Archives For Daily Bullets

Big 12 Power Rankings

Kyle Porter —  January 31, 2011 — 10 Comments

Welcome to our first 2011 Big 12 power rankings. We’ll rank the squads, yes, but we’ll also throw in a few other random tidbits and/or ridiculous behavior from around the league. Let’s get started…

1. Texas – Who isn’t taking them on a neutral court against the rest of the league? While we’re here, I get the losses to UConn and Pitt, they’re both legit title contenders, but at SC? Do the sports gods still hate them for ruining the Bush/Leinart dynasty in ’05?

2. Presidents doing the Dougie – I apologize for being like 5 months late on this (and I’m sorry if you’ve already seen it) but my gosh, when you find 62-year old bow-tie-wearing university presidents doing the Dougie on Kyle Field you just have to stand in awe (start at 1:30).

3. Kansas – The loss to Texas might have been an aberration and we’re going to find out in about a month on a Sunday in Kansas City if it was.

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The Morning Fade 1.31.11

Kyle Porter —  January 31, 2011 — Leave a comment

1. Great story from Chatmon on how Gundy almost played for OU – [Pat Jones said], “He went to Norman to visit, then word got out that he committed to OU,” Jones said. “We got a hold of him, and he told us Coach (Barry) Switzer and a couple assistants got him in a room and he realized he wasn’t going to get out until he told them he was going to come (to OU) or something to that effect.” Can you imagine if that happened in 2011? ESPN.com would go down in flames in a matter of seconds. (NewsOK)

2. Chatmon breaks down signing day – Love this work from BC on what OSU’s recruits mean in terms of what kind of offense and defense they’ll be running for the next few years. I also like the fact that OSU’s coaches aren’t arrogant enough to make their players adapt to a certain style. Rather they mold the playcalls to the talent they bring in. (NewsOK)

3. John Helsley says the Cowboys’ NCAA chances are on life support – “The inner dynamics of this squad are in flux as well, with Ford flipping through his roster in search of answers and unquestioned commitment. How else to read Ford’s rotation at Tech? Ray Penn, his starting point guard in 10 games, played less than a minute. Forward Matt Pilgrim, who finished last season on a promising high, was on the floor for three minutes as his alarming regression continues.” He’s right too. As he points out, the 2009 team was 3-6 in league play before rallying to make the dance, but that team was loaded with talent. This one? Not so much. (NewsOK)

4. Jimmie Tramel with an interesting JPO interview – There’s a great story in here about how JPO wanted to go at James Anderson every day in practice. You have to love that from somebody who’s going to potentially be a team leader for the next three years. (Tulsa World)

5. Samuel Bryant on what’s wrong with the team – Some solid points in here, especially about how nobody on OSU has a true position and Gulley’s injury. The position thing is killing them I think. Markel isn’t a one, neither is Keiton, and apparently Ford doesn’t think Penn is either. Moses and Darrell don’t really have true positions either. (CowboysRFF)

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Sunday Letters – Oklahoma State University

Kyle Porter —  January 30, 2011 — 2 Comments

Dear Oklahoma State University,

I’m writing you late on Sunday night because the words just weren’t coming to me earlier. For what words can I even summon to surmise this week full of melancholiac articles and poignant ceremonies?

I’m writing you to tell you how thankful I am for how everyone associated with the events of 1.27.01 has handled themselves. I couldn’t imagine a classier or more well put-together seven days of mourning, celebration, and remembrance. I know that leadership at entities like yours is usually top-down oriented and I know better still that there isn’t a classier school president in the entire nation than V. Burns Hargis.

Mrs. Pistols and I met his wife, the first cowgirl, at an alumni event on Friday and asked her about Wednesday, about how she felt everything went. She proceeded to thank us for asking and assured us that everyone in Stillwater is still processing that day that seems ten years new, not ten years old. It’s still fresh and yet often so distant, as if it happened to another school or in some other lifetime.

