Surprise! OSU no longer has scholarship issues

It was inevitable.

With the Pokes increasingly turning their expectations toward football, being a postseason regular is about what they should expect, and not much more going forward.

Travis Ford's gotten them to the NCAA tournament three times. That's three more times than Sean Sutton (although it would have been difficult for him to go 3 times, being the OSU head coach only 2 years, heh)

It must be weird to be a Poke. Do you brag about your one Big 12 football trophy from two years ago, or the fact that you used to go Final Fours under Eddie and win national titles decades ago? Or perhaps, you just say "eff it, RASSLIN DOMINANCE."
 
It was inevitable.

With the Pokes increasingly turning their expectations toward football, being a postseason regular is about what they should expect, and not much more going forward.

Travis Ford's gotten them to the NCAA tournament three times. That's three more times than Sean Sutton (although it would have been difficult for him to go 3 times, being the OSU head coach only 2 years, heh)

It must be weird to be a Poke. Do you brag about your one Big 12 football trophy from two years ago, or the fact that you used to go Final Fours under Eddie and win national titles decades ago? Or perhaps, you just say "eff it, RASSLIN DOMINANCE."

It must be weird to be a Sooner. Do you brag about your Big 12 football trophy from 3 years ago or the fact you made the NCAA's for the first time in 5 years?


As far as Kirby Gardner goes...he wasn't going to play this year. He barely played last year and Stevie Clark will be the backup PG.

Gardner was not renewed because there was some other issues going on with him. Mostella wanted a release from his LOI becaus he wanted immediate playing time which he wouldn't have got at OSU. He is a good talent and would've helped down the road.

As far as revolving doors go...we will have 12 scholarship players and give the extra one to Christian Sager who has earned a scholly the past 2 years.

It isn't like we aren't deep right now or fielding a full team.
 
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The "revolving door"... OK.

Ford's first class was admittedly a disaster, but since then, his attrition rate has been pretty low.

Cross-post from the another thread -- here's who he's signed after the first class:

  • Darrell Williams (juco)
  • J.P. Olukemi (transfer)
  • Michael Cobbins
  • Brian Williams
  • Markel Brown
  • Phillip Jurick (juco)
  • Cezar Guerrero
  • LeBryan Nash
  • Marcus Smart
  • Phil Forte
  • Kamari Murphy
  • Kirby Gardner (juco)

Gardner makes two out of 12 guys to transfer since the first class.

And you have to think that having Smart, Nash and Brown all return this year had to be somewhat of a surprise to Ford... a nice surprise at that, but it's the only reason we were going to have scholarship "problems" this year, and it's the only reason that Gardner is transferring.
 
Or perhaps, you just say "eff it, RASSLIN DOMINANCE."

I know.

I wish we won titles in something important, like women's softball.
 
It must suck to know that the best team your school will put on the floor in almost a decade won't even win the conference.
 
It must be weird to be a Sooner. Do you brag about your Big 12 football trophy from 3 years ago or the fact you made the NCAA's for the first time in 5 years?

You have exhibited a real knack for getting your facts wrong about OU. So glad you're here; your contributions are truly invaluable.
 
I wish we won titles in something important, like women's softball.

Some national observers said the 2013 Sooner women might have been the best softball team in the history of collegiate women's softball. They are undeniably top 5 all-time.

If you think you hurt us by mocking that title, you are utterly clueless. We're proud as hell of that team.
 
Translation: I consistently reveal my ignorance on this board and have no clue how to respond when I'm called on it.

I'm sorry 4.5 years...I'm deeply sorry for my mistake.

My response wasn't backtracking it was simply recofusing the topic of this thread and this entire message board....basketball. If I wanted to talk football with an OU fan I'd visit landthieves.com, the local mobile home community, or Sunday night bingo.

And then I went on to address the loss of Gardner, Mostellas transfer, and JP's NCAA eligibility denial.


You're correct though...I'm not an expert on OU basketball but I don't mind discussing. I hardly think my posts are ignorant.
 
Some national observers said the 2013 Sooner women might have been the best softball team in the history of collegiate women's softball. They are undeniably top 5 all-time.

If you think you hurt us by mocking that title, you are utterly clueless. We're proud as hell of that team.

Well yeah, I would be too. I'm proud as hell for all 51 of our national championship teams just as I'm sure sooner fans are proud for all 27 of theirs..
 
Well yeah, I would be too. I'm proud as hell for all 51 of our national championship teams just as I'm sure sooner fans are proud for all 27 of theirs..

As well you should be -- even if you weren't yet born when most of them were earned.
 
you have to think that having Smart, Nash and Brown all return this year had to be somewhat of a surprise to Ford... a nice surprise at that, but it's the only reason we were going to have scholarship "problems" this year, and it's the only reason that Gardner is transferring.

I agree. I am not a huge fan of Travis Ford but I don't think you can bash Ford for scholarship issues this year. Smart probably should have gone pro. It is good for OSU that he didn't and I hope it works out for him but he took a pretty big risk staying. Ford would have been reasonable to assume he was leaving based on his season and draft status.
 
Well yeah, I would be too. I'm proud as hell for all 51 of our national championship teams just as I'm sure sooner fans are proud for all 27 of theirs..

Yeah, but let's face it. 99% of OSU fans would trade their 51 for our 27 (or whatever it is). Football is still the money-maker...and you trail us 7-0 or 83-17; take your pick. I'll concede that you had a nice little run on us back in the early 1930s.

Ball-busting aside, 51 National Championships is a lot to be proud of. I think Texas Tech has ONE.
 
