OSU-SMU: Five Things
By John Helsley
@jjhelsley
Because it’s December and it’s still too soon to surrender on the season, OSU’s game against SMU tonight inAmericanAirlinesCenteris big.
Big enough even to call a must-win, if – if – the Cowboys still hold NCAA Tournament hopes.
Bottom line: The Pokes are better than SMU. They should win this game; not that just being better has assured anything this season. There hasn’t been a game yet in which you came away from a Cowboys win thinking they really looked good or produced a complete effort.
Still, let’s go on the assumption that OSU has the better players and should win. And forget theDallaslocale, this won’t be some sort of home-court advantage for SMU.
So it’s must-win.
Here are five things to watch:
1. The Point Plan. Keiton Page surely gets the nod at the point, a move necessitated by the failure of the other three guys to hold that spot – Fred Gulley, Reger Dowell and Cezar Guerrero. Of course, Gulley and Dowell have since left the program. Guerrero’s playing time figures to get a major bump. But it’s mostly about Page. And while a lot of folks have claimed this is what they’ve all been waiting for, it’s not ideal, for Page or the Pokes. Remember, Page was pushed to the point for a while last year. And it didn’t work out so well. Opponents pressured Page all the way up the floor, making him labor just to get the ball past midcourt. It wore him down on the offensive end, affecting his playmaking ability as well as his scoring ability.
2. Nash’s Homecoming. For freshman Le’Bryan Nash, this game represents a return home to theDallasarea where he starred as a prep player. How will he respond? Will it fire him up? Will he try to do too much? The Cowboys need Nash at his best.
3. The Rotation. Previously, a rotation that stretched as many as 10 deep created problems for Cowboys coach Travis Ford, who had to try to manage playing time for so many deserving players. With Gulley and Dowell now gone, some of that has been alleviated. Will that mean increased time for Brian Williams or even Marek Soucek?
4. About The Mustangs. SMU was pretty good a year ago, winning 20 games. But these aren’t those Mustangs. Even at 7-4, they don’t own a quality win and have lost toColoradoState,FresnoState, Oral Roberts andJacksonState. Did we say must-win?
5. Defining Roles. The buzz word surrounding this OSU team early was versatility. Now, you have to wonder if mixing and matching players and working guys at different positions may have set them back, with guys not fully recognizing their roles. That’s sure the way it’s looked. Maybe the trimmed roster allows for better definition.
Point Of Emphasis: What Do The Cowboys Do Now?
Cezar Guerrero is the point guard of the future. Is that future now?
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opubco.com
follow on Twitter @jjhelsley
Just last week, Reger Dowell talked excitedly about OSU’s game against SMU (coming up Wednesday night atAmericanAirlinesCenter), which offered a return home for theDallasarea product. Dowell was a high school standout at nearbyDuncanvilleand relished the chance to play before family and friends.
Presumably, Dowell is already home, having left the Cowboys program as the latest defector from the recruiting class of 2009.
Dowell’s departure appears curious on the surface, as his profile as the point guard on the team had seemingly been enhanced with Fred Gulley’s exit a week earlier.
Except Dowell’s rise in status was apparently brief.
The Cowboys, struggling to find an offensive identity – with point guard play a considerable factor in the ongoing struggles – seem ready to turn back to Keiton Page at the point.
Page, who played there some a year ago, offers the most stability and leadership, although his perimeter offense has typically suffered when he’s running the point. But then, Page’s offense was already suffering in a stagnant system that made it a challenge for him to even shake free for shots.
And with the season a teetering disappointment at 6-5, Cowboys coach Travis Ford seemingly has seen enough, and will place the offense in the hands of the one player he trusts the most: Page.
Freshman Cezar Guerrero, the point guard of the future, remains in place. His role should increase, either in sharing the position – allowing Page to still play predominantly at the 2 – or as a backup receiving significant minutes.
So, what to make of Gulley and Dowell leaving two weeks apart?
The answer is probably complex.
