An OU-KSU game that proved to be HUGE for Sooner tradition

[NMSooner'80]

Let's just start off by saying the OU-KSU game of 1/31/77 was epic, for those who were there.

I still think this game, and outcome, was HUGE for the development of the OU basketball program. OU beat K-State in Norman, 64-63, in front of what was, at the time, the largest crowd to see a game in Norman.

It was a thriller right down to the end. But, in the first half, OU started out slowly and fell behind by 13 points. Then John McCullough and the guys got hot and closed the gap to two by halftime. McCullough and Mike Evans of KSU seemed to be having their own personal shootout in the second half, as the lead changed hands several times.

With about a minute to play, McCullough scored on a top-of-the-key jumper to give OU the lead for good. But, the Cats got a steal and breakaway - but Curtis Redding missed a contested layup and OU rebounded. McCullough made the free throws to put OU up 64-61.

It appeared to be over when OU forced another K-State miss and Cary Carrabine rebounded with 19 seconds left. But the normally automatic Carrabine missed the free throw, and K-State got out quickly on the rebound and scored. Then an odd charging call on Eddie Fields, the team's only senior, gave K-State the ball again with seven ticks left.

OU's defense kept the ball away from Evans, resulting in a 20-foot jumper from JC transfer Larry Dassie at the horn. He missed, freshman Al Beal grabbed the rebound, and the crowd of 8,000 went nuts over the 64-63 win.

Four days later, OU had its first-ever LNC sellout, a Wednesday night game with defending league champ Missouri. The game almost mirrored the K-State game, except the final wound up 66-63. In that one, Beal scored the game-winner and defended the Tigers' final shot succesfully. Carrabine got his chance at redemption and made two freebies with one second left.

Back then, OU barely had a radio network, so if you were outside of Norman you had to try to find stations like KMOX (St. Louis, for Mizzou), KFAB (Omaha, for NU), and whatever Kansas station for KU or KSU came in clearly enough to hear it. My brother's future OU roommate was a sophomore at Ardmore then, and he heard the ending on KMOX. He said the crowd was so loud for the last minute that you barely hear the announcers.

The sold-out crowd for OU-Mizzou might not have happened if the Wildcats had pulled out that Saturday afternoon game. And both games really made OU basketball appealing, mostly to the student body (which is now in its mid-to-late 50's in age).

 

[tycat947]

Let's just start off by saying the OU-KSU game of 1/31/77 was epic, for those who were there.

I still think this game, and outcome, was HUGE for the development of the OU basketball program. OU beat K-State in Norman, 64-63, in front of what was, at the time, the largest crowd to see a game in Norman.

It was a thriller right down to the end. But, in the first half, OU started out slowly and fell behind by 13 points. Then John McCullough and the guys got hot and closed the gap to two by halftime. McCullough and Mike Evans of KSU seemed to be having their own personal shootout in the second half, as the lead changed hands several times.

With about a minute to play, McCullough scored on a top-of-the-key jumper to give OU the lead for good. But, the Cats got a steal and breakaway - but Curtis Redding missed a contested layup and OU rebounded. McCullough made the free throws to put OU up 64-61.

It appeared to be over when OU forced another K-State miss and Cary Carrabine rebounded with 19 seconds left. But the normally automatic Carrabine missed the free throw, and K-State got out quickly on the rebound and scored. Then an odd charging call on Eddie Fields, the team's only senior, gave K-State the ball again with seven ticks left.

OU's defense kept the ball away from Evans, resulting in a 20-foot jumper from JC transfer Larry Dassie at the horn. He missed, freshman Al Beal grabbed the rebound, and the crowd of 8,000 went nuts over the 64-63 win.

Four days later, OU had its first-ever LNC sellout, a Wednesday night game with defending league champ Missouri. The game almost mirrored the K-State game, except the final wound up 66-63. In that one, Beal scored the game-winner and defended the Tigers' final shot succesfully. Carrabine got his chance at redemption and made two freebies with one second left.

Back then, OU barely had a radio network, so if you were outside of Norman you had to try to find stations like KMOX (St. Louis, for Mizzou), KFAB (Omaha, for NU), and whatever Kansas station for KU or KSU came in clearly enough to hear it. My brother's future OU roommate was a sophomore at Ardmore then, and he heard the ending on KMOX. He said the crowd was so loud for the last minute that you barely hear the announcers.

The sold-out crowd for OU-Mizzou might not have happened if the Wildcats had pulled out that Saturday afternoon game. And both games really made OU basketball appealing, mostly to the student body (which is now in its mid-to-late 50's in age).

:clap

Those were the days!!! :ez-laugh:

 

[152219]

Thanks for the story

But, let me help out with the best translation of this story

NMSooner'80 is old

 

[NMSooner'80]

Thanks for the story

But, let me help out with the best translation of this story

NMSooner'80 is old

Old enough to get seniors' discounts at K-Bob's Steakhouses in New Mexico! I just passed the 55 milestone last year right after the OU-Iowa State football game.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I was there too. My dad had season tickets back then so we went to all the games. I was 6.

