From the floor of Carver-Hawkeye
It’s practice-and-press-conference day in Iowa City.
Oklahoma has already come and gone, being first up as the No. 1 seed here in this NCAA Tournament regional. Sherri Coale and her Sooners will take on Prairie View A&M in their tournament opener at 6 p.m. Sunday.
I’ll have some highlights from the Oklahoma and Prairie View press conferences a little later this evening, but Iowa is practicing on the Carver-Hawkeye Arena floor right now. Watching the Hawkeyes got me thinking about a couple things.
* There is actually a decent smattering of people here watching the Hawkeyes. That bodes well for tomorrow’s crowd, considering it’s a beautiful spring day here in Iowa and they’re predicting rain for the next couple days. That folks would decide to come and sit inside to watch the Hawkeyes practice tells me that there will be a decent crowd Sunday evening.
* Officials here have said that 4,000 tickets have already sold for Sunday’s games. That would fall well short of the attendance numbers the last time the Sooners played an NCAA Tournament regional at the Lloyd Noble Center, but after seeing some of the crowds at the women’s games being played today, a crowd of 4,000-plus would look mighty good. No team wants a sterile environment for its NCAA Tournament opener.
* Don’t think the Hawkeyes are aware of the opportunity they’ve been given as the No. 8 seed playing on their home court? Iowa coach Lisa Bluder hollered to her players early in their practice, “This is our house, Hawks! Take advantage of it.”
Greetings from Iowa City
The Oklahoma women’s basketball team has arrived in Iowa City.
And so have we!
Yes, “we.” Along on the trip are photographer Steve Sisney and videographer Tim Money. We are here to cover the Sooners opening round game(s) in the NCAA Tournament.
We’ll head to press conferences and open practices later this morning. The Sooners are schedule to be at the press-room podium at 11:20 a.m., then hit the Carver-Hawkeye Arena floor at noon. They’ll have an hour-long practice that is open to the public.
It’ll be interesting to see if folks show up.
After all, Iowa has long been a hotbed for girls and women’s basketball. The state was among the pioneers in starting girls basketball in the high schools, and the sport remains strong here. While the hometown Iowa Hawkeyes haven’t been great of late, Iowa State is always good in the Big 12 and Drake has flexed its muscle every now and then.
Also interesting will be the crowds for the games. The Sooners won’t mind too much how many Hawkeye fans are in the stands Sunday for first-round games, but if Iowa wins, it could be an interested set-up come Tuesday. It is sure to be a partisan crowd, though bigger trouble for the Sooners might be if Georgia Tech, the No. 9 seed, beats Iowa, the No. 8 seed. The Yellowjackets are a poor man’s Texas A&M.
And we know how much trouble Texas A&M has given OU.
Stay tuned for more from Iowa City.
Sooners must make good on senioritis
Dream scenario for Sooners
If Oklahoma wants a blueprint for success this postseason, all the Sooners need to do is pull out the film of Thursday’s game against Kansas.
The Sooners throttled the Jayhawks 76-59 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament, and while Courtney Paris’s 27-point, 14-rebound performance will be all the talk, OU blew out Kansas because of its balance.
Great outside shooting and dominant inside play.
Paris was fabulous, enthusiastic and energized. She played inspired basketball, like a senior who realizes her college career is winding down. Heck, she kind of played like someone who’d promised to repay her entire scholarship if her team failed to win the national championship.
(More about that later on NewsOK.com and in the Saturday Oklahoman.)
But as Paris was quick to point out, she had a much easier time of it Friday because of what her teammates did. Amanda Thompson and Danielle Robinson hit a barrage of mid-range jumpers to start the game and continued to have hot hands, which opened up the inside.
Kansas was slow bringing the double-team on Paris, but that’s because the Jayhawks had to respect the Sooners’ outside game. That made Paris even more effective than she would’ve been otherwise.
Truth is, the way she was playing, she might’ve turned in a great performance even if her teammates weren’t so good.
But here’s another truth — the Sooners won’t be long for the NCAA Tournament without a similarly solid inside-outside punch. As the teams get better, they’ll be more and more capable of double-teaming Paris and making her life difficult. That doesn’t happen if Thompson, Robinson and Co. keep opponents honest.
It’s the dream scenario for the Sooners, an absolute nightmare for opponents.
Ford and Cowboy Nation together again
Travis Ford has recaptured the magic and rekindled the love.
Earlier this season, the honeymoon was over between the Oklahoma State coach and the Cowboy Nation. No one ever sensed an annulment was coming. Still, with the team struggling and the TV cameras catching profanities, Ford had all but emptied the well of good will that all coaches receive when they take a new job.
But credit Ford — he has endeared himself to the OSU faithful once again.
The reasons are simple: his antics have cooled off and his team has heated up.
