Faith-7 Game Coming Up

[pnkranger]

McClure

It's close, but I agree. McClure:

25 points
6 steals
8 assists
6 rebounds

10/17 shooting

 

[SoonerTraveler]

http://newsok.com/faith-7-basketbal...hines-as-texas-beats-oklahoma/article/5425813

Faith 7 Basketball Bowl: Future Sooner Rashard Odomes shines as Texas beats Oklahoma

Odomes, from Copperas Cove, scored 37 points on 13-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 at the free throw line. He added a game-high 11 rebounds and three assists to earn Texas MVP honors.

by Scott Wright Published: June 6, 2015

SHAWNEE — Oklahoma fans had to like what they saw in the 50th annual Faith 7 Basketball Bowl Saturday night at Oklahoma Baptist University. That would be fans of the Oklahoma Sooners, not the Oklahoma All-Stars, who were on the wrong end of a 132-119 decision against the Texas All-Stars.

Texas was led by future Sooner Rashard Odomes, a 6-foot-6 wing who did a little bit of everything in his 29 minutes on the floor. Odomes, from Copperas Cove, scored 37 points on 13-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 at the free throw line. He added a game-high 11 rebounds and three assists to earn Texas MVP honors. “It was real fun coming up here where I’m gonna play for college, seeing a bunch of Oklahoma fans, and playing in front of them,” Odomes said. “I saw a lot of Oklahoma fans in the crowd, a lot of them coming up to me after the game. I was excited to play in front of them.”

Odomes scored early on a strong layup, then the 6-foot-6 wing showed his range with a pair of 3-pointers from NBA range. He got to the free throw line to score as well, all within the first five minutes of play. He added a few impressive dunks later in the game, a couple of which came during the dunk contest. “There were a lot of good players playing beside me and against me, so it was a great level of talent,” Odomes said. “My teammates were feeding me the ball, I was feeding them the ball. They produced for me, I produced for them.”

Edmond Memorial grad Curran Scott got his game going strong in the second half, scoring 18 of his team-high 28 after the break. DaQuan Jeffries of Edmond Santa Fe added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Tulsa Memorial’s A.J. Cockrell had 11 points and 10 boards. Scott, Oklahoma’s MVP, was 8-of-11 from the floor and made three 3-pointers, helping Oklahoma cut a 25-point deficit to 13 at the end. “I was trying to get my teammates involved early, but we needed buckets at the end,” said Scott, who reports to UNC-Charlotte on June 20. “I was trying to be more assertive toward the end. We came up a little bit short, but I feel like we played really hard.”

Upshaws get one last game together - Verdigris coach Randy Upshaw, who was on the Oklahoma coaching staff Saturday night, didn’t try to hide the enjoyment he had in getting to coach his son, Cade, the last four years. Cade Upshaw started, scoring five points and dishing out three assists for the Oklahoma All-Stars in his final game with his father on the sidelines. “If I had known it would be this much fun, I would’ve had more kids,” Randy Upshaw said with a laugh. “We had a good couple days out here. Shawnee and the Faith 7 people were great hosts, so it was fun. There wasn’t much coaching going on, but it was cool just sitting on the bench with him and being in practice. He had a good career and we had a lot of good times.”

Santa Fe’s Jeffries takes dunk contest - Anyone who watched the 2015 season closely around Oklahoma knew Jeffries would be the team’s best chance at a slam dunk contest title. The Oral Roberts signee came through, making two of his three dunk attempts — all of which had a high degree of difficulty — to edge Odomes and the rest of the six-player field for the title. The powerfully built 6-foot-5 Jeffries showed his explosive leaping ability on a regular basis throughout the season in helping Santa Fe reach the Class 6A finals and earning a spot on The Oklahoman’s Super 5 team.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Some first impressions after seeing Rashard Odomes live for the first time.

Rashard likes to score and he clearly believes he can score whenever he wants. I love this attitude in a basketball player. Confidence.

