and reflect on the fa]] semester, OSU Athletics has already h~d a ve~ry"--_ special year. Man of_Qurs orts rQgrams have_p~-formed at a hig_hlevel,_
_ an9-_1J.1eya~e nationally ranked. _
_ THEC_OWBOYFOOTBALLTEAMis heade3 ~nto t~e postseaso~to~_. the e!g~th consecut~ve season! The Pokes wilJ face familiar foe _Missouri in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas, ___<;_)!}_Jan. 3, 20!4..:.._goachGundy, our assis!a_nt coaches and _playershave ower in a conference stee ed in
Once again ou have rovided EXEMPLARYSIJPPORTASFANS.For the first time in OSU
__________ You are the rimary reason Boone Pickens Stadium is such a home-field advantage because rou urchased tickets and showed u for football ·ames. Much of our success is due to your investment. You played a huge role in the Cowboys' selection to the Cotton Bowl. - - -
Our_JA_SKETBALL and WRESTLINGTEAMShave be ·un their seasons, are nationally ranked and a_p_pearprimed to gave s ecial season_s.A ·ain, I want to thank you for yo~_!_'attendan_ce__ _ at all of our winter s ortingyvents.
I trul_y believe the best time to be a fan of the Cowgirls and Cowboys is now! -4 I hop~ to see each J>~you in Dallas.
MIKE HOLDER DIRECTOROFINTERCOLLEGIATEATHLETIC§_ FormerOSUMen'sGollCoach
thePLAYBQQK
PHOTO I PHILSHOCKLEY
At Oklahoma State University, compliance with NCAA, Big 12 and institutional rules is of the utmost importance.
As a supporter of OSU, please remember that maintaining the integrity of the University and the Athletic Department is your first responsibility. As a donor, and therefore booster of OSU, NCAA rules apply to you. If you have any questions, feel free to call the OSU Office of Athletic Compliance at 405-744-7862
Remember to always ''AskBeforeYouAct."
Respectfully,
BEN DYSON ASSISTANTATHLETICDIRECTORFORCOMPLIANCE
AS THE COWBOYS WERE HANDING THE KANSASJAYHAWKSA-42-6 DEFEAT AT BOONE PICKENS STADIUM ON NOV. 9, OSU GREAT BARRY SANDERS w AS BEING RECOGNIZED ON THE 25THANNIVERSARY OF HIS HEISMANTROPHY-WINNINGSEASON.
Aspart of the ceremonies, a plaquewaspresentedto SANDERS bythe Heisman Trophy Trust. Afterthe game,the legendary tailback addressedan attentive audiencein the COWBOY LOCKER ROOM.
EVENT COORDINATOR/ GAME DAY PARKING MANAGER JOENELSON
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A
~s THE TEAMS LDER
PHOTOGRAPHYBYBRUCE
WATERFIELD
CRYioN
there is at least one member of the OSU EQUIPMENTSTAFFpresent (usually moreoften times many more). In fact, the equipment staffer probably was the first to arrive at that event and likely the last to leave. And when he or she does finally exit the building, it will probably be for more work back at headquarters in either BOONEPICKENS STADIUM or the ATHLETICSCENTER.
Such is the life in the OSU equipment room, where Wes Edwards oversees a staff of approximately 45, including full-timers, graduate students, student assistants and even a handful of volunteers on game days. The full-time crew includes Edwards, Matt Davis, Justin Williams and Kyle Briggs
Their tasks are wide-ranging. You know those mix-and-match football uniforms the Cowboys are fond of wearing? The equipment staff executes that plan each game week - including keeping the combo of choice a secret until pre-game warm ups. Ever notice the young fellow in an OSU polo on the opposing team's sideline during a football game? He's the one ready to trade game balls with the referee at a moment's notice. He is with the equipment staff. Same thing with those young men and women who tote out chairs for the basketball teams to use during timeouts or maybe running down foul balls at the baseball and softball stadiums.
life
away from the spotlight. It's Equipment staffers are manningthe chaingangat often times the confidante of footballpractice. It's the a head coach as well as an athnon-stoplaundrychores, lete. In fact, equipment managpracticesetups,lockerroom ers and members of the athletic maintenance,phonecallsto training staff may know more Nike,budgetwatchingand about the dynamics of a team travelcoordination.It'sabout than any other member of an appeasingcoaches,keeping athletic department. track of a wealthof inven- Their jobs are crucial. Proper tory,staffingpractices,help- execution of their duties is ingthestudent-athleteswith expected. The demands on theirneedsandthengently their time border on silly Their remindingthemwhentheir effect on an athletic departneedshavealreadybeenmet. ment invaluable.
But
in the equipment room is really about the chores
PHOTO I CHRISOEAL I OSUATHLETICS
STORYBYWADE McWHORTER
OVERA HALFCENTURYLATER,THATPLAYER'SPICTURE IS PROMINENTLYDISPLAYEDOUTSIDETHE COWBOY BASKETBALLLOCKERROOMIN AN ARENAWHEREHE ONCESTARREDFORA LEGENDARYCOACH.
Don Johnson was running in a high school relay race in Stillwater when he first caught the eye of Oklahoma A&M head basketball coach HenryP. Iba
But that was all the hall of fame coach needed to see to give the three-sport star from Chickasha High School a proposition.
"MR. IBA SAW ME AND WANTED TO KNOW IF I WANTED TO TRY OUT FOR BASKETBALL," JOHNSON SAID. "I SAID, 'I HAVE NO IDEA, l'M UP HERE FOR TRACK.'
"We didn't have a car so I knew I'd have to find a way home. So I called and told my mother I'd hitchhike home - but I didn't tell Mr. Iba that!"
JOHNSON'S DECISION PAID OFf:, BOTH FOR HIM AND THE AGGIES' HOOPS PROGRAM.
lba's second impression of Johnson was apparently just as strong as the first. After seeing him on the hardwood, he offered Johnson a scholarship for room, board, books and tuition, as well as $15 a month, the maximum he could give.
Though admittedly surprised by the offer, there wasn't a moment's hesitation from Johnson.
"I TOLD {IBA), 'l'LL BE THERE IN SEPTEMBER,'" Johnson recalls.
Johnson arrived in Stillwater in the fall of 1949 and admitted the transition to "big city life" wasn't easy for a boy who grew up in Minco, Okla., before moving to Chickasha after his sophomore year of high school.
"I grew up on a farm in a town that had a population of 900, and it was nothing compared to Stillwater," Johnson said. "It was a big adjustment for me."
The transition to big-time college basketball proved to be quite smooth, however.
Freshmen were not allowed to compete per NCAA rules during that era, but in three seasons in an A&M uniform Johnson blossomed into a star for Iba.
"It was special, but of course Mr. Iba wanted to go farther," Johnson said.
Johnson capped his career by averaging 14 points per game as a senior, leading the team in scoring for a second-straight year and earning All-America honors.
That season also brought one of the favorite basketball memories for the 6-foot2, 190-pound forward who averaged over seven rebounds per game in his final two years in an A&M uniform.
On Jan. 30, 1952, the Aggies were matched up against KANSAS, which brought a No. 4 national ranking and All-American CLYDE LOVELLETTE to Stillwater. Playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,600 fans, Johnson did something unprecedented.
"It was a close game, back-and-forth," Johnson said. "On one of our possessions, Harold Rogers shot it, and I went and got the rebound and threw it back out. We ran the play again, Harold shot it again and missed, and I got the rebound, threw it out and we ran it again. Harold shot again and missed, and I got the rebound. This time I calledtimeout.
"We went over to the bench, and (Iba) wasscreamingwantingto knowwhat thatwasall about. 1 told him, 'Well, Clyde Lovellette is 6-9 and the other two guys are 6-4 and 6-2, and every time Harold shoots, I go in there and battle them. AND l'M SORT OF FATIGUED.'
"And (Iba) said, 'WELL YOU'RE RESTING UP NOW, GET YOUR A** BACK OUT THERE AND DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!' I said, 'Yes sirl'
"That was the only time in the history of the school that a player under Mr. Iba ever called a timeout."
That moment might have caught lba's ire, but the Aggies were riding high when
the final buzzer sounded on their 49-45 win. Johnson and Lovellette each had a game-high 18 points, but it was Johnson who walked off the court smiling.
Beating Kansas proved to be quite a remarkable feat.
"(KU) won the NCAA championship that year, and they had a bunch of players (seven) invited to play on the Olympic team that won the gold medal so l'D SAY WE BEAT THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD," Johnson said.
Johnson admits it wasn't always easy to play for the man they called "The Iron Duke," who won 655 games and two NCAA championships in 36 years in Stillwater, but it was a special experience he would never trade.
Harold Rogers, a teammate of Johnson's at A&M and one of his close friends, said that while the guy they nicknamed "Hollywood" for his striking good looks may have been a star, he wasn't above drawing negative attention from his coach. EiJ
"MR. IBA HAD A STRONG COACHING PHILOSOPHY OF 'DON'T EAT BETWEEN MEALS,"' Rogers recalls. "Don had a large overcoat that had pockets on the inside - a wonderful place for sandwiches. chips. apples and bananas. But nothing could be hidden from Mr. Iba. So at our team meeting, Mr. Iba would say, 'Don, I saw you walking across the campus today with your inside overcoat pockets jammed to capacity - it could only be food. Run the stairs 30 times after practice!"'
Another story involved Johnson's penchant for dribbling the basketball, something that was also a no-no for the Aggies' coach.
"Mr. Iba was the master of the passing game - short passes, no looping from sideline to sideline and certainly no excessive dribbling," Rogers said. "But Don Johnson loved to dribble. One day Mr. Iba had it - he stopped and yelled, 'DON, IF THEY CUT YOUR HEAD OPEN THERE WOULD BE A LITTLE MAN IN THERE DRIBBLING A BASKETBALL'"
Johnson chuckles when asked about playing for Iba.
"Was Mr. Iba hard to play for? Oh yeah!" Johnson said. "Youhad better play the way he wantedyou to play. But
he really cared about you off the court andmadeyou feel like part of a family."
Following his Oklahoma A&M career, Johnson was drafted by the NBA's
BOSTON CELTICS in the fifth round.
These days, that might seem like a dream come true for an aspiring hoopster. But Johnson turned down Red Auerbachand the Celtics' offer of $16,000-18,000 a year.
"My mother was a school teacher and made $3,000 a year, but I said, 'What would I be doing at night and on weekends in Boston when I wasn't playing ball?' I wasn't about to go to Boston," Johnson said.
HONOR. Left to right, daughter JACQUIE BECHTEL, DON JOHNSON, wife Lois, teammate HAROLD ROGERS, son SCOTT.
Turning down the NBA would not mark the end of Johnson's hoops journey, however.
During that time, the fledgling NBA had a rival in the NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE. The league was founded by the industrial teams (teams sponsored by the large companies and made up of their employees) belonging to the NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE (N BL) that did not join the NBA when the NBL merged with the BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA.
Johnson was hired by PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO. to play basketball for its BARTLESVILLE PHILLIPS 66ERS. He competed for two years, earning AllAmerica honors, before hanging up his sneakers.
With his basketball career over, Johnson remained employed by Phillips for a decade. He then decided to take what he learned and start his own oil company, which eventually led to him owning over 20 gas stations.
The 83-year-old Johnson now resides on his sprawling ranch in Argyle, Texas. But he hasn't forgotten his Stillwater roots and his love for his alma mater and Cowboy basketball.
Several years ago, OSU marketed its season basketball tickets by putting pictures of all of the Cowboys· former ALL-AMERICANS on each of its tickets. Johnson's family inquired about which ticket he would be on and planned to come back to Stillwater for that game.
During the conversation, OSU Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development Larry Reece presented the idea of endowing a basketball scholarship in Johnson's name to honor his legacy, and the family jumped at the idea of the $500,000 pledge.
But after that initial conversation, Reece hatched another plan. How would Johnson's family like to be the lead gift on the renovations of OSU's $3.6 million basketball locker rooms project?
And that is why anyone now passing by the Cowboy basketball locker room will see Johnson pictured in his A&M basketball uniform just outside the doors - his family made the lead gift of $750,000 to make OSU's new hoops digs possible.
"That's when we really got momentum and got things going," Reece said. "I LOVE THE FACT ONE OF MR. IBA'S BOYS MADE IT HAPPEN."
And Johnson couldn't be prouder leaving a legacy that started with a chance encounter nearly 70 years ago.
"That hit me pretty hard," Johnson said of his legacy being honored inside an arena where he once starred. "l'M VERY PROUD OF IT.
"Mr. Iba is one of the reasons I have this nice place (ranch) here. And I think he'd be proud of me being able to come back and help -my alma mater."
PHOTOGRAPHY I PHILSHOCKLEY
\ \ MARCUS SMART
The rowdy has returned with fervor during the 2013-14 season, with coach Travis Ford's Cowboy~af)l<ed among the nation's best in the preseason - and that ofc~rse ~oincides with a decision Smart made last April.
Predicted by most to eea op 5 pick - andpossibtrfheNo.1 pickoverallin last summer's NBA Draft. Smart made the uncommon choice to return to_sc~ool for his sophomore season.
That decision sent shockwaves throughout the college basketball and NBA landscapes, and while it wasn't easy to make, the choice to go against th~ grain was not as surprising as you might think.
"There were days that I'd play devil's advocate," Ford said. "There were days
I could tell (Smart) was wanting to stay and I was like 'Are you sure? You're gonna be this pick.' I really wanted him to think about it and really wanted to pick his brain to make sure he was thinking about the right things.
"This went on for several weeks. He talked to a lot of people. And when it came
"He told me the night after he won the WaymanTisdaleAward,and his rationalization for it was just unbelievable. He told me, 'I WANT TO HAVE FUN, AND l'M ENJOYING COLLEGE. I WANT TO BE WITH MY TEAMMATES. I enjoy playing for you. I'm not passing up the NBA, I'm just putting it off for a year. There's down close to the decision, I kind of knew things I need to_.:Y-or.kon, and I can't get what he was going to do. I FELT LIKE these-e!a s ack.'
-----• ALL ALONG HE WANTED TO STAY "He had all the right reasons. It was IN COLLEGE FROM THE BEGINNING, There was always the pressures from many different sources on the outside saying 'You've got to do it, how could you not?!' Those thjngs are natural for people to say. But I knew where Marcus· heart was ar,d knew the type of person he was.
really impressive how he handled j:he whole situation. He did what he wanted to do - he didn't let outside distraction or peer pressure affect his decision. And that's tough for anybody, especially an 18-, 19-year-old, to make their own decision. And he was 100 percent convinced that he wanted to come back."
FRAN FRASCHILLA, an ESPN college basketball analyst who has known and watched Smart play for the better part of the last decade, also wasn't surprised by the decision.
"Marcus has always bet on himself, and he's almost always won," Fraschilla said. "Whether he's the third pick or the sixth pick or the eighth pick (in the NBA Draft) next year, it really won't matter. Will he leave a little bit of money on the table in the short term? Absolutely. But assuming he has the kind of year we e;,<:pecthim to have, he's gonna have ar, incredible impact on college basketball before he leaves."
Smart knows there are plenty of people who can't fathom turning down millions of dollarsto liveouta dreammost will
and also included the death of Smart's older brother, TODD WESTBROOK, when Smart was just nine-years old.
"Growing up, I wouldn't say I had a childhood - I was forced to grow up earlier than I expected," Smart said. "In AAU ball I was constantly gone - I never really got to go spend weekends with my friends, go out. go swimming, take vacations in the summer because my summer was full of basketball and travelling.
