Ford Takes Exception To Chat
Oklahoma State's Matt Pilgrim takes a shot between Dillard's Oscar Moore, left, and Avry Ingram (25) during an exhibition NCAA college basketball game in Stillwater, Okla., Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. (By Nate Billings, The Oklahoman)
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opubco.com
Out of nowhere it seems, an item in the Rumors section of ESPN’s college basketball page carried the title:
Matt Pilgrim: Chemistry Killer?
The item questioned Pilgrim’s two other stops (Hampton and Kentucky) in his college career and alluded to suggestions that he wasn’t a favorite of past coaches.
There was also a link to a live chat that FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman did with Kentucky Sports Radio, where Goodman suggested Pilgrim was a chemistry killer.
When given a heads up about Goodman’s lively chat, Cowboys coach Travis Ford took exception.
“I don’t know if Jeff Goodman has ever watched us practice. I’ve known Jeff fairly well, I don’t know if he knows Matt Pilgrim at all. From what I understand, I think that comes from something maybe he has heard form the past, long from the past. Last time I checked, Jeff Goodman has never seen my team play. Jeff Goodman has a lot of opinions. I don’t know if he’s ever even coached, I don’t know how we would know if he’s a chemistry killer.
“I hadn’t even heard until you told me that. That would be my least problem with Matt Pilgrim right now, my least problem. The biggest problem we have right now is keeping him out of foul trouble and just knocking off some of the rust. If I were Jeff Goodman I’d keep my opinions to myself until I watched the kid play.”
From my observations and conversations, Pilgrim is fitting in fabulously with his new team. He’s spoken about finally finding a home with a cast of teammates who have taken him in with open arms.
All that needs to be the case for the Cowboys, who need Pilgrim.
Travis Ford Talks Recruits
By John Helsley
Back from a spin through the ESPN “Car Wash,” the hip term attached to a full day’s run through the many studio’s — TV and radio — Travis Ford finally had a chance to talk about his latest recruiting class.
The newest Cowboys: 6-foot-9 power forward Michael Cobbins of Amarillo’s Palo Duro High School; 6-4 shooting guard Markel Brown of Peabody Magnet High in Alexandria, La.; 6-4 shooting guard Brian Williams of Glen Oaks High in Baton Rouge, La.; and 6-6 small forward J.P. Olukemi of Vincennes University Junior College.
It’s a group gaining steam as a consensus top-20 recruiting class, ranked as the best in the Big 12 and No. 10 nationally according to HoopScoop.com, and the top class in the league and ranked 18th nationally by Scout.com.
A closer look:
Brown is a four-star recruit, ranked as the No. 24 shooting guard in the country by Scout.com. He averaged 28.5 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots per game as a junior last season.
Also recruited by LSU, Marquette, Michigan, USC and Texas A&M, Brown was a first-team Class 4A All-State selection and was named the Most Valuable Player for District 3-4A. He was also named the All-Cenla MVP in 2009, voted on by local sports writers and consists of all the central Louisiana schools. He also started on the team his sophomore year as the Warhorses went 38-1.
“Markel is a kid I went and saw play and the first five minutes I watched him play I said, ‘that’s our guy’,” Ford said. “He plays for a big-time high school program. He can play the point, the two and also the three. He’s arguably one of the most athletic guys we’ve recruited.
“He’s just like a grasshopper. He can shoot it and has a great in-between game. He will fit into our system well. He can shoot it, which we need because we could be losing our two best shooters next year in James (Anderson) and Obi (Muonelo). He’s very quiet, but I think he will be a fan favorite.”
Cobbins is a consensus four-star and top-50 recruit, ranked as high as 38th nationally by Rivals.com. Scout.com lists him as the 12th-best power forward in the country.
As a junior last season, he averaged 18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, leading the Dons to the Region I-4A finals. Also recruited by Memphis, Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia Tech, he was also named the Player of the Year of the 5A-4A Golden Spread Super Team by the Amarillo Globe-News.
