More from The Q&A: Nyeshia Stevenson
The Oklahoma guard had lots of fun stuff to say when I chatted with her for my weekly Q&A.
Here’s some of the outtakes:
Jenni Carlson: You have some pretty diverse literary interests, too — “Harry Potter” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” among them.
Nyeshia Stevenson: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” I had to read that in middle school. Our teacher made us read it together as a class, and I really liked it. We went into depth with it. “Harry Potter,” we read that as a class, too. I’m like, “‘Harry Potter’? I do not want to read this.” And I’m raising my hand, “Can I read? Can I read?” I read the second one on my own and the third one on my own. I didn’t go any further after that because the books got too big.
JC: You have to be a weightlifter to carry around those later books.
NS: Yeah, I just stopped.
JC: I hear you’ve got some hidden talents. I have to know — are you better at knitting or skateboarding?
NS: Honestly, I’m better at knitting. I just started to skateboard about three years ago, but I’ve been knitting since sixth grade. My principal had this thing where he wanted everyone in the whole school to do clubs. We had to pick two clubs. We had a big list, and we had to number one through 10. Just for a joke, I put knitting. It was like my No. 9 pick. I got put in knitting, and I’m like, “Oh, my gosh.” And I fell in love with it. I went home from school, and I said, “Mom, we have to go to Wal-Mart and get knitting needles and some yarn.” And she was like, “What?” I was like, “We just have to do it.” From then on, I’ve just been knitting.
JC: So, you still do it?
NS: I don’t ever really finish anything. I just start. I have like three things started, and they’re just sitting there not finished. I don’t have enough free time right now.
Millwood coach belongs in Hall
Somehow it was ironic that I received a ballot for the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame this week.
Ironic because I’ve been working on a project about Varryl Franklin, the legendary Millwood High School basketball coach. Ironic, too, because Franklin is never up for these types of honors.
You can search high and low for a hall of fame that Franklin is a part of, and you won’t find it. No coaches’ hall of fame. No state hall of fame. No national one either.
If Franklin is a member of a hall of fame, my Google searching prowess has failed me.
On his basketball record alone, he should be a hall of famer. He has won 11 state championships as the head boys basketball coach at Millwood. That’s more prep basketball titles than any other coach, alive or dead, male or female in Oklahoma history.
Think of all the great high school coaches this state has produced. Bertha Teague. Jenks Simmons. Even Eddie Sutton and Sherri Coale spent some time in the high school ranks. None of those greats won anywhere close to the number of titles that Franklin has won. That should be enough to get him into a hall of fame.
But the thing is, his greatness is so much bigger than those on-court triumphs. He is a maker of men, a builder of leaders. He has helped to encourage and empower generation after generation of athletes at Millwood.
He did it as a longtime football assistant. He did it as a basketball assistant before becoming the head coach 30 years ago. And he continues to do it to this day.
One of his former players called him an “unsung hero.”
Maybe the reason that no hall of fame has ever come calling is because Franklin could care less about individual honors or personal accolades. He doesn’t ask for them. Heck, I get the feeling like he doesn’t even like them.
But Franklin deserves them.
Goodness knows, there are bunch of deserving candidates on my ballot for the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. But this much I know – it’s a shame that there’s no write-in area. If there was, I know who’s name I’d put there.
Chill out, Rock Chalkers
My column about the Oklahoma-Kansas game has caused a few Jayhawk fans to get their feathers ruffled.
Some took exception with my belief that the Sooners would’ve won by double figures had Blake Griffin be able to play. Others thought I was wrong in my critique of Cole Aldrich.
Hey, it’s a free country. Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. But that means I am, too, and I stand by what I said — the Sooners would’ve dominated with Griffin and Aldrich wasn’t as eye-poppingly good as I thought he would be.
Here’s why the Sooners would’ve beat the Jayhawks by double figures — it’s not only that Griffin would’ve scored a bunch of points and snagged a bunch of rebounds, but it’s also that he would’ve settled down his sidekicks. The biggest problem the Sooners had Monday night was that Austin Johnson and Tony Crocker looked like they did three years ago, not like they have the first three-plus months of the season. They threw the ball away. They missed shots. They never settled down.
The truth is, they were trying to do too much in Griffin’s absence.
