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OKLAHOMA STATE SCOUTING REPORT
LAST SEASON: Oklahoma State went 31-4 overall last season, and 14-2 in the Big 12 Conference. They won the regular season and postseason tournament conferences titles, and lost in the national semifinal game to Georgia Tech in last season’s NCAA Tournament.
HEAD COACH: Oklahoma State is fronted by 15 year head coach Eddie Sutton, who landed the job in April 1990. Sutton, who has now been coaching over 30 years, came to his alma mater after previous stints at Creighton, Arkansas, and Kentucky. He has well over 700 wins, and is one of only three coaches to lead four different schools to the NCAA Tournament.
THIS SEASON: The Cowboys are 9-0 thus far this season, with wins over Northwestern State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Sam Houston State, SMU, Washington State, Syracuse, UAB, UNLV and Northwestern (Okla.). They are currently ranked at #3 in the AP poll.
Oklahoma State, very much like Georgia Tech, returns virtually everyone from a team that reached the Final Four last season, and also dominated the Big 12. Although the Cowboys lost their best and most versatile offensive player from last year in Tony Allen, they return so many skilled, tested and experienced players that they will battle neck and neck with Kansas in the Big 12, and are major threats to win the 2005 national title.
PROJECTED STARTERS:
PG – #15 John Lucas (5-11, Sr.) = It is hard to imagine that Lucas was a walk-on last season, but he was – a walk-on who became the Big 12 player of the year and a 2nd team All American after transfering from Baylor. Lucas started in every Cowboy game last year, averaging 15.1 PPG, 4.5 APG, and shooting 39% from 3 point land. So far this year he is averaging 18.6 PPG, 4.2 APG and 44% from 3 point land. Posessing tremendous quickness, Lucas can drive past defenders for pull jumpers just as easily as he can pull up from 3. He is also a great free throw shooter (88% this year). Lucas is a tremendous player in the clutch, as was evidenced in his game winning shot versus St. Joseph’s in their elite 8 game last season.
SG - #20 Daniel Bobik (6-5, Sr.) = Bobik is the top returning 3 point shooter for the Pokes, and he is nailing them at a 46% clip so far this season. He shot 42% from 3 ball land last year. A transfer from BYU, Bobik is a really good ball handler who sometimes runs the point when Lucas is getting a rest. Even though he is only averaging 6.8 PPG this year, Bobik is Oklahoma State’s best perimeter defender. He is outstanding at handling smaller, quicker point guards, as was evidenced in all 5 Oklahoma State games in the NCAA tournament last year. He epitomizes the maturity of this team, being 25 years old, married with a child.
F - #14 Joey Graham (6-7, Sr.) = A transfer from UCF, Graham is one of the most versatile wing players in the country. Graham has a very nice 15-18 foot jumper, but where he really does his damage is on the inside. Posessing a very strong body and an aggressive attack towards the rim, Graham finished 3rd in the Big 12 in field goal percentage last year (56.8%), and proved to be an enormous match-up problem for opposing teams during Big 12 play and the NCAA Tournament. He is averaging 18.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and shooting 82% on his free throws this year.
F = #23 Ivan McFarlin (6-8, Sr.) = McFarlin is one of the hardest working, toughest, warrior-like big men in all of college basketball. One of the best post defenders in the nation, Ivan averaged 12.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG and shot 59% from the field last year. Thus far, he is putting up similar numbers to what he put up last year.
C = #4 Frans Steyn (7-2, Sr.) = Although he has only started in 4 of Oklahoma State’s games, Coach Sutton is really wanting Steyn to step up and provide the Pokes a big post presence for Big 12 and postseason play. A South African import, Steyn is averaging 5 PPG and 2 RPG while playing 10.7 MPG. He was recently reinserted into the starting lineup against Northwestern (Okla.) after Sutton went with Terrence Crawford for several games.
