Is OSU’s Future PG on Campus?
Is Keiton Page the long-term answer at point guard?
By John Helsley
@jjhelsley
OSU’s point guard of the future is…
Keiton Page? Ray Penn? Fred Gulley?
Someone else? The Cowboys appear set with two new recruits and two outgoing seniors, but they’re back on the trail in search of a point guard, with California high schooler Cezar Guerrero at the front of their search.
Page is the acting point guard today, but is better suited for the off guard spot, where he can carry less responsibility and draw less attention and more freely work for shots — his specialty.
Penn has been the point guard in the past, the recent past even, but currently finds himself trying to escape Travis Ford’s doghouse. Penn played but one minute in OSU’s loss at Texas Tech on Saturday.
Gully, of course, is sitting out this season as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery — his second at OSU. Gully played the point during the Cowboys’ run to the 2010 NCAA Tournament. He’s unspectacular, but solid, and we may not have yet seen the best of him, considering the issues that have affected each shoulder.
But there’s a chance — and the level of chance is determined by who’s available — that OSU’s future point guard is not yet on campus.
Karron Johnson, a Juco forward who signed with the Cowboys in November, is on shaky ground, both on the court and off. He’s been kicked off the team at Midland College (his fifth school in five years) and reportedly needs to pass 28 hours to become eligible at OSU next fall.
There’s major doubt that Johnson will make it to Stillwater. Either way, the Cowboys are looking for a point guard.
Guerrero is the highest-rated point man still unsigned, yet comes in at No. 25 on the Scout rankings. The Cowboys are late to the party and must make up ground on a number of schools, including Bedlam rival Oklahoma.
But they have a strong selling point, with instant access to a position that could be the missing piece to a strong team.
Assume, too, that the Cowboys will be looking far and wide for other possibilities, including the junior college ranks.
Gulley: Day to Day
Cowboys point guard is dealing with shoulder woes -- again.
By John Helsley
follow on twitter @jjhelsley
Cowboys point guard Fred Gulley, the starter through the first seven games, is considered day-to-day with a right shoulder injury.
And OSU coach Travis Ford didn’t sound too optimistic that Gulley would be ready to go Wednesday, when the Cowboys play Tulsa at the BOK Center.
“We’ll see,” Ford said. “It’s not looking real good.”
Gulley underwent surgery on his left shoulder in the offseason. Ford said he wasn’t sure of any cause of this injury, but acknowledged that Gulley was in for tests on the shoulder Monday morning and was scheduled to meet with team orthopedic surgery Dr. Mark Pascale later in the day.
Gulley missed OSU’s double-overtime win over La Salle on Saturday due to the injury, but was able to participate in individual workouts Monday morning.
“It’s not something that he pulled or anything like that,” Ford said. “I don’t think it’s anything he injured. I think it’s just something that has kind of been chronic. It has been going on a while.”
Ray Penn, essentially in a time share at the point with Gulley, scored a season-high 17 points and handed out a career-best six assists in the win over La Salle. Penn was they Cowboys starter last season, before suffering a season-ending leg injury.
Cowboys point guard is dealing with shoulder woes -- again.
OSU Hoops: Next Year’s Starting Five
Ray Penn could impact the offense in 2010-11.
By John Helsley
James Anderson… gone.
Obi Muonelo… gone.
Along with invaluable leadership and toughness and clutchness, the Cowboys are also losing their top two scorers, a duo responsible for 1,174 points this season, or 48 percent of the team’s scoring.
Read that again — almost half of the team’s scoring.
Where will all that lost production be made up in 2010-11? From everywhere, would be the best guess.
Matt Pilgrim should step up his offensive role and responsibility. Ray Penn’s return provides a jolt of scoring upgrade to the point. Marshall Moses is a proven, if sometimes erratic, scorer. And Keiton Page is the leading returning scorer, after averaging 10.7 points this season.
Sound good? Maybe not so much.
Well, don’t be alarmed. There are other answers, as well as some intriguing questions, like: How will Page’s role be defined?
In addition to the guys listed above, the Cowboys are counting on a boost from several newcomers, most notably freshman shooting guard Markel Brown and Juco transfer JP Olukemi. Brown averaged 32 points a game as the star on a 41-0 state title team in Louisiana.