“Michael is someone we’re very excited about,” said Ford. “He’s a very versatile player and before he got hurt, was having a top-10 player-of-the-year season. He came to our elite camp and we fell in love with him.
“He plays a lot of different positions. He has recovered from his injury and is 100 percent, so I’m anxious to see him. He has a great attitude and is a player who has just gotten better and better. He’s very versatile and very long. We don’t really have anybody like him on our team that’s his size with the skills that he has.”
Olukemi could be a vital cog next season, when James Anderson and Obi Muonelo have moved on. The 6-7, 215-pound forward played during the 2008-09 season at Vincennes University in Indiana. He averaged 14.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor.
Olukemi is a consensus three-star player, and was ranked as the top junior college recruit this season by Midwest Scouting Service. He is sitting out the 2009-10 season and will have three years of eligibility remaining once next season begins.
“Many publications have JP rated as the No. 1 junior college player in the country,” said Ford. “We targeted him right away. He’s special in that he has three years to play. He has a great attitude and a great presence about him as a person. He has a big, strong basketball body and is someone who will step in and play right away. He’ll bring size to our team.”
Williams is a consensus three-star recruit, and ranked as high as the No. 26 shooting guard in the country by Scout.com. He was also recruited by LSU, Oregon State and Baylor.
Williams averaged 25.9 points, 13.6 rebounds, 4.1 blocked shots and 3.5 assists per game as a junior last season, pacing Glen Oaks to a No. 1 ranking in Class 4A. He was named Class 4A’s Outstanding Player by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, and one of two juniors — joining Brown — named first-team All-State for Class 4A. He was also named the District 6-4A Most Valuable Player.
“Brian’s game is a lot like Obi’s,” Ford said. “He’s 6-4 to 6-5 and much more athletic. He can jump over the rim. He averaged 30 points a game last year in high school. He can step out and shoot it, he’s very athletic and has a great in-between game.”
Hoops Update: Injuries
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opubco.com
OSU will be without Teeng Akol and Nick Sidorakis for a while.
Injuries suffered in recent practices will sideline Akol and Sidorkis for a month or more. And while neither played a major role a year ago, each had been drawing raves from Cowboys coach Travis Ford for their play in the preseason.
Both players were considered key reserves by Ford, who may now be forced to get freshmen ready to take on larger roles.
Akol, a 6-11 center, has a fracture in his right hand is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Sidorkis, a 6-4 guard, won’t need surgery to repair a patela tendon injury to his right knee, but will be out 6-8 weeks.
Cowboy Hoops Adds Walk-Ons
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opubco.com
The number of available practice bodies had already increased at OSU, with seven newcomers beefing up the roster — a needed boost from a year ago.
Add two more players to the mix, with Travis Ford taking advantage of his walk-on tryout program for the second straight year.
In a near act of desperation a year ago, with his roster depleted, Ford pulled four walk-ons from a workout to help with practice and suit up on game days. One of the four, Edmond Memorial product Garrett Thomas, remains with the squad.
While not as needy this year, Ford still felt adding players could be a benefit to preparation. And with recent injuries to Teeng Akol and Nick Sidorakis, he’s surely pleased to have them.
So, on to the introductions:
From Broken Arrow High and Oklahoma City University, a 6-6 forward… Steven Cantrell!
And from Perkins, a 6-foot guard… Lee Ledford!
Cantrell actually played a bit part in OCU’s national title run in 2008, averaging 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds for a team that finished 31-7. He appeared in 20 games and started five, before leaving for regular-student status at OSU a year ago. Now he’s back.
Ledford, in his third year at OSU, averaged 15 points and seven rebounds as a prep senior.
Don’t expect to see much of Cantrell or Ledford, unless games get way out of hand. Still, they’re valuable additions to the daily grind of practices. Ford wouldn’t have them around if they didn’t offer something.