KEY RESERVES:
Terrence Crawford (#42, 6-6, Sr.) is yet another senior, and like McFarlin, he too is an excellent post defender, despite being undersized. Crawford has started in the majority of Oklahoma State’s games, but Sutton has indicated a desire to go with a bigger lineup if at all possible. Crawford is averaging 5.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG. He is powerful in the low blocks, and has nice hands. Stephen Graham (#21, 6-6, Sr.), of course, is Joey’s twin brother. Also a transfer from UCF, he is more of a guard than his brother, but both have very similar games in many respects. He is averaging 7.4 PPG and 5.2 RPG this year, while shooting 58% from the field. He has also improved on defense and has been a factor in many games. JamesOn Curry (#24, 6-3,
Fr.) is a much heralded freshman who originally committed to North Carolina, but who was relieved of his scholarship after he ran into legal issues. Sutton took him on, and he has stayed clear of trouble and has been a great asset to the Cowboys. Curry is the all-time leading scorer in North Carolina high school history, and he has been averaging 6.8 PPG and shooting 38% from 3 point land. He is highly athletic, brings great energy and can score from anywhere on the court.
SOME KEYS TO THE GAME:
Oklahoma State is very similar to Gonzaga in many respects. Both were among the best offensive teams in the country last season. Both are filled with hard working, smart players who are exceedingly well coached. However, they are very different in terms of their level of experience. The Cowboys are one of the most experienced elite teams in recent history – their regular rotation features 7 seniors. GU, meanwhile, has only one senior in their regular rotation in Ronny Turiaf. If that weren’t enough, several Cowboy players have already graduated and are enrolled in graduate programs at Oklahoma State. The team features four transfers, and when they play, you get the sense that it is a team that has fought and battled for everything they have ever gotten.
However, it is a team with some concerns. Sutton really wants Steyn to step up. While the undersized lineup that Oklahoma State featured last season and part of this season has had great success, the Pokes also dodged several bullets last year and were taken down by Georgia Tech in the Final Four - largely because of seven-footer Luke Schenscher’s dominance in the paint. It is highly likely that you will see Steyn start in this game to deal with Gonzaga’s big men.
For Gonzaga to remain competitive in this contest, they must play as hard as they can, because there will not be a team they face all season that plays harder than the Cowboys.
Even though Steyn is 7-2, and Crawford and McFarlin are very good post defenders, the Zags have an advantage in the post in terms of size. Ronny Turiaf will likely get looks in this game, and his ankle must be in good enough condition to take advantage of them. He is much quicker than Steyn, and he needs his explosiveness to take advantage of this. You may see both McFarlin and Crawford on Turiaf at times for a change of pace. Expect both McFarlin and Crawford to play Sean Mallon and J.P. Batista very physically. While both are undersized, they are quick to the ball and establish solid rebounding position. Mallon and Batista will need to match their toughness and aggressiveness.
Matchups are also a concern. Oklahoma State is a much better 3 point shooting team than Georgia Tech, and they run lots of plays to isolate Lucas, Bobik and Curry for looks. Consequently, you are likely to see Gonzaga mix up defenses more in this game rather than stick with a zone like they did in the 2nd half of the Georgia Tech contest. The Zags must respond quickly to ball reversals and get a hand in the face of the 3 point specialists.
If they use man to man, the first question is who guards Joey Graham? Adam Morrison is one possibility, but Graham’s strength might require that Erroll Knight get his assignment. Although Derek Raivio did a reasonable job on Jarrett Jack, Lucas is enormously quick off the dribble, and the last thing that GU wants is for Derek to get in foul trouble. Look for Pierre-Marie Altidor Cespedes to get lots of time on Lucas.
Raivio and Altidor-Cespedes have done an outstanding job thus far limiting turnovers, even in the face of intense defensive pressure from Washington and Georgia Tech. Both guards will get a load of it in this game, especially in the halfcourt where Oklahoma States loves forcing opposing point guards to operate their offense as far away from the bucket as possible. Despite this pressure, GU’s young point men must operate the GU offense effectively for the Zags to have the success they want.
Lastly, when making moves in the post, Gonzaga’s bigs must be quick in their delivery and not use many dribbles. Catch, move, shoot. McFarlin and Crawford are enormously quick, and Lucas, especially, is highly disruptive. GU has a size advantage in this game, but it will be of no use if the ball is stolen from the bigs before they can get a shot off.