Brian Williams, another talented guard, and forward Michael Cobbins are worth watching as well.
And OSU holdovers like Fred Gulley, Nick Sidorakis, Roger Franklin, Jarred Shaw, Torin Walker and Reger Dowell offer optimism of improved play.
Some will stride forward, while others will step back.
The coming months — and how hard guys work in the offseason — will determine the risers and fallers.
And these months will go a long way to answering the Page question.
With the return of Penn and the additions of Brown and Williams, the guard spots are drawing a crowd.
The Cowboys need Brown to be as good as advertised; good enough to start. And Olukemi, already on campus, has shown enough to project as a starter.
OSU coach Travis Ford has hinted that Page needs to make himself more versatile. And more valuable. Handling a share of the point guard responsibilities this season, when Penn was hurt, was a start. But right now, Page looks like a super sub at both guard spots, able to run the offense or fire daggers at enemy zones.
One guy’s early starting five:
PG Ray Penn
SG Markel Brown
SF JP Olukemi
F Matt Pilgrim
F Marshall Moses
The Post-Penn Plan
Keiton Page may be transitioning to the point.
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opubco.com
Ray Penn’s worst fear went official last week, with his season ruled over due to the ongoing issue with his right knee, where a “stress reaction” isn’t getting better and threatens to get worse.
The loss of Penn may not rank as OSU’s worst fear, yet it dramatically changes the team’s dynamic and shrinks an already small margin for error.
The Cowboys’ plan at point guard going forward: More Fred Gulley and Keiton Page, with an apparent emphasis on the latter.
Ideal? No. Penn’s quickness and ability to penetrate will be missed.
Survivable? Absolutely. The Cowboys won at Kansas State and are 3-2 overall with Penn on the sideline.
When Page missed five of six games recently, Page handled the majority of the duty at the point. Expect that to continue, with Gulley still prone to too many freshman mistakes.
A push toward more Page seemed to be the tone when Cowboys coach Travis Ford was asked if Penn’s injury presented an opportunity for Gulley.
“Absolutely,” Ford said, before continuing on. “It’s an opportunity for Keiton. Keiton Page hasn’t played much point. He should have wanted to have played some point this year. Being his size and everything, I wish he would have worked all summer long (and said), ‘Coach I want to be the point guard.’
“He might have wanted that. We never really gave him a shot. So now it is his chance, if that’s something he wanted. He’s never really said it, but it should be. It should be something that he should want to be able to do.”
Reading between the lines, it may present Page’s best opportunity going forward, as in next year and beyond, when he could be a top backup option at the point and shooting guard spots. The prize of the Cowboys’ recruiting class is 6-3 guard Markel Brown out of Louisiana, who figures to jump into the shooting guard spot previously manned by Page.
Currently redshirting JP Olukemi should get a serious look at the 3 position, as Ford looks to get bigger.
So the more versatile Page can be, the better.
In that regard, it’s an important stretch for Gulley, too, since Page could be infringing on his future playing time at the point.
Ford said he’s not looking for any specific stat numbers from Gulley.
“No, we haven’t talked about that,” Ford said. “I don’t want to put that pressure on him. I did that with Byron (Eaton) last year, midway through the season. I do it with certain guys with different stats. But, with him, more positives than negatives. And understand your job on defense. First and foremost, understand your job and don’t turn it over.”
No pressure? The pressure is on.
Missouri Ties For Ford, Gulley
Ford Returns To Mizzou
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opubco.com
Travis Ford admits he wonders what kind of reception he’ll receive in Columbia today, the former-former Tiger that he is.
Ford, you see, is two times removed from Mizzou. He played there for one fantastic season in 1989-90, serving as a backup in a backcourt that featured Anthony Peeler, before transferring to Kentucky. Ford was named to the UPI Big Eight All-Freshman team with the Tigers, after averaging 6.4 points and 3.5 assists a game.
When NCAA investigators started sniffing around the program, with probation appearing likely, Ford left for Kentucky.
Saturday, Ford returns to Mizzou.
“First time back,” Ford said this week. “Eight years ago had dinner and no one knew.”