This we know: Ford is hard on point guards, as a former point guard with high standards himself. Gulley’s former Twitter photo was a shot of him standing there, taking a serious tail-chewing from Ford on the sideline.
This we also know: since Byron Eaton’s senior season, the Cowboys have gotten little from the point, rolling through several players at the position. Few assists. Few points. Fewer and fewer wins.
This season was no different, with Gulley, Dowell and Guerrero all failing to seize opportunity. It all comes down to playing the way Ford wants them to play, which is unselfishly. It’s his way or…
And that brings us back to the 2009 recruiting class, Ford’s first at OSU. From that group, all three point guards – Gulley, Dowell and Ray Penn – have all bolted from an overall group of defectors that stands at a staggering six players, seven if you count Karron Johnson, who signed but never made it toStillwater.
Jarred Shaw, Roger Franklin and Torin Walker have also moved on, making for the washout of an entire recruiting class.
What to make of that?
Well, in hindsight, a class that was originally highly ranked has been revealed as something far less. As players, no one from that list will be missed with great regret.
Still, that many players bailing out doesn’t look good. And some of them could have been solid role players, although they’d first have to accept such a role. Guys today are less inclined to think of themselves as anything less than stars.
Going forward, Ford would be wise to get Guerrero as much time at the point as possible, as he’s clearly the guy going forward.
Phil Forte, signed in November, is more of a shooter, although he could help at the point. And there’s no one else coming who projects as a point guard, although the Cowboys will surely be on the search again with scholarships opened up.
In the meantime, the Cowboys will have a different look going forward this season. And, considering what we’ve seen, that may not be all bad.
Pokes Named National Champs!
Celebration time! Cowboys No. 1.
By John Helsley
follow on Twitter @jjhelsley
Finally, some all-out love for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
And if cyber-love is your thing, or you’ll welcome any love from any corner when it comes to the Cowboys and their place outside of the BCS title talk, here’s a hug: OSU has been declared National Champion!
And it gets better – a second helping of Bedlam beatdown better.
The folks at nbcsports.com, namely columnist Michael Ventre, put together a 16-team “make believe” playoff.
OSU emerged No. 1.
The Cowboys clobbered OU – again – in a first-round re-matchup, routed Arkansas in the quarterfinals, outlasted Alabama and outscored Oregon (yeah, the Ducks upset LSU in the other semi) to claim this most mythical of national titles.
What does it all mean? Nothing, of course, except that none of us are satisfied with this year’s road to the BCS coronation. So we keep grousing and complaining and wishing for something better to determine our national champ.
In an absence of that, we’re left with a pretend world that isn’t at all satisfying.
As Ventre concludes:
How are you feeling about that? Overjoyed? Outraged? Satisfied? Irritated?
Whatever your emotions, you’ll agree that letting it play out on the field is more in keeping with the spirit of competition than letting computer geeks match wits. LSU and Alabama certainly are deserving, but I’d rather seem them get there with brawn than with math.
In football, goons are better than geeks any old day.
***
The Cowboys basketball team returns to the floor Saturday in the All-College Classic, taking on New Mexico in a tipoff scheduled for 9:30 p.m. inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.
OSU is 6-3 and still in search of a true identity in this season.
But Le’Bryan Nash is starting to play better and coach Travis Ford has begun to tighten his rotation and experimentation, just as the Cowboys prepare for a rugged three-week run into Big 12 play.
Here’s an e-mail discussion I did with Anthony Slater at The Daily O’Collegian, OSU’s student newspaper.
We talk about some of the issues facing the Cowboys, as well as a guess at their outlook.
OSU Hoops: Taking Manhattan?
Markel Brown could get the call for slowing Pitt's Ashton Gibbs.
By John Helsley
follow on Twitter @jjhelsley
Sitting there in JQH Arena Wednesday night, watching the Cowboys fall behind by 12 early in the second half – following a fading performance to the first half – I couldn’t help but think, ‘Here they go again.”
With a road losing streak dating back to February of 2010, it looked like just another disappointing excursion away from home.
