BigTime
The Red Wig
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On a day when the greatest basketball player in the history of the University of Oklahoma was honored our Sooners dug down deep and provided a truly fitting performance. We did not play great, and we were fortunate UT couldn't find the ocean from a boat when it came to foul shots, but sometimes that's what it takes to win on a day when you KNOW you're going to win. Just one of those feelings that today would be different. Smiles on the faces of players, smiles not seen during stretches of adversity. Hustle, relentless hustle. It was just our day because it was Wayman's day. Those guys out there channeled what they'd learned over the last couple of years regarding the man whose 23 was spotlighted today. Do your job, play hard, have fun and, when things are going well, smile.
Check.
Check.
Check.
Check.
Wayman Tisdale would've been proud.
The script was familiar to those who've followed our team at home this year. Stellar play followed by tomfoolery. Cerebal stretches followed by brain farts so ridiculous they'd surely take years off the end of any good coach's life. But the familiar script turned as cliche as any old flick where the guy gets the girl because the good guys found a way to win. We needed this win because the season really could've tanked without it. Now that we've got it we still see a team that's 4-4 with winnable games ahead. Unfortunately some of those are on the road.
It would be nice to take some of this when we travel. Things like double-doubles from Ryan Wright and Cade Davis. Things like only four turnovers in a half. Things like assassin-like shooting from the outside. We show that stuff in flashes but why can't we sustain it? It boggles the mind. We were tougher than Texas for the vast majority of the game. We would not allow them easy buckets. We'd send them to the line and they'd provide the bricks, but when we let our guard down, just a little, they roared back by getting into the lane and converting when we reverted to timid.
I've seen so many things I "think" we can build on only to be fooled into searching for an oasis in the Sahara. The team we saw today can win in the Big 12. You don't just beat Missouri and Texas without being competent. Maybe it just takes an odd spark, but I saw some things today that reeked of spunk. Ryan Wright missed a dunk in frighteningly similar fashion to the one Ebi Ere missed that ended up costing us the 2003 Texas game on Senior Day. But this group got through it. We missed two crucial boards on clanked free throws that Texas turned into five points, but this group got through that too.
This group can get through a lot. Now they need to believe it themselves.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 22 [And he shall be Levon]
2nd - 26 [And he shall be a good man!]
3rd - 14 [sorority girl puking on College Ave.]
4th - 18 [spit]
LEADING SCORERS:
24 - Tommy Mason-Griffin
20 - Cade Davis
11 - Ryan Wright [monster effort]
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
14 - Ryan Wright [absolutely MONSTER effort]
10 - Cade Davis [the Pride of Elk City]
PLUSES:
1. Ryan Wright: It was as if he was body snatched for 150 minutes and given hands. Tough boards? He got them. Running hooks? Bingo. I hate those "senior" cliches coaches always throw around, but I'll go ahead and borrow that one for today. That was a senior performance. That was going out there and getting it done. We'll need two or three scoops of that next week.
2. Cade Davis: 20 and 10 and he pointed to the heavens as he strolled to the post-game handshake line. He really set the crowd ablaze by running down Damion "Judas" James and fouling him on that breakaway in the first half. It was going to be that kind of day, Texas, what do you have in guts this afternoon? Not enough, obviously. I would like the Cade Davis who used to hit free throws to please return, though. STAT!
3. Tommy Mason-Griffin: True freshman, who goes for 24, and he's only the third best thing to come out of today? 'Fraid so. If only for that hideous three he took on the 4-on-1 break he might've bumped up to #2. Man, that was a bad shot selection. Oh well, I'll get over it. Kid will be miles up the all-time scoring list by the time he's done.
4. Willie Warren: Took one shot and made it. Desperately needed when you consider Texas had morphed into a locomotive down the stretch. They were breathing on us, but WW turned them back with that bucket.
5. Steven Pledger: Nine points and four big boards. He got an earful on a couple of occasions, but he was big down the stretch.