With Griffin on the floor, they stay within themselves and do only what they can do. Monday with him on the bench, they tried to do things that they aren’t capable of.
It was a recipe for disaster.
A healthy Blake Griffin wouldn’t have just added his bit to the Kansas game. He’d have helped his teammates along, too.
As for Aldrich, I just wasn’t wowed by him. Yes, he put up some nice numbers. Maybe my expectations are too high. Maybe my expectations were of someone as good as Blake Griffin.
Truth is, Aldrich is a nice college center, but Griffin is a beast. My guess is that I spent the whole night thinking about how Griffin would’ve absolutely shredded a front-line as depleted as OU’s was, first by a superstar’s absence, then by big brother Taylor’s foul trouble. The younger Griffin would’ve scored 40 points and grabbed 30 rebounds.
That might be hyperbole, but then again, maybe not. The guy has been spectacular all season, and such crazy numbers are not so ridiculous with him.
All of this might only ruffle more Jayhawk feathers, but I’ll say this much — I’ll be darn interested to see what happens if these two teams cross paths in the Big 12 Tournament.
Sans Griffin, Sooners can take solace
With apologies to Jeff Capel, there was reason for the Oklahoma men’s basketball team to take solace in what happened at Texas.
Saturday night in Austin, a lost superstar meant a lost game for the Sooners. Blake Griffin suffered a concussion, and I don’t know about you, but it was tough watching the big guy on the bench. He had that spaced out look that’s scary to see.
His teammates, though, were sharp. Even without Griffin, the Sooners were within a whisker of beating a good Texas team in a rowdy environment.
The Longhorns triumphed — barely — and afterward, Capel dismissed the idea that there was anything good about the way his Sooners lost, declaring no moral victories for the program. I get what the OU coach is saying, but really, there was plenty to celebrate in the way the Sooners played.
Losing Griffin, after all, will be the biggest concern for this team come the postseason. He could tweak an ankle. He could get into serious foul trouble. Where might that leave the Sooners?
The answer came Saturday in Austin — it would still leave them in pretty good shape.
Now, you can’t lose the best player in college basketball without having a dip. But the Sooners showed that they are still a pretty good team sans Griffin.
Willie Warren is a flat-out gamer. The true freshman was clutch against the Longhorns, scoring 27 points.
Austin Johnson was solid. Check out this balanced stat line — six points, seven rebounds, six assists, no turnovers
Warren, Johnson and the rest of the able-bodied starters all played 35 minutes plus in the game, too. They hung tough, especially the big guys. Texas, after all, has quality depth in the post and played none of its bigs any more than 25 minutes.
There were definitely positives signs for the Sooners even in their loss.
Now, I’m not saying that they are as good without Griffin. With Big Blake, the Sooners are a national championship contender. Without him, they are not. But the good news is, now they know that they can manage if they have to go awhile in a game without him.
Better to find that out now rather than wonder about it when the calendar turns to March.
Bomar still an NFL prospect
Rhett Bomar has been out of sight and out of mind for the past few years.
Many in the Sooner Nation would say that’s good news.
Booted from the Oklahoma football team for taking money for work he didn’t do at Big Red Sports and Imports, the quarterback became Public Enemy No. 1 for many a Sooner fan. He transferred to Sam Houston State. The division was lower. The stage was smaller. But Bomar just wanted to get his football career back on track.
Looks like he’s done it.
Looks like he might not be out of sight, out of mind much longer, either.
Bomar is expected to be drafted in the middle rounds of the NFL Draft later this spring. So says a story on FoxSports.com. He is strutting his stuff this week at the NFL Combine. That means he’s being poked and prodded. It also means he’s being asked about what happened at OU.
And according to the FoxSports.com story, that won’t be much of an issue come draft day. NFL scouts, apparently, are more concerned about his arm strength than they are about his NCAA rules violation.
It’s hard to blame them.
For starters, the infractions might have been major in the eyes of the NCAA and college football types everywhere, but they are small potatoes compared to some of the issues that NFL teams must grapple with on draft day. There are prospects with arrests and convictions. There are resumes that include assaults and DUIs right beside 40 times and bench press reps.
Bomar’s offenses are minor compared to that.
Then, there is his ability.
I had a chance to meet Bomar when he was still a high school senior in Grand Prairie, Texas. I went down there to work on a story about him and had a chance to see one of his workouts with his personal trainer. He was doing drills specific to the quarterback positions, things with drops and such that I can’t imagine many high school quarterbacks are doing.