We used to leave every game at the 5:00 mark so we wouldn't get caught in the traffic exiting the parking lot. I hated leaving early and swore once I became of age to get my own tickets I was never leaving until it was over. I've kept that commitment.

The drive to Chickasha back in those days was a good 30-40 minutes and the mid-week games were on school nights. We always stopped at boomerang for a burger and onion rings...those were the days.

I loved the old 2-tone purple uni's KSU wore back then.

NMSooner...wasn't Rolando Blackman on that KSU team?

Old enough to get seniors' discounts at K-Bob's Steakhouses in New Mexico! I just passed the 55 milestone last year right after the OU-Iowa State football game.

We used to have a K-Bob's in Chickasha back in those days. Now I feel old.

 

[NMSooner'80]

I was there too. My dad had season tickets back then so we went to all the games. I was 6.

We used to leave every game at the 5:00 mark so we wouldn't get caught in the traffic exiting the parking lot. I hated leaving early and swore once I became of age to get my own tickets I was never leaving until it was over. I've kept that commitment.

The drive to Chickasha back in those days was a good 30-40 minutes and the mid-week games were on school nights. We always stopped at boomerang for a burger and onion rings...those were the days.

I loved the old 2-tone purple uni's KSU wore back then.

NMSooner...wasn't Rolando Blackman on that KSU team?



We used to have a K-Bob's in Chickasha back in those days. Now I feel old.

Blackman didn't come until the next season ('77-78). Jack Hartman hired a high school coach out of Brooklyn in '76, and that was the "Brooklyn connection" for a couple of years. The two '77 freshmen that K-State had from Brooklyn were the aforementioned Curtis Redding and point guard Tyrone Ladson. Both transferred out of there after the '78 season, but Blackmon did stay all four years. I think that high school coach who came from Brooklyn also left after the '78 season.

Footnote: Blackmon had a dunk in the '79 game, for the Big 8 regular season title, after which he almost landed face-first. That was a scary moment, but someone in the OU student section provided a little bit of levity by shouting at the refs to "clear off the cripple so we can play on," or something like that. It was all in good fun, although I'm sure the folks in purple didn't like it.

And I'm also sure they REALLY didn't like the outcome. OU won, 65-52, to win its first-ever outright Big 8 title. OU beat K-State four times that year, too. That one was on the final Saturday of the '79 regular season.

 

[scrybe]

I was there too. My dad had season tickets back then so we went to all the games. I was 6. We used to have a K-Bob's in Chickasha back in those days. Now I feel old.

Maybe this will cheer you up a little, Booger: I listened to that game on the radio…with my bride of four years probably wondering why her sweetie was so obsessed with OU basketball. Still feel old? :ez-laugh:

 

[Bornred51]

Great memories. Was at both of those games. Curtis Redding was truly a guy you loved to hate. An honest to goodness hot dog, He was fun to watch though.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Old enough to get seniors' discounts at K-Bob's Steakhouses in New Mexico! I just passed the 55 milestone last year right after the OU-Iowa State football game.

Thanks for the reminders of great memories.

I graduated from OU in 1977 and got my first season tickets with my dad the following year. We almost never missed a home game (men's) for the next 30 years, until he broke his ankle (at age 88) going up the stairs at the LNC following the end of an OU women's game.

I remember Drew Head was a big center on those first OU teams I watched, before Al Beal developed into a good player. Drew Head was "athletically challenged" but he had a great game the following season when I attended my first OU road game at Tulsa in Dec. 19, 1977. OU won that day in Tulsa 91-70. I was hooked, and have tried to be a "traveler" ever since.

 

[152219]

Old enough to get seniors' discounts at K-Bob's Steakhouses in New Mexico! I just passed the 55 milestone last year right after the OU-Iowa State football game.

Funny thing is that I am from NW Oklahoma and my town has a K-Bob's....guessing almost most on here has never heard of it :dance005:

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

Who wouldn't like to have McCullough shooting from behind the arc? He could fill it up. I was a freshman the next year and found a renewed interest in OU basketball. We used to go to a lot of games when Adams was there but unfortunately that didn't translate into great success. And ugh - Fast Eddie. He used to drive my dad nuts.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Funny thing is that I am from NW Oklahoma and my town has a K-Bob's....guessing almost most on here has never heard of it :dance005:

Are you a Woodward Boomer?

 

[Big Old Booger]

Who wouldn't like to have McCullough shooting from behind the arc? He could fill it up. I was a freshman the next year and found a renewed interest in OU basketball. We used to go to a lot of games when Adams was there but unfortunately that didn't translate into great success. And ugh - Fast Eddie. He used to drive my dad nuts.

My favorite back in those days was Aaron Curry, besides Snake of course, who I loved. Not sure if it was more because of his name or his game though?

McCullough
Carabine
Beal
Les Pace
Terry Stotts
Ray Whitley (the Juice) -- Loved Ray Whitley too!
Aaron Curry

Then a few years later Bo Overton joined the team and I liked him too.

