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.
Are you a Thunder super fan?
We had some fun in today’s sports section profiling four Thunder super fans.
With the team preparing to unveil its new mascot, we thought it would be fitting to celebrate the fans who’ve been unofficial fill-ins during the first half of this season. These are folks who dress up, wear costumes, have props — the whole zany nine yards.
But they aren’t the only super fans, of course. There are plenty of other Thunder fans who are super but just not quite as noticeable.
Maybe they come every night and always root, root, root for the home team. Maybe they drive for hours or even from out of state to see the team. Maybe they sacrifice their tickets so others can see the team. Maybe they do the defense chant when no one else in their section is.
We would love to tell their stories, too.
If you or someone you know is a Thunder super fan, let me know. E-mail me at jcarlson@opubco.com. I’ll be gathering ideas for a future story about these dedicated fans.
Ford, OSU end honeymoon early
Travis Ford had the perfect set-up — he was handed the keys to the head coach’s office and granted a honeymoon period.
Rare are the opportunities in college basketball where a coach is hired and given a grace period of a year or so. That’s what happened, though, when Oklahoma State hired Ford last spring.
Sure, folks in Stillwater wanted to see the men’s basketball program moving forward. But because things were in such disarray and because Ford was bringing in an entirely different system, no one had grand expectations. Show signs of improvement. Build for the future. That’s about all the orange bloods wanted out of Ford.
If he won 20 games and got to the NCAA Tournament, all the better, but those weren’t going to be the measuring sticks used this season.
Talk about a plum deal. How often does a young coach get a crack at one of the college basketball’s quality programs but not have to produce titles or even wins right away? It’s a rare and golden opportunity that Ford was granted.
Then, he went and screwed it up.
This isn’t just about what Ford called Obi Muonelo either. Granted, any coach calling a player an f***ing idiot on national television would be a black mark on their record. But a college coach saying that to a 20-year-old youngster — it’s inexcusable.
Thing is, it’s not the only thing Ford has done to end to the honeymoon early. His foul language has drawn the ire of fans and the attention of the nation. Ditto for the way he has treated officials.
Cowboy fans probably would’ve embraced Ford if he had just been fiery. Among their big complaints about Sean Sutton, after all, was that he didn’t show enough emotion on the bench. But there’s a difference between fiery and down-right unhinged, and that’s what Travis Ford has been more often than not.
If he’d have just kept his nose clean, avoiding controversy and re-building the Cowboy program, he’d still be enjoying the honeymoon. Instead, Ford finds himself facing the harsh reality of a marriage that is anything but rosy right now.
Valentines Day comes early
The chatter at the nearby table could be heard above the lunchtime din.
“I want my picture taken with you,” one woman said to another.
Robbie Collison smiled.
The wife of Thunder forward Nick Collison is one of the leaders of Home Court Support, a group consisting of spouses and significant others of players, coaches and front office personnel with the NBA franchise. The women do community service projects throughout the season.
Monday, Home Court Support went to the YWCA on N.W. 39th Street to do a day of pampering before Valentines Day. The women who were treated to make-up and haircuts are domestic abuse victims currently living in the YWCA’s shelter for abused women and their children.
“The faces when they were in there … ,” Robbie Collison said, pointing to the room where all the pampering took place, “it’s been amazing.”
Home Court Support sought support for the project. Loc Salon not only sent a stylist who cut and styled hair but also provided the women with products for their new style. Lancome provided two make-up artists and gift bags for all the women. Cheever’s even catered the lunch.
“People are really willing to help out,” Robbie Collison said. “When they hear it’s for a good cause, they get involved.”
The women also received a tube of lip gloss and a dozen roses.
Home Court Support did similar Valentines Day projects in Seattle before the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. The women involved in the group don’t just ask their husbands and boyfriends for funding — “That’s too easy,” Robbie Collison said — and instead, they raise funds through bake sales and other endeavors.
The group focuses its efforts on helping women and children, having already done a Thanksgiving event at Tinker Air Force Base and planning an event in March with the Ronald McDonald House. That number of events is actually down for Home Court Support, mainly because of the franchise’s relocation last summer. The group plans to do even more activities next year.