He can shoot it from long range, making 2-of-4 from a long ways out there. He is left-handed. He does not elevate much at all on his "jump shot" which looks more like a set shot on tip toes.

Rashard jumps plenty high at the rim.

Listed at 6'6" in the program, he appears to be a legit 6'5" and is strong and athletic. His ball-handling skills are plenty good for a college wing player.

His strength is his strength, as he is strong driving to the basket in traffic and looked good finishing his drives with made baskets.

Rashard appeared the have a good rapport with his Texas teammates on the court, especially King McClure (Baylor signee).

The young man can play. He will help the OU team as a true freshman. After a year of college experience, he will certainly battle for a starting spot as a Sooner sophomore.

Visiting with folks after the game, Rashard seemed to be soft-spoken, very respectful, and fairly outgoing. A Lon Kruger player. An OU basketball player.

***********

There was a lot of talent on the court, especially on the Texas team. King McClure (6-4, 200) is a quick, thick and strong guard that will be a load to handle for Baylor opponents in coming years. The two Big-10 guards listed at 6'5" ... Matthew McQuaid (Michigan State) and Austin Grandstaff (Ohio State) ... are both sharp-shooting guards that can handle the rock. Very good players.

 

[skyvue]

Thanks for the report, Trav. Great to hear all that from someone who was at the game.

 

[jackson_supersooner]

Just a little tidbit from the game and Odomes talking afterwards.

http://m.newsok.com/video/4281055133001

 

[usedtobe1]

Thanks Trav. I was looking forward to your perspective knowing it would be spot on. It sounds like Odomes is a player. We couldn't have hoped for more.

He's more than capable of replacing Frank Booker but is probably more prone to slashing to the basket than taking the 3. I wish James had played in this game. Also, they have Buford to battle with, so we will be a lot deeper on the wing.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Yes, he is a player.

I have had the opportunity to attend quite a few of these Faith-7 games over the years, so I have seen how guys have looked in this all-star game and then seen them develop as players at OU and OSU. Rashard Odomes passes the eyeball test in every regard. He has size, athleticism and skills. He has the ability to be a good player at a big time college program, maybe a very good player.

I certainly wish Booker the best. OU will miss his experience. But Odomes appears to have a higher ceiling. Rashard Odomes looks like a future starter. I love the fact that the freshman wings (Buford, Odomes, James) can strengthen the bench and gain experience playing this season behind Buddy and Isaiah. Then next year, Kristian Doolittle joins the battle. I hope to attend some Edmond Memorial games next season to get a preview of Doolittle.

 

[skyvue]

I have to say, as excited as I am about Odomes, I don't view him as a replacement for Booker, given that he's an incoming freshmen and Booker would have been a junior. I agree that Odomes' ceiling is higher (based on what I've heard and the little bit I've seen), but if I had my druthers, we'd have both of them in crimson and cream.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I have to say, as excited as I am about Odomes, I don't view him as a replacement for Booker, given that he's an incoming freshmen and Booker would have been a junior. I agree that Odomes' ceiling is higher (based on what I've heard and the little bit I've seen), but if I had my druthers, we'd have both of them in crimson and cream.

No doubt OU would be better with both. The freshmen will go through growing pains that Booker has already put behind him.

I hate to see good young men like Hornbeak and Booker transfer away from OU, but that is the nature of college basketball. Unfortunately.

 

[skyvue]

I hate to see good young men like Hornbeak and Booker transfer away from OU, but that is the nature of college basketball. Unfortunately.

Very true, alas.

And Trav, I didn't think you were writing off Booker in favor of Odomes (it may have seemed as if I did), but I've seen a couple of other posts that seemed to be doing that. I think college hoops fans often place a bit too much stock in their incoming freshmen; only the very best of the best are ready to be stars from the jump.

 

[vbdad]

Guys Frank was shown the door. He didn't have the option of staying in Norman. Odomes and Buford will replace him and hopefully play better than Frank. James could also be in the mix but it all depends on how quickly he bounces back from the injury.