MINUSES:
1. Keith Gallon: It was a game for grown men down low, and Gallon brought milk and cookies.
2. 2nd Half Free Throws: Very, VERY lucky to not be haunted by those. Luckily our opposition clanked and clunked their way around right along with us. When the 2008 Memphis Tigers look up and say, "damn, these guys suck" you KNOW you are a bad free-throw shooting team.
3. Damion James: Judas.
I could go on and talk about how we're now 13-9 and 4-4 in the conference with some chances to make noise ahead but I'm not going to do that. I'd like to talk about Wayman Tisdale one more time. You know you're important when the fanbase changes your first name to your middle and gives you a brand new one in its place up front. I'm of course referring to his universally-known name in Soonerland: Wonderful Wayman Tisdale.
Wayman played in 104 games at Oklahoma. He scored more than 30 in 33 of those contests.
Wayman is #1 on the all-time scoring list at Oklahoma and is 380 points ahead of #2, Jeff Webster, even though Wayman played in 28 less games.
Wayman scored more than 50 three times, with a career high of 61. Only one other Sooner, Brent Price, has ever broken the 50-point barrier.
Wayman's career record at OU is 84-20 with a mark in Big 8 play of 36-6.
Wayman won the conference in '84 and '85. Wayman won the conference tournament in '85 too.
Wayman scored in double figures in every game but one in his Sooner career. The one time he didn't? Kansas, 1985. You know what? We won.
15 different men have scored more than 40 points in a game at OU. Wayman is the only one to do it more than once, and he did it five times.
Wayman was a consensus All-American in '83, '84 and '85, the first to ever receive such an honor as a true freshman, sophomore and junior.
Blake Griffin won every honor known to man last year, but if you doubled his points scored in two years he'd still be 105 points short of what Wayman put up in three.
It was said time and time again today, but I think it bears repeating because it's as true a statement as you'll ever hear: there's only one Wayman Tisdale.
R.I.P., Wayman. I still miss you.
Thank you for your time.
On a day when the greatest basketball player in the history of the University of Oklahoma was honored our Sooners dug down deep and provided a truly fitting performance. We did not play great, and we were fortunate UT couldn't find the ocean from a boat when it came to foul shots, but sometimes that's what it takes to win on a day when you KNOW you're going to win. Just one of those feelings that today would be different. Smiles on the faces of players, smiles not seen during stretches of adversity. Hustle, relentless hustle. It was just our day because it was Wayman's day. Those guys out there channeled what they'd learned over the last couple of years regarding the man whose 23 was spotlighted today. Do your job, play hard, have fun and, when things are going well, smile.
Check.
Check.
Check.
Check.
Wayman Tisdale would've been proud.
The script was familiar to those who've followed our team at home this year. Stellar play followed by tomfoolery. Cerebal stretches followed by brain farts so ridiculous they'd surely take years off the end of any good coach's life. But the familiar script turned as cliche as any old flick where the guy gets the girl because the good guys found a way to win. We needed this win because the season really could've tanked without it. Now that we've got it we still see a team that's 4-4 with winnable games ahead. Unfortunately some of those are on the road.
It would be nice to take some of this when we travel. Things like double-doubles from Ryan Wright and Cade Davis. Things like only four turnovers in a half. Things like assassin-like shooting from the outside. We show that stuff in flashes but why can't we sustain it? It boggles the mind. We were tougher than Texas for the vast majority of the game. We would not allow them easy buckets. We'd send them to the line and they'd provide the bricks, but when we let our guard down, just a little, they roared back by getting into the lane and converting when we reverted to timid.
I've seen so many things I "think" we can build on only to be fooled into searching for an oasis in the Sahara. The team we saw today can win in the Big 12. You don't just beat Missouri and Texas without being competent. Maybe it just takes an odd spark, but I saw some things today that reeked of spunk. Ryan Wright missed a dunk in frighteningly similar fashion to the one Ebi Ere missed that ended up costing us the 2003 Texas game on Senior Day. But this group got through it. We missed two crucial boards on clanked free throws that Texas turned into five points, but this group got through that too.