But it didn’t, and for a week every year we are reminded that it was real. We are reminded when Rick Barnes lays a bouquet of ten flowers at the feet of our thick, marble fallen cowboy in the southwest lobby of Gallagher-Iba Arena. We are reminded when Desmond and Gottlieb stand before the 13,611 clad in orange and tell them why the fell in love with your school’s tiny little town. And we’re reminded when ESPN shows us shots of tearful parents, sober siblings, and heartbroken well-wishers. It’s becoming distant for sure, but still, it’s so blatantly fresh once every calendar year.

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The Most Important Game in School History

Kyle Porter —  January 30, 2011 — 2 Comments

Huge props to OSU for putting this up on YouTube, that’s a really classy move. I was a mess about 4 minutes in when Larry Reese started announcing the starting lineups. The Williams bros., Jonzen, Mo Baker, the memories came flooding back. GIA was loud too, like hair-raising-I-can-feel-the-electricity loud.

On a bit of a side note: how sick was Mo Baker? I can’t get over how silky he was inside the three-point line and what a phenomenal ball-handler and distributor he was. The matchup in this game between him and Kareem Rush was outstanding. Wish injuries hadn’t careened his career into a brick wall. In case you were wondering (and I was) he’s still kicking it in the D-league for the Dakota Wizards with Javaris Crittenton.

OK we’ve had a solid tribute week here on PFB and we’ll leave the archives up for anyone who wants to peruse them as time goes on. We’ll be back this afternoon with our final Remember the 10 piece – a Sunday Letter – and back with regularly-scheduled blogging on Monday morning.

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Tech Ruins OSU’s Season, 75-74

Kyle Porter —  January 29, 2011 — 4 Comments

BOX SCORE

Everybody ready to fill out that NIT bracket?

OSU was the better, more talented team, but that doesn’t matter on the road in the Big 12. Although you’d think the whole “playing on the road in the Big 12″ thing would kind of be negated by the fact that the United Spirit arena looked like it was hosting a neutral site non-conference mid-November game. We like to complain about our fans but that was ridiculous.

Ready for your stat of the day? In the last six games OSU has taken exactly 113 free throws. Its opponents? 183, or 12 more a game. That’s like six free possessions. You aren’t going to win a lot of Big 12 games whether they’re at home, on the road, on a neutral court, or in outer space with those kind of stats. Well, you might win a few of those outer space games since that’s probably where Pilgrim feels most comfortable playing but you get what I’m saying.

At one point in the second half Dave Armstrong said, “Texas Tech will shoot two free throws on every possession from here on out.” He obviously meant “…on every foul.” but the Freudian-ness of his phrasing was glaring. Tech finished 29-39 from the line and the Cowboys 18-20.

It did seem like Ford tried to back up his “changes are coming” promise but it didn’t really work out for him because he doesn’t have the bodies to do it. OSU would push it and employ the Mike D’Antoni “5 seconds or less” offense but then somebody would pick up a silly foul and he’d call the dogs off. Stop and start, stop and start, stall out at the end because everybody fouled out. Not exactly a winning formula.

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Pregaming – Texas Tech

Kyle Porter —  January 29, 2011 — Leave a comment

            

Teams: Oklahoma State (14-6, 2-4) vs. Texas Tech (10-11, 2-4)

Location: United Spirit Arena – Lubbock, TX
TV: Big 12 Network
Internet: ESPN3
Time: 3:00 PM CST

AP Rankings: Oklahoma State – N/A, Texas Tech – N/A
RPI: Oklahoma State – #48, Texas Tech – #163 (BYU is #1 by the way)
Line: Oklahoma State -2
Behind enemy lines: Double T Nation

Homework:
Is it weird to anyone else that these two teams have the same Big 12 record? Early in the year they seemed basketball worlds apart, but Tech has strung together a pair of Big 12 wins including a 9-point victory against Iowa St. at Hilton on Wednesday night. Their 10-11 record probably belies their true identity when you take into account tough non-conference affairs against St. Mary’s, South Florida, TCU, and Washington.