And there’s always the possible payoff, a moment in Gallagher-Iba Arena when the student section chants their names.
Or even better, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and memories of March Madness.
Talking Kendall Hunter, James Anderson and Andrea Riley
By John Helsley
Remember Kendall Hunter?
Reigning Big 12 rushing champ.
One-third of the Triplets.
Potential Heisman candidate.
Seems so long ago, doesn’t it?
Well, maybe it’s time for a Hunter resurfacing. We haven’t seen – or heard – from “Spud” since he left the Houston loss with an ankle injury that went from sprain to fracture in the rumor mill that serves as the OSU injury report.
On Monday, Mike Gundy essentially called out Hunter subtly, saying team doctors had ruled him healthy, it was just up to Hunter to decide he could go.
Well, Hunter is on the trip to Waco and will be suited up for Baylor. Will he play? How much will he play? Only Spud knows for sure, but ideally he shakes off the rust, suffers no relapse and returns in full for what looms as a major showdown with Texas next week.
Hunter may return against Baylor.
The OSU basketball program isn’t putting on any fronts when it comes to James Anderson.
If he stays healthy and has another strong season – as expected – he’s off to the NBA after this, his junior season.
So enjoy him, Cowboys fans, and by all indications, he’ll be a joy to watch.
Check out this from Travis Ford:
“He has had some of the most ridiculous dunks. You won’t believe the energy level and peppiness he is playing with. He dunked over Teeng (Akol) the other day. It’s something I don’t know if he had ever tried and I don’t know if he could even could have done it, and he he caught a rebound and dunked it from outside the paint, just dunked over two guys. It’s just the step you hoped he would take. It’s early and you hope it continues. I don’t hype it up too much because we’ve got a long ways to go.”
Anderson is bigger and stronger and noticeably more comfortable, almost chatty by his standards.
The good news is there won’t be a need for regular questions about his future, whether he’s staying or going, even though we’d all know he’s going. That part is out of the way.
So enjoy, while you can.
On the women’s hoops front, the Cowgirls face their final season with Andrea Riley.
Her career is a mixed bag, as she’s been at the trigger of some of the program’s great recent moments, but also some embarrassments, which is why her one-game NCAA Tournament suspension still hangs over the squad and its chances to do much in March.
Still, Riley has a chance to improve her legacy, if not by leading these Cowgirls to great things, then by bridging things for a promising young core of players who figure to brighten OSU’s long-term future.
Riley is always worth watching.
This season, there’s plenty of reasons to pay close attention.
Six Former Pokes Open NBA Camp
By John Helsley, Staff Writer
NBA training camps are opening everywhere, some with an Oklahoma State flair.
Former Cowboys show up on the rosters of six NBA teams, with practices due to begin today.
Tony Allen maintains stability, starting his sixth season with the Boston Celtics. But for four other former Pokes, new teams offer new beginnings.
Joey Graham, who spent the past four seasons with the Toronto Raptors, moves to the Denver Nuggets.
Stephen Graham, Joey’s twin, signed on Monday with the Charlotte Bobcats – his sixth NBA team.
Desmond Mason, who spent last season locally with the Thunder, went West with a one-year deal to play with Sacramento.
David Monds, who finished at OSU in 2007 and spent last season in the NBA Developmental League, is trying to make it with the world champion Los Angeles Lakers.
And John Lucas, who played in 60 games for the Houston Rockets over two seasons from 2005-07, is trying to make it with the Miami Heat.
Allen, who has battled injuries throughout his career, is questionable for the preseason as he continues recovery from June 3 ankle surgery to repair a torn tendon.
Graham waited five months to hook on with a new team, then hustled in to join the Nuggets’ first practice. Denver is hoping he fills offense lost when Linas Kleiza signed with Olympiakos and defense lost when Dahntay Jones signed with the Pacers, according to the Denver Post.
“I like covering guys like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James,” Graham told the Post. “I’m a rough-neck guy, a blue-collar guy.”