They’ll know today.
“Will they just kill me?” Ford wondered. “I’m preparing for the worst.”
His time at Mizzou, however, was grand.
The Tigers went undefeated at home that season and were ranked No. 1 for a while. They flamed out in the NCAA Tournament, as Norm Stewart’s squads were apt to do, but the experience was special for Ford.
There student paper even held a contest, seeking nicknames for Ford. Among the entries: Hot Rod , Turbo, Maverick, Scooter, Sparky, Ford Dog or Napoleon.
“We had a great year,” Ford said. “That’s the first thing. I loved it. I loved going to school there. I loved playing for Norm Stewart. I loved it.
“Great teammates, guys I still talk to today. Anthony Peeler and Doug Smith. One of the most memorable years. I loved it there. But they got into trouble and that was the main reason I left.”
Cowboys point guard Fred Gulley could have played at Mizzou.
Might have played at Mizzou, based on a strong relationship with Tigers coach Mike Anderson, forged when both were back in Fayetteville, Ark., where Anderson served as Nolan Richardson’s top assistant at the U of A.
“Every weekend, I spent at their house,” Gulley said. Me and their daughter (Yvonne) played on the same basketball team growing up. Actually, probably about third through fifth grade. She was our starting point guard and we both played point guard. She’s at Texas now playing.”
Gulley said the Andersons were almost family.
“Really close,” he said.
Not so close, however, that Anderson could persuade Gulley to Columbia, although he tried. A scholarship was there for Gulley, but the former Arkansas prep star preferred Stillwater.
“It was a real tough situation,” Gulley said. “They offered me. I went up there
for a couple of visits and stuff. Oklahoma State was just the right place for me.
“It was probably one of the toughest things I have done, but (Anderson) called and wished me good luck and congratulated me.”
Gulley expects a call or two before tip time, too.
“It’s going to be great,” Gulley said. “It’s going to be real great. It’s a good
rivalry. He will probably give me a call or I will probably talk to someone in the Anderson family before the game. It’s going to be good.
“I spent a lot of time there at recruiting time. It’s just going to be good
to go in there and try to get a win.”
OSU-A&M: Afterthoughts
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opubco.com
The Cowboys answered a major question Wednesday night: How would they handle the aftermath of their big win at K-State.
Asked and answered. In fine fashion.
OSU’s 73-69 win was solid, especially considering the Cowboys were without starting point guard Ray Penn again.
A&M actually played one of its best offensive games of the season, uncharacteristically firing in 3-pointers. And OSU weathered the blows and came out with a home win — a mandatory home win — that revealed another positive development.
Backup point guard Fred Gulley, splitting time with Keiton Page in replacing Penn, played his best game yet. It was reminiscent of Saturday, when Nick Sidorakis emerged with a breakout game.
“(Gulley) made plays tonight,” said Cowboys coach Travis Ford. “His offense came by making plays, not by him trying to create something himself. That’s not his game. He got it by a back-door layup. He got it off a tip-in. he made free throws. That’s what he needs to do. And he can do that, because he’s athletic and he’s long. We need some of that out of him. That’s a huge bonus when we can get a few points out of him, because our team struggles at times to score.
“Just as Nick did last game, I thought Fred did this game. When you’re trying to just survive and piece minute-by-minute together, the way we’re doing, you’ve to have guys step up that may not normally be scoring a lot of points or playing a lot of minutes. You’ve got to have that.”
For Gulley, who scored a career-high eight points, it was an opportunity to shake some recent struggles and show some of the stuff that made him a two-time Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year.
“I really feel like this is something I can build upon,” Gulley said. “I feel like myself out there and how I’m used to playing. It just felt good and hopefully I can build on it.”
So does Ford.
The Cowboys’ next test takes them to Mizzou, where the Tigers bring the pressure for 40 minutes. Penn’s status remains iffy. And even if he is able to play, Gulley will be needed.
“The more I play, the more confidence I’ll get,” Gulley said. “I know Missouri likes to do a lot of pressure, but if we handle it right we can use the pressure against them and turn that into a lot of easy offense.
“(Wednesday) was just a good startup. We’re going to keep working to where we feel good against Missouri and can handle their pressure.”