And it showed.
Everyone saw the results while he was at OU. He could throw. He could run. He could do just about everything. He has an NFL skill set.
Now, I’m not saying he’s a first-day guy in the draft. I’m not saying he’s going to start right away or become some great NFL quarterback because, frankly, such things are rare even with the most talented players. But Bomar has always shown abilities that could one day take him to the NFL.
Looks like that day will come soon.
Stakes high for Griffin lottery
Now that the trading-deadline dust has settled, there is clarity for the Thunder.
It must get Blake Griffin.
The Oklahoma big man has yet to declare himself eligible for the NBA Draft, but he is clearly ready for that next level. He is dominating the college game this season, and more than that, he is showing skills and abilities that will translate well in the NBA.
He is strong. He is athletic. He is versatile.
He scores. He defends. He rebounds.
All of those characteristics will make him a 6-foot-10 force in the NBA.
An inside presence like that is exactly what the Thunder needs after the Tyson Chandler trade was rescinded. In the Hornets center, the Thunder would’ve gotten a strong, athletic, versatile big man who can score, defend and rebound. Now, the franchise on the prowl again for such a player.
Griffin is the answer, not Hasheem Thabeet.
The Connecticut center is a 7-footer and then some. He is a lanky, rangy character, but after watching him get dominated by Pittsburgh the other night, I have to wonder about how his game and his skills will translate in the NBA. DeJuan Blair was clearly better than Thabeet.
And in case you’re wondering, Thabeet would face someone who is better than Blair every single night in the NBA.
Some day Thabeet might be a great NBA center, but right now, that day seems a long ways off. He would be a project for sure, and he might end up being a long-term project that never is completed.
Griffin, on the other hand, looks like he could play tonight with the Thunder in Phoenix if the team had a uniform for him. He has the game, the body, the skill to play in the NBA now and for a long time to come.
The Thunder will be in position to get him come draft time. Maybe it gets the No. 1 pick from the magic ping pong balls. Maybe it packages players and picks in a deal to acquire that No. 1 pick from someone else. Whatever the case, Sam Presti and Co. must make it happen.
That much is clear.
Worst thing about the Chandler mess
My heart goes out to Tyson Chandler.
Not because he’s not coming back to Oklahoma City. Sure, that came as bad news late Wednesday night when the Thunder announced it was rescinding its trade with the Hornets, a trade that would’ve brought the talented big man back to town. Chandler spent time here before, embracing the city and becoming a fan favorite. Truth be told, he seems like one of the good guys in sports.
But Chandler not returning to OKC is not why I feel bad for the big guy. I feel bad because something must really be wrong with him.
Trades aren’t often rescinded in the NBA, especially not ones that are celebrated like Chandler’s was. Everyone with the Thunder seemed to be glowing about the news Wednesday. Sam Presti. Scott Brooks. Players. Fans.
The thing is, this was a trade for the future. Of course Chandler was going to play this year, but he was really going to be important next season and seasons to come when this young franchise really looked like it was going to start coming into its own. Chandler has had nagging injuries, but the Thunder could give him time to heal. Really heal. There was no need to rush him into action.
I even asked Brooks about that Wednesday a few hours after the trade, and he agreed that there was no rush to get Chandler on the floor.
And still, the Thunder saw something bad enough in his physical that it pulled the plug on the trade.
It’s bad news for the Thunder, but I fear that it’s even worse news for Tyson Chandler.
Can’t help rooting for these guys
Occasionally, folks ask me if I’m a fan of any team.
Turns out, being a sports writer makes you less of a sports fan. Think of it this way — if you’re an accountant, you don’t go home and do accounting for fun.
You get the gist.
But every once in awhile, I run into athletes or coaches who are just so genuine, so nice that it’s impossible not to be a fan of theirs. Those instances are rare, though. Even rarer is a team that makes me want to cheer them.
Wednesday afternoon, though, I found one.
Nate Billings, one of our photographers, and I headed southwest of the metro to report a story that you’ll see in the pages of The Oklahoman in the next week. (You won’t want to miss the lesson that two men have to teach all of us.) We spent the afternoon with the boys basketball team from Anadarko High.