Then something happened, giving the Cowboys and their fans reason for hope.
A team struggling to reveal an identity, revealed some fight and toughness in an enemy arena that while hardly hostile, was still energized and fully against them.
The Pokes made plays.
They made shots.
They got stops.
They made free throws!
And, again on the optimistic side, a squad heavy on freshmen and sophomores took a step toward growing up.
“It’s a huge step for us,” said senior guard and captain Keiton Page. “We know how tough it is (on the road). When you go out there and play like a team, like that, we can be really good.”
Now comes a very different challenge: No. 15 Pitt, today at 1:30 p.m., inside Madison Square Garden.
This is a game Cowboys players have anticipated in scanning a difficult nonconference schedule. Their last trip to the Big Apple didn’t go so well. They hope they’ve indeed grown in this return for an ESPN2 event.
They better have, as this figures to be their toughest test – to date, and perhaps for this entire season.
This collection of Cowboys has upside – a dangerous word.
Five thoughts on the Pokes entering into the Pitt game:
1. The roster is deep with talented pieces. And a lot of different guys contributed in the 72-67 win over Missouri State, a team picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference.
But the task for OSU coach Travis Ford remains putting those pieces together in the right combinations and finding an offensive flow that fits their skills, of which shooting and post offense are not a part of.
Ford has begun tightening his use of the roster – more on that to come in Monday’s Insider edition in The Oklahoman – and more is in order, particularly today.
2. Le’Bryan Nash, the famed freshman, may be figuring things out somewhat, although the process will take time. The Cowboys need Nash to man up, which he did at Missouri State, playing aggressively and with a toughness, giving his team scoring and rebounding down the stretch.
Finally, we’re seeing that he can be a go-to type of scorer on the offensive end. The Cowboys went to him Wednesday and he responded.
3. Philip Jurick is turning out to be a great find and addition. But he must avoid foul trouble. He’s OSU’s only real power presence in the post, able to offer some physicality. And while he should be aggressive in going for blocked shots, a great deterrent for opposing teams, he can’t help if he’s on the bench with fouls.
4. Pitt is good, really good, maybe even Final Four good. The Panthers took a tumble in the rankings when they lost at home 86-76 to Long Beach State in mid-November. Pitt has won six straight since. And the Panthers are led by a tough senior tandem of Ashton Gibbs and Nasir Robinson. Gibbs is big-time good and he could prove troublesome for the Cowboys today. Pitt, like OSU, also has a dynamic freshman in 6-9 forward Khem Birch.
5. Winning today will be tough, extremely tough. But the Cowboys need to at least play well. The Missouri State win was a solid win on the road and it couldn’t have come at a better time, with confidence in danger of slipping and the Panthers next. That win bought the Pokes some time, win or lose in Manhattan. Still, a poor effort could surrender some of those positives.
Introducing Cezar Guerrero
Cezar Guerrero shows his skills from high school.
By John Helsley
follow on Twitter @jjhelsley
Someone posed the question late Wednesday night – “Have we been hyping the wrong Oklahoma State freshman?”
How about answering a question with a question, “Why pick only one?”
Le’Bryan Nash came to the Cowboys with all the credentials – high-ranking national recruit, dunk champion, NBA body with crazy skills.
Cezar Guerrero came in under the radar, despite a big-time prep career in California. Then his early major moment was a scare, when he suffered a stinger, lost feeling in his extremities and had to be medi-flighted to Oklahoma City.
Well, Guerrero’s second impression, made on a wild Wednesday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena, is what prompted the original question. With 29 points, almost all of them clutch, and eight 3-pointers the little guard won over the Cowboys crowd and all but won OSU the game, 90-85, in overtime.
The 29 points tied Guerrero with James Anderson and Byron Houston for the most by a freshman in Cowboys history, but more than anything, established his personality: fast, fun and fine in prime time.
“I didn’t know about any records, to be honest with you,” he said after the game. “I just go out there and play. I just want to do me and do what I’m capable of doing. And that’s making shots, creating stuff and winning games. I’m a leader. If you need me to be vocal, I’m vocal.”