"Once you get in college, you get to experience living on your own and that fun and the highlights of the years that you're here. Those_are things you don't get back once they're gone. You have to cherish those moments while they're_
him. And knowing those two words helps you understand why it should never have shocked anyone that he bypassed NBA riches for college life.
Thosewords? COMPETITOR. WINNER.
"I've never been around a player - ever - as a player or a coach that plays as hard as he does every single day; there are no off days," Ford said. "He is competing every day the same and with one goal in mindto beat you. Before a game, after a game, three games in a row - you would never know any different with Marci.-1sSmart. know many players at all that go do that. So he quickly gained everybody's respect by doing that."
EENASRHOAURNDD AASHE
How quickly? When Ford was asked to relay a story highlighting Smart's compet-
itiveness and drive, he tells
IEVRJHAJPLAYSDAA~''_coAcHfflAVISfORO
Do"(Smart) made some
"'e_r•e-:-andyou don't w.,.,,,,--ant any crazy passes - threw one out of Es EVER ,,-- bounds, threw a lob that hit the top of
the backboard - and I jumped on him
"The talk for T~:g~;~:;:a:~;~u;;a~':::·~Y to pin- really quick. And he probably hadn't been jumped on too many times," Ford said. "A
a long time was 'How point - March21, 2013. lot of players will get upset or pout, but could you turn (the NBA) down?,' Smart That date marked the opening round of he said, 'A//right,I'mgonnashowhim!' said. "It was stressful going back-andforth in your head, discussing the situation and all the scenarios. But I sat down with my mom and my family, and we figured it out. ONCE I MADE MY DECISION, IT RELIEVED A LOT OF THAT STRESS OFF" ME. I obtained a lot of criticism for it, but at the same time, I obtained a lot of praise and appreciation.
"Whichever decision I made, I would have gotten criticism either way so it really doesn't bo'ther\me much."
Sohowexactlydidthe19-year-old Smartarriveat sucha decision?Many factors were involved, but Smart says two things swayed him most to return to Stillwater.
One of those was a childhood that admittedly wasn't always void of trouble
the NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Calif. In osu·sFIRSTNCAATOURNEYGAMESINCE2010, Oregon upset the fifth-seeded Cowboys, 68-55. Smart nearly had a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, but he also committed five turnovers and shot just 5-of-13 from the field.
"That's not who I am," Smart said. "I didn't feel like I played to the best of my ability, and I felt like I let my team down. That'snothow I wantedtoleaveandbe knownfor."
Smart's desire to make amends for how his freshman season ended led him back to Cowboy Country, and that should also come as no surprise.
Talk to anyone who knows Smart and there are two words that will almost always be mentioned when asked to describe
"He picked up their guard full court and ripped the guy twjce before the other guy got past half court. And I quickly realized you can challenge Marcus, but also he was more upset with himself than he was me getting onto him and he was gonna make up for it.
"That is the definition to me of a winner - a guy that understands 'I'm gonna mak_":,.- - -_-____ mistakes, but I'm gonna make up for them. I'm not gonna dwell on the mistakes and pout about them, get upset when my coach yells at me, I'm gonna do something about it.'
Smart laughs when recalling Ford's story -'- he remembers the moment well. EfJ POSSE
"Most freshmen would have probably gotten down on themselves or gotten kind of mad, but I just took it like I always do," Smart said. "That's one of those things and those times where you look deep down and use it as a spark to get you going.
is off the court - as polite and humble as he is - he's got the killer nature competitively on the co,J,Jrt.
"I made some dumb plays, but I made up for it at the defensive end. When things like that happen, it'snQUJ.bour-triiwhard yougeLknockeaiiown,it's abouthow fastyouget backup.
"That was instilled in me as a little kid so I've been like that my whole life - it comes natural. I do have some days where it's just like, 'Man! I don't know if I can do it today.' I'd be lying if I said I didn't. Ev.erybody has those lulls-where you feel like you hit the wall. But you just have to dig down and find something to get you going, to motivate you to go ahead and give it your all."
Added Fraschilla, "He's always had a great IQ for the game and a great competitive spirit that has just been enhanced over time. He was ahead of his time as a .,_.high school freshman, especially as far as
"He's not a pppular guy in most Big 12 arenas outsi e of Stillwater, and it's because of that qompetitive nature. He's always trying to make the extra hustle play, draw the extra charge. He's one of those guys who you really wouldn't like if you're an opposing fan base, but you would absolutely love him if he was wearing your team's uniform.
"I've watched him play games where he's played poorly for much of a game but then has stepped up big at the end or he's had a complete impact on the game and you look at the stat line and it's an averag~ stat line for a good college player. 'His impact on a game is not influenced by what the stats say at the end. That's because of his competiti~eness, and his very high basketball 10. He makes winning plays even though they might not show up in a box score." ,..-
Fraschilla added that Smart's success --- competitiveness... as a freshman, which includ d the afore-
"You hate to throw stats out the window mentioned accolades as wel as being a because you know he's going to end up finalist for two national player of with 17 points,-eight rebounds, six assists, the year honors and the Bob Cousy but stats don't matter with~--it~legiate Point Guardof the Year how his com~\jveRess a fects the out- Aw~rd,did not surprise him in the least. come of games. Not just individually but ''l'vie seen him do it at a high 1Ievel for also how his competitiveness rubs off on so long," Fraschilla said. "He's always his teammates.
"The best compliment you can give somebody is that the guy is a winner,
been able to back up with his play on the court the reputation that he's brought to the court. and in Marcus' case, winning is far more- - ;·Anytime you watch him play, it's always important than what the--sta1:11nesays." 'CanMarcuswinthisgame?Canhe win
For....Sm-art, -the stat line is usually thisindividualmatchup?Howwillhehelp stacked. Last season, he averaged 15.4 histeamwin?'And then at the end of the points,5.8 reboundsand4.2 assists..-- game, you get to the point where you're per game and alse-s·etaBigl2 fresh- no longer surprised by the things he does." manre~th 99 steals, averaging However, another endearing quality
Ford calls Smart one of the most humble and polite indjviduals he's ever been around.
"HE WANTS PEOPLE TO FEEL GOOD AROUND HIM; HE GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO MEET PEOPLE, TO BE NICE TO PEOPLE, TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF TO PEOPLE," Ford said. "It's refreshing to be around someone who gets as much publicity and notoriety as he does, and it doesn't go to their head whatsoever.
"Everybody knows he's a great player, but he's a better person. He is able to really block out all the publicity stuff and just have fun and be a person who is appreciative of everything, and you don't find that a lot nowadays. He's not a guy that's full of himself. Marcusisaboutthe rightthings,andit's funto be around himeveryday."
Says Fraschilla, "If you don't know him, you don't realize how humble he is, how unassuming, how soft-spoken he is - it kind of belies the assassin's mental-. ity he carries with him on the court. So it's unique."
And Smart's unique approach to fame is something he admits isn't always easy, what with being the so-called"bigman on campus"arid all.
"I've seen a lot of people that get a lot of praise and. take i the other route - they embrace it a little too much and it brings cockiness and backfires on them," Smart said. "Growing up, some things that happened in my life, put me in a stage to be humble. I've seen that just as quickly as it's given, it can be taken away from you."
"I'm a regular person like eweryoody three thefts a contest.
Smart's all-around game aRd will towin are a big reason osufinished 24-9 a year ago, including a 13-5 markin Big 12play,which markedthe Cowboys' best showing in 10 years.
"When you watch him play, it's understandable why an opponent would not like him," Fraschilla said. "As good a kid as he\ DECEMBER2013
about Smart is that those things he does else on~t1do understand that on the court aren't something he flaunt~on a pedestal higher than a lot of
He's already accomplished more on the court than most his age - he's led both 1 the U.S.UNDER-18ANDUNDER-19TEAMSTO
people on campus just because everybody knows who I am. It's a good feeling, but at the same time it brings a lot of WORLDCHAMPIONSHIPS and last summer responsibility. All eyes are on you so you he was ONEOFONLYTWONON-NBAPLAY- re~lly have to be careful of whatyou say, ERSTOACCEPTANINVITATIONTOTHE2013 what you do, h_o_w-yocract, how you look. USAMEN'SNATIONALTEAMMINI-CAMP - 1e~there is no air of cockiness about him.
_ "Sometimes it can get frustrating because I'm still a college kid, but you have to think about the consequences and how people will•\react to what you do."
All Smart wants to do is perform at a high level every ti e he steps on the court. He embraces 'the leaoe·rship role he's had since he joined the program and says- he's unfazed by the perhaps unrealistic exp~ctations people have for him.
'Tm not really foct1se- on those expectations," Smart said. "I \an only control \
how my actions speak for me in what I do on-and-off the court.
"You have to know what's best:-for the teaJ17,and you have to take everything with-,--me' and 'I' out of the equation - it has to be 'we' and 'us.' You have to listen to what the team has to say and put everyth_ing before yourself If you do all that, all the individual accolades will start to roll in."
Despite having already achieved status as one of the country's top players, Smart says there is plenty
SO WHAT WILL MAKE~IS FINAL SEASON (N STILLWATER A ~UCCESS?
'Knowing-thateverygamewe went outthereanddideverything,wecould togiveourselvesanopportunfty to win," Smartsaid.
That attitude may be what endears him to the pros ftie most, Fraschilla said.
"What NBA guys love about (11mare that he competesfromstart to finish, he's got the body and size to han le himself in the league as a young player, he's of _r:oomfor improvement going to be low maintenance on-and-off in his game. He shot 40 ~oo-r-~. he's going to be very coachable, percent f~le he's going to be serious about his craft las_Ls.eason, 1nclud1ng and always look for ways to get better," 29 percent from beyond Fraschilla 'said. "I'm not sure what kind of the three-point arc - both NBA career he'll ultimately end up having are numbers he wants to - I can't tell you whether he's going to be improye upon while also an NBA superstar or j_::l.sta soli·d playerbecoming a better scorer. but he's going to be in that league for a "We've challenged him t_o _,__ron;i:ime and probably play on a lot of get a little bit betfe-r a~ery- winning teams. He has a winning person-= t-hin~F;-rd said. "I don't think ality, winningisinhisONA,and when you there are any true weaknesses ih his game, but he can afford to-§Je better in a lit~GF-e~
Get a little bit better shooting, a little bit better ball handling, a little bit better defensively, a little bit better rebounEling and go down the line.
"That's how we've approached it. I don't think there's anything fie's lacking in, but in every area, there's room for impi;:ovement.
"HIS GREATEST STRENGTHS ARE HIS LEADERSHIP, HE'S A WINNER, HIS WORK ETHIC IS CONTAGIOUS, HIS PERSONALITY. There's not many at any level, NBA or anywhere in the world, who can match those things he has.
"And then he is a very good ball handler, great passer, great defender, good rebounder, good shooter. When you mix all those greats in with the goods, you get a really, really special player."
Smart has already stated that this will be his final season with the Cowboyshe won't bypass the NBA a second tim.,
pJay with-other great players you want guys like him on your roster."
No one knows this better than Ford, who now has a new gauge when scouting players to join his program.
"There's not many Marcus Smarts. There's not many people with his ability who think team first, winning first, plays as hard as he does every day, somebody who would make some of the choices·he"s ;;ade to stay - there's just not many like him," Ford said. "But as a coach being a~ound him right now, you start seeing tr ,its that you realize are so important an¢i may be more important when yo go out recruiting than even talent .some times. You really look at that and reali how far the winning ways and personality of somebody can take you.
''WILL WE EVER FIND OR COACH ANOTHER MARCUS SMART? That's the
goal, that's the challenge, and you hope YO!;_do."
"Desperation," HE DEADPANS. "I WISH I COULD SAY WE LOOKED AT THIS GUY AND THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO BE A SUPERSTAR and saw something that nobody else saw, but that wasn't the case. I saw a guy that was pretty good, who was eager to come to the U.S. He was interested in our program, and wi 11ing to give it a try. So we took a chance.
"We had what we thought was a soft class at that point, and based on what he had already run over in England, we thought be was going to be one of our better guys coming in," Smith adds.
That spring, Smith made a trip to watch Farrell compete in the AII-Englancl Schools championships.
"I SAW THIS fat little British kid IN THIS RACE," SMITH SAYS. "HE DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THE BEST GUY. It looked like for most of the race he was struggling. I thought, 'I can't believe we signed this guy. J don't know if he's got it. He doesn't look good running. He looks out of shape.'
"Allofa sudden, he's still hanging in there with two laps to go. With a lap to go, everything changed. T-1is posture changed. His attitude changed. You could just see him smell the finish line and start to light up. And all of sudden he looked like a superstar. I thought, 'Wow, this kid might be the real deal.' He ended up winning the race and did it looking phenomenal over the last 400 meters."
"His story about watching me at the English Schools is quite comical," Farrell says. "I obviously got nicknamed the 'Fat Little British Kiel' my freshman year until I slimmed up. lt was fair enough."
Farrell signed with OSU that spring without even a campus visit but he hedged his bet across the pond.
"I wasn't.signingacontractwhere I had to be there permanently. l actually accepted my university place over in the UK and deferred it by a year, like a lot of people do over here. So I had a backup plan if I didn't like it. So I said, 'Let's give it a go.'
Although he followed track and field in his home country, Farrell was unfamiliar with most NCAA programs at the time.
"l didn't know the caliber of the program l was getting into," he admits. "I was clueless. I knew from looking at the roster that I was going to end up training with a great group of guys vvho all had PRs (personal records) better than me. f thought it would be a great group for me to train with and try and move up through. I'M NOT GOING TO LIE AND SAY I WASN'T LUCKY IN GETTING TO OSU, BECAUSE I WAS.
"lf I'd visited, it'd been an easy decision," Farrell adds. "I wouldn't have even accepted my English university place. Within a month of me arriving in .July, I loved it. I knew I was going to be here a long time. It was perfect for me. That was that. It worked out really well. I obviously got pretty lucky. I spoke to the coaches, BUT IT'S MEETING THE TEAM, SEEING STILLWATER, THE FACILITIES - THAT WOULD'VE MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE."
That summer, Farrell showed flashes of thetalentthat made him an All-American in cross country, as we\ I as indoor and outdoor track.
"Right before he came here, he ran pretty fast," Smith says. "We started thinking, whoa - maybe th is guy is better than we thought."
But even his coaches cou Id n't envision just how fast Farrell would run the SK at Stanford's Payton Jordan Cardinal Jnvitational as a junior.
"If someone had asked me, I'd say if he ran 13:-+5 before he graduates, f'll think he had a great career," Smith says. "I never expected he was going to run 13:15!"
THE TIME (13.15.31) WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO GIVE FARRELL AN OLYMPIC A-STANDARD. Suddenly, the dream of competing at the London Games was becoming a reality.
"All along the plan with Dave was for me to redshirt outdoors so that we could put myself in the best position possible
to qualify for the Olympic games," Farrell says. "Only because it was London, really. The home Olympics probably won't come 'round in my career again.''
Back home in Carlisle in the summer of 2012, Farrell was out for a casual run with his father just two weeks before the British Olympic Trials.
"I thought it was al most dead-set that I was on the team. I had done the hard bit. I'd clone the time. Stanford was probably the best race f've ever run."
13utsomething didn't feel quite right.