If the laughter and the chatter from about a dozen women is any indication, Monday’s day of pampering was a success.
“Everybody wants to feel pretty and taken care of,” Robbie Collison said.
More from The Q&A: Andrea Riley
Andrea Riley is a basketball star despite being only 5-foot-5.
Or is she a basketball star because of that?
Check out some more Qs and As from The Q&A with the Oklahoma State point guard:
Jenni Carlson: Being 5-foot-5 — you and I are the same height, by the way — what’s the best thing about being that height?
Andrea Riley: I like when everybody tells me, “You’re short, and because you’re short, you can’t do anything.” I love when somebody tells me that. It’s so motivating. That has happened since I was a young girl.
JC: You like the doubters.
AR: I love it. It’s so motivating.
JC: So, the worst thing about being 5-5?
AR: Everybody saying, “You’re so cute because you’re little.” I just hate that. Talking to you like you’re a little kid, I really do not like that.
JC: Now, are you like most college students — do you have all the electronic gadgets and stuff?
AR: I’m not a big game person. They only games I know how to play are “Sonic” and “Mario.” I really don’t spend my money on those. What I really want is a keyboard. I really like playing the piano. I really like learning new songs. I used to have a keyboard, but it broke. That’s my next purchase.
JC: Maybe a concert soon?
AR: Yeah. (Laughs.)
JC: Now, what about cell phones and all that?
AR: Oh, I love to text. I would rather you text me than call me. Sometimes, I really don’t’ feel like talking on the phone, but then I’ll text. My family will be like, “Why did you text? Why didn’t you just answer the phone?” I don’t mean to be rude, but I like texting.
JC: Do you text as fast as you talk?
AR: Oh. (Laughs.) Yeah. My brother’s like that, too. He really talks fast. I think he says gibberish sometimes because you can’t understand what he’s saying.
Signing Day: Christmas in February?
Signing day is like Christmas.
Wait a minute. Before we go any further with this analogy, I have to give credit where it is due. Our lead high school sportswriter Ryan Aber came up with this one, and I swear, it might be the best description for signing day ever.
OK, back to the analogy.
On signing day, your team gets to open all its gifts and see what it got. A four-star defensive back. An unheralded offensive lineman. The list goes on and on. These are things you intend to play with, but on signing day, all you get to do is open the box and peek in. You can ooh and aah over what’s inside. You can dream about what’s to be.
But then, you have to shut the box and put it away for a year, maybe even two. Only then will you be able to take out what’s inside and see what’s it’s like. Does it work? Is it broke? Is it everything you thought it would be?
That’d be a crazy Christmas, of course, but that’s exactly what signing day is like. It’s full of hype and potential, but really, it’s potential that’s usually a long time in being fulfilled. Sometimes, it never is.
Listen, I understand the importance of signing day. It is how college football teams everywhere build for the future. Championships may not be won on signing day, but they can sure be tough to come by if a team doesn’t go out and get guys that can help them win someday.
But still, it’s a weird day. I went back and looked at the sport section that chronicled last year’s signing day. On the cover: Kye Staley, Jameel Owens and Stacy McGee. There were pictures of all three in-state stars, all of whom stayed in state, Staley signing with OSU, Owens and McGee with OU.
They were a big deal that day and in many of the days leading up to it.
They’ve hardly been heard from since.
That’s what makes that Christmas analogy so perfect. You’d never get that excited about something you weren’t even going to be able to use for a year or more, but that’s what happens on signing day.
It’s goofy, and yet, even though the ink hasn’t dried on Signing Day 2009, teams have already started shopping for next year’s haul.
Pressure off Paris?
When the whistle blew with less than a minute left Monday night, the official turned toward the scorer’s table and flashed three fingers.
So ended Courtney Paris’s double-double streak.
The Sooner superstar fouled out with only seconds remaining against Tennessee, finishing with nine points and 12 rebounds. She just missed extending her string of 112 consecutive games with double-digit points and rebounds by only one point.
