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Who Killed College Basketball in Oklahoma?
Published: 2/8/2012 3:22 PM
Last Modified: 2/8/2012 3:44 PM


Kevin Durant. SUE OGROCKI/AP

Before some interesting material, first this warning.

Imagine that you had four or five hours to fill every day, and that there was nothing much going on in the world of sports.

That's sports talk radio for you. Between championships, sports talk radio sinks to hypotheticals, the biggest waste of time ever: who's best, who's worst, who belongs in some Hall. To fill time, the hosts generate hate and anger, which is not healthy for anybody. Between title runs, this stuff is best taken in ten-minute episodes. Good music is far healthier.

Concerning college basketball in this state. Nobody is going to any of the games, OU, OSU, TU or ORU.

Why?

The answer has to come from these possible reasons: The economy. Disfavor with the coach. Lousy teams. The Thunder. Football.

The answer is simple: Bad teams.

If you're an NCAA tournament team, a fan could learn to like any coach. But who wants to waste the time or money on a team straining to reach the NIT.

The Thunder has hurt OU. Losing has hurt more. Not even the OU women are drawing much. That's because if they got half a point for hitting the backboard, they still couldn't defeat the elite teams.

Build a winning program and the people will find you.

Now, about the greatness of Kevin Durant.

This guy is what, almost seven feet tall? Yet he handles the basketball like a guard, shoots like the basket is as big as a garbage can, plays enough D, and is rebounding. He's like a Magic, but with a much better ourside shot. He has the fast hands of a magician. He can get his jump shot off against anybody, stepping back, or rising above. Many pinhead analysts say he needs to get an inside game. That's nuts. He has an inside game. He's driving more and dunking on everybody. Why play with your back to the basket when you're so good straight-up. He's just a kid and is fast becoming the best player in the NBA from downtown OKC.

And he can't stand OU.




Reader Comments 9 Total
Rapid Robert (last year)
I agree with your conclusion that generating hate and anger is not good for anyone. BUT TALK ABOUT THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK!!!
The Picker (last year)
We're all about love and winners here pal.
wgspost (last year)
C'mon, Pick...stop mincing words and masking your opinions in inuendo. Tell us what you REALLY think of Durant...
wgspost (last year)
Oops... please add another 'n' to the aforementioned 'innuendo'.
Ol City Boy (last year)
As for Tulsa, it's a fickle audience. I go way back when Nolan Richardson had great teams at TU and he couldn't even fill half of the Civic Center well before the Reynolds Center. Tulsa didn't really support professional soccer with a top team on the field. Arena football had to fold-up its tent as well and it had a top team as well.

I'm not sure we're even willing to support a good team.
Opus (last year)
When Eddie left his charisma in a bottle somewhere on the outskirts of Stillwater and Sean started his mail order hobby, interest in the Cowboy basketball team dropped to zero. Ford will have to pull off a major miracle to bring it back.
SixGunSam (last year)
In their demagogic calls for funding, Athletic Directors are like Preachers.

Typically, donor altruism is a byproduct of perceived need.

When the needs expressed seem opulent and excessive, the calls lose altruistic appeal.

When the call is for business rather than for charity, cold hard business it is... for both parties.

In the course of conducting "business", when the price exceeds perceived value and the product has lost its altruistic appeal...
norsemustang (last year)
If a team cannot recruit good enough talent to win, then it at least needs a system of getting as many players as possible playing time so that the next season the team will always have full or part time starters returning at every position. Being able to have experienced teams several years in a row is the only way to generate the momentum the team needs to go from mediocre to good. A team that loses all or most of its experienced players every year goes nowhere.
MexiMike (last year)
Winning cures everything.

Spectacular plays don't hurt either.

Right now OSU has one of the two. I think the highlight dunks and blocks will bring some fans back to GIA but to keep them there consistently the Pokes definitely need to start winning.

It probably won't happen this season but hopefully enough progress is made to build some excitement and anticipation for the next.
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Out Pick The Picker

The Picker began entertaining – and infuriating – sports fans in 1993. Each week during football season, he writes about his picks of college and NFL games in his Thursday Sports column. He's never afraid of sharing his opinions about the game and the personalities who play it. Readers have a chance to go against him each season in the Outpick the Picker contest. He welcomes the competition.

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