/Putnam City winner vs. Edmond Memorial/Bixby winner, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 7:45 p.m.

Class 5A
Girls at Sapulpa
Carl Albert vs. Bishop McGuinness, 2 p.m.
Shawnee vs. Claremore, 3:30 p.m.
Del City vs. McAlester, 7 p.m.
Tulsa East Central vs. Altus, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
At Mabee Center
Carl Albert/Bishop McGuinness winner vs. Shawnee/Claremore winner, 10:30 a.m.
Tulsa East Central/Altus winner vs. Del City/McAlester winner, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 6 p.m.

Boys at Catoosa
Del City vs. Guthrie, 2 p.m.
Tulsa East Central vs. Ardmore, 3:30 p.m.
Carl Albert vs. El Reno, 7 p.m.
Bishop McGuinness vs. Tulsa Central, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
At Mabee Center
Tulsa East Centra/Ardmore winner vs. Del City/Guthrie winner, 9 a.m.
Carl Albert/El Reno winner vs. McGuinness/Tulsa Central winner, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, noon

Class 4A
Girls at Choctaw
Douglass vs. Anadarko, 2 p.m.
Fort Gibson vs. Piedmont, 3:30 p.m.
Perkins-Tryon vs. Mount St. Mary, 7 p.m.
Vinita vs. Jay, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
At State Fair Arena
Fort Gibson/Piedmont winner vs. Perkins-Tryon/Mount St. Mary winner, 10:30 a.m.
Vinita/Jay winner vs. Douglass/Anadarko winner, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 12:15 p.m.

Boys at Carl Albert
Tulsa McLain vs. Roland, 2 p.m.
Cascia Hall vs. Vinita, 3:30 p.m.
Anadarko vs. John Marshall, 7 p.m.
Douglass vs. Piedmont, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
At Carl Albert
Anadarko/John Marshall winner vs. McLain/Roland winner, 6 p.m.
Douglass/Piedmont winner vs. Cascia Hall/Vinita winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
At State Fair Arena
Championship, 5:45 p.m.

Class 3A
Girls at Yukon
Verdigris vs. Prague, 2 p.m.
Millwood vs. Adair, 3:30 p.m.
Sulphur vs. Salina, 7 p.m.
Kansas vs. Chandler, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
At Yukon
Sulphur/Salina winner vs. Verdigris/Prague winner, 6 p.m.
Kansas/Chandler winner vs. Millwood/Adair winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
At State Fair Arena
Championship, 7:30 p.m.

Boys at Southern Nazarene University
Victory Christian vs. Kingfisher, 2 p.m.
Washington vs. Sperry, 3:30 p.m.
Keys (Park Hill) vs. Centennial, 7 p.m.
Millwood vs. Haskell, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
At State Fair Arena
Keys (Park Hill)/Centennial winner vs. Millwood/Haskell winner, noon
Washington/Sperry winner vs. Victory Christian/Kingfisher winner, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 10:30 a.m.

Class 2A
Girls at Oklahoma City University
Thomas vs. Tonkawa, 2 p.m.
Snyder vs. Colcord, 3:30 p.m.
Northeast vs. Amber-Pocasset, 7 p.m.
Fairview vs. Oktaha, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
At State Fair Arena
Northeast/Amber-Pocasset winner vs. Snyder/Colcord winner, 6 p.m.
Thomas/Tonkawa winner vs. Fairview/Oktaha winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 2 p.m.

Boys at State Fair Arena
Northeast vs. Oktaha, 2 p.m.
Preston vs. Carnegie, 3:30 p.m.
Hennessey vs. Watonga, 7 p.m.
Pioneer vs. Haworth, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
Northeast/Oktaha winner vs. Preston/Carnegie winner, 9 a.m.
Hennessey/Watonga winner vs. Pioneer/Haworth winner, 9 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 9:15 p.m.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

No. 1 Snyder (22-3): Cyclones, the defending champions, were upset by Thomas in area final but bounced back to clinch state berth Saturday.

No. 2 Northeast (24-2): Junior T’ona Edwards leads Northeast, which earned state berth in coach Londaryl Perry’s first season at the helm.

No. 3 Oktaha (29-0): Coach Chester Pittman seeks his third state championship in his 23 years as Oktaha coach.

No. 4 Amber-Pocasset (29-1): Panthers were unbeaten until area final loss to Oktaha, but rebounded with win Saturday for state berth.

No. 5 Tonkawa (27-1): Suffered first setback of the season in area final loss to Colcord, but beat Dale on a buzzer-beater Saturday to advance.

No. 6 Fairview (26-2): A semifinal team last season, Fairview hopes to win its first state title since 1974.

No. 7 Thomas (23-2): A semifinal team last year, Thomas seeks its seventh-ever state title. The Terriers upset No. 1 Snyder in Friday’s area final.

No. 13 Colcord (18-6): Improvement throughout the season is shown by win over Adair on Feb. 10. Colcord opened the year with 33-point loss at Adair.

No. 1 Kansas (23-2): Last year’s runner-up, the Comets seek their fourth-ever state championship.

No. 2 Prague (25-1): Three four-year starters lead the Red Devils, who were a semifinal team in 2011.

No. 3 Sulphur (25-1): Young team returned four starters from last year. Bulldogs seeking first-ever state title.

No. 4 Millwood (21-6): Last year’s Class 2A runner-up suffered first loss since Jan. 21 in area final vs. Sulphur, but rebounded by beating Davis to advance.

No. 5 Salina (21-6): Returned all five starters from last year’s team and are in the state tournament in Tony Rosebrough’s first year as coach.

No. 6 Verdigris (23-5): Mike Buntin leads the Cardinals to the state tourney in his first season as coach.

No. 8 Adair (20-7): Warriors return to the state tournament for the seventh straight season.

No. 10 Chandler (21-7): Senior Kenzie Solberg has the Lions dreaming of their first state championship since 1933.

Douglass senior Te'era Williams led the Trojans to their first state tournament since 1992. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Here is your Class 4A girls’ basketball state tournament field.

No. 1 Fort Gibson (26-1): Defending state champions’ only loss came on Dec. 30 to 5A No. 2 Tulsa East Central in the Tournament of Champions finals.

No. 2 Anadarko (25-1): Only loss this season is to 5A’s top-ranked team, Shawnee. Warriors have lost to Vinita in the first round of the last three state tournaments.

No. 3 Vinita (24-3): Arkansas Tech signee Caitlyn Spurgeon leads Hornets back to state tournament for fifth straight year.

No. 7 Perkins-Tryon (23-5): Move up in class didn’t stop Perkins-Tryon, a 3A semifinal team in 2011, from earning 4A state berth.

No. 9 Piedmont (21-7): Wildcats’ are led by senior Kylie Boggess and juniors Sarah Parker and Ashley Almond. This is coach Amanda Tims’ first season.

No. 13 Jay (19-9): Lost by two points to No. 1 Fort Gibson in regional final, but bounced back, winning three games in the last three days to earn state berth.

No. 16 Mount St. Mary (20-6): Rockets advance to first-ever state tournament in coach Rory Hamilton’s fifth year.

UR Douglass (16-11): Trojans started their run with an upset at Cushing, then beat the Tigers again Saturday. It is Douglass’ first state tournament appearance since 1992.