When we walked into the gym where the Warriors were practicing, the most unexpected thing happened — a couple of players walked over, extended a hand and introduced themselves.
A few minutes later, another player did the same.
By the end of the afternoon, we’d shaken hands with every player on the team.
I’ve got to tell you, I’ve never had anything like that happen. I’ve never heard of anything like that happening to another reporter or photographer either. And the thing is, I have a feeling if we’d have been distant relatives who happened to be in town and stopped by for practice, the same thing would’ve happened.
The team managers also gave us a copy of the day’s practice plan and made sure we had water when the team took a break.
I was almost remiss to tell Nate that I was getting a little hungry for fear I’d be overheard and suddenly be presented with a 12-ounce sirloin.
Anadarko isn’t having one of its greatest seasons, but I have to tell you, I’m pulling for coach Doug Schumpert and his Warriors. Theirs is a program that reminds all of us that there’s still room for decency and civility in sports.
Thunder’s Collison hosting charity event
Nick Collison made a trip last year that changed his life.
The Thunder forward and his wife, Robbie, went to Africa last September with the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders initiative. Both of the Collisons were deeply affected by what they witnessed in a part of the world where the AIDS epidemic is critical.
They realized they wanted to do something to help those who suffer from the disease.
The Collisons will host the Passion for Fashion AIDS benefit on March 5 at the Chesapeake Boathouse. The event will benefit Guiding Right, Inc., an AIDS charity that works in the Oklahoma City area.
The evening’s activities will be highlighted by a fashion show. The fashion show will feature spring fashions from Oklahoma City boutiques as well as Dallas-based designer Abi Ferrin. De Luxe Parties and Events, an event planning business owned by Robbie Collison, along with Regalia Personal Wardrobe Stylists and Fashion Consultants will coordinate the event.
There will be something for sports fans, too, with raffles and a silent auction that includes Thunder tickets and autographed memorabilia. Those in attendance will also be able to mingle with the Collisons and other members of the Thunder.
Tickets start at $75 with a limited number of VIP tickets available at $150.
For tickets or more information, call (206) 359-2054.
OSU’s Big Game James is big time
Lost amid the hubbub over a coach’s potty mouth and a program in serious rebuilding mode is the makings of a darn good season for one Cowboy.
James Anderson is having a season worthy of consideration for all-conference honors.
Oklahoma State’s sophomore shooting guard is putting together one heck of a resume. He is starting to not only come into his own but also establish himself as a star.
Everyone remembers how Anderson showed signs of greatness early last season. As a true freshman, he lit up OSU’s non-conference opponents. Then when conference play began, his production dipped and his numbers waned. Opponents seemed to figure him out, and he looked lost through much of the Big 12 schedule.
It left everyone to wonder — what kind of player was Anderson going to become, the kind who dominated early last season or the kind who became a non-factor late?
Anderson has answered that question emphatically this season that he intends to be a force.
Through this past weekend, Anderson ranked fourth in the conference in scoring with 17.7 points a game. That puts him behind the likes of Blake Griffin and Craig Brackins, a couple of first-team all-conference shoo-ins. But he ranks ahead of a bunch of really good players – A.J. Abrams, Curtis Jerrells and Sherron Collins among them.
Anderson also ranks seventh or better in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage.
Those sorts of stats should make coaches in the league sit up and take notice when they start filling out their all-conference ballots.
Thing is, Anderson is more than a scorer. He ranks 11th in the conference in rebounding. He’s just a smidgen out of the top 10. And remember, we’re talking about a guard who’s been forced to play against bigger, taller guys all season. The Cowboys have limited resources inside, so the job of defending forwards and rebounding misses falls on guards.
Considering that, it’s pretty amazing that OSU’s best scorer would also be one of the league’s best rebounders.
It’s difficult to know if Anderson will be a first-teamer when the all-conference selections are announced, but he’s a guy that deserves serious consideration.
The Cowboys’ struggles might deter some voters, but something that all of them should think about is whether they intend to hold team performance against the likes of Craig Brackins at Iowa State or Curtis Jerrells at Baylor. I suspect those two guys will get plenty of all-conference love, and their teams are comparable to the Cowboys.
If they deserve individual honors in spite of their team’s win-loss record, so does Anderson. What he’s doing might have been overshadowed, but that definitely should not be ignored.
