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'Big Country' leaves country, Cowboys
Transfers, graduation Oklahoma State's depth and experience
By Erln Johnson
Kansan sportswriter
Even without center Bryant Reeves and guard Randy Rutherford, the Oklahoma State men's basketball team appears to be
be a more versatile team this year.
be a more ver-
The Cowboys will attempt to repeat their success this year but will return to the court with nine newcomers. Oklahoma State lost more than its seniors: forwards Terry Collins and Scott Pierce, as well as Reeves and Rutherford. The team also lost height: Ben Baum, 6-foot-10, transferred to New
Oklahoma State, which was second in the Big Eight Conference, was 27-10 overall and 10-4 in the conference last year.
Roberts said not having the big men such as Reeves would be a new experience for Big Eight teams.
Paul Kotz/KANSAN
Kansas sophomore guard Raef LaFrentz shoots over Oklahoma State's Scott Pierce, one of six Cowboys who graduated or left the team.
Junior forward Chianti Roberts and senior guard Andre Owens are the only returning starters.
Mexico; and 6-11 John Nelson called coach Eddie Sutton during the summer and told him that he had lost his passion to play basketball.
Last year, he played every position except center and shot .603 in the NCAA tournament.
Roberts, a 6-6 junior, was a key player off the bench but likely will be a starter at small forward.
"I think this year is a real challenge," Sutton said. "In basketball, when you lose a couple of players that you think are going to be in the top six or seven, it can hurt you a lot."
"You get accustomed to playing with a certain type of athlete or a certain persona in the middle, such as Big Country or [Kansas' Greg] Ostertag — guys that were born and bred to be five men," Roberts said. "You don't realize how much of a luxury it was until it's gone."
The Cowboys also have Jason Skaer, a 6-7 sophomore forward who can play both forward positions and has the ability
to hit three-point shots.
Last year, he was 20 of 50 from behind the three-point line.
Defense should not be a problem for Oklahoma State this season, either. Sutton said Owens was a key player for
Jerome Lambert, a 6-8 senior transfer from Baylor, led the nation in rebounding in 1994 with 14.4 boards and averaged 18.5 points a game. However, Lambert, a center, has not fully recovered from a knee injury he suffered last year.
the Cowboys at point guard and was probably the second-best point guard in the league behind Kansas' Jacque Vaughn. Owens, 10th on the Oklahoma State career assist list, needs 176 assists to pass Matt Clark for the school record. That's 80 less than what he recorded last year, 256, the third-highest season total in league history.
"A team has got to play solid defense," Sutton said. "I don't care whether you play zone or man-to-man, but you've got to play solid defense."
Sutton said that if the Cowboys could play aggressive defense, press more and continue shooting well, the Cowboys should be a good team even with the loss of Reeves and Rutherford.
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The March to March
~Hill • November 15, 1995