Waiting for Blake
By John Helsley
We wait for news on the availability of Blake Griffin.
And in this case, no news definitely is not good news.
Blake wasn’t ready to go against Kansas Monday night. And his father, Tommy, said his son was “nowhere near ready.” With the Sooners stuck in their first two-game losing streak of the season, there’s an urgency — although not at the risk of his health — to get the big man back and get the Sooners back to winning.
Concussions are a tricky issue. Unlike a sprained ankle or twisted knee, the symptoms aren’t always clear. You can’t apply ice or tape or stitches or easily recognize the healing.
There are tests, reliable tests. Still, there’s uncertainty, too. And there’s an inclination to err on the side of safety with any injury to the head.
For those who saw Griffin on the bench Monday night, he was clearly still suffering from some post-concussion struggles. He plugged his ears when the LNC got too loud. He sat down and rubbed his face after he got a little too excited.
In the case of a mild concussion, which is what Blake’s injury has been termed, the “normal” time before a return to activity is a minimum of one week, although it can last longer.
So we wait for news.
The Sooners are due in Lubbock Saturday to take on the struggling Red Raiders of Texas Tech. Will Griffin play? Will he reprise his “Terminator” role of the first meeting between the two teams?
Or will it be up to Willie Warren and the other Sooners to right the ship?
Time, agonizingly, will tell.
Big Monday for OU
By John Helsley
The Sooners didn’t play Monday night and won’t play again until Saturday, at Texas. Still, it was a big Big Monday for OU.
Thanks to Pittsburgh.
Pitt’s 76-68 upset of No. 1 Connecticut provided answers and opportunity for the Sooners.
With the top spot in the polls now available, all that stands in the way of the Sooners moving to No. 1 is that trip to Austin. We’re not here to say getting past the Longhorns will be easy, but it doesn’t shape up as the feared road game it once did. The Horns have been struggling, losing by 15 to A&M Monday night. Crowds are down at The Drum, too. While rooting and ranting against the Sooners might make it a must-see event Saturday, we’re guessing not.
In UConn’s loss, center Hasheem Thabeet managed just five points (on 1-of-5 shooting) and four rebounds. Maybe that’ll change the tune of Dick Vitale, who had suddenly taken to praising Thabeet as the Player of the Year in college basketball. C’mon, Dickie V, why no love for big Blake Griffin? You snubbed him on your preseason All-American teams and you’re overlooking him now. And that’s hard to do when the kid’s going for 40 and 23 in a Big 12 game.
The Sooners, too, should learn a thing from Pitt in the event they meet up with UConn and Thabeet later on. The 7-3 center had been a matchup nightmare on the defensive end, but Pitt’s DeJuan Blair took it to Thabeet with a new tact. Rather than go over Thabeet, Blair went at him with power and force — hello, Blake Griffin – resulting in 22 points, 23 rebounds and a foul out of the Huskies post man.
“I did a little research,” Blair said, “and it you go against a shot-blocker, you’ve got to body him up and get him off balance so he can’t jump. The only time he blocked my shot, I was fading away and I got the ball right back and went right into his chest and got the and-one.”
Blake Griffin, take notes.
Dickie V, take notes.
Sooner fans, take note — you could be cheering the nation’s No. 1 team by the next Big Monday.
OU gets 2010 commitment
Oklahoma received its second oral commitment from the 2010 class Tuesday in Irving (Texas) Nimitz safety Eddrick Loften, according to Rivals.com.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Loften, who had offers from Nebraska, SMU and Tulsa, had six interceptions last season for Nimitz.
The Sooners got their first 2010 commitment last week in defensive tackle Daniel Noble.
By Jake Trotter
OU No. 2
OU is No. 2 in ESPN’s revised preseason college football Top 25. Florida is No. 1, followed by OU, Texas, Alabama and Virginia Tech.
By Jake Trotter
Bradford resolution in US House
The U.S. House of Representatives was expected to vote on a resolution today about Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford.
Here’s a link to the resolution:
By Jake Trotter
Signing Day stories…
Here’s a quick sampling of OU signing day stories from around the country:
Lackawanna-to-Oklahoma connection made again
– Scott Walsh, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
Wagoner LB Gus Jones strikes ‘favorable comparison’
– Kenton Brooks, Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
La Crosse’s Musil makes move to Oklahoma official
– Conor Nicholl, The Hays Daily News, Kan.
By Jake Trotter
Roster update
Word out of Norman is that two reserves will not be with the Sooner football team in 2009.
Backup guard Kody Cooke and backup linebacker Lamont Robinson are not expected to be with the team next season and have told the coaching staff they will be looking to transfer to other schools.
Cooke, out of Enid, was a high school teammate of Austin Box.
Robinson, out of New Jersey, played sporadically over the last couple of years. Last season, he saw his most playing time in the second half against Texas after Ryan Reynolds suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Robinson nearly had the play of the game when it appeared he picked off Colt McCoy in the end zone. But the ball popped out when Robinson crashed to the ground, and officials ruled the pass incomplete.
Texas kicked a field goal on the next play to secure its first lead of the day and would eventually go on to win, 45-35.
By Jake Trotter
John Blake recruiting lights out
A glance at the national team recruiting rankings, and the top five are no surprise. LSU, Ohio, USC, Texas, Alabama.
But check out who’s knocking on the door at No. 6.
North Carolina.
A big reason for that is former Oklahoma head coach and current UNC defensive line coach John Blake, who’s recruiting like a man on fire for Butch Davis and the up-and-coming Tar Heels.
According to Rivals.com, Blake had a hand in landing at least eight commitments for UNC, including five-star defensive end Donte Moss, the No. 16-ranked overall prospect nationally.
He also helped UNC reel in Jheranie Boyd, the nation’s No. 3 wide receiver, who at one point was being pursued heavily by OU.
Blake, who’s been at UNC since 2007, hasn’t just been a big-time recruiter, either.
Last April, he turned two perennial underachieving defensive linemen into NFL Draft picks, including first-round selection Kentwan Balmer.
Say what you want about Blake’s tenure as OU’s head coach.
But there’s no dispute, he’s one of the top performing position coaches in all of college football.
By Jake Trotter
