OSU Hoops: Looking Bigger
By John Helsley
Among Oklahoma State’s perceived weaknesses in 2009-10: size, as in a lack of it.
Perception, it seems, isn’t always reality.
Cowboys coach Travis Ford mostly chose to play small, preferring the advantages that Obi Muonelo provided at the 4 spot.
Ford had capable and quality big men in 6-foot-8 Matt Pilgrim and 6-7 Marshall Moses, yet rarely played them together.
Matt Pilgrim will help in the middle next season. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
“I was so comfortable with what we were running for two years with Obi at the 4,” Ford said. “A lot of our offense was predicated, not so much for him to necessarily score at the 4, but our plays were run in a way that our 4 man needed to be versatile.”
Muonelo, while 6-4, created major matchup issues for foes, particularly on the offensive end.
Kansas coach Bill Self – and others – referred to Muonelo as a “matchup nightmare.”
Muonelo could smoothly stroke 3-pointers, or use his quickness and strength to slash and drive and score on lumbering big men. He could handle the ball out front, or roll off screens and pop jumpers.
“Everybody talked about how hard it was to match up with us,” Ford said, “and I like that. I’ve always played that type of lineup.”
Still, Ford is looking for bigger things to come.
Muonelo will be gone; he hopes playing pro ball somewhere. And Ford is committed to working Pilgrim and Moses together, with 6-10 sophomore-to-be Jarred Shaw, 6-8 junior college transfer Darrell Williams and 6-8 incoming freshman Michael Cobbins also joining the mix.
“I got so comfortable with Obi out there, I didn’t adjust as well trying to play Matt and Marshall together,” Ford said. But next year, yes.”
Pilgrim and Moses never seemed in sync – during their hot stretches during the season or on the floor together.
It took a while for Pilgrim to shake the rust from a year of inactivity and get comfortable in OSU’s system. Yet over the final third of the schedule, he emerged as a player who could play a starring role next season.
Moses carried over the strong play that highlighted the Cowboys’ run to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, but lost his focus and effectiveness somewhere along the way this season, struggling down the stretch, before turning in a strong performance in a season-ending loss to Georgia Tech.
That style of play must be repeated, yet offers optimism going forward.
“And what changed? That’s what we’ve got to figure out,” Ford said. “There’s competition now. We’ll see which guys want to compete and want to play.
“A lot of that’s going to be staying out of trouble off the court. Doing things we want you to do off the court. Because hopefully we have a few more options.”
And Ford isn’t at all abandoning the option of going small.
JP Olukemi, a 6-7 guard in the style of James Anderson, could fill the Muonelo role. While he doesn’t shoot it as well as Muonelo or Anderson, he’s a better slasher and defender.
“There won’t be as many minutes played with a 4 man shooting the 3,” Ford said. “With that said, Matt Pilgrim can shoot it…”
Going forward, Ford has more options.
Big and small.
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Comments
Last night the team with a lot of size beat the smallish team. I not sure that was the difference, although the Duke center had his way. That looked more like a strength issue. K State and Baylor had a lot of success with tall line-ups, but they had a hard time trying to score sometimes. They both needed one more scorer to put in. I wanted Ford to use the two 6’10″ guys more this year, but he never called and ask my opinion.
Randy, Butler was beaten by 2 points. I don’t think the size difference had much to do with the outcome. Also, in order to get to that game they beat bigger teams like K-State, Syracuse, and Michigan State.
With that said, I do think that Coach Ford needs to upgrade the OVERALL size and athleticism on the court. OSU needs more guys like Pilgrim out there who can soar above the rim to grab rebounds and putbacks. I think they are getting that with this incoming class.
It sounds like there are some good big guys coming thru the pipeline, which should certainly help when the team isn’t shooting as well from the perimeter. Should be interesting to see how Ford brings the team along next season.