That’s right, Guerrero fancies himself a leader, no matter his freshman status.
With Keiton Page out with a toe injury, Guerrero took it upon himself to fill the void.
“This is real stuff, I told KP, ‘I’ve got you,’” Guerrero said. “When he was putting on his clothes, his regular clothes, I told him, ‘Hey baby boy, I got you. Don’t worry about it. I’m here. I’m going to support you and I’m ready to take on that role to be that leader for you.’
“There’s always moments for us to be leaders in this game. You’ve got to take your opportunity to be a leader on the court and just flourish with it.”
Guerrero flourished, alright.
And his intensity and aggressive play should help Nash, who sometimes plays like he needs a jolt of excitement.
Nash has flashed his potential, with a 26-point effort in his exhibition debut and a gliding style and strength in and around the basket. He’s an obvious talent.
So who deserves the hype?
Celebrate them both.
Page Update
For the first time in his career, Page did not play for the Cowboys.
The injury occurred in Tuesday’s win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, as Page came up limping after crashing out of bounds on one end. He played on, however, and Ford was looking forward to his long-range shooting to combat UTSA’s zone, when word came that he was really hurting.
Page tried to give it a go in warm-ups, but changed from his uniform into a sweat suit before the game. X-rays revealed nothing too serious, with the injury being termed as similar to a turf toe.
Cowboys coach Travis Ford is optimistic about his availability for the NIT semifinals in New York on Wednesday.
“My guess is he’ll be ready to go,” Ford said.
Don’t Sleep On UTSA
Former OSU standout Brooks Thompson brought a savvy and talented team into GIA.
The Roadrunners return four starters and 12 lettermen from last year’s 20-14 team that won the Southland Conference Tournament and made the school’s first NCAA postseason appearance in any sport.
A definite advantage for the Roadrunners is the benefit a summer trip to Australia delivered in the form of practices and games and chemistry.
“This is with the utmost respect, San Antonio is probably a better basketball team than we are right now, for the fact they have four returning starters, they went to Australia in the summertime and they’re just so much further ahead,” Ford said. “They’ve got good players and are really well coached.
“Without Keiton Page, even with Keiton Page, I knew this was going to take a special effort, period. I got to watch enough tape on San Antonio to realize that at this time of year, they’re really very well polished.”
UTSA was the unanimous pick to win the Southland West Division.
Weeden For Heisman? Maybe
Brandon Weeden is climbing the Heisman watch lists.
By John Helsley
follow on twitter @jjhelsley
The Heisman spotlight is finally finding Brandon Weeden.
For now, it’s not the glowing center of the spotlight, but clearly Weeden has moved from the shadowy outer edges into the circle of light.
In the latest Scripps Heisman Poll, which involves a sampling of votes from the different geographical areas of the country, Weeden ranks No. 4, his highest position yet. In ESPN’s Expert’s Poll, Weeden is No. 5, also a high-water mark for the senior from Edmond.
The surge comes on the heels of his school-record, 502-yard, four touchdown performance in OSU’s wild 52-45 win over Kansas State. He completed 78 percent of his throws against the Wildcats and is at 72.1 percent for the season.
ESPN’s take:
“These are heady times in Stillwater, and Weeden is the main reason. He’s completing 72 percent of his passes and is averaging 31 completions per game for the nation’s second-highest-scoring offense. Better yet, he has the Cowboys at No. 2 in the BCS standings and in control of their own destiny in the national championship race.”
Quarterbacks dominate the Heisman projections, with Boise State’s Kellen Moore and Houston’s Case Keenum also among the top five, with Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, USC’s Matt Barkley and Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson also drawing attention.
The lone non-QB heavily involved in the race is Alabama running back Trent Richardson, who lost some appeal after the Tide’s loss to LSU.
By all accounts, the Heisman is Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck’s to lose. Luck has essentially been the frontrunner since preseason and has done nothing to change perceptions. The lone hurdle in Luck’s path: a Saturday visit from Oregon.