Paris raised her arms and waved her hands to the Ford Center crowd as she left the floor, trying to be strong, trying to act as though it was no big thing. By the time she got to the bench, though, she had a couple tears rolling down her cheeks. Mind you, Paris fully understood that the Sooners were in the midst of scoring a big win, and really, that’s what’s important. That’s what truly matters.
Still, you could see that this double-double thing has been on her mind and in her heart.
And why not? It’s an amazing streak that will never be matched. Heck, we probably can’t even fully appreciate just how impressive it is.
But perhaps, in some weird way, having the streak come to an end now takes some pressure off Paris. Her place in the program’s history and in women’s college basketball will not be diminished because of this. She is still one of the greatest, but now, she gets to play the rest of her senior season without the will-she-won’t-she question hanging over her head.
Who knows what that might mean?
Paris talked after the game about feeling free now that the streak has ended. If a player as talented as Paris now feels less pressure, now feels as though she can just play the game she plays so well, that could portend big things.
Things that are even bigger than what Paris has already done.
Super Super Bowl
I fully expected to be napping by the middle of the second half Sunday night.
It’s not that I lacked faith in the Steelers and the Cardinals. I just figured there was no way we could have another great Super Bowl.
Look back at the past decade of Super Bowls, and you’ll see few back-to-back barn-burners. The Rams and the Titans locked in that epic last-second, goal-line battle in 2000, only to be followed by the Ravens’ blowout of the Giants. Then came the Patriots’ last-second field goal to beat the Rams in 2002, only to be followed by the Bucs’ throttling of the Raiders.
You get the idea.
And after last season, it was difficult to see the pattern changing. After all, the Giants and the Patriots gave us a game for the ages. There was the drama of the undefeated season, the Giants taking the lead in the fourth only to be answered by the Patriots, the huge top-of-the-helmet catch by David Tyree and finally the game-winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress with less than a minute remaining.
Surely, we couldn’t expect an epic repeat.
Heck, this is nothing against the Steelers or the Cardinals. It was more just a Super Bowl karma thing, a the-gridiron-stars-can’t-align-like-that-again thing.
Oh, but they did.
What happened Sunday night in Tampa was another game for the ages. Was it better than last year’s game? No, but few games will be. How often, after all, do you have a team going for undefeated glory.
But that doesn’t diminish how great a game the Steelers and the Cardinals provided. Just when you thought James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return at the end of the first half would be the play of the night, the fourth quarter started. Trailing 20-7, the Cardinals scored 16 points in less than five minutes. Then came the drive of the night. The Steelers marched the length of the field in less than two minutes, getting big play after big play. The drive was capped by a diving, toe-dragging catch by Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone.
Fittingly, Holmes scored with :35 seconds remaining in the game, the same amount of time that was left on the clock when Burress made his big catch last year.
Super Bowl XLIV is more than a year away. We have no idea who will make the playoffs much less who might be in the Super Bowl. But surely, we’re due a dud. Surely, we shouldn’t expect another great game.
Or should we?
More from The Q&A: Charlie Johnson
Like millions of Americans, Charlie Johnson will watch the Super Bowl this weekend.
But unlike most of us, he’ll watch it after having played in the game.
The former Oklahoma State Cowboy was only a rookie two years ago when the Indianapolis Colts made the big game. He was a reserve offensive lineman, but when one of the starters was injured, he was called into duty. He played the last three quarters and helped the Colts to victory.
Jenni Carlson: Is watching the Super Bowl different after you’ve played in it?
Charlie Johnson: It gives you a different perspective. You see the things the guys go through during the week, and then you watch the game … and I can watch and say, “I know what he’s feeling. I can understand maybe what’s going through his head.” Seeing all the lights, seeing all the cameras, seeing all that stuff, I can kind of get a perspective on what they’re going through.
Before, I would watch it and root for a team, but now I watch it and it’s kind of bittersweet. I’ve been there. I want to go again. Like this year, with
JC: Did you have a “Welcome to the Super Bowl” moment?
CJ: Probably when we went to our media day. Just the amount of people that were at the media day was unbelievable. I think I heard somewhere that this year they gave out 633 credentials, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was close to that and it may have been more. There are sports people there who work ESPN and all that stuff, but then you see people from “Entertainment Tonight,” “Inside Edition.” You even see guest hosts for “The Jay Leno Show.” You see all these outside people. When you see that, you’re like, “This is big.”
