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Cezar Guerrero graduates from hot dog to top dog
Published: 11/17/2011 10:19 AM
Last Modified: 11/17/2011 10:19 AM

A thing you might have heard before Cezar Guerrero arrived at Oklahoma State was that he was comfortable -- maybe too comfortable -- in the spotlight.

It took the freshman guard only three games to earn a spotlight.

Guerrero’s performance in an overtime victory Wednesday night over UTSA was the stuff of legend. The Cowboys rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final two and a half minutes of regulation and Guerrero was such a superhero that he should have had a cape attached to his jersey.

Guerrero made the second-most 3-pointers in school history, including a tying shot with 8.8 seconds left in regulation.

He scored 29 points, matching a freshman record shared by Byron Houston and James Anderson.

He played 36 minutes -- and didn’t just play offense. Following a UTSA missed layup in the final minute, he chased down a loose ball in the corner of the court and threw the ball off the leg of an opponent to give OSU possession. He snared a steal immediately before his tying basket. He drew a charge with 37 seconds left in overtime.

Earlier in the day, Le’Bryan Nash said he was watching a “mix tape” of Guerrero’s high school highlights. Said Nash after the game, “I have seen it in college now. This kid is ridiculous, man.”

“Ridiculous” isn’t the only word that has been used to describe Guerrero since he arrived on campus. Coach Travis Ford’s first impression was that Guerrero is a “tough sucker” who backs down from no one. Ford also has used the word “flashy” in regard to Guerrero and said the rookie “has a lot of drama to him.”

Said Ford during OSU’s preseason media day, “Some people will say hot dog or whatever.”

The hot dog was top dog in a second-round preseason NIT game. Students chanted “Cezar, Cezar” in the final seconds.

“Yeah, I know,” Ford said, in a tone that suggested he may have to go into damage control. “We have got to keep him humble but hungry.”

Ford doesn’t have a problem with Guerrero playing with personality. In fact, Ford wishes that could be contagious and spread to some of Guerrero’s teammates.

“I think his personality gets him going,” Ford said. “You have got to back it up. He plays himself into good plays rather than just saying ‘oh, I’m a good player, this is going to happen.’ Or ‘I may miss a couple, I will be all right.’ He takes it upon himself to make a play.”

Guerrero smiled throughout his break-out game and, at times, interacted with the crowd and exhorted fans to get loud. He singlehandedly restored rowdy to a quiet arena when he buried 3-pointers on three consecutive second-half possesions.

“Like my brother always told me, if basketball ain’t fun to you, then don’t play it,” Guerrero said. “And, basketball, to me, I try to make it fun. It’s always fun to me. I get the crowd involved and everything going. That’s just me.”

After the game was over, Guerrero strolled into the interview room and acted like he had been there 100 times before. “Hey fellas,” he said. “Hope I didn’t give you a scare.”

Scare? No. Something to write about? Yes.


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Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

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