Jelon is a different story. He would have helped us last year a bunch. He wanted to start.

 

[CoachTalk]

Guys Frank was shown the door. He didn't have the option of staying in Norman. Odomes and Buford will replace him and hopefully play better than Frank. James could also be in the mix but it all depends on how quickly he bounces back from the injury.

Jelon is a different story. He would have helped us last year a bunch. He wanted to start.

Agree. I hinted at this last year about Frank. Lon isnt going to let selfish guys stick around. He's usually not going to offer those guys, but some change into that.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Very true, alas.

And Trav, I didn't think you were writing off Booker in favor of Odomes (it may have seemed as if I did), but I've seen a couple of other posts that seemed to be doing that. I think college hoops fans often place a bit too much stock in their incoming freshmen; only the very best of the best are ready to be stars from the jump.

No worries sky. I did not read anything extra into your earlier remarks. And I certainly agree that we fans need to be patient as the new freshmen adapt to college ball. Those strong drives to the basket by Odomes will be much more difficult when he tries them against the bigger and stronger players in the Big-12.

I will pass on an observation made by a buddy of mine that has attended many more high school games over the years than I have. As we watched the Faith-7 game last Saturday night, he said: "Odomes looks as good in this game as any of the best OU recruits we have watched in past all-star (or other) high school games."

Take the above observation for what it is worth, as we had no idea how good Blake would become when we watched him in high school games. Blake looked good back then, but he did not look like a future NBA all-star; at least not to my eyes. He obviously continued his development and got much better at OU. The tougher the competition, the better Blake played.​

I think Coach Kruger and his staff are accumulating players that have the potential, as a group, to take the program to greater heights. I am hopeful this next wave of players continues the work ethic established by Isaiah and Buddy and the others. The will to succeed cannot be underestimated.

****

vbdad and Coach: As always, your insights on players like Booker are always appreciated. I hated to see him leave, but sometimes there is addition by subtraction.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Looking through the program for the 2015 Faith-7 basketball game, I came across a list of MVPs. The MVP of the first “Faith-7 Bowl” in 1966 was Sparky Grober of Tulsa Rogers high school. Most of the MVPs were names that were not stored in my memory. There was a period in the late 1970s and early 1980s where they actually played two "Faith 7 Bowl" games. In 1977, David Greasham (Star Spencer) was the MVP of game 1. Frank Moore (OKC Millwood) was the MVP of game 2.

Around 1988, they started selecting a MVP for each team ... one each for Oklahoma and Texas. Some notable MVPs include ...

> 1974: Dean Blevins, Norman
> 1975: Winford Boynes, OKC Capital Hill
> 1979: Carl Henry, OKC U.S. Grant (Game 1 MVP)
> 1979: Lorenzo Andrews, OKC Millwood (Game 2 MVP)
> 1981: Joe Atkinson, Coyle, OK (Game 2 MVP)
> 1983: Daryl Kennedy, OKC Northwest Classen
> 1988: Byron Houston, OKC Star Spencer
> 1991: Jason Yanish, Glenpool, OK ... yes, you read that right
> 1993: Chiati Roberts, Oklahoma Christian
> 1995: R.W. McQuarters, Tulsa Washington
> 1996: Desmond Mason, Waxahachie, TX
> 2002: DeAngelo Alexander, Midwest City, OK
> 2005: Byron Eaton, TX
> 2005: Taylor Griffin, OK
> 2006: Ben Uzoh, TX
> 2006: Keith Clark, OK
> 2007: Blake Griffin, OK
> 2008: Willie Warren, TX
> 2008: Keiton Page, OK
> 2012: Je'Lon Hornbeak, TX
> 2012: James Woodand, OK

 

[CrossOver2]

One advantage the Texas team had over Oklahoma is that they only had 8 players, and really played about their best 6 the majority of the game. The Oklahoma team substituted all 5 players every 5 minutes as they were directed to at the start of the game, however, the Texas team just substituted when they wanted to, which meant that most of the best Texas players played close to 30 minutes in the game. The Oklahoma team got pretty weak after their top 5 or 6 guys. Would have liked to have seen the outcome had Shake Milton played, and if Texas had a full roster and substituted properly. With regards to Odomes, he looked very athletic and looks to have a bright future at OU, however, most of the night he was guarded by post players from Oklahoma as he was one of the bigger Texas players at 6'6". That was the biggest mismatches Texas had on the floor.