JC: So, those type of folks aren’t usually there after practice on, say, a Tuesday in Indy?
CJ: (Chuckles.) No, you don’t see “E! Entertainment.”
JC: If you ever get back to the Super Bowl, is there anything you would do different?
CJ: Hmm, I don’t know. I’m a creature of habit and kind of superstitious. If something works, I’m going to try to stick to it. If I do something during the week and we win a game, I’m gonna do it the next week. Or if I do something and we lose, I’m not going to do it anymore. It’s easy to say I wouldn’t change anything, but I don’t know.
JC: What are you up to this off-season?
CJ: I’m in Indy. Just taking care of some stuff around the house because me and my wife are expecting the first part of April.
JC: Congrats.
CJ: Yeah, we are getting everything ready.
JC: So, does that mean you’re spending the off-season building a crib and things like that?
CJ: Some what. (Laughs.)
JC: Talk about this past season. Do you feel like you’ve found a permanent home on the offensive line?
CJ: I guess individually (the season) went well. I didn’t have any injuries. I started all 16 games, and then the playoff game. Individually, it went well, but as a whole, it’s disappointing. You feel like you have a team that has a chance … a team that could go all the way and win the championship. And when you lose, it hurts. I took it real hard there for probably about a week to two weeks. This was my first year that I played. I played a lot last year, but there was injury and I didn’t play in the playoffs, but this year, pretty much from camp, I was a starter. I went through a whole year. I put a lot more time in because I knew I was going to be playing a lot, so for the season to end like that … it was tough.
JC: What about next season? Change is on the horizon for the franchise, so have you started to think about what’s next?
CJ: Last year, the preseason was kind of weird. I was going to play one spot, and then, I moved over and I stayed there, but it was kind of back and forth. We’re getting some guys back and healthy that were former starters, so I really don’t know what’s going to happen with me. I would hope that last year proved a point that I can play a whole year and play well. Hopefully, I have a spot, but we’ll see.
Team-wise, I’m going to feel like any other guy and think that we have a good team, we have a good core in place. We’ve won a lot of games for a lot of years now, and I really don’t see that changing. A lot of people are going to say, “New head coach. New routine.” But I really don’t see a lot changing. Even with a new coach, things will probably stay how it’s been. I see us winning a lot of games and hopefully being in contention in January.
Thunder will miss Mason
Lest anyone questions the value of Desmond Mason, the Thunder thriller against Memphis is Exhibit A.
Late in the third quarter of Wednesday night’s game — with the Thunder humming along and keeping the Grizzlies at double-digit arm’s length — Mason injured his knee. Seeing it live was enough to keep me from wanting to see it again in slow motion. Mason went up to try to block a breakaway dunk by Kyle Lowry, who ended up crashing into Mason’s lower body. It wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t dirty.
But it was ugly.
Mason’s knee buckled, and as soon as he landed on the Ford Center hardwood, he motioned to the Thunder bench. “Send the trainer, and make it snappy,” his look said.
He knew something was wrong.
Tests in the locker room would reveal that Mason hyper-extended his right knee, and Thursday, the team announced that he would miss the rest of the season.
Too bad for the Thunder. It needs Mason.
After he left the game Wednesday, the Thunder had another late-game letdown. When it had a fourth-quarter swoon Monday night against New Jersey, it was because the reserves were in. When Memphis outscored the Thunder 29-19 in the fourth quarter Wednesday, the impact of Mason’s absence was evident.
No way Memphis scores 29 points in the fourth quarter after only 14 in the third if Mason is out there. No way the Grizzlies force overtime after the Thunder controlled the first three quarters if Mason is available.
He adds a toughness that the Thunder lacked late against the Grizzlies.
Sure, the Thunder dominated overtime and won going away, but it doesn’t even need overtime if Mason is available. He’d have made a stop or hit a shot or done something to stem that fourth quarter tide.
Mason doesn’t get lots of headlines, but his importance to this improving squad was obvious Wednesday. It likely will be for the rest of the season.