Weeden, meanwhile, may have the best opportunity to keep impressing and keep moving up, with three more TV games, including a Friday night special at Iowa State offering a singular stage, and of course, Bedlam, as long as too many voters haven’t already mailed in their picks.
K-State Carries Special Meaning For Randle
Joe Randle will find some special motivation tonight.
By John Helsley
follow on twitter @jjhelsley
Feel good, Cowboys fans, that Joseph Randle wears orange (or black or gray, whichever it may be) tonight, and not purple.
A star running back out of Wichita, Kansas, Randle might have made Manhattan home. Kansas State coaches made their case and had Randle’s attention.
“They definitely were a serious contender,” Randle said this week. “But I really wanted to come here.”
As always, Randle is a key figure when Oklahoma State takes on K-State in the first-ever meeting featuring both as ranked teams. And don’t be surprised if Randle has a little extra giddyup due to the matchup.
“Yeah, because you know the players on that team,” Randle said. “I know players on that team personally. When I go home, we still hang out and go bowling and stuff like that. It’s going to be special.”
There’s a Wichita connection at play in this game, with Randle on one side and Arthur and Bryce Brown, Tyson Hartman, Chris Harper, Anthony and Jack Cantele, DeMarcus Robinson,Dorrian Roberts and Matthew Pearson all from Wichita.
“A lot of those guys, they come back to Wichita and hang out,” Randle said. “Yeah, it’s going to be special.”
Under Pressure? Pokes Not Showing It
Joseph Randle and the Cowboys are taking any perceived pressure head on.
By John Helsley
follow on twitter @jjhelsley
As the weeks pass by and the victories mount and the unbeatens shrink and the BCS Standings spotlight increases focus, there’s a perception of growing pressure on the top teams.
This year, that includes Oklahoma State.
At 8-0 for the first time in seven decades, there’s a natural rush to wonder how the Cowboys are coping in unchartered territoroy. They’ve already been placed on upset alert and it’s bound to happen again, possibly as soon as Saturday against Kansas State. They’re now being picked at more for their flaw — a defense that surrenders yards, but not necessarily points — than they’re being celebrated for an all-but-unstoppable offense.
Under Pressure?
If they are, the Pokes sure aren’t showing it.
It was just last week, before OSU routed Baylor and ruined Robert Griffin III’s Heisman hopes, that Cowboys coach Mike Gundy proclaimed: “We’re not going to play under pressure. We’re not going to coach under pressure.”
I know it’s cliche, but the Cowboys are taking things one day at a time, and enjoying every step of the process. And hey, aren’t cliches born out of repeated truth?
A reflection of their too-cool coach and their, ahem, mature quarterback, these Cowboys aren’t intimidated by the new neighborhood, they are taking in the scenery as if they belong and are not just stopping by.
And so they go, day to day, doing what’s necessary to get to the next game day, never beyond. That will come in handy if the Cowboys win again against the Wildcats and climb to the No. 2 spot in the BCS, with Nos. 1 and 2, LSU and Alabama, squaring off Saturday night.
Check out this story at athlonsports.com, which picks up on OSU’s pressure play. The story notes how previous first-timers to the BCS pressure-cooker have folded under the spotlight.
Are the Cowboys different?
So far, yes.
Catching Up, Sort Of, With Kendall Hunter
By John Helsley
follow on twitter @jjhelsley
The revelation that Cowgirls point guard Tiffany Bias and former Cowboys running back Kendall Hunter are an item is nothing short of fascinating.
Not that they don’t make a fine pair; wouldn’t begin to know.
It’s just that they’re so, well, different.
Bias is outgoing and inviting of conversation, while Hunter is as quiet and humble as they come, to the point he avoids interaction as well as he avoids contact in the open field.
So I asked Bias, did you have to approach him?
“A little bit,” she said. “I’m mean, I’m loud and I’ll go talk to anyone. We’re kind of totally opposite, he’s quiet and I’m loud. But once he opens up, he’s actually loud. He will laugh loud and tell jokes. He’s really great.”