The Cowboys enter the Big 12 Tournament this week as the winners of six of their last seven games. That was a streak that seemed almost impossible less than a month ago. When OSU went to Texas and got blitzed by 20-plus, it was difficult to see the Cowboys winning many of their remaining games. Didn’t matter that the schedule got easier. Didn’t matter that they had winnable games. They just didn’t look like a team capable of winning many games the rest of the way.
Then, Ford juggled the lineup, making Obi Muonelo a reserve and stressing the importance of defense. Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, the Cowboys became an NCAA Tournament team.
Ford transformed them. Obviously, the players have gone out and played the games, Byron Eaton and James Anderson and Marshall Moses all coming up big along the way.
But it’s a testament to Ford and his growth as a coach that he was able to turn this season around mid-stream. That isn’t an easy thing to do, to take a train that’s going down one track and put it on another track all together. That’s what Ford has done.
That has helped improve his image, as has his actions. He is managing his emotions better on the bench, and he is reaching out to the fans. Ford took the microphone and addressed the Gallagher-Iba Arena crowd after several home games. Those kinds of things resonate with fans.
Ditto for wins on the basketball court.
The bond between Travis Ford and the Cowboy Nation is getting stronger by the day. Who knows what a trip to the NCAA Tournament could do for their relationship? It might feel a little like a second honeymoon.
Thunder win now, cultivate hope for future
Kevin Durant? Jeff Green? Who needs those bums?
Oh, I’m just kidding. Durant and Green are no bums, of course. What’s more, their team definitely needs the two young stars to get healthy and return to the line-up.
It just doesn’t seem that way.
Now, that I’m not kidding about.
The Thunder is on a three-game winning streak — yes, winning streak — without Durant and Green. It won the first of the three games with Green, but the last two have come without the services of either player. Durant has been hobbled by an ankle sprain, Green by a bad back.
With those two on the bench, it was impossible to think that the Thunder would be competitive, much less win a few games. But then, it beat Dallas on Monday and Washington on Wednesday. Neither opponent is an NBA juggernaut, but the Thunder have trotted out a few line-ups during these past couple of games that looked like NBA Developmental League squads.
And still, the Thunder has won.
Sure, it’s a testament to the guys who are available. Russell Westbrook. Nenad Krstic. Nick Collison. Kyle Weaver. Thabo Sefolosha.
It’s a testament, too, to the coaches. Scott Brooks continues to impress.
But really, this is a reminder about just how slim the differences are in the NBA. Teams aren’t that far apart, not even the best and the worst teams. The difference might be one player, maybe less. The Thunder may look light years behind the Lakers or the Cavaliers or the Celtics, but in reality, this squad isn’t nearly that far behind. Add another piece to the puzzle, or improve a piece that’s already here, and this could be a playoff team in the next year or so.
I’m not kidding about that either.
Maybe this three-game winning streak has me a bit overly optimistic. But the truth is, what this little run should have everyone is hopeful. In these games lies hope. Hope for the Thunder. Hope for the future.
Another impressive stat from CP3
The superstars in our midst have been a bit hobbled of late.
First, Blake Griffin suffered a concussion that sidelined him a week. Then, Kevin Durant twisted an ankle that could keep him out of action for a couple weeks. Both were freak injuries, Griffin taking a nearly imperceptible blow to the face, Durant coming down like he has millions of times before but this time hitting the ground awkwardly.
It doesn’t take much sometimes, even when you’re a superhero of sport.
Which brings us to Courtney Paris.
The injuries to Griffin and Durant got me thinking about the Oklahoma women’s basketball star. Paris is nearing the end of her senior season. She is a center in the rough-and-tumble Big 12. She is a stout, physical player.
And she has played every single game of her college career.
It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. Thirty-six games as a freshman. Thirty-three as a sophomore. Thirty-one as a junior. And now, 28 and counting as a senior.
That’s 128 games without a miss. As many remarkable numbers as Paris has posted in her Sooner career, none is much more impressive than that.
You know, after all, that Paris has taken a beating. She is the player that every opponent has schemed for since she stepped onto campus four years ago. She is the one that they’ve double-teamed, triple-teamed, sometimes more.
There have no doubt been times that she’s been bumped and bruised and knocked around, and still, Paris has played on.
Maybe she’s been a little lucky. Goodness knows, the injuries that Griffin and Durant suffered this past week or so were the unluckiest of breaks. There were no major collisions. There were no big hits. And still, they went down.
Lucky or not, Paris has been a Sooner stalwart. You have to think there were times that she was sore or worse. Times when she could’ve asked to sit out. Times most players would’ve done just that.
Still, that never happened.
As her Sooner career comes to a close, Courtney Paris will no doubt be remembered and celebrated for many things. That she missed no games is a testament to her toughness and her fortitude. That, too, should be appreciated.
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.
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.
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.
