The Absurdity of 1988

[jwg]

No they were not listed. I listed the last five chronologically, the other 5 were Depaul, Army, and Illinois in the forties, kansas and ky in the fifties.

Other teams that I would consider would be UCLA in Walton's last year, OSU in 51 when they finished in the final four despite losing 3 starters before or during the tournament, Ohio State in the two years after they won the NCAA, Cincinnati in 63 , Georgetown with Ewing and the others mentioned above.

 

[Sooner04]

So, you were 5, or so, when the 88 team was tearing it up?

Yep. But I've got an uncle who's got a ton of those games on VHS. And I watched a crap load of games while interning at Channel 9 in 2002.

My fandom goes way back. I'm actually pictured on the front of the '87-88 media guide. Harvey Grant is dunking on some K-State dude (the game where we blew the huge lead in the last minute) and you can see me in the background sitting in my Mom's lap.

 

[Edmond_Sooner]

Yep. But I've got an uncle who's got a ton of those games on VHS. And I watched a crap load of games while interning at Channel 9 in 2002.

My fandom goes way back. I'm actually pictured on the front of the '87-88 media guide. Harvey Grant is dunking on some K-State dude (the game where we blew the huge lead in the last minute) and you can see me in the background sitting in my Mom's lap.

You goin tonight?

Yes, i'm hijacking your thread!

 

[DenverSooner]

Not to refute what you are saying, but those were probably 3 of the 4 biggest home games that season.

UNM with former coach Dave Bliss.
Pitt
Mizzou

The only other game bigger than these was probably KU with Manning.

I can remember going to see OU play CU and ISU back when both Wayman played and during the 87-89 time period and the LNC wasn't full back then. It was loud, but not full.

I can also remember attending games vs Arizona, KU, Mizzou, KSU, UNLV, etc. when it was sold out and rocking.

04 -- how old are you? Or how old were you back in 88? I would guess you were a young lad (<10; based on your username which says to me you graduated, with bachelors, from OU in 2004)? I apologize if I'm wrong...

UNLV was a big game that season. OU drew crowds back then. Norman was considered one of the toughest venues in the country back then.

 

[61sooner]

I thought I saw a Helicopter!

 

[Big Old Booger]

UNLV was a big game that season. OU drew crowds back then. Norman was considered one of the toughest venues in the country back then.

We didn't play UNLV in 1988. We played them in 89 at Vegas, and king had a huge game then we played them in 90 in Norman.

 

[NMSooner'80]

One cool thing about '87-88 was that it more than made up for the disappointment of '87. That team was too talented to lose 10 games, including that epic choke in the home finale to KSU and a worse meltdown in Stillwater to an Aggy team that only won eight games total.

 

[DenverSooner]

We didn't play UNLV in 1988. We played them in 89 at Vegas, and king had a huge game then we played them in 90 in Norman.

You are correct that we did not play them in 1988. I remembered it wrong. OU played them twice in 1987. Once in the preseason NIT (Nov. 1986) and then in Norman in January of 1987. For all these years I had remembered that snow game (January 1987) being in the 1988 season. OU also played them twice in 1989 (in Hawai and Vegas). OU went 4-1 in those games.

http://soonerstats.com/basketball/men/series/details.cfm?oppid=113

 

[sybarite]

As I get older, I become more angry about that game. One official seemed to think that Manning could commit no foul, and that nobody could possibly block Manning's shot without fouling him.

There are a couple of other teams that come to mind as great teams that did not win:

1. The Georgetown team that lost to Villanova when they made nearly every shot in the title game. That was a good Georgetown team.
2. The Kansas team with Wilt Chamberlain that was beaten in OT by North Carolina was a very good team.
3. The Houston team that upset UCLA in the Astrodome had some real talent. They weren't as good as Alcindor, Lowe, Wicks, Wilkes, Allen, and Warren, but they had three future NBA stars of their own.

 

[NMSooner'80]

NMSooner...in the videos, it showed highlights of the game vs UNM. In one of the clips, it showed a heavy-set player from UNM chasing Stacey downcourt...who is that? Dude was bigger than DeeJay (girth) and that's saying something.

Speaking of that....

Stacey kicked his wide-load butt all over the court in this game. And amazingly enough, the Lobo Network gave Loeffel their "player of the game" nod. The next year, when Bliss and Co. arrived, then-new UNM assistant John McCullough made me a copy of that telecast.