"My foot was sore, so l asked my dad if I was limping. f-lesaid, 'No, you look fine.' [fl was limping r probably would've gone to see a doctor to check it out. But f wasn't limping and it wasn't massively painful, so [ carried on running."
Farrell competed in Oslo, Norway, later that week.
"I ran 3:+3 for 1,500, which is nothing special, but I hadn't raced in five weeks, so I thought it was al I right. I flew back home, and on Sunday l went to a local forest with my friends to run on a dirt road. About 65 minutes in I just couldn't run anymore. It felt like my toes were all tensed up. I couldn't put any weight on it. Luckily one of my friends was there on his bike, and I was able to cycle back to the car."
AN EMERGENCY ROOM X-RAY BROUGHT BAD NEWS.
"I had a huge stress fracture. Stress fractures don't normally show up on an X-ray, so I didn't need an MRT or a bone scan or anything. If it was any further across my bone, it would've been a break. The nurses in the hospital didn't believe me. They thought I'd kicked a wall or something.'' Farrell called his coach to deliver the devastating news.
"Dave was nice and positive with me when I called him, bawling," Farrell recalls. "I-le said, 'Don't worry about it. People have run on stress fractures. Youcan qualify with your trials and then worry about recovery because you've got another five weeks until you race in the Olympics When I sent him the X-ray he kind of changed his story. It was quite a bad stress fracture.
"Itwas certainly heartbreaking," he adds. "The 2017 World Championships are in London, but there's nothing that rep1icates doing the Olympics in your home country. Missing out on that experience obviously hurts, but these things happen. Thankfully it's still early on in my career. Michael Johnson got a stress fracture in his third metatarsal that kept him out of the Olympics, and eight years later he won two golds."
"I THINK TOM HANDLED THAT SETBACK PRETTY WELL," SMITH SAYS. "HE HAD A PHYSICAL INJURY THAT ABSOLUTELY PRECLUDED HIM FROM RUNNING AND TOOK HIS CHANCE AWAY. He was brokenhearted for a day or two and said, 'Okay, it's time to get back to training and get ready for cross country."'
Smith considers Farrell one of the most coachable athletes he's worked with.
"Tom puts a lot of trust and faith in his coaches and what we ask him to do. I-le is also very interactive and wants to understand his training and why we're doing it. HE HAS AN ACTIVE ROLE IN DECIDING HOW HE TRAINS OR WHAT RACES HE'S GOING TO RUN, and when you start to trust a guy, it's a two-way street. He's got great insight and knows bis body. He knows how he's feeling, and I take his feedback really seriously. He's good at coming in and telling me he's had too much, or let's start pushing a little bit, and we kind of tweak his training back and forth. He's really coachable."
Farrel I has also been a mentor to younger runners on the squad, Smith says. "Tom'svery good at seeing what other guys need and being able to advise them and help them or telling a guy to relax. If a guy struggles for a day and has a tough day, he's very good at saying it's not that big of a deal."
(Except when be looks in the mirror.)
"Ifhe could listen to the advice he gives other guys who struggle, I think he'd be much better off," Smith explains. "He seems very lighthearted, very easy going - and he is - but he i nterna Iizes a lot of
things. 1-le'shard on himself. But that's true with most great athletes. TOM HAS REAL BIG GOALS AND HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR HIMSELF. HE HOLDS HIMSELF TO A VERY HIGH STANDARD, AND WHEN HE DOESN'T MEET THAT STANDARD OR DOESN'T PERFORM THE WAY HE THINKS HE SHOULD, I THINK IT'S HARD FOR HIM.
"He PR'ed in several events and ran some big performances this past year, but they weren't up to Tom Farrell standards."
With only a semester left until he completes a double major in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Farrell finds himself reflecting on his five-year sojourn in the States.
"Both our teams - the boys and girlsare reallylike a family,"he says. "i1Ve'resuper close. The friends you make th rough running with people are unbelievable. When you're doing the better part of 80 to 90 mi !es with a person each week, you get to know them pretty damn quick.
"Alot of the lessons I've learned th rough running translate into life, really. It's pretty damn simple - you don't work hard, you're not going to get anywhere in life. lt's the same in cross country and track. If you're not working hard enough and you're not focused right, you're not going to be successful."
Farrell credits Smith - along with assistants Bobby Lockhart and Sean McCabe - with creating an atmosphere that allows student-athletes 'to th rive, both on and off the track.
"They don't just care about their jobs, they actually care about us individually. I would absolutely do another 4 or 5 years here if I could."
With two team titles in cross country (to go along with second- and third-place trophies), a school record in the 5K and a bevy ofother accolades, Farrell will leave OSU as one of OSU's most decorated harriers.
"It's kind of the end of a chapter, but I'm excited for what's ahead."
ENJOY IT, Tom.
Until the arrival of Brittney Martint there was no way to describe the recruiting pipeline between Utah and Stillwater for the Cowgirl basketball programt other than non-existent.
THE NUMBER OF players to wear the Cowgirl uniform has pushed well north of 250 ince the formation of the program in the 1970s, and has included players from Europe, South America, Australia and numerous locales in between. However, it was not until last season when Martin donned her No. 22 that a product of Utah had worn the Cowgirljersey. With that said, the path to Stillwater was not always clear-cut for the Syracuse, Utah native.
At a very early age Martin's prowess began to reveal itself, and it appeared her path would take her just 30 miles south of her hometown to Salt Lake City and the University of Utah.
"In seventh grade, she was playing with the juniors and seniors in a league during the summer and was kind of dominating high school kids, and I knew then. She was just bigger than everybody and more athletic," said her father, Darrell Martin.
Her state school had its eye on he· since the eighth grade and her commitment soon followed. However, as her big school career blossomed and the accolades began to roll in, so too did the opportunities to take her game outside of the place she had lived her entire life.
"We rushed it too fast with the "U" and as she got a little older I said 'Brittney we may want to open thi back up,"' Darrell Martin said. :J
"When I committed, I was really young and they were my only option at the ti me. IT IS REALLY close to my family AND IS ONLY LIKE 30 MINUTES AWAY, so I WAS SCARED TO GO AWAY and I decided to commit," Martin said.
While helping Syracuse I-Iigb School to an 89-5 mark and a pair of state titles during her four seasons, Martin's stock skyrocketed and options became plentiful after she reopened her recruitment.
"I started getting all of these offers and my dad started talking to me about the experience that it would be to move out of Utah and see other things. I wanted to see what else was out there besides Utah because I had been there my whole life. I just wanted to get a different experience," Martin said.
DESPITE BEING THE 19TH-RANKED PROSPECT IN THE NATION, BOTH MARTIN AND HER FATHER WERE surprised TO FIND A SCHOOL FROM the premier women's basketball conference in the country IN HOT PURSUIT.
"It was a big shock. I knew she was good, but I didn't know she was good enough to play in the Big 12 Conference. She said 'I don't know if I can play in that conference', and I told her she needed to give it a chance and get down there," Darrell Martin said.
THE BIG 12 SCHOOL THAT CAME CALLING WAS Oklahoma State AND AssisTANT COACH MIRANDA SERNA QUICKLY MADE INROADS WITH MARTIN.
"They just cal led and I started talking to them and I talked to Coach Serna a lot. We got along really well. I just had a lot of fun with them," Martin said.
"Coach Serna is really the one that turned our heads and just the way she was with Brittney was like we had known
her for years. She was a helluva recruiter. Talking to all of the recruiters and then talking to her we just had a great connection with her," the elder Martin added.
That connection prompted daughter to talk father into a making the 18-hour journey halfway across the country to see the place of which she had only recently become aware.
"I HAD HONESTLY NEVER HEARD OF OKLAHOMA STATE BEFORE THEY TALKED TO ME. I wasn't really expecting much. I guess I just wanted to see what was here," Martin explained.
So Martin and her father crammed into the cozy con-finesof a rented Fiat 500 and made the 18-hour drive east. UPON ARRIVAL IN STILLWATER, MARTIN wAs almostimmediatelysold.
"It was a big collegetown and it reminded Brittney of Utah a little bit. It wasn't fast, it was slow and that was what she was looking for. We went to UCLA and we were there maybe two hours and she said 'I can't do this'. THAT IS WHAT STEERED us THERE BECAUSE IT JUST seemed like home," Darrell Martin said.
''When we got there with the coachest it was like we had known them for years. They were just good people and that is what attracted us to it. she would
have committed in four hours when we got there. That is how much she liked it."
While it took a little more than a few hours to draw a commitment from her, she did pledge to become a Cowgirl before she left town.
"When I got here I knew this is where I should be. I didn't really think I would get that feeling from any school, BUT 1 REALLY, truly believed THAT 1 WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE and I was meant to play here. It was just really family oriented and I felt comfortal,,le here," Martin said.
Ju t two months after her initial visit to campus, tragedy struck the Cowgirl program when head coach Kurt Budke and Serna were killed in a plane crash while on a recruiting trip in Arkansas, throwing another potential detour into Martin's path.
Even though she never took the floor under their guidance, both coaches made a lasting impression on Martin during the recruiting process and their loss weighed heavily on her.
"When I -firstfound out I was at school and they got me out of class and my coaches told me. To this day, it is still like a shock to me," Martin said. "I didn't go through what those girls had to go through. They played for them, but I just felt like I was already a part oftbe family before I got here, so it was kind of hard for me to adjust to them not being here when I got here."
Once again, it was fatherly advice that helped keep Martin on the path to OSU.
"She wanted to back out, but those coaches had been good to her and Coach Serna went out of her way to recruit her. She did everything she could and I told her I thought it would be fair of you to honor that and go to school there. I think it wouId be a good thing with what Coach Serna did for her. NO OTHER COACH, TO ME, RECRUITED LIKE COACH SERNA DID WITH BRITTNEY AND THAT IS WHY I WANTED HER TO STAY AND BE COMMITTED TO THAT," Darrell Martin said.
Martin followed through and arrived in Stillwater where the next wave of uncertainty came from within despite her decorated prep career.
"I was so nervous to play here and was so scared. I just didn't think my talent level was up to par .vith everybody in this conference. Everything made me nervous--fi rst practice, first conditioning and everything. I did a lot better than I thought I would do and it showed me I could play with these girls," Martin said.
Darrell Martin echoed his daughter's reservations about making a name for herself so quickly.
"We thought she would just be a little role player there and score four or five
points. We weren't expecting any of this," he said. "I thought she would really struggle the first year, but she stepped right in and did what she needed to do."
Those nerves and fears were never prevalent in the six-foot guard's performance as she started all 33 of the Cowgirls'games on her way to being named to the Big 12's All-Freshman Team and earning thirdteam Freshman All-America honors.
"SHE HAS A LOT OF TOOLS TO HER GAME. She can score off the dribble, has a great intermediate game, turned into our best defender, has the ability to score in transition and is an outstanding rebounder. She fills the stat sheet with positive numbers and has a lot of different facets to her game," OSU head coach Jim Littell said.
"Sheis simply about winning."
The five-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week's versatility showed up in nearly every category on the stat sheet as she finished the year as the only player ranked in the top five among league freshmen in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, assists and steals.
Just nine games into her career, her versatility was on full display as she etched her name into the record book, becoming the first Cowgirl to record a triple-double.
On Dec. 22 against UT Arlington, Martin pulled off the feat no one in more than 1,100 games before her had been able to do when she scored 10 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out 10 assists.
Ironically, ask Martin what part of her game served her best and she will tell you one in which she had no interest until she arrived on campus.
"I never played defense in my life, I am sad to say that, but I never did. Then I got here and it is something that I take pride in now. I hated it so much, but I never
played it, so how can you bate it? I take pride in my defense now."
THAT PRIDE IN HER DEFENSIVE WORK RESULTED IN A league-best 96 steals AND OFTEN TIMES SHE DREW THE ASSIGNMENT OF GUARDING THE OPPOSITION'S TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYER.
The workload placed upon Martin fell more in step with that of a seasoned veteran and is something Littell says benefited her and helped her thrive.
"She has grown leaps and bounds because she was thrown into the fire. The expectations were higher for her from day one, probably higher than she knew," Littell said.
"As the season progressed, she kept getting better and better as she got more comfortable. She assumed some tough roles for a freshman to fill and she was really good. WHAT SHE MEANT TO OUR TEAM, AND IT'S A BIASED OPINION, I THOUGHT SHE COULD VERY WELL HAVE BEEN THE Big 12 Freshman of the Year."
During the season, the player who considered herself a role player drew the attention of USA Basketball and received an invitation to the Ul9 World Team Trials. Despite not making the final cut, Martin did not come away empty handed, getting a chance to see firsthand where her game stood against the nation's best.
"Going there was a good experience.IT TAUGHT ME THAT I HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO. I DON'T WANT TO BE A ONE-DIMENSIONAL PLAYER, I want to expand my game," Martin said. "Playing with all of the best girls in the country, they all did different things I wasn't able to do or things that I haven't done, but could do. I learned a lot from them, watching them and playing with them." :,
Littell knows his star guard is far from a finished product as well.
"She has a high ceiling. She is a really good player now, but she has a different level where she can take it," Littell said.
Despite her accomplishments, it is an act away from basketball that displays the true measure of Martin's impact on the program.
Prior to her freshman season, Martin was introduced to season ticket holders Jimmie and Margaret Walker at the squad's season-opening banquet and a friendship was quickly formed.
"WE GOT TO TALKING AND WE ALL JUST CONNECTED. SHE WAS NEW HERE AND DIDN'T REALLY KNOW ANYBODY," iargaret Walker said. "After games, we would always wait and high five her when she left the floor."
During the season, word made its way to Martin that Walker had breast cancer. Martin saw it as a chance to return the support given to her.
Following a game, the Walkers waited for Martin and unbeknownst to them, she had more than ah igh five for them.
"She bro_ughtthe sweetest note that she bad handwritten. She said then that she __ .;.;k,;.;;.n,,,'. the battle we were going through and that she wanted to wear a pink wristband to support me," Walker said. "It was one of my most precious cards or letters that I received. It makes you so proud to know a girl that age has that
maturity and cares that much. I know without a shadow of a doubt she is very sincere," Walker said.
Even after enduring a double mastectomy, Walker continued to attend Cowgirl home games and receive the support of her favorite player.
"It meant a lot that somebody that was so involved in all oftbe tuff she is doing with playing basketball and going to college that she took the time for an older couple to take time for us and show that she truly cared. She has the biggest heart,'' Walker said.
"SHE HAS JUST BEEN REALLY CARING AND SUPPORTIVE. WE JUST REALLY LOVE HER."
Martin's act of kindness went unknown until Walker approached Littell this fall and shared her story.
"It was just kind of a thing between us. Jimmie and I were going through some pictures and he asked where that picture was because he wanted to show it to Coach. He was the one that wanted to let them know what a special girl she is," Walker said.
The fact Martin quietly performed and wanted no recognition for her act of kindness came as no surprise to Littell.
"She is very unselfish and is very humble in the fact that she doesn't ever want to bring attention to herself;''Littell said. "She has an outstanding trait in that she puts other people first and that is the sign of a
great teammate when you can put other people first.
"She represents our program in a very positive fashion."
For Walker, a simple gesture has gone a long way and has helped forge a friendship that will extend beyond Martin's playing days.
"She is a very, very special person and I will always, always keep in touch with her to know what she is doing in her life because it has meant that much to me," Walker said.
During a visit to Stillwater last season, Darrell Martin was able to see firsthand the impact his daughter has had in and around the program away from the game.