 

[DenverSooner]

That MVP list from Chew Kennedy forward is all names I recognize. The most notable thing to me is that Hornbeak was on the list and virtually every other guy had a pretty notable impact in college. It is a shame OU lost him. Obviously it is best for everyone if he is not happy but just imagine OU with Hornbeak, Booker and the current roster (they would be one over so someone couldn't be hear).

 

[usedtobe1]

Thanks for the Faith 7 MVP list.

I remember all the players on the list so it shows how old I am. Guys like Carl Henry (who played for my HS alma mater) went to KU but later had sons who also played for KU. Winford Boynes was one of the highest recruited players in the nation but surprisingly went to San Francisco. Of course Dean Blevins played football at OU but I think he also played basketball as a freshman.

I see a gap because you only mentioned notable MVP's. I noticed it because I was looking for Wayman and William Tisdale and saw they weren't on the list. I seem to recall that Billy didn't want OU players risking injury by playing in the game. Neither is Taylor Griffin. Mark and Brent Price aren't on there either. Maybe they didn't play or were't the MVP's.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

... I see a gap because you only mentioned notable MVP's. I noticed it because I was looking for Wayman and William Tisdale and saw they weren't on the list. I seem to recall that Billy didn't want OU players risking injury by playing in the game. Neither is Taylor Griffin. Mark and Brent Price aren't on there either. Maybe they didn't play or were't the MVP's.

Yes, I did not list every MVP, but only those "notable players" that registered in my memory. For example, the 2003 MVPs did not register in my memory:

> 2003 Texas MVP: Dex Willingham, Desoto, TX
> 2003 Oklahoma MVP: Adam Liberty, OKC

FYI, Taylor Griffin is listed above as the 2005 MVP for the Oklahoma team.

Also, there are probably some typos on the MVP list in the Faith-7 program. For example, the program lists the 1982 MVP as "Antony Wowie, Tulsa East Central." This has to be referring to Anthony Bowie, who went to Seminole Junior College before playing at OU in 1984-85 and 1985-86. (If Waymon had played, he would have played in the 1982 game. I also think that Billy Tubbs did not like his recruits paying in all-star games like this.)

Kevin Bookout is not listed. In 2002, OU signee De'Angelo Alexander beat out teammate Kevin Bookout for the Oklahoma team MVP.

 

[vbdad]

Mark Price and Wayman would have been 82. No idea if they played but Anthony was a player.

 

[NMSooner'80]

Who was MVP for the '92 game? I just remember being so impressed with Ryan Minor, even though I think he didn't have a particularly great shooting percentage in that one.

King's game in '85 was really memorable for me because he was almost considered a project coming out of Lawton High. He had a tall 'fro and ran the court like no 6-10 high school kid I'd ever seen before. I do remember a breakaway dunk he had that really brought down the house.

FWIW, the first Faith 7 game I ever saw was in 1977, and they played it in some downtown crackerbox gym in Shawnee. The guy who should have dominated was a 6-9 kid from Dallas named Dewayne Scales, who wound being a superstar at LSU. But Oklahoma's front line of Frank Moore (OU football recruit) and Harold Jones (6-5 kid from Lawton Ike who went to OCU) actually held him and another big kid named Vernon Smith in reasonable check. Smith went to Texas A&M and had a good career. I think he was 6-7. That was around the time people first started recruiting the Dallas area very hard.