One thing that the guy on the Lobo network did that redeemed him in my eyes was state emphatically that OU was "the much better team" when comparing us to Arizona. The '88 Lobos actually beat them in Albuquerque that year, 61-59.

 

[SoonerEyeDoc]

I refuse to watch that game again. I was there that night in Kemper with the 50-100 other OU fans, not a good memory.

You mentioned how good the bench was; too bad Coach Tubbs didn't utilize it that night, otherwise OU wins by 10.

 

[NMSooner'80]

I refuse to watch that game again. I was there that night in Kemper with the 50-100 other OU fans, not a good memory.

You mentioned how good the bench was; too bad Coach Tubbs didn't utilize it that night, otherwise OU wins by 10.

Also, what makes that horrific night even worse is knowing how much a vocal faction in central Oklahoma loved it almost as much as the Beakers did. For some strange reason, KU had a big following in the OKC area, outside of Norman. I think it was partially due to racism, and back then OSU wasn't good enough to knock OU down a peg or two. But it's still a mystery as to why KU had so many fans in that area at the time.

 

[oSuJeff97]

I can say without question that the 1988 OU basketball team is what turned me into a college basketball fan.

I was in 7th grade that year, and had never really watched much college basketball before that... but I remember watching almost every one of those games that were on TV and I've been a huge college b-ball fan ever since.

To eliminate the confusion... growing up, our house wasn't either an "OU" or "OSU" house, as both of my parents attended college elsewhere... so we would just watch and cheer for whichever team was playing... I don't really remember cheering for either team when Bedlam games were played...

(Obviously I went to OSU and that's really when I became an OSU fan.)

So I have fond memories of watching all of those OU basketball games with my dad in the Tubbs era. I remember being crushed when KU won that title game.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I can say without question that the 1988 OU basketball team is what turned me into a college basketball fan.

I was in 7th grade that year, and had never really watched much college basketball before that... but I remember watching almost every one of those games that were on TV and I've been a huge college b-ball fan ever since.

To eliminate the confusion... growing up, our house wasn't either an "OU" or "OSU" house, as both of my parents attended college elsewhere... so we would just watch and cheer for whichever team was playing... I don't really remember cheering for either team when Bedlam games were played...

(Obviously I went to OSU and that's really when I became an OSU fan.)

So I have fond memories of watching all of those OU basketball games with my dad in the Tubbs era. I remember being crushed when KU won that title game.

:clap


Jeff -- you have always been one of my favorite Aggie posters and you just went above some of the sooner posters on this site with that last post (not that it's saying much :ez-laugh

 

[NMSooner'80]

This is from December of 1988, but I felt like showing off a bit. Besides, this was a great game to attend as a "road fan." OU won this game in the Pit, 100-96.

BTW, the locals made sure that OU didn't re-up for a second round of home-and-home with the Lobos by throwing coins at the refs over what they thought were "bad calls." Billy and several OU folks were rather miffed by this, in part because Tyrone Jones got hit with a quarter. It was poetic justice that Jones hit the "dagger" shot from the deep corner, right by the OU bench, to give OU the lead for good. :ez-roll: :ez-roll:

Between the coins and the print media's sorry attitude towards OU, that killed the potential rivalry. And the real irony in that was that the local fishwraps, and most of the electronic guys too, started ripping the UNM staff for not "scheduling tougher." And they were part of the reason that OU wouldn't come back in the first place!

 

[Big Old Booger]

This is from December of 1988, but I felt like showing off a bit. Besides, this was a great game to attend as a "road fan." OU won this game in the Pit, 100-96.

BTW, the locals made sure that OU didn't re-up for a second round of home-and-home with the Lobos by throwing coins at the refs over what they thought were "bad calls." Billy and several OU folks were rather miffed by this, in part because Tyrone Jones got hit with a quarter. It was poetic justice that Jones hit the "dagger" shot from the deep corner, right by the OU bench, to give OU the lead for good. :ez-roll: :ez-roll:

Between the coins and the print media's sorry attitude towards OU, that killed the potential rivalry. And the real irony in that was that the local fishwraps, and most of the electronic guys too, started ripping the UNM staff for not "scheduling tougher." And they were part of the reason that OU wouldn't come back in the first place!

I love those old road unis.