11 It gives me chills.
PEOPLE ARE COMING UP TO ME AND TELLING ME WHAT A GOOD KID SHE 1s. She is really giving and caring and that is the Brittney that I know,'' he said. "To me, it isn't even the basketball. That is what I noticed the most when I got there, how everybody likes her. That is what I wanted and for her to graduate. I told her you can't play basketball forever, so make good relationships and graduate.''
Not even having reached the halfway point of her career, Martin is well on her way to doing just that.
So much for being just a little role player.
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Butthat'sexactlywhathappened for the boy from Oklahoma City who was named after one of the greatest New York Yankees of them all.
Tettleton was a three-year letterwinner for coach Gary Ward's Cowboys from 1979-81, where he compiled a career .269 batting average to go along with 15 home runs, 90 RBIs and 20 doubles. Stati tically, his best season in Stillwater came as a sophomore, when he hit .320 with five homers and 39 RBIs in 5l games.
His niime won't be found among OSU's long list of All-Americans or all-conference performers. HISMOSTIMPRESSIVEINDIVIDUAL ACCOLADE:BEINGNAMEDTOTHE1981 COLLEGE WORLD aEflIES ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM.
But following his three seasons in Stillwater, Tettleton embarked on what became one of the biggest success stories of any OSU baseball alumnus.
"I was not a standout collegiate player by any means - my career really blossomed after I left (OSU)," Tettleton said. "I don't know whether it was age and growing up or what, but my career didn't really take . off until I got to probably Double A, which was three years after college. From there, things just started to click."
Did they ever.Tettleton played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, the second most of
any OSU player,and his 1,485games in the big leagues trails only Robin Ventura and Jeromy Bumitz among former Cowboys.
But let's go back to Stillwater, where Tettleton joined a program in its second year under Ward in 1979.
"(WARD)TAUGHTUSNOTONLYABOUTBASEBALLBUT LIFELESSONSASWELL,"Tettleton said. "I don't think I appreciated how good of a coach he was at the time, but looking back on it now, you really appreciate what he was all about and what he meant to Oklahoma State.
"I still look back on it as one of the most fun times I've ever had. The winning tradition that we had was great to be a part of and getting to Omaha and playing in the national final was a thrill."
A right fielderfor the Cowboys,Tettleton was on the first of Ward's 10 CollegeWorld Series teams in 1981, a team that lost in the NCAA title game to Arizona State.
"PLAYING ON TV FOR THE FIRST TIME WAS QUITE A THRILL - THAT WASWHENESPNFIRSTSTARTEDAIRINGGAMES,"said Tettleton, who was l-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored in OSU's 7-4 loss. "Being able to experience the atmosphere and the crowd was just a huge thrill.
"I still watch bits and pieces of (the CWS) when I have a chance. It's getting bigger every year and what they've done up there has been amazing. Hopefully one of these days in the not-too-distant future, Josh (Holliday) and his staff will get the guys back up there."
STORYBYWADE McWHORTER
Following the experience in Omaha, Tettleton joined the professional ranks after being selected in the fifth round of the MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics in June.
That's when Tettleton's baseball journey took a significant detour. After playing in the outfield for most of his life, the .Ns moved Tettleton behind the plate as a catcher.
"It was obviously a lot ofnard work but looking back on it, it was the best thing to ever happen to me," Tettleton said.
The move certainly paid off as three years later, on June 30, 1984, TETTLETON MADEHISMAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DEBUT WITHOAKLAND.
Tettleton spent four seasons with the l\.s, and much like his OSU career, he didn't produce eye-catching numbers.
But in 1988, h~ signed with Baltimore, and one year later, his career took yet another detour - this time one that skyrocketed him upwards.
ASTHEORIOLES'EVERYDAYCATCHERIN 19 ~•'---TETTLETONHIT.258WITH26 HOMERUNSAND65 RBIS ANOWASNAMED TO THE AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR TEAM. HEALSOEARNED THESilver Slugger Award ASTHE AL'S TOP HITTING CATCHER.
"It was wonderful - great pride - then I agreed to be in the home run hitting contest, and I was a nervous wreck," said Tettleton of being selected as an All-Star. "But it's just something special to be out •on the field there with your peers, and you EfJ
look around and see the greatest players in the game and you're kind of wondering where you fit in. IT'SSUCHANAWESOMEFEELING TOBEAPARTOFTHEALL-STARHAM."
Tettleton, who recalls hitting two balls over the wall in that home run derby (players only got five swings in the event), said that 1989 season relaunched his career. It also launched a nickname that sticks with him to this day.
"I was eating Froot Loops every day at the ti me and having some success, and like a lot of baseball players I was very superstitious," Tettleton said. "It was one of those things that if it's not broke, don't fix it.
"I started getting Froot Loops boxes in the mail to sign, and I'd sign them and send them back. That went on for quite a while, and people still remind me of it today."
He continued his productive ways with the Tigers, averaging 28 homers and 8.3 RBIs in four easons. He won the Silver Slugger Award in 1991 and 1992 - he's one of only 10 catchers to win the award multiple times - and was named an AllStar for the second ti me in 1994.
Along with his production, Tettleton was well recognized for his unique batting stance in which he abandoned crouching in favor of standing soldier-straight with his bat horizontal and waist-high.
"It just kind of evolved over time, and I'm not sure how it did," said Tettleton of his trademark stance. "It was comfortable to me. It doesn't matter where you start, it's where you are at the point of contact. Everyone is unique in their own starting position, but you're all basically in the same position when you go to hit."
That stance continued to produce in t e big leagues until 1997, when Tettleton eti red as a member of the Texas Rangers d ti e age of .36.
In nearly 1,500 career games, Tettleton recorded a .241 batting average while racking up 245 home runs, 7.32 RBIs, 210 doubles and a .449 slugging percentage.
"EVERY DAY IN THE BIG LEAGUES WAS A DREAM COME TRUE.'' Tettleton said. "It took a lot of hard work, and that's the thing that I'm most proud of - not the numbers of home runs or All-Star games or anything like that, but just the length of time I spent in the big leagues. It's hard to do."
Life is a 1ittle easier for Tettleton these days, but no less busy. He and his wife, Shannon, reside in Norman, Okla., and have four children - Tyler, who is in his senior season as the starting quarterback at Ohio University; JESSICA, A SENIORATOSU; Shan nee, a high school student; and Tate, who is in middle school.
Tettleton's game of choice now takes him to the links, where he enjoys playing with fellow OSU alumni Bob Tway, Willie Wood and Scott Verplank at Oak Tree National Golf Club in Edmond, Okla. He's played in numerous celebrity events over the years and in 2008 won the San Diego Classic.
"Golf is something that I've always enjoyed," Tettleton aid. "I love beii1g
outside, and it's just a challenge every day. One of the things I enjoy about it is that it's d iflerent every day."
Tettleton, WHOWASSELECTEDASANINAUGURAL MEMBER OFTHECOWBOYBASEBALLHALLOF FAMEIN1992,hasn't abandoned his baseball roots, however, as he gives hitting lessons in Oklahoma City several nights a week.
"I really enjoy working with kids and watching them develop and hopefully getting them on their path to Major League Baseball," Tettleton said.
And Cowboy baseball maintains a spot in his heart as well. HEATTENDEDOSU'SFIRST DAYOFFALLCAMPINSEPTEMBERANDLEFTIMPRESSED WITHTHEBALLCLUBJOSHHOLLIDAYANDHISSTAFFHAVE ASSEMBLED.
"I had an opportunity to stop by and watch them practice and talk to Josh and Rob (Walton) and Marty (Lees) a little bit," Tettleton said. "I WASTHOROUGHLYIMPRESSED WITHTHEWAYTHEYGOABOUTTHEIRBUSINESS.And I was impressed with the kids that they have - they've got some really good looking athletes."
WEWAN
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LIFE OF THE PARK ING GUY
BEFORE COWBOY FANS CAN TAILGATE, OR SEE BULLET STREAK ACROSS THE WEST END ZONE, OR CELEBRATE ANOTHER
COWBOY WIN, THEY CHECK OFF ONE VERY IMPORTANT ITEM ON THEIR TO-DO LIST.
The Parking Guy, and his interaction with members of POSSE, can be a key part of the game-day experience. He and his game-day staff have a simple but important job on home football weekends.
0"It's really about ensuring that our POSSE members have access to their entitled parking place on a game day," said Matt Grantham."It sounds simple enough."
In fact it is simple enough. Hm,vever, it is comp! icated enough that six or seven home Saturdays each year are the result of a full year of work.
"The parking experience can be a key element when fans evaluate their trip to OSU for a game day," Grantham added. "It was something Mike Holder really emphasized when he became athletic director."
Grantham served two stints as The Parking Guy. He is now part of OS~'s development staff and spends game days hosti donors in the suites and on the club level. But time as The Parking Guy has a way of staying with you.
"I learned so much," he said, "and not necessarily about parking. YOUREALLYAREAPROBLEMSOLVER.
Another former staff member who held the title of The Parking Guy is Andy Sumrall, who is now OSU's assistant ticket manager.
During one game-day debriefing, which is held after each home Saturday, the conversation turned to parking and Sumrall had a happy announcement for the OSU staff.
"Only one person tried to run over me, so it was a pretty good game."
Sumrall happily survived three football seasons as The Parking Guy and like Grantham,
he credits that experience for his successful transition into ticketing, where tempers may still flare, but SUVs are parked at a safe distance.
The over-under of vehicular near-misses may not be the best gauge of an administrative staff's game-day performance, but it can certainly be tangible. Usually the wouldbe assailants of The Parking Guy can be easily categorized.
The Hatfields had the McCoys.The Democrats have the Republicans.
THE PARKING GUYHASTHECURB JUMPER.
The Parking Guy will go to great lengths to get the jump on The Curb Jumper.
"I usually didn't go to bed the night before a home game," Grantham said of his parking duties.
0James Batley served as The Parking Guy in 2012 before accepting a job at Temple University in Philadelphia. The hunt for The Curb Jumper kept him up at night as well.
"Youreally start securing lots at 2 a.m. when the bars have closed,he said." There are cones to put out, signage to be placed, lots to be chained, and you really need it all secured before people start jumping the curbs."
"Their idea is to get into the lot before anyone else is around and then hope no one notices their license plate," Grantham said. "TOWINGISALASTRESORT,BUTIT DEFINITELYHAPPENS."
Grantham's first Friday night before a h?me game was an eye-opener.
"My boss remembered (fairly late) that we needed to put out VIP signs and that they weren't assembled and needed new names," he said. "It was still summer - probably 100 degrees outside. We were under the stadium with these piles of signs. I had a socket set and started cranking on the signs. I was there all night and just barely got done in ti me to start the 12-hour clay."
Batley had a frantic opening night as well.
"They had just repaved the parking lot south of Cordell Hall and were late getting them numbered. It was really going down to the wire," he said. "I hit (what I considered) a random fire hydrant in the middle of one of the parking islands. I was new and a little frantic. "I wasn't sure what to do so I went back to the office around 11 o'clock and started sending emails for help to my bosses, OSU pol ice - really anyone I could think of."
TheParkingGuyactually hasthe title of MANAGER OF GAMEDAYPARKING, and works out of the POSSE office in Gallagher- Iba Arena. And in all seriousness, the challenges of the job have increased as things have changed around the Oklahoma State campus.
As recently as 2006, Oklahoma State sold a total of 32,903 season tickets. In 2013, the season ticket count exceeded 50,000 for the first time. The two largest crowdsin OSUfootballhistory were present in two of 2013'sfirst three home games.With nearly all of that growth attributed to the general public, there are naturally
many, many more cars on the Stillwater streets in the fall. And while the number of cars has increased, the non-stop construction projects decreased the number ofavailable spaces by plenty.
With the construction of OSU's new track and field facility, the Greenwood Tennis Center and the as yet undeveloped footprint of a new baseball tadium, the Olympic Village is coming into full focus and the temporary parking fixes will hopefully give way to permanent solutions at some point in the near future.
eJoe Nelson is in his first year as The Parking Guy. He is a former athletic department employee who ventured across campus six years ago for a new position. However, he yearned f-ora return to the hustle, bustle and frantic pace of life in an athletic department.
"I tell people that I worked in athletics for six years, was gone for six years, and now I'm back for good," he said. "While I was gone I used to joke that I wanted to get back into athletics so bad I might even take that parking job."
When Batley departed for Temple, 1 elson made the move back across campus.
If athletic directors could build parking guys in a laboratory, Joe Nelson might be the finished product. He is an experienced listener with a customer service background, and he has faced far greater trials than a Curb Jumper behind the wheel of a BMW.
His undergraduate days at Oklahoma State were interrupted by a trip to Vietnam, where he did two tours of duty in the U.S. Navy "Seabees" who worked under fire in upport of the operations of the Marines. Nelson did indeed endure enemy fire and, in fact, becameanhonoraryMarine forhiscourageandforwhat
he modestlydescribesas
11Only
collaborates to manage 4,300 reserved lots on game days. The POSSE lots are scattered all across OSU's spacious campus. Nelson's first game as The Parking Guy coincided with the arrival of the biggest home crowd in OSU history when the Cowboys hosted Lamar. That record lasted just two games as OSU set another attendance mark in the Homecoming win overTCU.
"I think Jesse (senior associate athletic director Jesse Martin) will tell you that my anxiety level dropped considerably between the first and second games," Nelson said of his maiden football season as The Parking Guy. "I think it's
Despite the challenges and hours that come with being The Parking Guy, there are advantages as well.
"PEOPLETOLDMEHOWMUCH I WOULD HATEIT,"GRANTHAMSAID."BUT I LOVED IT.I LOVEDBEINGINVOLVEDWITHOSU ATHLETICS.The great thing to me was the customer service. I never wanted to say no. I wanted to be someone who could find a way to make it work and resolve the issues. I got to know a ton of supporters and it has really benefited me since I moved into development.
"You might go out to the parking lots on a Friday afternoon before a home game and come back to 20 messages that
one person tried to run over me, so it was a pretty good game.,,
"helping a coupleofguysout of a toughspot".
During his six years away from athletics, Nelson finished his master's degree in Hospitality Administration to compliment his career experience in business as well as service.
"It really worked out well for me because I consider what we do with parking to be the hospitality side of athletics,"he said.
Nelson oversees a game-day staff that includes 11 students and more than 100 EXPRESS PERSONNELemployees. As far as the public is concerned, each of them have the title of THEPARKINGGUY.That group
like anything that you do for the first ti me. There are tricks of the trade that you learn as you go."
Nelson should be excused if he doesn't know the difference between receiver Tracy Moore and linebacker Caleb Lavey. His Saturdays are pretty full.
"Once the game day parking is finished, our students head into the stadium," he said. "I like to use that time to visit all of our lots and see how they are utilized and where we need to make changes."
Seems like a characteristic trait of someone born to be The Parking Guy.
were all parking related with very little time to resolve the issues."
But that stress and strain didn't change Grantham's memories of his days in the parking lot.
"I WASWORKINGWITHOSUATHLETICS. I WASTKEHAPPIESTGUY 1HTHEWORl~
In the 75-year history of OklahomaState'shistoric Gallagher-IbaArenathere have been memorablemomentstoo numerousto count.
In Cowgirl basketball lore, the game that most often comes to mind when recounting those unforgettable events involves a capacity crowd of 13,611,a television audience and concluded with the student section storming the floor, hoisting the game's star onto their shoulders and parading her around triumphantly.