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SMC – Rickie Fowler is Awesome

Kyle Porter —  January 29, 2011 — Leave a comment

And he’s in contention at Torrey Pines this weekend which, might I add, has a pretty star-studded leaderboard right now.

Anybody who throws out Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, and Bobby Jones for a dream foursome is allright in my eyes. The Tiger/Lefty thing was a little cliche but you can tell he knows his golf history and I can appreciate that in an an athlete, especially one who might eventually be the best of a pretty serious group of Oklahoma State golfing legends.

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The Morning Fade – 1.28.11

Kyle Porter —  January 28, 2011 — 2 Comments

Pretty intense Jenni Carlson story on Herschel Sims. I didn’t realize the kind of upbringing he had. Good for him to emerge from a terrible situation relatively unscathed with a bright future ahead of him. And forget I wrote any of this next week when he signs with Baylor.

Chatmon is doing a great job profiling the 2011 recruiting class on his blog.

Ubben with some good stuff on Leach and moving Bedlam to Cowboys Stadium next year. And to whoever “Dennis in Irving” is — moving Bedlam to Arlington is about as likely (and smart) as going with Stephen McGee as QB1 next year.

Professor @billhandy tweeted “Oh my gosh they’ve killed Pistol Pete” about this picture. I laughed.

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Something Good from Something Bad

Kyle Porter —  January 27, 2011 — 2 Comments

As a society we tend to hyperbolically shove events to whichever end of the spectrum best satiates our emotional well-being in the given moment.

We tell our friends “that was literally the best play I’ve ever seen” – as if it could have “figuratively” been such. We tweet things like “OH MY GOSH, best game EVER” and “he’s the greatest of all time” about people like Blake Griffin and/or Kevin Durant, neither of whom can legally rent a car. Don’t worry we all do it, trust me I’m as guilty as the next guy.

Unfortunately we do the same with tragedies too. We slide down the slippery slope of blame and regret and look for the ultimate scapegoat. We look for the bad when it seems like things can’t get any worse.

It’s probably a natural thing to do, one that I’m sure everyone associated with the plane crash did. We assume the events that unfold weren’t meant to be a part of history, as if some sort of mistake was made. Fred Jonzen summed this up in the Tulsa World when he was asked what he learned: “I don’t really know what to say. What is there to learn really? Ten people were killed way before their time and there’s absolutely nothing good to take away from that.”

But then as time passes we counterbalance our irrational perspective by looking for any sign of something good that might present itself. That’s what this list is, not a happy-go-lucky barrage of pixie dust sprinkled on the worst day in school history, but rather a few moments that we surrender to the greatness of the human spirit.

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The Morning Fade – 1.27.11

Kyle Porter —  January 27, 2011 — 1 Comment

(a sad day for everyone, say a prayer for the families today)

Berry Tramel with a great article about last night – “You kept waiting for Gallagher-Iba Arena to explode. Blow the top off the grand palace, just like the old days, when Eddie Sutton’s defense would boil and Desmond Mason would dunk a 40-foot Doug Gottlieb pass and some stout Big 12 foe would slink out of town bloodied and bowed. Blow the top off like that night 10 years ago, when OSU got back in the basketball business with a rousing victory over Missouri in the first game after the plane crash. But the Texas Longhorns would have none of it. The roof stayed on.”

I think this picture sums up everything I love about OSU and I don’t even really know why.

Ford had an interesting quote after the game to News OK – “There could be some lineup changes. Could be style of play. I talked to my coaches briefly about it a while ago.We’re not a good shooting team. We don’t make shots when we’re out there practicing shooting. We need to pick it up.” The problem with this is that OSU doesn’t have enough guys to really to have a full team makeover. Tech should be interesting nonetheless.

Somebody still cares.