Yeah, but let's face it. 99% of OSU fans would trade their 51 for our 27 (or whatever it is). Football is still the money-maker...and you trail us 7-0 or 83-17; take your pick. I'll concede that you had a nice little run on us back in the early 1930s.

Ball-busting aside, 51 National Championships is a lot to be proud of. I think Texas Tech has ONE.

I don't think I would trade 51 National Championships for 27 even if 7 of them were in football which I agree is the 'money maker' now days.

The reality is that it wasn't really the money maker it is until the mid to early 1990s.

OU had dominance over OSU for so long mostly because OSU just flat out didn't support the program like it did other sports.

OU got the football players and would stack talent 3 or 4 levels deep compared to the talent at OSU.

It truly wasn't until Pat Jones that OSU began to get athletes that were even comparable on the football field at all. Even then OU had the coaching, $, facilities, and depth across the board. When OSU had a Barry Sanders...OU had a team full of guys who were a half-not less talented but starting at everysingle position.

Things changed bigtime recently with the money incentive for college football Les Miles teams, the donations by Boone, hiring of Gundy and now we sit at a point where OSU can actually compete with OU in football games year in and year out. OU will always be the dominant team series wise but I suspect the next 20 years of Bedlam to be a lot more even than any other period of time.

Of course the $ and focus can be said for OSU's wrestling and golf programs which is why they have so much success there.

Regardless, I don't care to debate 51 vs 27 or football vs other sports. I think OU has a good athletics program with an enormous fan base that focuses on football only. This board being an exception. That is why OU does not have the perception as a bball school despite some success with the program. It's overshadowed.

However, I'm here to discuss basketball. Mainly big 12 bball. Recruiting. OU roster/recruiting and shed some light on OSU news/recruiting. Being the other big public instate program...there is very much intertwined and related with the two schools. Just look at the recruitment of Woodward/Clark.
 
It must suck to know that the best team your school will put on the floor in almost a decade won't even win the conference.

The chances of OSU winning the Big 12 are a lot better than that thing you call a roster going to the NCAAs. When Tyler Neal is gettin real PT that's usually not a good sign. 6+ million for one 11 seed and 2 no shows in 3 years? Don't worry though, I'm sure unibrow will continue to kill it in recruiting. At least you guys can beat TCU and Tech...oh wait.

We appreciate you guys showing our top 40 commit (Grandstaff) a good time on his way to Stillwater to commit. I'm sure he needed a break and to stretch the ol' legs during the long trip.
 
I think OU has a good athletics program with an enormous fan base that focuses on football only. This board being an exception. That is why OU does not have the perception as a bball school despite some success with the program. It's overshadowed.

OU is perceived as a very strong basketball program everywhere but the minds of aggie fans and in the Oklahoma media (and, sadly, by some of our own fans). OU is consistently rated higher than oswho as a hoops program, and we've had more successful coaches than has oswho, which has had just two (unless one wishes to count Ford, which at this point in time seems premature, but whatever).

OU has a huge Bedlam series lead and more overall success than oswho, while the aggies can point to two national titles that I'm willing to bet no one on this board witnessed (at least I don't think we have any 80-year-old posters here), and those occurred at a time when a team had to win all of three games to earn the title (and when the NIT was the preferred tourney).

And the idea that the only reason oswho didn't match OU win for gridiron win was just that they didn't throw enough money at the football program is beyond specious. Because if that's the case, then dozens upon dozens of other football programs merely came up short on the monetary front, because OU is indisputably top five all time in that sport, and most informed observers (that leaves you out, bballfan) would place us in the top two or three.

But yeah, all oswho needed to match OU's historically great achievements in football was a few more dollars. Keep telling yourself that.

I'm not into making predictions, but we've been assured that oswho was a team on the rise since at least the mid-'70s, and yet our record against them over that span is not much less dominant than our overall Bedlam record.

Even since Stoops' arrival in 1999 (a span that includes most of oswho's best teams), our Bedlam record is 10-3 (77%), which is, yes, a small drop compared to our overall Bedlam mark (81%), but it's hardly anything to get too excited about. Are the individual games more competitive these days? Often, yes, but I wouldn't bet the rent, if I were you, on going even 10-10 over the next twenty seasons, much less 15-5.

And football is not just the "money maker" in the state of Oklahoma, it's the average Oklahoma sports fan's burning passion, the collegiate sport the state cares most about. I think WaymanFan understated. Not only do I think that, in their heart of hearts, most oswho fans would swap national championships with OU, I'm convinced that many, if not most, oswho fans would trade all 51 of their titles for a single football championship. It's not a theory that's provable, but I'm convinced it's the case.

The fact of the matter is that OU has had success in every sport that oswho has done well in except cross country. We have our own national championships in golf (1) and wrestling (7), and we've been to the national title game in hoops twice (falling short both times, alas). We have two titles in baseball to oswho's one (and one of ours occurred in our lifetimes).

So what oswho has done well, so has OU (cross country aside), but the same can't be said for oswho matching OU's achievements. The Sooners have excelled in football and men's gymnastics, and oswho has had just one season in either sport that saw them even flirt with a national title (trying to give credit where it's due here).

What's more, OU has two women's national titles, and our women's basketball team has experienced significantly more success than yours.

You can tout the total titles if you like, but the fact is, wrestling is oswho's claim to fame -- a full 2/3rds of your titles are in that one sport. No shame there -- I like wrestling, and I'm frustrated that OU is not better in that sport right now than we are -- but it is the very definition of a minor sport, and getting smaller all the time. Which means the sport upon which your primary bragging rights are based is fading further and further from public consciousness.

Maybe oswho should commission John Irving to write another novel that features a protagonist who was a wrestler. If it proved to be a best-seller, perhaps that would revive wrestling's profile.
 
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