Jan.12,2008
The date the aforementioned game took place, which lives in Cowgirlbasketball historyas theprogram's "I wasthere" momentand many will truthfully be able to lay claim to the statement.
The largest crowd to ever witness a women's basketball game in the state filed into Gallagher-Iba Arena that day as the 25th-ranked Cowgirls attempted to snap a 17-game losing streak against in-state rival Oklahoma, the No. 6 team in the land.
What they were treated to was one of the single-most impressive performances the venerable arena had ever seen. Andrea Riley blitzed the Sooners with a 45-POINT,ZERO-TURNOVERPERFORMANCE that worked the crowd into a frenzy and culminated with the students rushing the floor in celebration.
The contest prompted this response from OSU head coach Kurt Budke, who debuted what would become his trademark big-game orange blazer that day. "TO GO FROM WHERE WE STARTED TO WHERE IT WAS TONIGHT, THIS IS A NIGHT l'LL NEVER FORGET AS A COACH. IT'S A NIGHT THAT OUR PLAYERS WILL NEVER FORGET AS PLAYERS AND IT'S A NIGHT THAT OUR FANS WILL NEVER FORGET."
"Thisis the kindof winthat hasa chanceto help a programtake the nextstep."
The late head coach's words proved prophetic as the Cowgirlswent on to matchthe programrecord for wins in a season and made just the second NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in school history. Additionally, the victory helped solidify OSU's position among the relevant programs on the national landscape.
Dave Hunziker. the radio play-byplay voice for the Cowboy basketball and football squads, observed what took place on the famed white maple floor that day and stillconsidersthecontestoneofhis favoritegamesandatmospheres,regardlessofsport,sincearrivinginStillwater.
The windfall from that contest was unlike anything the program had ever seen with media requests pouring in from well beyond the state's borders and an injection of pride from a fan base that had long been starved for success. CowgirlBasketballwas truly on the nationalradar.
With all that being said, the foundation for that memorable day was laid well in advance and came from the program's humble beginnings.
Cowgirl basketball didn't always play in one of the most historic settings in the country, but got its start in the anonymity of a bandbox-like gym in the school's recreation center.
"THISIS THEKIND OFWINTHATHAS A CHANCETO HELPA PROGRAM TAKETHE NEXTSTEP."
-KURT BUDKE
Fifteen full scholarships to fill out a squad were not always the norm, but rather two coveted scholarships valued at $500 apiece would find their way to a pair of deserving recipients.
The Cowgirl locker room wasn't a spacious structure with a film room, lounge area, therapy tubs and lockers fitted with leather seating, but instead a room suited more for teaching an American history class.
Followinggames,player were not alwaysgreeted b admiringfansawaitingphot opportunities or seekingautographs,butratherdustpansand broomsto cleanthe arenain whichtheyhadjustplayed. POSSE
PHOTO I GARYLAWSON
The most important game in program history may very well be one that doesn't even have a box score to document the outcome and is best recounted in a sixparagraph synopsis in the Daily O'Collegian, theschoolnewspape~
DEC.4,1975
For the first time since Gallagher-Iba Arena, then known as Gallagher Hall, opened in 1938, the women's team competed on its famed white maple floor on this date.
Details about the game are sketchy at best with two separate accounts listing two different attendances, 150 or 400. Take your pick, but to those that played that number was irrelevant considering the opportunity that lay before them.
"I can't tell you how excited we were to get to play there. That was a big, big deal to us. It was just fun to play," Terre Reese (now McDonald) said. "That was the ultimate thing for us. It was big time. I do remember Mr. Iba sitting over there and I said 'Oh my gosh, there he is."'
"We were just excited to be there and it was a fun time for everybody."
"I just remember coach (Dr. Jacy Showers) coming and talking to us and telling us we were going to be allowed to play in there. We were all excited and that was an exciting thing for women's basketball at OSU," said Donna Ridling (now
Yanda),who along with Reese were the proud holders of the program's two scholarships.
Like the record books, details about the game for those that played in it have faded over time, but the feeling of experiencing a college atmosphere remains vivid for Yanda.
"I KNOW THAT OUR LOCKER ROOM WAS A CLASSROOM TYPE. WE HAD TO GO UP INTO THE CORNER AND IT WAS LIKE A CLASSROOM-TYPE SETTING. WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR OWN LOCKER ROOM," she recalled.
"I don't remember a lot of specifics about the game, but I remember it being a very humbling experience being able to play there after playing in the Colvin Center. I felt like we had come a long way being able to play in Gallagher-Iba Arena."
Playing in the Colvin Center left a lot to be desired. Fan interest was at a minimum and a game day experience was nowhere to be found.
"We had been playing in that little box forever in the Colvin Center. There were two courts side-by-side in that little bitty box and they just put seats around the floor," McDonald said.
"The crowds were small. You felt very closed in. It wasn't a basketball setting for a game situation and you felt like you were practicing all of the time. It was a lot different than where I came from in high school," Yanda added.
Thatseason,the Cowgirls took the floor in Gallagher Hall three more times and madethe mostof eachopportunity, winningall four contests. In addition to the initial game against Northern Oklahoma, the Cowgirls dismantled Oklahoma, 76-36, six days later and went on to defeat Central State 59-48 and Northwestern (Okla.) State, 71-60.
"It was just an amazing experience to be able to play in that arena. I loved OSU and had always wanted to go to OSU. I just felt very honored and proud to be able to do that," said Yanda, who still holds the school's single-game scoring record with a 51-point outingthat came without the benefit of a 3-point line, and despite her sitting the game's final five minutes.
While many details remain hazy, three things are certain about that historic night The Cowgirls defeated Northern
Oklahoma College 67-47, Reese led all scorers with 20 points and the landscape of the OSU program was changed forever.
While that inaugural game did not draw front-page headlines, it served a far more important purpose in helping to legitimize the women's game.
WOW, I WAS ONE OF THE ONES THAT HELPED LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR WHERE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL IS TODAY."
"It makes me proud that I was there to do that."
Getting to play in Gallagher Hall also fell more in line with what Yanda hoped to receive from her college experience.
"I AMSOPROUD OFTHOSEGIRLS FORGETTING ASFARASTHEY HAVEANDDOING SOWELL."
- DONNAYANDA
"ItgaveusoptimismthatweweregettingsomewhereWe had more people that would come and we became a little more obvious to the general public and the students and faculty that we really were a team and we really did play games," Yanda explained.
With that said, it wasn't until later that Yanda recognized the long-term impact she and her teammates would have on the growth of the program.
"I don't think I realized it at the time, but I definitely know it now. As I got older and I as I saw women's basketball evolve and grow, I thought'
"I just played in the Colvin Center one year, but it wasn't what I expected from college basketball. When we got to play in Gallagher-Iba, that was more what I expected in playing college basketball." Yanda said.
"Of course, it was huge compared to where we were used to playing. I had played on big stages in high school as Terre had too and a lot of my other teammates, playing state tournaments and winning state tournaments and things like that. At the college level, we were more in awe of the situation."
Getting to play in Gallagher Hall did not come without a price tag as thebasketballteamwouldmorphintoa cleaningcrewfollowingeachgame.giving new meaning to the term garbage time.
"We're gonna sweep the place out after the games," McDonald said at the time. "After our first game, we were picking up the peanuts and popcorn the next day. It's ok though. We wanted to play there."
It is understandable if McDonald and Yanda get caught marveling at the changes that have occurred over the years considering they played in a time when the simplest items, such as shoelaces, were considered luxuries.
"We just thought it was funny that they thought it was a big deal to give us shoelaces," McDonald said.
HUMBLEBEGINNINGSINDEED.
"I am just amazed at how it has changed and you don't really think about it until you stop and really reflect on where I started and where it is today. If you weren't involved in it. you can see where
it has come, but they don't realize what we sacrificed to get to where these girls are today," Yanda said.
"It would be nice to have all the things they have now, but it makes me proud "
McDonald, Yanda and all of those that played during that era can take a sense of pride in knowing the wheels were set in motion for the current state of women's basketball during their playing days at OSU.
"We didn't know that it would become big time like it is now because they hadn't put any stock in women's basketball at all," McDonald said. "WE JUST THINK, 'CAN YOU BELIEVE IT IS LIKE THIS NOW?' If we would've had had all of that it would have been great."
"I am so proud of those girls for getting as far as they have and doing so well. I am glad they have progressed."
Fortunately for the program, these two trailblazers have been able to return to the place where. they made history to see first-hand the strides that have been made in the sport.
"I come back to as many games as I can and I enjoy it. I love the spirit. Women's basketball at OSU has reall put basketball on the map for the stat of Oklahoma and I am very proud to b a part of it," Yanda said.
"I THINK I GET ULTIMATE SATISFACTION. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE ABLE TO PLAY BASKETBALL AND TO HAVE THE TALENT AND ABILITY TO DO SO AND TO GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY AT OSU. IT IS MY ALMA MATER AND MY SCHOOL."
DaysandNights inGallagherHall
GENE JOHNSON
The dorm room. Kind of makes heat was provided - all the comforts you think back to your college days of home. The entry door opened to the - like BENNETT HALL, STOUT east into a long hallway that wound HALL or KERR-DRUMMOND - around the basketball arena. doesn't it? Well, a 'Dorm Room' located Next door was the training room, in Gallagher Hall was unique to a a hub of activity that smelled of rubspecial group of people, me included. bing ointment, Epsom Salt and sweaty Beginning in the early 1940s, this room athletes. That's where players from all housed two varsity basketball players up until 1969. sports received treatment for minor ailments, took steamy whirlpool baths
Named for long-time and legend- and got their ankles wrapped ary wrestling coach Ed Gallagher, Gallagher Hall was built as a high school 4-H building with funds ($15 million) approved by the state legislature. It just so happened, thanks to the foresight In the mid '40s, Bob 'Pee Wee' of Oklahoma A&M President Dr. Williams, who stood all of fiveHenry Bennett and basketball foot-two, and two-time All-American coach Henry Iba, the structure also Bob Kurland, who measured provided an excellent venue for bas- 7-feet, stayed in the dorm room. After ketball games and wrestling matches. graduating from Lawton High School, GALLAGHER HALL'S DOORS Williams hitched a ride to Stillwater OPENED IN 1938. That same year, seeking a trainer's job.
actor SPENCER TRACY won an "MR. IBA MUST HAVE LIKED Oscar for his role in Boys Town,Saudi ME BECAUSE HE OFFERED ME Arabia discovered oil, PRESIDENT A JOB," Williams said. "Best thing that FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT ever happened to me, besides my wife started the March of Dimes in an effort and kids. I did whatever they asked me to combat polio and the ball point pen to do - taped ankles, swept the floor, was introduced. washed practice gear, refereed scrim-
After watching several basketball mages. For football practices, I had to games in Gallagher Hall, the media have a bunch of quart jars full of water dubbed it the 'MadisonSquare • at all times. I loved every minute of it' Gardenof the Plains.' "Living there was great. I did most of Located on the west side of myworknextdoorinthetrainingroom. Gallagher Hall and just north of the At night the room was quiet. Kurland metal center doors was a spacious and I got along well and respected 14 foot x 20 foot ground floor dorm one another."
room. It was tiled and had one large Williams had the utmost respect window which opened to the west, for his famous roommate, which was providing a panoramic view of LEWIS based on a lot more than just Kurland's FIELD. Venetian blinds provided pri- basketball ability.
vacy. A private bath and shower were "Kurland absolutely was the just off the bedroom. Inside the main hardest worker on the team," he room were two single extra-long beds, said. "Also, he was brilliant, always the two somewhat gently battered wooden smartest guy in class, plus he didn't armoires and a plain dark brown oak think too highly of himself and was desk with access from two sides, allow- well-liked by his teammates. Super ing two students to"study at the same individual! :J time. No central air and only steam
"At times Mr. Iba got on Kurland stood up and hollered at me, telling me the outside. "I thought that was odd, hard, but he knew Bob could take it. what I was doing wrong. It started to didn't know if they were to keep us in He'd tell him, 'All-Americans don't loaf.' bother me. Finally, the next time down or others out," he laughed. Bob always hustled. I believe Mr. Iba the court, as I passed him, I said, 'Mr. "My favorite game in Gallagher was making an example to the rest Iba, would you please sit down and be was against Kansas," recalled Sheets. of the team. If he'd get on Kurland, quiet, I'm doing the best I can!' To my "CLYDE LOVELLETTE was their the rest of the players knew they'd surprise, he sat down." Bob laughed. big 6-9 All-American and supposbetter go all out.
"IN TOUGH GAMES, KURLAND WOULD HOLLER TO HIS TEAMMATES TO THROW edly the best player in the country. Mr. lba's strategy was for everyone to sink down on Lovellette, try to shut him down -didn't work too well. After
HIM THE BALL, EVEN WITH In the lgsos, Kansas City native about eight minutes, Mr. Iba called TWO OR THREE OPPONENTS Dale Roark lived in the dorm time out. KU led 10-0. Big Clyde had HANGING ON HIM, MORE room. scored all 10 points. OFTEN THAN NOT, HE'D MAKE SOMETHING GOOD HAPPEN!"
Last year I had the chance to interview the late Kurland by phone. Bobled theAggiesto back-tobackNCAAbasketballtitles('45 and'46)andstarredontwoIJ.S. Olympicgoldmedalteams.He is
"After I graduated from high school, '"Boys we're changing it up. I
me and a classmate each bought our- don't give a damn if Lovellette gets selves a bus ticket to Stillwater and 4 o points, we're going to press the tried out for the baseball team. After point, push them hard outside, and a rigorous day in 100-degree heat, clog their passing lanesi· both of us were selected," Roark said.
"It worked. We beat them. Mr. Iba was a genius!"
"When school started, Mr. Iba put me in that room in Gallagher Hall along an iconic figure in the history of col- with a basketball player, which was lege basketball. fine with me. It was quieter than the
"At the '52 games in regular dorms, plus it was next door Helsinki, I carried our flag to the training room and closer to my duringthe ceremonies,"recalled classes - there was nothing not to Kurland. "(That was) Quite a moment like about it." for me - 60,000 fans stood and When school started, Roark tried cheered. By far the biggest thrill I out for the basketball team. ever had."
"We had 125 guys that first day, On living in the Dorm Room, Roark said. "EverykidinOklahoma Kurland said, "I loved living in Gallagher whohadbeena starontheirlocal Hall. Pee Wee was a crackerjack, a lot highschoolteamwantedtoplay of fun and we were compatible." for Mr.Iba.The coaches picked 10 Scholarship athletes, in those of us to scrimmage while the rest ran days, had to work an hour a day, five up and down the stairs in the field-
I lived in the dorm room in the early 1960s. My roommate was 6-foot-4, 220-pound Pitt McGehee,from Ft. Smith, Arkansas. With sky blue eyes, short auburn hair and a perpetual broad grin, Pitt was an upbeat guy and a good roommate. On our third night in the field house, we decided to play some one-on-one - in other words, check out each other's game. One problem - the light box was locked. No problem. We played by days a week. house. After about 15-20 minutes, the light of the Longines clock located
"My job was sweeping th e gym they'd pick another 10 to scrimmage just above fan seating on the south floor," Kurla nd said. "I especially while everyone else kept pounding end. For some reason we played in enjoyed it on game day. As I swept the stairs. We'd do that for about our stocking feet. Each of us ruined a the floor, st udents began to arrive two hours and then run wind sprints. good pair of socks. Who won? I'd like an hour or more before game time, Guys were puking and dropping out to say I did, but I'm not sure I rememwhenever the doors opened, to save like flies. After a week or so, we were ber that far back. the best seats. I used a large oiled down to about a dozen players, just dust mop, about four feet long and 10 the right amount for a team."