Good stuff from Mark Rosner in the Austin-American Statesman – “The Longhorns brought 10 bouquets of flowers that were placed at a memorial inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. But mostly, the Longhorns said, they brought effort. ‘The only way to honor those people is to come here and play hard,’ Longhorns guard Dogus Balbay said.”

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OSU Falls in Stillwater, 61-46

Kyle Porter —  January 26, 2011 — 12 Comments

BOX SCORE

As most of the people I talked to who were at the game pointed out, the crowd was looking for anything it could find to blow up Gallagher-Iba, but came it up empty-handed and broken-hearted on an emotional night in Stillwater. It wasn’t for lack of trying either, Texas was just, how do I say this…a lot better.

There was a point at the beginning of the second half when the Cowboys started to make a mini-run right into the teeth of Texas’ 10-point lead. Moses had just flushed a dunk followed shortly by a Markel bucket and a distant noise could be heard, as if the crowd started to rumble just a little. On the next possession OSU had a chance to cut it to 7 with a three when JPO cut to the hoop and took a hard foul from Gary Johnson. I did a mini-fist pump and looked up at the clock. It read 15:52. Crap, TV timeout. The momentum was stripped, the crowd subsided.

It was such an important point in the game too. OSU was starting to roll a little, flustering the Horns on defense and not creating a complete cluster on offense (which is one step above average for this team). They had such a great opportunity to cut the lead down to two or three before that timeout happened. I have a theory that teams down double digits in the second half only have two runs in them and OSU never really got its first started. In fact, I tweeted that OSU needed to get it to five by the 8-minute timeout to give the crowd a chance to win it for them. They couldn’t and 13,611 left feeling like they were never really there.

There were bright spots for sure, like the evolution of Markel Brown’s soon-to-be sparkling career and Moses adding to his Big 12 active career-leading double-double total. I thought JPO played really well too considering he was matched up with the current Big 12 POY frontrunner. While we’re here, how fantastic was that matchup? He and Hamilton are both just understated but exceptionally solid basketball players. Hamilton is definitely the better shooter, and player for that matter, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better matchup of swingmen in the Big 12 and maybe the country. I really enjoyed watching them go at each other.

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Pregaming – Texas

Kyle Porter —  January 26, 2011 — 1 Comment

            

Teams: Oklahoma State (14-5, 2-3) vs. Texas (16-3, 4-0)

Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, OK
TV: ESPN
Internet: ESPN3
Time: 6:30 PM CST

AP Rankings: Oklahoma State – N/A, Texas – #7
RPI: Oklahoma State – #38, Texas – #15
Line: Texas -5
Behind enemy lines: Burnt Orange Nation

Homework:
You think this is going to be an emotional game? An undefeated in conference play #7 ranked Texas team coming off a historic victory in Phog Allen over then #2 Kansas. An undefeated at home OSU squad with a massive opportunity to reverse their 2011 Big 12 fortunes. A nationally televised game attended by a who’s who list of Oklahoma State basketball alumni. The 10th anniversary ceremonies. I’m glad, in a way, that nobody associated with the 2011 program has ties to anybody associated with the 2001 program. It means they can play to honor and be spurred on by a heavy-hearted crowd, but they won’t be overwhelmed. I don’t think.

Texas is coming off one of the biggest regular season weeks in school history having just blown the doors off of then #11 A&M in Austin and, as previously mentioned, taming the spirit of the Phog in Lawrence. Jordan Hamilton (you know him as “that kid who had a career-high in Stillwater last year and didn’t miss a shot for like 28 minutes”) is an All-American candidate and showed it last week, as he poured in 27 against the Aggies and posted a 17 and 9 spot against KU. They’re deep too, with five guys who essentially average double figures and nine guys who average more than fifteen minutes. Good thing considering the non-conference minefield they had to tiptoe through: Pitt (L), at USC (L), North Carolina (W), at Michigan State (W), Arkansas (W), and UConn (L).

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