Cowboys Return Reloaded and Ready

Originally Published: Nov 1, 2010 3:57 PM CDT

Layna Dewell
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Stillwater, Oklahoma—The Oklahoma State men’s basketball team returns talent to the hardwood this season and hopes to use the momentum from last season’s NCAA tournament appearance to propel them further this time around.

The Cowboys who went 22-11 and 9-7 in conference play last season return nine players, including three starters from last season. In addition they added five newcomers to the roster, two junior-college transfers and three freshmen.

“The guys are starting to understand each other better as well as the system and that's a good combination,” said head coach Travis Ford who enters his third season with OSU.

“Once they understand the plays and we can go up and down, then I think we can be a pretty good team?we have a little ways to go in that area but the work ethic and the attitude is there,” said Ford.

The team consists of four seniors, and three of them, Marshall Moses and Matt Pilgrim and Nick Sidorakis return this year with quality playing time under their belts and the team needs all three players to show leadership on and off the court.

Keiton Page returns at the point and although his skills have continued to improve, he took on another challenge this offseason, one that Coach Ford presented to him, and it has produced noticeable results.

"I played last season at around 170-172 pounds, and right now I am down to 156, so I have lost around 15 or 16 pounds,” said Page.

“He has been willing to do anything as far as his body and getting extra time in the gym this summer,” said Ford who is greatly impressed in the motivation and
Page said that he notices quite a difference since losing the weight. He says his stamina and energy is higher which helps him not tire as quickly late in practice and that his quickness and lateral movement side-to-side has improved as well.

This season Page plays a key role in the Cowboy’s offense since both James Anderson and Obi Muonelo are gone. Considering the loss of those two players, Page’s numbers from last season make him the leading scorer for the Cowboys with 10.7 points per game. He must use his court experience and improved skills to direct the newcomers as they continue to mesh together.

Ray Penn, who played in 15 games last season before his season ended due to a stress fracture, is back in action and at 100 percent entering the season. He looks to improve on his average of 7.8 points per contest as he accepts more responsibility along with Page in handling the ball for the Cowboys.

Fred Gulley, who replaced Penn in the lineup after his injury, underwent shoulder surgery in the off season but is healed and ready to accept more responsibility along with Penn and Page in leading the Cowboys offensive attack.

As far as an inside presence goes, the Cowboys look to Moses and Pilgrim to continue their dominance.

Last year Moses, a 6-foot-7 senior, led the team in rebounding with 8.1 boards per contest and he currently leads the Big 12 in double-figure rebound games with 19 and 14 double figure games entering this season. He also ranked fourth on the team in scoring with 8.8 points per game. Furthermore he needs only 23 more rebounds to become the 23rd Cowboy in school history to record 500 or more career rebounds.

Pilgrim on the other hand recorded 11 double-figure scoring games in his first season at OSU. He was just behind Moses in scoring with an average of 8.2 points a game and both seniors have to play smart ball on the interior and continue to establish their post presence night in and night out.

"I think that this could be our most athletic team and our deepest team since I have been here? we have gotten up and down the court the last two years and I think people are going to be surprised that we will be able to do that even more now," said Page.

Oklahoma State welcomes freshman guards Markel Brown and Brian Williams as well as freshman forward Mike Cobbins to the squad.

Brown, a 6-foot-3 Louisiana native averaged 32 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals per game his senior season and was named the Louisiana Player of the Year his senior season.

Brian Williams a 6-foot-5 freshman from Baton Rouge, LA averaged 25 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocks per game as a senior.

Cobbins, the final freshman addition, averaged 15.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game his senior season at Palo Duro High School in Amarillo Texas.

The Cowboys added two junior college players in Jean-Paul Olukemi and Darrell Williams, both big bodied forwards that add versatility to their roster.

Olukemi a 6-foot-5 sophomore played at Vincennes University where he averaged 14.9 points while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor and added an average of 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He started 20 of 24 games his freshman year while at Vincennes.

Darrell Williams a 6-foot-8 255 pound junior from Midland College where he shot 54.2 percent from the floor averaging a double-double with nearly 14 points and more than 10 rebounds per game as a sophomore. He also led his Midland team to a 30-3 record as the Chapparals fell to eventual NJCAA national champion Howard in the regional finals. Down low he is a big target and he can handle and shoot the ball well in open court.

"I feel like for the most part the new guys have gotten a good feel about how we do things, this summer and this preseason everyone gelled well and everything was cool?this is probably our most athletic team," said Penn.

The Cowboys get a crack at AP ranked No. 12 Gonzaga on New Year’s Eve before opening up Big 12 play against No. 3 ranked Kansas State Jan. 8 at noon on ESPN.

Oklahoma State opened the exhibition portion of the 2010-11 schedule on Monday night as OSU hosted the Oklahoma City Stars at 7:00 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.