(I don't think all of these guys were on the same teams, maybe 79 but they were the OU basketball players of my first memories of OU basketball. So, a special place in my heart for all of them.)

 

[Big Old Booger]

Thanks for the reminders of great memories.

I graduated from OU in 1977 and got my first season tickets with my dad the following year. We almost never missed a home game (men's) for the next 30 years, until he broke his ankle (at age 88) going up the stairs at the LNC following the end of an OU women's game.

I remember Drew Head was a big center on those first OU teams I watched, before Al Beal developed into a good player. Drew Head was "athletically challenged" but he had a great game the following season when I attended my first OU road game at Tulsa in Dec. 19, 1977. OU won that day in Tulsa 91-70. I was hooked, and have tried to be a "traveler" ever since.

I remember Drew Head too. My dad used to get so frustrated with him! And Fast Eddie Fields, as rufnek mentioned.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

...
McCullough
Carabine
Beal
Les Pace
Terry Stotts
Ray Whitley (the Juice) -- Loved Ray Whitley too!
Aaron Curry

...

This was the group that got me hooked on OU basketball. Back in those days, there were two Big-8 tournaments in KC, one was the "preseason" conference tournament held between Christmas and New Years; then the tournament after the end of the regular season. There was the opportunity to play some conference teams 4 times in one season. My dad and I made all those Big-8 tournaments in KC.

In those preseason conference tournaments, each team played 3 games, win or lose.

In some years, the first round of the post-season tournament was played at home sites, with the top 4 teams hosting first round games. The 4 winners would advance to KC.

It was all good!

 

[Big Old Booger]

This was the group that got me hooked on OU basketball. Back in those days, there were two Big-8 tournaments in KC, one was the "preseason" conference tournament held between Christmas and New Years; then the tournament after the end of the regular season. There was the opportunity to play some conference teams 4 times in one season. My dad and I made all those Big-8 tournaments in KC.

In those preseason conference tournaments, each team played 3 games, win or lose.

In some years, the first round of the post-season tournament was played at home sites, with the top 4 teams hosting first round games. The 4 winners would advance to KC.

It was all good!

I don't remember the pre-season tourney but I know it existed as my brother talks about it. I do remember us beating KU and Darnell Valentine in KC to win the 79 tournament and our first Big 8 tourney championship.

I also remember in 83 losing the first round game at the LNC to KU when KU cut down the nets to send Ted Owens out as that was his last win as the coach at KU and is an OU alum.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

I don't remember the pre-season tourney but I know it existed as my brother talks about it. I do remember us beating KU and Darnell Valentine in KC to win the 79 tournament and our first Big 8 tourney championship.

I also remember in 83 losing the first round game at the LNC to KU when KU cut down the nets to send Ted Owens out as that was his last win as the coach at KU and is an OU alum.

That's ok. I was in Lawrence when Billy was able to return the favor.

Dad and I would always go to the Christmas games. Unfortunately, depending on who we drew, it was at times a short stay. It was there that I got to see people like Clifford Ray, Gar Heard, and of course Alvin. What a waste that was we never got players to go with him. My dad went to school with Denny Price and he'd always leave us tickets and let us watch workouts. Great stuff for a kid.

 

[152219]

Are you a Woodward Boomer?

Yep. Graduated from WHS and OU. Proud to be a Boomer and a Sooner

 

[Big Old Booger]

That's ok. I was in Lawrence when Billy was able to return the favor.

Dad and I would always go to the Christmas games. Unfortunately, depending on who we drew, it was at times a short stay. It was there that I got to see people like Clifford Ray, Gar Heard, and of course Alvin. What a waste that was we never got players to go with him. My dad went to school with Denny Price and he'd always leave us tickets and let us watch workouts. Great stuff for a kid.

I mention the net incident because KU fans still are bent about us cutting the nets in AF, but they forget they did it to us the year before.

The old KU radio guy who retired a few years back was on 810 here in KC the year he retired. They asked him to name some memories and his bad memory was of OU cutting down the nets in AF. He said it was classless. Then somebody mentioned to him about KU cutting the nets in LNC and he said he didn't remember that happening, that KU wouldn't do that. Well, they did.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

I mention the net incident because KU fans still are bent about us cutting the nets in AF, but they forget they did it to us the year before.

The old KU radio guy who retired a few years back was on 810 here in KC the year he retired. They asked him to name some memories and his bad memory was of OU cutting down the nets in AF. He said it was classless. Then somebody mentioned to him about KU cutting the nets in LNC and he said he didn't remember that happening, that KU wouldn't do that. Well, they did.

You must mean Max Falkenstein. He's only 88 but he should be about 117. If you ever dislike listening to Booming Bob Davis just be glad that that hack isn't still broadcasting. I've heard Max have selective memory on several things in his career. That game at AFH is about the only time I was worried being around KU fans(as opposed to every game around MU fans). As far as KU fans go it's only classless when someone else does it.