About six weeks later, on our first cold night in the room just as Pitt inches wide. The students liked to talk Roark doesn't have a special and I got to sleep, we heard some to me. They kidded an9 encouraged memory of a particular game in loud clanging. It sounded as though me. I enjoyed their banter."
Gallagher Hall except to say, "I liked someone was trying to break into the Shifting gears, Kurland added, "One them all because no way were they building. Pitt jumped out of bed, "Get thing that did happen during a game going to be in a game as tough as up Big Daddy,,,he said,using in Gallagher Hall was out of character one of Mr. lba's practices! A game was the nicknamehe'dgivenme. for me. At that time I was still clumsy, almost like a day off!"
"Somebody'stryingto breakin. probably my sophomore year. We Kendall Sheets, Roark's Let'sget 'emf" :J were playing Kansas University and roommate, remembered that the dorm every time I ran by our bench, Mr. Iba room windows had bars on them to
Sleepily and somewhat reluctantly, while riding in a Dallas motorcade, was "I'd never seen girls play," recalled 1 climbed out of bed. shot. At this time we don't know the Smith.
Barefoot and clad only in our skiv- condition of the President. I repeat, "My favorite game was against vies, we peered out our door. We didn't the President has been shot. We will Colorado," he said. "The guy guardsee anything Pitt grabbed a baseball bring you more news as we receive it." ing me couldn't cover a slow turtle. bat that was in our room. We crept I was devastated. Somehow I got 29 points, mostly backslowly down the hallway that sur- My favorite game in Gallagher was door cuts. Normally it took me three rounded the basketball court. The my senior year before a packed house. games to score that much." intermittent clanging continued. At WEWHIPPEDKANSAS
INFOUROVER-
one point I caught a glimpse of the TIMES, a real nail-biter 1 Several of us Longines clock: 11:30p.m It crossed played the full 60 minutes, and we all my mind that I hoped these burglars slept well that night. didn't have guns.
Now we were on the other side of the fieldhouse, opposite our room, more than halfway around. There was still occasional clanging, but Cowboy basketball players Skip not as often. Then, without warning, Iba and Jack Heron lived in 11WHAMMM!"
"What was that?" I asked. Gallagher Hall for a year in the mid 1960's.
"In 7969, when the athletes moved into Iba Hall, the trainer's room was expanded and encompassed the former dorm room," said Dick Soergel, Athletic BusinessManager during the late 1960s.
Today the spacewhich made up the old Dorm Room has been absorbed "Our room!" Pitt answered as he took off running toward our room. I followed after him.
"Great place," recalled Iba. "No by the current Cowboy basketball noise and close to everything. Plus you didn't have to pay $5 to get into dressing room.
Convenience, quiet. sound sleep, Arriving at our room the door was an Allied Arts performance. You were laughter, camaraderie with teammates, closed. Pitt turned the door handle, already there, always got the best seats opportunity for mischief, smells from "Damn," he said, "it's locked!" since there was no reserve seating. I the training room, Mr. lba's booming I sighed. "Holy moly!" remember seeing Bob Hope and the baritone voice shouting instructions, After evaluating our options, we Smothers Brothers. Great shows." shooting the ball in the wee hours of decided to spend the night with the Heron echoed Skip's sentiments. the morning, getting locked out. free stadium rats, the nickname given to six "Also," he remembered, "if J couldn't allied arts performances, spectacular basketball players who resided under- sleep, I'd go into the gym, turn on the ball games - blood, sweat and tears neath the north football stadium. There, lights and shoot a few baskets. One left on the court, the thrill of victory teammate Paul Labrue located night I'm shooting free throws, about and agony of defeat. making lifelong two old mattresses and furnished two in the morning. 1hear someone friends - all describe experiences of Pitt and I each a clean Army blanket. walk in. Darn if it's not track coach those who once inhabited the dorm The scratchy blanket was a bit short. Ralph Higgins, who had been room. NowthoseSO long ago When it covered my size 14 feet, my upstairs in his office. He wants to cherishedeventsarebutfading bare chest got cold, and if my chest shoot me a game of H-0-R-S-E! 1won, memories. was protected, my feet froze.
Themysteriousrattlingnoise?
Early that evening the custodian had turned on the steam heat to warm the fieldhouse. The warming pipes caused expansion, resulting in their bumping each other.
On a sunny chilly November day but barely. For an older guy he could shoot the ball!"
In 1968, Rick Cooper and Joe Smith were the last round-ballers to occupy the dorm room. The next year, Rick and Joe moved to Iba Hall, a new athletic dorm that housed scholarship athletes and is still located across in 1963, I was resting on my bed after the street from Kerr Residential Hall. returning to the dorm room from lunch. "SHOOTING BASKETS I turned on my white clock radio to WHENEVER I WANTED WAS my favorite rock n' roll station as Roy A TREAT," Smith said. Orbison belted out 'Pretty Woman.' One afternoon Cooper and Smith Suddenly the music stopped. were shooting hoops when two mem"We break into our regular program bers of the recently formed OSUwornto bring you this news bulletin Shortly en's basketball teqm showed up to after 12p.m. today President Kennedy, shoot baskets.
Undoubtedly, there will never be another dorm room, where 50 years hence,a story could be written, reliving fond memories from its past occupants.
I think I speakfor allpastdormroom residentswhen I saythereisnoother placewewouldhave chosentolive!
PHOTO I GARYLAWSON
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In 1958, L.C. Gordon became the first AfricanAmerican basketball player at OSU. It was a long waymore than 400 miles - from the courts of Memphis, Tenn., where he grew up, to Stillwater. It was even further mentally, but as the civilrights movement progressed, Gordon adjusted to the new atmosphere and learned what it was like to be a leader.
TheFirS
Although he faced many hardships on and off the court, Gordon focused on one thing: his love for the game. For two years, he was the only African-American man hustling up and down the court in Gal Jagher Hall. But the knowledge he and teammate Eddie Sutton learned under legendary OSU coach Henry Iba ensured his future •success.
Gordon earned a bachelor's in secondary education from OSU in 1961. He would go on to receivetwo master's degrees from other schools and become a successful high school and college coach. He was head coach at TEXASSOUTHERNUNIVERSITY from 1969 to 1973_
He has returned to his roots in Memphis, but he has never lost sight of his days at OSU. The Alumni Association's Kristen McCon naughey recently caught up with Gordon, who had a significant role in the recent formation of the Memphis Chapter of the OSU Alumni Association.
OUR BOOKSAND STAY OOL,AND YOU WILL OMEBODYSOMEDAY."
- COACHHENRY/BA
degree for life. I retired from coaching and teaching with a B.S. and two master's degrees
QUESTION: What is your first memory of playing basketball?
LCG: My first memory of playing basketball was for a school named PORTER GRAMMARSCHOOL in Memphis. Tenn. We had no gym to practice or play games. We had to walk about five miles to the famous Beale Street Auditorium to practice and play games. I wonder if players would love the game that much today.
Q: How did you come to attend OSU?
Q: What was it like relocating from Memphis to Stillwater?
LCG: Relocating to Stillwater from Memphis was different in that Stillwater was a small town with friendly people. and Memphis was a big city with world-famous barbecue.
Q: If you could describe your experience at OSU in one word, what would it be?
LCG: Great.
Q: What struggles did you face being the first AfricanAmerican basketball player at OSU?
LCG: I was a high scoring and great defensive basketball player at BOOKERT.WASHINGTON HIGHSCHOOLMEMPHISSTATE UNIVERSITY (now the University of Memphis) had a coach named BOB VANITTA, who recruited me for Oklahoma State. He told me coach Henry Iba at OSU was looking to integrate the basketball program. but the player must be able to play defense and be a good person. That got my attention because I was both and would get a chance to play for the legendary coach Iba. Memphis had not integrated its basketball program at the time.
LCG: There were a few struggles being the first African-American basketball player at OSU, but not any different from any other college, university or the workplace in my opinion. FOR TWO YEARS, I WAS THE ONLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN BASKETBALL PLAYER ON THE TEAM, and after many games I went back to the dorm (Bennett Hall) to study since I was not invited to the social activities. This was OK because I remembered coach Iba saying, "Get your books and stay in school, and you will be somebody someday." On the road games. I would hear namecalling, but I ignored it and kept my eyes on the prize. an OSU
Q: Were you treated differently on and off the basketball court?
LCG: MY TREATMENT AT OSU, ON AND OFF THE COURT, WAS AND REMAINS WITHOUT REGRETS. My only hope is that the African-American players and all alumni will know L.C. Gordon was the trailblazer who stayed out of trouble, represented the university well and made it easier for AfricanAmericans to be recruited today. Lastly, I WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE OSU HALL OF FAME.
Q: How did coac;:h Iba view the impact of AfricanAmerican players in basketball? How did he affect you as a player?
LCG: Coach Iba realized the time had come to recruit African-American players in order to compete in the conference. He taught all players to be men, take care of your family and play basketball hard. He also recognized he had to get use to the AfricanAmerican players· style of play, and the players had to get used to his demands.
Q: What was it like playing with Eddie Sutton when you were a freshman and he was a senior?
LCG: TO PLAY WITH EDDIE SUTTON WAS FUN BECAUSE HE LOVED TO SHOOT, AND I LOVED TO PLAY DEFENSE. I also got a chance to play against players like OSCAR ROBERTSON and JERRY WEST. DEFENSE IS HARD WORK - AND FUN.
Q: In your opinion, what was the most important characteristic your team had?
LCG: I would characterize our team as one whose members respected each other and the coaches who coached us. coach Iba and Sam Aubrey.
Q: Did you adopt any of coach lba's techniques when you began coaching basketball?
LCG: When I began coaching, I employed the Hank Iba defensive techniques and was very successful winning championships in high school and colleg·e. Racial barriers are (fewer) today, and the understanding is better as more players are participating in all sports.
aQ: You played a significa role in starting the MEMPHI OSUALUMNICHAPTER.Why and how do you enjoy staying connected to OSU?
LCG: As far as the Memphis OSU Alumni Chapter is concerned. I will help in any way needed or asked because mylove for OSUis for life.
OSUWrestling - White JacketClub / RayMurphy EndowedWrestling Scholarship
OSUWrestling - White JacketClub/Tommy ChesbroEndowed WrestlingScholarship TheCobbFamily
PHOTO I BRUCEWATERFIELD
Feb.2, 1992
HMOklahomaState 8(1Missouri61
As the first game between two top-10 teams in Gallagher-Iba Arena in nearly 35 years, it was anticipated as one of the most exciting of the season. It ended up as a yawner as the third-ranked Cowboys manhandled No. 8 Missouri, 84-61. The win improved Oklahoma State to 20-0, which was and still is the best start to a season in school history, as well as the best start by any team in Big Eight basketball history. Corey Williams scored 22 points and
Marchl, 200(.
Byron Houston added 79 for the Pokes. OKLAHOMASTATESHOT 62.7 PERCENTFROMTHEFLOORdespite playing against one of the top defenses in the country.
"AGAINST A QUALITY TEAM, WE PLAYED PROBABLY AS WELL AS WE'VE PLAYED," Coach Sutton said following the game. "I thought it was a very impressive performance defensively. (Corey Williams and Cornell Hatcher) did a sensational job on one of the premier guards (Mizzou's Anthony Peeler) in college basketball."
HMOklahomaState 76 Texas 67
For the first time in 50 years, Oklahoma State clinched a conference championship on its home floor as the EIGHTH-RANKED COWBOYSDEFEATEDNO. 10 TEXAS,76-67. It led to OSU's first Big 12 title, and the Cowboys' first outright conference championship in nearly four decades. Joey Graham scored a game-high 20 points, including an alleyoop slam in the waning moments on a lob by John Lucas, who had seven assists. Oklahoma State outrebounded the Longhorns 36-25, including eight by Tony Allen, who also had 19 points.
"AS COACHES, THE ONLY THING ALL OF US SHOOT FOR IS FOR YOUR TEAM TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GOD-GIVEN TALENT," Coach Sutton said after the win. "These guys have certainly done that. When your team does that, you're very, very proud."
Feb.7,2000
10
OklahomaState 86 Kansas53
What started out as a game between two top-20 teams resulted in the secondlargest blowout in the series' 90-year history THE 14TH-RANKEDOKLAHOMASTATECOWBOYS
HAMMEREDTHE NO. 20 KANSASJAYHAWKS,86-53 behind a game-high 31 points by Desmond Mason. The Cowboy senior was 10-of-14 from the floor, including a schoolrecord 5-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc. Two of his four misses were dunks. He missed on a whirlybird breakaway and an alley-oop pass from Doug Gottlieb, who finished with eight
assists. It was OSU's second-straight impressive victory after 11 players shaved their heads.
"We played a little over our heads tonight," Coach Sutton said after the contest. "YOU PLAY LIKE THAT, YOU CAN PLAY WITH MOST PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY. OUR DEFENSE WAS OUTSTANDING. THAT WAS REALLY THE KEY. IT WAS JUST A GOOD TEAM VICTORY. DESMOND HAD A TREMENDOUS GAME. HE SHOWED WHY HE'S ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL." :J POSSE
Feb.13t2002
OklahomaState 79 Oklahoma72
THE200THEDITIONOFBEDLAMBECAMEAN INSTANTCLASSIC.The Cowboys were reeling from three losses in their previous four games. The Sooners were ranked No. 4 in the country and smelled blood with Maurice Baker, OSU's leading scorer, out for the second-consecutive game with a severely sprained ankle. The result was anything but expected. The Cowboy starters scored all but three of OSU's points, led by Ivan McFarlin's career-high 22 on 8-of-11 shooting and a
Jan. 13t2003
perfect 6-of-6 from the line. The Pokes scored on nine-straight possessions in the overtime period, producing a game-deciding 10-0 run.
"IF WE PLAY LIKE THAT, WE CAN PLAY WITH MOST PEOPLE," Coach Sutton said following the game. "The pleasing thing is they proved they're a pretty good basketball team even when Mo (Baker) is not out there. But, we had a hard time convincing those guys."
OklahomaState 48 Oklahoma46
The next Bedlam matchup was just as intense as the previous game between OSU and OU. The 24th-ranked Cowboys held No. 5 Oklahoma 30 points below its season scoring average and forced the Sooners into a defensive battle with a 48-46 "Victor-y". The highlight of the game was a baseline jumper from Victor Williams with 3.6 seconds remaining in the game as the shot-clock expired. But it was defense that won the game for Oklahoma State. OU's HOLLIS PRICE and EBE ERE came into the game averaging nearly 37 points as a duo, but were limited to just six points apiece. Melvin Sanders hounded Price and Tony Allen shadowed Ere as the pair combined to shoot just 4-of-24 from the floor.
"THERE'S NO ONE ON OUR TEAM l'D RATHER HAVE TO GO TO THE LINE OR TAKE THE LAST SHOT THAN VICTOR," Coach Sutton said in the postgame press conference. "He's a gutty little guy. He's always got the green light. Victor and Melvin have been here long enough to know how important this game is."