This group can get through a lot. Now they need to believe it themselves.
SCORING BREAKDOWN:
1st - 22 [And he shall be Levon]
2nd - 26 [And he shall be a good man!]
3rd - 14 [sorority girl puking on College Ave.]
4th - 18 [spit]
LEADING SCORERS:
24 - Tommy Mason-Griffin
20 - Cade Davis
11 - Ryan Wright [monster effort]
LEADING REBOUNDERS:
14 - Ryan Wright [absolutely MONSTER effort]
10 - Cade Davis [the Pride of Elk City]
PLUSES:
1. Ryan Wright: It was as if he was body snatched for 150 minutes and given hands. Tough boards? He got them. Running hooks? Bingo. I hate those "senior" cliches coaches always throw around, but I'll go ahead and borrow that one for today. That was a senior performance. That was going out there and getting it done. We'll need two or three scoops of that next week.
2. Cade Davis: 20 and 10 and he pointed to the heavens as he strolled to the post-game handshake line. He really set the crowd ablaze by running down Damion "Judas" James and fouling him on that breakaway in the first half. It was going to be that kind of day, Texas, what do you have in guts this afternoon? Not enough, obviously. I would like the Cade Davis who used to hit free throws to please return, though. STAT!
3. Tommy Mason-Griffin: True freshman, who goes for 24, and he's only the third best thing to come out of today? 'Fraid so. If only for that hideous three he took on the 4-on-1 break he might've bumped up to #2. Man, that was a bad shot selection. Oh well, I'll get over it. Kid will be miles up the all-time scoring list by the time he's done.
4. Willie Warren: Took one shot and made it. Desperately needed when you consider Texas had morphed into a locomotive down the stretch. They were breathing on us, but WW turned them back with that bucket.
5. Steven Pledger: Nine points and four big boards. He got an earful on a couple of occasions, but he was big down the stretch.
MINUSES:
1. Keith Gallon: It was a game for grown men down low, and Gallon brought milk and cookies.
2. 2nd Half Free Throws: Very, VERY lucky to not be haunted by those. Luckily our opposition clanked and clunked their way around right along with us. When the 2008 Memphis Tigers look up and say, "damn, these guys suck" you KNOW you are a bad free-throw shooting team.
3. Damion James: Judas.
I could go on and talk about how we're now 13-9 and 4-4 in the conference with some chances to make noise ahead but I'm not going to do that. I'd like to talk about Wayman Tisdale one more time. You know you're important when the fanbase changes your first name to your middle and gives you a brand new one in its place up front. I'm of course referring to his universally-known name in Soonerland: Wonderful Wayman Tisdale.
Wayman played in 104 games at Oklahoma. He scored more than 30 in 33 of those contests.
Wayman is #1 on the all-time scoring list at Oklahoma and is 380 points ahead of #2, Jeff Webster, even though Wayman played in 28 less games.
Wayman scored more than 50 three times, with a career high of 61. Only one other Sooner, Brent Price, has ever broken the 50-point barrier.
Wayman's career record at OU is 84-20 with a mark in Big 8 play of 36-6.
Wayman won the conference in '84 and '85. Wayman won the conference tournament in '85 too.
Wayman scored in double figures in every game but one in his Sooner career. The one time he didn't? Kansas, 1985. You know what? We won.
15 different men have scored more than 40 points in a game at OU. Wayman is the only one to do it more than once, and he did it five times.
Wayman was a consensus All-American in '83, '84 and '85, the first to ever receive such an honor as a true freshman, sophomore and junior.
Blake Griffin won every honor known to man last year, but if you doubled his points scored in two years he'd still be 105 points short of what Wayman put up in three.
It was said time and time again today, but I think it bears repeating because it's as true a statement as you'll ever hear: there's only one Wayman Tisdale.
R.I.P., Wayman. I still miss you.
Thank you for your time.
