By JIMMIE TRAMEL Sports Writer on Dec 27, 2011, at 9:08 PM Updated on 12/27 at 9:08 PM
OSU SPORTS
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There's an old football saying that goes something like this: If you've got two quarterbacks, you don't have any quarterbacks.
And that's the best explanation I can give for Oklahoma State's December basketball defections.
First, here's a story courtesy of someone who used to be a college basketball coach. The coach once told me (and I'm sure he wasn't the first person to say it) that there's a pretty girl on every street corner, but point guards and centers are really hard to find. And he's right, at least about the point guards and centers thing. (Shooting guards and forwards are a dime a dozen.)
The departures of Fred Gulley and Reger Dowell mean that OSU lost six of seven players from one newcomer class. Matt Pilgrim, a Kentucky transfer, was the only member of the group to complete his eligibility.
Of the six players who left, five of them were -- remember the story above? -- point guards and centers.
My best guess is the Cowboys signed them in bulk in hoping that one point guard and one center would each develop into "the man." If you buy multiple lotto tickets, doesn't that increase the odds of hitting a jackpot?
College and NBA teams take a chance on big men all the time in hopes that the light bulb will eventually come on for them. OSU's two center prospects from the aforementioned signing class were Torin Walker and Jarred Shaw. Walker left after a freshman season in which he averaged 0.0 points and 0.8 rebounds. Shaw left after a sophomore season in which he averaged 1.2 points and 1.2 rebounds.
The three point guard signees in that class were Ray Penn, Gulley and Dowell. All of them had strengths. Put those strengths together and you've got a nice Big 12 starting point guard.
Instead, they all took turns starting and splitting time, which meant that none of them absolutely took ownership of the job and that led to unhappiness all around. If any of them had blown past the others to be an alpha male, Keiton Page never would have moved over from shooting guard to play point guard during a stretch of league games last season and he wouldn't be moving back to point guard this season.
Keeping with the same theme, if any of the point guards had taken ownership of the job, the Cowboys likely wouldn't have been in the market for another point guard. Freshman Cezar Guerrero has shared the load this season.
In fairness to a couple of the departed point guard prospects, they missed significant development time due to injuries. Also in fairness to the guys who said goodbye, I'm sure they all believed they merited a bigger role.
Regardless, the Cowboys had too many point guards splitting time this season. And if you've got more than one point guard, you don't have any point guards.
Now OSU is down to one point guard (Guerrero), who may be a nice floor general before his career is over. He certainly doesn't lack confidence. In the meanwhile, Guerrero and Page will share a position that is a lot less crowded.
ESPN analyst and former OSU point guard Doug Gottlieb smartly tweeted the other day that the only "down" seasons the program endured during the Eddie Sutton/Sean Sutton era came when point guard play was lacking. The Cowboys are 6-5 this season. Stay tuned to see if Page and Guerrero can right a ship that some have abandoned.
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