Feb.6tl995
OklahomaState 79 Kansas69
It was an eye-opening performance Bryant "Big Country" Reeves SCORED 33POINTSANOGRABBED20REBOUNDSAGAINSTTHESECOND-RANKEDTEAMINTHENATION, as the 24th-ranked Cowboys defeated No. 2 Kansas, 79-69. The best game of Reeves' career came in the biggest game of the Big Eight basketball season, and it was the first time in school history that any player had a 30/20 game. Even DICK VITALE was in attendance to witness the performance first hand. Reeves got his points from the floor (he was 10-of-15 from the field), but also at the charity stripe. In fact. he had more free-throws made (13) than the entire Jayhawk squad attempted (10).
''l'M NOT SURE l'D EVER SEEN HIM PLAY BETTER," said Coach Sutton after the game. "IT WAS AN ALL-AMERICAN PERFORMANCE. HE CERTAINLY OPENED UP SOME EYES ACRqss THE COUNTRY THAT NIGHT."
Feb.8tl992
OklahomaState 64 Kansas 56
IT WASA BATTLEOFCONFERENCEAND NATIONALHEAVYWEIGHTS, as the thirdranked Kansas Jayhawks visited Stillwater to face the No. 2 Cowboys. KU had won road games at Missouri, Oklahoma and Colorado, and had a decided height advantage over OSU's guard-heavy squad. However, it was those guards who took it to the 'Hawks and pulled off the victory. Sean Sutton scored a team-high 16 points while Corey Williams added 11and Darwyn Alexander chipped in eight. Despite cutting a 17-point deficit down to six, KU was unable to overcome the Pokes. Byron
Feb.St2001
Houston scored 14 points, but was in early foul trouble and played just 23 minutes. The most telling statistic, however, was probably Kansas' free-throw shooting. The Jayhawks made just 7-of23 shots from the line, an all-time low by an OSU opponent with at least 20 attempts.
"I THINK WE REALIZED IT WAS A MUST-WIN SITUATION," said Coach Sutton after the game. "Let's face it, if they (the Jayhawks) had won here, it (the Big Eight Conference race) would have been over. It wasn't a pretty game, but I told my coaches about 10 minutes into the ballgame, I had never coached in a game with as much intensity. You couldn't even get a shot off, and it never slacked off."
OklahomaState 69 Missouri66
NEITHERTEAMWASRANKED.They had combined for 10 losses before the game had even started. But, in what can be considered the MOSTEMOTIONALGAMEEVERPLAYED INSIDEGALLAGHER-IBAARENA,osu came together and cheered. Nine days after the plane crash that took the lives of 10 men associated with the Cowboy Basketball program, OSU's young squad played the game of their lives. Forget the fact that the Cowboys defeated Missouri 69-66. THISGAMEWAS ABOUTREMEMBRANCEANDOVERCOMINGTRAGEDY. An arena full to capacity supported the Pokes like never before, cheering them on to victory. Fredrik Janzen had a career-high 26 points, and Melvin Sanders stole a MU inbounds pass with 3.4 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Jan. 16t2007
After the game, Coach Sutton applauded the fans saying, "The crowd was magnificent. They played the part of the sixth man and certainly they should be given a letter jacket for what they helped us do tonight. I don't think I've heard it any louder than when Terrence (Crawford) dunked that ball."
Sitting down for an interview in October of 2013, Coach Sutton recalled, "THAT WAS REALLY AN IMPORTANT GAME, BECAUSE EMOTIONALLY, IT HAD TAKEN SO MUCH OUT OF THE PLAYERS AND COACHES. I THOUGHT, 'BOY IF WE COULD WIN THIS GAME, THAT WOULD REALLY HELP US, BUT IT WOULD ALSO HELP ALL THE FANS AND THE STUDENTS. WE ENDED UP WINNING THE GAME, AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT GAME TO GET US BACK ON TRACK."
OklahomaState 105Texas 103(tripleovertime)
OK, so we said this would be Coach Sutton's list of top games in which he either played or coached. But, he simply could not omit ONEOFTHEGREATESTGAMESEVERPLAYEDIN GALLAGHER-IBAARENA,and he was present for the game, so we'll count it.
In a game for the ages, Mario Boggan went toeto-toe with future No. 1 NBA draft pick in the country in KEVIN DURANT. Boggan
finished with 37 points and 20 rebounds, just the second 30!p!~~=:::;-:i
game in school history. Durant scored 37 as well, but too shots from the floor to match it. The game featured everything, including Byron Eaton's falling-out-of-bounds-heave at the end of the shot clock that miraculously went through the net. It also included THREEOVERTIMES, with seven hoopsters playing at least 50 minutes in the contest. With so many storylines, it's hard to point them all out. Jameson Curry scored 28 points, just the third-most in the game, and grabbed nine rebounds. More from Boggan's stat line included a 10-of-13 performance from the line, 10 offensive rebounds and four blocked shots.
"That was a terrific game, just back and forth," Coach Sutton said recently. "(KEVIN) DURANT WOULD HIT A SHOT, THEN WE'D COME BACK AND HIT A SHOT. THAT WAS AMAZING, THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY ABOUT THAT GAME." :J POSSE
Feb.24t 1993
OklahomaState 77 Missouri73 cavertimeJ
For most Cowboy Basketball fans, Bryant Reeves' half-court heave against Missouri to send the game into overtime is one of the most memorable, ranking right up there with Eddie "Halfcourt" Hannon's bomb against Louisville in 1980. OSU was on a three-game winning streak, and a loss on the Cowboys' homecourt would not help their chances at an NCAA Tournament bid.
Here is Coach Sutton's recollection of that play more than 20 years later:
"I REMEMBER NORM (STEWART, MISSOURI'S HEAD COACH) STANDING OUT THERE ON THE COURT YELLING, 'FOUL! FOUL!', BECAUSE THEY HAD A THREEPOINT LEAD. THEY (MISSOURI'S PLAYERS) EVIDENTLY WEREN'T LISTENING.
"We had set up a play where you take the ball out of bounds, and we had Country back at the free-throw line, and I think we had Randy (Rutherford) and Brooks (Thompson) on each wing We had (Milton) Brown throwing the ball in. The whole idea was for him (Country) to start on the free-throw line, set the defensive man up, and run as hard as he could to the top of the circle. Defensively, they did a good job, and he had to go almost to mid-court.
Jan. 6tl958
"We threw the ball in, and the idea was to hit him, and let Brooks and Randy run down the sidelines, and he was going to flip the ball over to one of them and let them take the shot from the three-point line. But, it ended up, when they threw him the ball, he kinda muffed it a little bit, and then he turned around and shot it. I looked down there at Norm; he was so mad."
NOTONLYWASITAHALF-COURT SHOTBYASEVEN-FOOTER,ITWAS A HIGH-ARCHINGSHOTTHATBANKED INOFFTHEBACKBOARD.Almost immediately after the ball left his hands, Country put both arms up in the air as if to count the basket before it went in. The Cowboys went on to defeat the Tigers, 77-73, in OT
OklahomaState 61Cincinnati57
INAGAMEOFTOP-10TEAMS,and despite a 29-point performance by one of the greatest players of all time, Oklahoma State took advantage of its strength at the charity stripe and defeated Cincinnati, 61-57.Oscar Robertson scored 17 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, but the Bearcats fell despite a 28-20 lead late in the first period.
"Oscar (Robertson) only came here one time. We beat them here, and they beat us at Cincinnati. We went into the NCAA tournament as an independent, even though we played a Missouri Valley schedule. They (the Bearcats) ended up winning the Missouri
Va~ey, Ark_ansas won the Southwest Conference, and K-State was the best team in the country, and they won the Big Seven.
.____ W-'-'-'e-e.nded up in the regional (together) at Allen Fieldhouse."
Arlen Clark led the Pokes with 22 points, including a 12-of14 outing at the line, and Jerry Hale recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"We had Jerry Hale and Joe Crutchfield cover Oscar most of the time, but he was a terrific player," Sutton said recently. "PEOPLE OFTEN ASK ME, 'IF YOU HAD TO PICK AN ALL-TIME TEAM', WELL, HE WOULD BE ONE OF THE GUARDS. HE COULD SCORE OUT ON THE FLOOR, HE COULD POST UP, HE WAS JUST A TERRIFIC BASKETBALL PLAYER. WE COULDN'T STOP HIM. WE HELPED OUT ON HIM, BUT WE COULDN'T STOP HIM."
OSU never trailed after Joe Crutchfield's 15-foot jumper broke a 33-33 tie with 14:15remaining in the game. Five times after that, Cincinnati pulled within a single point. The Cowboys made just one field goal in the final eight minutes, but were 13-of-16 on free throws down the stretch
"Barry Switzer once told me, 'I saw you play your last college basketball game.' When he was at Arkansas, he and a buddy hitchhiked from Fayetteville to Lawrence to support the Razorbacks (in the regional). But, he said, he really wanted to go up there so he could see Oscar Robertson play. They didn't have games on television back in.those days. But he'd heard so much about him."
DECEMBER2013
Feb.2lt 1957
OklahomaState 56 Kansas54
INONEOFTHEBIGGESTUPSETSINOKLAHOMA STATEBASKETBALLHISTORY, the Pokes stunned WILT CHAMBERLAIN and second-ranked Kansas 56-54 on a shot just before the final buzzer sounded. Sutton was instrumental in the victory, scoring a game-high 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor.
"KANSAS WAS NO. 1 IN THE COUNTRY, AND THAT WAS ALWAYS A BIG RIVALRY. EVEN THOUGH WE WEREN'T IN THE SAME CONFERENCE AT THAT TIME, WE ALWAYS PLAYED TWO GAMES WHEN I WAS PLAYING. THERE WAS A LOT OF PUBLICITY FOR THAT GAME, WITH WILT (CHAMBERLAIN) COMING TO TOWN."
Chamberlain finished the game with 32 points and 14 rebounds, but Ron Loneski was the only other Jayhawk to score more than four points with 12.
"In the first half, they were up eight or nine points on us, and at halftime, Mr.Iha made an adjustment defensively. Instead of playing his normal defense (man-to-man), he wanted us to really pack it in there. All the perimeter players started pushing out further, which made him (Chamberlain) go to the free-throw line to receive the ball. Well. he wasn't nearly as good that far out. We got back in the game, and then it was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way."
Since that game preceded the advent of the shot clock, Mr. Iba taught the Aggies to be excellent ball handlers, so they could pass the ball around effortlessly and without a turnover.
"We held the ball for about four minutes, and as the game clock ticked down, Mr. Iba wanted either Mel Wright or myself to get the shot. We were running motion, and he (Wright) was at the top of the circle with one second to go, so he shot and hit the bucket. At that time, I don't think anybody was racing onto the court, but THESTUDENTSWEREOUTTHERE,PICKINGPLAYERSUP,ANDITWASWILD. 1 don't think there would be a president today that would have the courage to call off school the next day, but that's what they did."
"AT THAT TIME, AND THAT WAS BEFORE THEY RENOVATED IT, THE ARENA WOULD ONLY HOLD ABOUT 9,000 PEOPLE. WHEN I CAME BACK HERE (TO COACH IN 1990), I WAS GOING AROUND THE STATE SPEAKING. IF ALL THE GUYS AND GALS WHO TOLD ME THEY WERE THERE (WHO WITNESSED THE GAME THAT NIGHT), THERE HAD TO BE 40,000 PEOPLE AT THAT GAME."
As Oklahoma State University celebrates the 7STH ANNIVERSARY OF GALLAGHERIBA ARENA, one of its most storied athletes looks back on his days in Stillwater.
In the fall of 1936, Oklahoma A&M sophomore STANLEY HENSON was being sized up by head wrestling coach EDWARD C. GALLAGHER. (NCAA rules at the time prohibited freshmen from competing, and the rangy two-time state champion from Tulsa was finally getting his chance to compete for the top collegiate program in the country.)
''At the beginning of that year - my first year - MR. GALLAGHER TOOK ME IN AND PUT ME ON THE SCALES," Henson says. "I WEIGHED 143 POUNDS." IT WASN'T THE NUMBER GALLAGHER WAS HOPING FOR.
"I remember that very well, because he looked a little disappointed," Hanson recalls. "He said, Tm sorry. I wanted to use you at 155so I could use Dale Scriven at 145.' l said, "COACH, I CAN WRESTLE 155. I CAN HANDLE THAT WEIGHT. l'LL BE GLAD TO."
Gallagher, the patriarch of the most decorated wrestling program in NCAA history, acquiesced.
"I DIDN'T TRY TO PUT ON WEIGHT OR TAKE IT OFF, EITHER. I JUST WRESTLED, YOU KNOW. THAT WAS MY WEIGHT. I WAS A LIGHT 145-POUNDER, REALLY."
Despite giving up 12 pounds on the competition, Henson more than handled the 155-pound weight class that season. In fact, he dominated. The only setback was a brawny grappler from the University of Oklahoma named BILL KEAS.
"Bill Keas was a big, tough, muscular guy. The first time he and I wrestled was down at OU," Henson says. "It went to extension period, and be bad more riding time than I did, so he won that match. The next week Mr. Gallagher called me in and said, 'Well, I thought you were a 155 pounder, but I think you're 145. You'd better wrestle 145 from now on.'
"Then it was my period down, the last period. I remember he got down on my left side, and I just did a sit-out, a turnover, and he had about two seconds time advantage on me and I had all three minutes on him. So I won that match.
"The shoulder bothered me on occasion from then on, but I never stopped a match," he adds.
"I said, 'Coach, I told you at the beginning of the year I'd wrestle anywhere you want me to, but with one exception. I want Bill Keas again when they come up here. I want to stay at 155.' And I did. I wrestled him there in the old gym (OAMC ARMORYANDGYMNASIUM,NOWTHEDONALD W.REYNOLDSSCHOOLOFARCHITECTURE)."
Determined to avenge his loss, Henson went on the offensive.
"I remember I just decided I had to do something to win that damn match, and just grabbed old Bill and did what I call a whipover and just whipped him right over on his back but in doing so, I dislocated my left shoulder."
Time was called as Henson was being treated.
"It hurts like hell when it's out," Henson says, vividly recalling his injury. "I remember that match so well, I can even feel what went on. I can feel it They reduced my shoulder, and when it's back in it's kind of tolerable. So I felt pretty good. I kind of figured th is was the last shot! was going to get at Bill Keas, and I didn't want to lose this match, so I asked coach ifI couldn't continue. He said ifI thought I could, go ahead and do it. So we started again.
"I didn't think I could take him down again, so I knew that I had to ride him. He won the toss and chose to take down in his period, and I just rode him as tight as I could. I kept him just smothered the whole match.
Two weeks later, Henson won the 1937 NCAA title at 145 pounds, while Keas took the 155 crown. Hensonwas namedthe tournament'sOutstanding Wrestler,helpingGallagher'ssquadwin its eighthteamtitle. Hensonwouldgoonto wintwomore individualtitles,withtheBedlambout beinghisonlycareerdefeat.
"I ALWAYSSAID,AFTER I LOSTTHAT MATCHTOBILLKEAS, I NEVERSPOKETO THOSEDAMNGUYSFROM011ANYMORE THAT'S-NOTTRUEOF COURSE,THEY WEREFINE WRESTLERS."
"My older brother KENNETH wen~ OU, but he didn't wrestle," Henson s .
"I always said, after I lost that match to Bill Keas, I never spoke to those damn guys from OU anymore That's not true of course, they were fine wrestlers, and I knew all of 'em well, but we used to kid about that a little bit.
