His "Pilgrimage" (three-school journey) ends with big night
Published: 3/22/2011 12:04 PM
Last Modified: 3/22/2011 12:05 PM
The final college basketball game of Matt Pilgrim’s career also might have been his best.
In a second-round NIT loss at Washington State, the senior forward collected 17 points to lead OSU in scoring for the first time in his two-year OSU career. He also grabbed 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double as a Cowboy and his first this season.
Pilgrim spent time at two Division I programs (Hampton, Kentucky) before winding up in Stillwater. Third time’s a charm? It didn’t seem like that when Pilgrim began his senior year on suspension. He got in Travis Ford’s doghouse and it took them a while to get sympatico.
In the twilight of this season, and often without being prompted, Ford began saying complimentary things (mostly “playing hard”-type comments) about Pilgrim. And the coach continued to praise Pilgrim before and after the trip to Pullman, Wash.
“I think he has just been really focused and is trying to do whatever he can to help us win, whatever that role might be,” Ford said.
“I think he would probably be the first to tell you he didn’t probably play up to his ability early in the season, but who knows? It’s hard to say. But I would say... he has played the best basketball he has played all year long the last three or four weeks.”
Ford wanted Pilgrim to concentrate on defense and rebounding. Pilgrim led OSU in steals and his four steals against Washington State were the most ever by a Cowboy in an NIT game. His impressive stat line against the Cougars seemed fitting, considering the way he came on strong at season’s end.
Said Ford after the game, “I told Matt, for the rest of his life, he needs to have that mentality in whatever he is doing, what he was doing the last month.”
Dealing with final-game blues isn’t easy. And Pilgrim seemed to be at a loss for words when interviewed by radio analyst John Holcomb after the game. The first two or three questions got almost zero response. The question that got Pilgrim to loosen up came when Holcomb mentioned Ford’s appreciation of Pilgrim’s late-season turnaround.
Said Pilgrim, “He was definitely behind me 100 percent. I’m glad to leave on this note because I really feel like we came together as a coach and a player.”
Pilgrim also said he is looking forward to seeing what the Cowboys do next season and “seeing who wears my jersey.”
--Jimmie Tramel.
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