The two met at a frozen yogurt shack last fall in Stillwater when Bias, then a freshman, had only been on campus a few months.
“We exchanged numbers and after that we talked,” Bias said. “I was taken right off the market after that.”
Even though Hunter is in San Francisco and Bias is in Stillwater, the romance continues.
“It’s really difficult,” Bias said. “He’s my best friend and now he’s 15,000 miles away.”
She’s been out there and he’s coming home this week, with the 49ers on their bye week in the NFL.
So they manage.
“It’s hard, but at the same time, it’s time management,” Bias said. “I’m really busy. He’s really busy with football. So it kind of works out. We have to keep our main focuses, which is sports right now. It’s good that he understands my time and I understand his.”
Bias reports that Hunter hasn’t gotten the big head with his big job and big paycheck. No trip to the Mercedes lot.
“No, he’s actually really good with his money,” she said. “He hasn’t done anything over the top, gone and bought a huge car or anything like that. He’s very conservative with money. He’s very humble about everything.”
Same old Kendall, although he did allow himself one purchase.
“Well, he loves electronics,” she said. “That big flat screen TV, he went and got something like that. It’s a man thing.”
Something for her, perhaps?
“He always gets me little gifts here and there,” Bias said. “That’s just who he is, he’s always done stuff like that.”
Cowboys Through 4 Games: What We’ve Learned
Justin Blackmon and the Cowboys are charging ahead.
follow on twitter @jjhelsley
We’re already 1/3 of the way through the football season.
Doesn’t seem possible, probably because so much of the meat in the schedule remains ahead for the Cowboys, Saturday’s game against Kansas not included.
Still, fresh from an off week (and entering another?), four games provide a good checkpoint to consider the things we’ve learned so far in 2011.
A list of five:
1. Mental Toughness. This team has already endured a weather-delayed game played in the wee-morning hours – the bars beat the coaches at last call! – and a 20-3 deficit at one of the nation’s toughest venues to start 4-0. We saw the makings of a mentally tough team a year ago, when the Cowboys rolled unbeaten on the road. We’ve now seen more, which should suggest that this team can handle anything that stands in their way from this point on, including more rugged road tests.
Receiver Tracy Moore is just one of OSU's many weapons.
2. Loaded Gun.
The Cowboys roll with the best in the weapons race, with an offense expanding well beyond Weeden2Blackmon. Sure, Brandon Weeden-to-Justin Blackmon remains a premium production, but these Pokes can pick teams apart in a variety of ways, whether charging with running backs Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith, or spreading the wealth through the air with a deep wideout rotation that includes Josh Cooper, Tracy Moore, Hubert Anyiam, Michael Harrison and more.
3. Inconsistent Defense. Looking ahead, the major issue is a familiar issue: is the defense good enough? And by good enough, we mean championship good enough. The Cowboys define the glass half-full/half-empty proposition, looking stout on defense at times, even extended periods of time, and appearing porous at others. There are reasons to believe, if the defensive tackles and the young linebackers continue to grow. The secondary remains the strength of the team, which is vital in a league where the elite teams all fling the ball with frequency.
4. Still The One. Panic nearly set in when Dana Holgorsen left for West Virginia, with worriers fretting about a potential shift in offensive philosophy. But new coordinator Todd Monken has kept the offense rolling, ranking No. 2 nationally in passing offense and No. 3 in total offense. Yes, Monken has tweaked the attack to include more power run formations, but with this stout offensive line and these running backs, it’s a fit, and only in bits.
5. More To Come? The Cowboys haven’t put together a complete performance yet, where you felt like they were fully focused and on task for four quarters. Some of that can be attributed to blowouts. Not A&M, where OSU went Jekyll-and-Hyde in the two halves. On the bright side, there’s a sense that we still haven’t seen how good this Cowboys team can be, that they still haven’t peaked, which you don’t want in September. But against the competition coming – at Texas, at Missouri, at Texas Tech, home against OU – anything less than a full effort can get you beat.