"We had the rivalry in wrestling, had it in football, in everything. We still do, and that's good. That's good for both teams, I think." fiJ
CAMPUSCOURTING
It was in Stillwater where Henson met the love of his life: Thelma Burnell, from Yale, Okla.
"Her brother, Howard, was a wrestler and my roommate at the Sigma Chi house," he says. "She was a Theta."
For young couples, Henson says the popular hangout of the day was SWIM'S CAMPUSSHOP,located just across the street from the fire station.
"Let me tell you, we didn't have many dates - we didn't have any money," he laughs. "But at Swim's you could get a milkshake for 10 cents, you could get a hamburger for 10 cents, you could get a lot of other things for 5 cents so we'd have a whole weekend and the whole thing would cost about a dollar and a half. It's not like that now."
"Thelma and I talked about getting married, but we really hadn't made any plans for it," he recalls. "I was working in the oilfield at the time on one of my dad's crews. I was a derrick man, hanging that steel together. That's how I got through school, working in my dad's crews in the summertime.
"I was working somewhere up around Pawnee, and Howard and his girlfriend drove by and said they were going to go over and get married and keep it a secret. They thought that was a good idea. Well, that sounded like a pretty good idea to me, too. So I took off my overalls, and we went with them over to Noel, Missouri. It's just a beautiful little mountain town in the Ozarks. We found an old retired Presbyterian preacher to marry us, and ,==~~tood up for Howard and Lucille, and
e stood up for us. We spent the night
~=:m1wlittle motel there somewhere by Noel. They dropped me offthe next day the same place they picked me up. I was back in my overalls the next day working."
Theirelopementwasn'ta secretfor long,hesays.
"We didn't tell anyone for a while, and my dad, when I remember taking Thelma in saying, 'This is your new daughter-inlaw,' said, 'Well, I'm not surprised.' He had called that night to see how the work was going, and they had to make excuses because I wasn't there."
GALLAGHER'SHALL
While Gallagher was forging a dynasty on the mat, OAMC athletic director and basketball coach Henry P. Iba was overseeing construction on the 4-H Club and Student Activity Building (named to help garner funding from the state legislature).
"I knew Mr. Iba real well," Henson says. "I thought he was wonderful. He was a wonderful man, just like Mr. Gallagher."
At a cost of nearly half-a-million dollars and featuring more than 5,000 theaterstyle seats and air conditioning, contractors dubbed the grand arena the "MADISON SQUAREGARDENOFTHEPLAINS."Somecalled it "IBA'SFOLLY,"predicting the arena would never be filled to capacity. Most simply referred to it as "GALLAGHERHALL."
Henson recalls the need for a larger, modernized facility.
"MY FIRST TWO YEARS WE WRESTLED IN WHAT BECAME THE WOM• EN'S GYM," he says. "That was a smaller building, and that place would just be stuffed with every wrestling mat. There wasn't a place to stand or sit or anything in that little gymnasium. There was a running track on the second floor above the arena, and people would be sitting on that all the way around the wrestling room and so that made it a pretty intimate ~rest! ing atmosphere. After we left it, we went to Gallagher Hall. We were pretty proud of it."
As a captain his senior year, Henson recalls the new building's dedication in honor of their beloved coach, who by then was suffering from the latter stages of Parkinson's disease. "GallagherDay" was heldFebruary3, 1939.
"We wrestled Indiana that night for the dedication. As I recall, we filled it that night. I remember all those matches, but I remember that match in particular. That was my last year, and I happened to be captain of the team. I was asked to present Mrs. Gallagher with a bouquet of yellow roses. SHE WAS A VERY GRACIOUS LADY."
EdGallagherwouldpassawayjusta year-and-a-halflaterwhileonvacation in Colorado.Hewas54.
"HE WAS A SWEET AND GENTLE LITTLE IRISHMAN," HENSON SAYS. "THAT KIND OF DESCRIBES HIM ENTIRELY. All the time I knew him, he was an invalid. He had Parkinson ism, as you know, so bad that his hands shook. During a match he'd sit on his hands to just keep them quiet.
"But be was a great athlete when he was in his prime. He told me he used to lie down on the starting line of a 100-yard dash on his back, and his opponent was ready to run. When the gun went off, he could turn over with his right leg up and got started and said he could lose no mo~e than a stride. And then be would catch h 1s opponent and win the race.
"The other thing he used to tell me was that he could stand on a hard wood floor and turn a back flip just as easy as a lot of men got out of a chair. Those skills were long gone when I knew him. He was an invalid all the time. But that didn't detract from his ability to motivate people."
HensonrecallsGallagher'sunique coachingstyle.
"There was a fella we had on the team who was a muscular kid, about my weight. At tryout matches, I pinned him with a head scissor, which is illegal now and ought to be, because it's pretty hazardous. Mr. Gallagher told me, he said, 'Now I don't want you to use that on him anymore because you don't need to in order to win.' The next time I wrestled him, I pinned him with something else. And Mr. Gallagher told me the same thing. 'I don't want you to use that anymore.' Then it was another hold. Well, hell, he took away so many of my moves that I had to develop something new to make it work. I had to do something different it seemed like every week."
At Tulsa (Central) High School,Henson had wrestled for Art Griffith,a Gallagher protege who would go on to succeed his mentor at OAMC in 1941.
"THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT, THOSE WERE THE TWO GREATEST COACHES IN THE WHOLE WORLD," HE SAYS. "BUT THEY WERE DIFFERENT. COACH GRIFFITH'S CONTRIBUTION TO ME WAS DISCIPLINE. It was discipline to train, discipline to work hard, discipline to do everything. Art Griffith was the best in the world at that, and he really went over the technique of wrestling a whole lot more than Mr. Gallagher did. When I was there, Mr. Gallagher would get us all together early on in the year and go over various maneuvers, and then we'd walk through that a time or two without any resistance. Then we'd add a little resistance until you got the thing ingrained in your mind. And wrestling became a reflex. I talk about that a lot. WRESTLING HAS TO BE A REFLEX. IF YOU HAVE TO THINK WHAT TO DO YOU'RE ONE STEP BEHIND. IF YOU HAVE TO THINK WHAT YOUR COACH WANTS YOU TO DO, YOU'RE TWO STEPS BEHIND. AND SO YOU HAVE TO DO IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL IT BECOMES A REFLEX."
Gallagher's influence in the sport reached far and wide, Henson says.
"All the coaches knew him, all over the country. They all admired him and respected him. They'd come to Stillwater and spend time with him to learn from him. We'd go to a national tournament and there would always be one or two kids there that had gone there by themselves, and their coach wasn't with them, and they'd come talk to Mr. Gallagher, and he'd come in and treat 'em just like he would his own boys. He was such as wonderful man.
Former Cowboy wrestlers permeated the coaching ranks across Oklahoma and in colleges throughout the country.
"Mr. Gallagher was kind of a center and his wrestlers went out into the high schools all over the state and coached, just like Mr. Griffith who had graduated with an advanced degree from OklahomaA&M before I knew him."
ALIFEOFSERVICE
It was a former OSU wrestler coaching at the United States Naval Academy who influenced the next chapter in Henson's life. Although he was a civil engineering student at OAMC, Henson became interested in pursing a medical career.
"Ray Schwartz had been our assistant coach under Mr. Gallagher when he got that job at the Naval Academy. He wanted me to come up and be his assistant. He thought I could do that and go to medical school. Mr. Gallagher's son, CLARENCE, was a doctor in Oklahoma City, and he's the one that kind of got me interested in medicine."
Hensontooktheassistantcoaching jobat theNavalAcademy,despitebeing a fewhoursshortofgraduating.
"I didn't reallyfeel like I needed a degree," he admits, "although I did enroll in St. John's Collegethere in Annapolis there for a year while I was coaching there."
Before he could pursue medical school, the United States became involved in World War II.
"The war started when I was there, so I applied for a commission and went to sea."
He served as a gunner for two-and-ahalf years on the USSSANFRANCISCO(CA38), a heavy cruiser that saw significant combat in the Pacific.
"We handled the 5-inch/25 (caliber) guns on the starb,oard side. That was my battle station. We had kamikazes corning in at us at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Every morning and every afternoon we were shooting at 'em.
"Thelma had gone back to Yaleand uc finishing her degree in Stillwater while I was at sea during World War II. We kind .. of thought that ifI didn't make it back, she would be a lot better able to take care of our two daughters with a degree, so she went back to school."
Henson still had dreams of becoming a doctor and realized that he might need that undergraduate degree after all. ffJ
a"Let me tell you how I got that degree," he says. "The war ended, and we were still in the Philippines. I wrote to Thelma and I asked her to apply for my degree. This was back in '45, and I hadn't been there since '39. Schiller Scroggs wa the dean of Arts & Sciences, and he said I had more than enough credits and they could give me a degree. It's not in engineering, although all my credits were in engineering."
Henson's wife also applied to medical schools on his behalf, citing a pair of influential personal references.
"She put down two names for recommendation: Dr. (Henry) Bennett, the pre ident of the college and the top educator in Oklahoma at the time, and Dr. Scroggs. I tell people, it didn't hurt any that they were both wrestling fans and I knew them well. It helped get me admitted to the University of Maryland. After four years there, I interned there in Baltimore with the Public Health Service. When I applied for a fellowship in surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, she gave the same two names for recom mendations. Again, I was accepted immediately."
Aftera distinguishedcareerspanning fivedecadesas a generalsurgeonin Colorado,Hensonfinallyretiredin 1998.
"I did the first operation of nearly every kind in Fort Collins because I was the only surgeon here for a longtime," he says.
didn't get started quite as early as I did as far as his winning ways, but he's done a lot more than I did. He also won the Olympics twice. He was a great wrestler."
As for his contemporaries, Amateur f¥restb:ngNews tabbed Henson "Wrestler of theDecade"for the 1930s - an era that includes several Hall of Famers who just happened to live under the same roof.
"Our Sigma Chi house had the Outstanding Wrestler trophy at the national tournament four years in a row," Hen on says. "The first one was Frank Lewis, who was an Olympic champion in '36. The next one was (Harley) "Doc" Strong, who was a Silver medalist in the '36 Olympics. The third was myself; and the fourth was Joe McDaniel, who was a pledge at that time. That's pretty good wrestling material.
"To be picked for the 1930s ahead ofall those guys was really quite an honor, but I'm the first one to tell you, you can't decide whether one fella was better than another."
Henson admits he may not have even been the best wrestler in his own family.
"MY YOUNGER BROTHER WENT TO THE NAVAL ACADEMY WHILE I WAS THERE. HE TURNED OUT TO BE A GREAT WRESTLER."
EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN
In 1978,Hensonwasinductedas a DistinguishedMemberoftheNational WrestlingHall of Fame.
Sportswriter MIKE CHAPMAN of WIN magazine has rankedHensonas ~---t~e"-eighthbest collegiate wrestler o all time.
~-~'Of course it's an honor to have anybody think that, but you can't compare people from different eras," Henson says."I THINK JOHN SMITH MAY BE THE GREATEST WRESTLER OF THE LAST CENTURY, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH. He
JOSIAH "JOE" HENSON won two NCAA titles competing for Navy, as well as a bronze medal for the U.S. in the 1952 Helsinki Games. He joined his brother in the Hall of Fame in 2006. The toughest competitors Henson ever faced didn't go on to collegiate fame or Olympic glory, he says.
"One of the best wrestlers I ever wrestled you never heard of. His name was BILLPECK.He was from Tulsa, same a I was. He was just behind me in high school, and he did everything I did, only he did it better. I remember another kid in high school by the name of FLOYD BENSON. I think he was about as good a wrestler as I ever wrestled. And you never heard of him. I don't think he ever went to college."
A number of years ago, Henson compiled a booklet of advice for young wrestlers, titled T¥restling:A Lifetime Endeavor
Helping Boys Become Men. Although it features dozens of illustrated wrestling holds and maneuvers, Henson says the primary purpose is to instill a winning attitude, promote sportsmanship, and imparting valuable life lessons that go beyond the mat.
"WHEN YOU STEP ON A WRESTLING MAT, YOU ARE ALL ALONE," IT READS. "THERE IS NO TEAMMATE TO HELP .YOU. YOU WIN OR LOSE BY HOW WELL YOU HAVE PREPARED, AND HOW MUCH YOU REALLY WANT TO WIN. LIFE IS LIKE THAT.
"WRESTLING TEACHES YOU TO COMPETE ACCORDING TO A SET OF RULES; RULES THAT HELP YOU THROUGH YOUR LIFE. IDEALLY, WRESTLING SHOULD TEACH YOU TO WIN GRACIOUSLY WHEN YOU WIN, AND IF YOU LOSE, TO LOSE LIKE A GENTLEMAN."
Spoken like a true gentleman indeed a gentleman whose legacy remains as one of the first legends of Gal Jagher-Iba Arena.~
DECEMBER2013
a~-EVERYTHING INITSPLAC
How much stuff can we pack into a Chevrolet Impala? I knew that's what my dad was thinking; I had seen that look on his face before. It was Christmas, and we were packing two weeks' worth of clothes, food, snacks, gifts and junk - tor a twoday visit. But that's the way we did it in the 1980s. Cars were big, and their trunks were humongous. To go over the river and through the woods (only two hours away) required supplies more appropriate for a trek across the North Pole. BUTITWASA RITE OFWINTER,AYULETIDETESTTHEGRISWOLDS WOULDBEPROUDOF.In that pre-Skype, preFaceTime era, we got together during the holidays with too many people and too much food in too small a space. And yet, it was always too much fun!
Those trips remindme of whatwe have seen in Stillwater during this year'stailgatingseason. The high-tech grills, tents, tables, chairs, televisions, satellites, games, ice chests and (orange) weather-appropriate gear stuffed into every model of vehicle and parked outside Boone Pickens Stadium. All forms of breakfast fare are on display before the dreaded 11a.m. games. Afternoon and evening games bring out the Wolfgang Puck in those who may have missed their calling as a chef. There's Cajun, Mexican, Asian, American, fish, beef, chicken, pork, duck,
~==~u:-.:ces, sar,idwiches, fried, barbecued, pot..,..._;;..-e-::__,roast you name it, they have it It's l.!:.=~!::Y.lpacked, fired up and enjoyed. Then it's packed up for the trip back home.
This remarkablemarvelof moving is secondonlyto the onedemonstrated by the OSUequipmentmanagerswho organize, transport and maintain the equipmentfor the Cowboyfootball team. Gen. George Patton, who was known for getting large amounts of troops and the gear needed to sustain them to Europe in World War 11,would be proud of the job our equipment folks do to get OSU's football team across the country. They pack all of the helmets, shoulder pads, pants, shoes, socks, jerseys and more for every player. All of the coaches' gear is in there, too, covering for 100-degree days or 30-degree nights, rain or shine. Check it out:
There's a CHECKLISTFOREVERYTHING, a clear and logical plan for getting each piece of equipment that could conceivably be needed from Stillwater to its destination and back again. The truck is loaded and unloaded in the middle of the night and early in the morning. There are long days and nights on the road and in empty stadiums, long before the fans show up and long after they depart
Every possible thing that could be needed has been thought about and planned for It has its own space on the truck and its own sequence for loading and unloading. Theprocesskindof reminds youof packingforgrandma's... except there are a lot morekids! It makes me want to sit back, watch the mystery of it all and pop open a Gatorade. My favorite flavor Orange!
GO POKES!
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