Some pub for Osby/OU on ESPN.com

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http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...rk-schools-ncaa-tournament-college-basketball

THOUGHTS FROM PRESS ROW
1. The hiring of Lon Kruger before last season is certainly the biggest factor in Oklahoma's resurgence. But a large of amount of credit should also be given to power forward Romero Osby, who is quietly having one of the better seasons of any player in the Big 12.

Osby scored 29 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in Monday's 73-67 victory over Texas and is averaging 19.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in his last five games. A senior, Osby transferred to OU in 2010 after spending two seasons as a role player at Mississippi State.


"I want to make it to the tournament," he said. "I got to go when I was at Mississippi State but I wasn't a significant part of that team.

"I've been trying to go hard every day in practice. I went hard all summer, working harder than I've ever worked in my life. Things have just been clicking for me."

Osby, who is averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 boards on the season, said some changes to his diet have helped enhance his game. He said he's sworn off Kool-Aid and fried foods (at least for now) and instead opts for healthier options.

"I mainly drink water and Gatorade," he said. "In Mississippi, all we eat is fried food. But I can't do that right now. I went from 245 to 227 over the summer and it's made a big difference. I'm just spending more time in the gym running and getting up shots and ball-handling."

Osby said the addition of Wyoming transfer Amath M'Baye has also helped detract attention away from in the paint. So has a new-and-improved backcourt that features Buddy Hield and Je'lon Hornbeak.

Oklahoma is 13-4 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play. The Sooners' next two games are road tilts against Kansas and Baylor.

"We're trying to take it one day at a time," Osby said. "People are patting us on our back and telling us we're doing well. But we have 14 games left. The storm is about to hit. We've got to go to Kansas and we've got to go to Baylor. We know we can't rest on our laurels."
 
Nice piece with a lot of great publicity for OU as well as Romero. The Sooners have been out of the public eye nationally for way too long. Glad to see us getting some positive press from ESPN again.
 
Right now who is the Big XII player of the year?

Osby, McGruder, the freshman at KU, someone else? Osby has to be one of the top candidates right now.
 
Withey, Pierre Jackson, Smart, Isiah Austin

Osby has way better numbers than most of those guys. He is second in scoring and 10th in rebouding in conference play. He is also in the top 13 in blcoked shots. He only has 21 turn overs on the year to 15 assists. He is having a very good year. Personally I think it is Osby and McGruder at this point although I am sure the media will like someone from KU.

Smart and Jackson are good but they turn the ball over a bit too much to be player of the year in my opinion.
 
I love Smart but I don't think he makes 1st team All-Big 12 as of right now. I would go with Jackson, McGruder, McLemore, Osby, and Withey. Smart would lead the 2nd team.
 
Good read. Both Kool-aide and Gatoraide are "empty calories" though. Either can be made with artificial sweeteners though. Gatoraide has some more salts that could help replenish if he is sweating alot during workouts.
 
Right now who is the Big XII player of the year?

Osby, McGruder, the freshman at KU, someone else? Osby has to be one of the top candidates right now.

Based on pure stats, it's Pierre Jackson's to lose. Taking into account everything else, it is much more open race.
 
Based on pure stats, it's Pierre Jackson's to lose. Taking into account everything else, it is much more open race.

I'm not as impressed with Jackson as you are. It's not based on pure stats. He is a good player, but not a dominant player on both ends of the floor.
 
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