Sean Sutton had his chance, and he failed. He failed with honors.
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Daniel Bobik's prior success doesn't mean he'll get the start for the Cowboys. (Getty Images) |
SportsLine.com wanted to rank Sutton's team, Oklahoma State, No. 1 in the country in our annual preseason poll. However, the No. 1 ranking in our preseason poll isn't such an illustrious honor. Last season's winner, as a handful of readers with email capability seem to recall, was Gonzaga.
We didn't want to do that again this season, not to Oklahoma State and certainly not to SportsLine.com. So we called Sutton, the Cowboys' head coach designate, and gave him the chance to talk us out of it.
He couldn't do it. He couldn't even come close.
After 15 minutes with Sutton, we decided to stick with our pick. Sorry, Oklahoma State. You're No. 1.
"Well," Sutton said after a brief pause. "I hear you haven't gotten it right yet. Hopefully we'll change that."
Frankly, it's difficult to understand why Oklahoma State doesn't have more momentum as the preseason No. 1 team. The Cowboys return four starters and a handful of reserves from the team that won 31 games and reached the Final Four last season, including All-American candidates Joey Graham at small forward and John Lucas III at point guard, and have added two impact newcomers.
The missing starter from last season's team is Tony Allen, a 16-point scorer on the wing. If the loss of Allen is why Oklahoma State has been ranked rather low in some preseason polls -- No. 9 by Street & Smith, No. 11 by Lindy's -- Sutton said he understands.
"I think Tony Allen is a big loss. He was really good at both ends of the floor," Sutton said. "Plus, I think there are more quality teams this year. So many teams return a lot of players. From that standpoint, picking a No. 1 team, it's harder this year than maybe it's been. There's maybe 10 or 12 teams you could go with."
That was as close as Sutton came to making us rethink Oklahoma State as our No. 1 pick, and he didn't come all that close. By that point, he already had volunteered a handful of tidbits that made us pleased as punch with our pick:
- As good as Daniel Bobik was last season -- he was fourth in the Big 12 at 41.6 percent from 3-point range and usually guarded the opponent's best guard, including Jameer Nelson in the NCAA Tournament -- he's not assured of starting. Other candidates are freshman JamesOn Curry, the state of North Carolina's career high school scoring leader, and 6-foot-6 Stevie Graham. "That's the most competitive position on our team," Sutton said.
- The depth at point guard spot isn't so shaky. Janover Weatherspoon was a solid backup last season, but he's gone. The backup this season will be either Bobik or -- surprise -- Curry, whom Sutton said has court savvy to match his genius for scoring. That means Stevie Graham, who was projected as the starting point guard last year until Lucas arrived from Baylor, isn't even one of the best three point guards on roster this season. That's solid.
- Junior-college transfer Aaron Pettway, a 6-10, 240-pound center, makes daily highlight reel plays in practice. Considering he has played organized basketball for just two years -- after not playing in high school, he grew seven inches during a four-year stint in the Air Force -- Pettway's ceiling has yet to be determined. "He's a great athlete," Sutton said. "He blocks a lot of shots, has the ability to be a great rebounder, and runs the floor as well as any big guy we've had here in a long time. He gives us something we haven't had here in a few years."
- But Pettway might not even start. Sutton insists 7-2, 289-pound senior Frans Steyn, the South African project whose first organized game of basketball came during his sophomore season at Oklahoma State, could start early in the season. Steyn, who played rugby and threw the discus in South Africa, will give opponents something unusual to worry about. "Frans has gotten where he's more comfortable, and he's such a big presence inside," Sutton said. "It really gives us two different looks -- a power-type player (Steyn) that can cause matchup problems, and then Pettway comes in the game and changes it to a more athletic team that can run."
Oh, and did we mention that Oklahoma State might just be the oldest team in college basketball? The projected starting lineup of Pettway, Ivan McFarlin, Joey Graham, Daniel Bobik and Lucas includes three fifth-year seniors, another senior (Lucas) and a 24-year-old junior (Pettway). Among the first players off the bench would be Stevie Graham -- a fifth-year senior -- and seniors Steyn and forward Terrence Crawford.
Talent is good. Experience is good. Oklahoma State has as much of both as any team in the country.
