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Cowboys hope Penn hits the Vegas jackpot again

Oklahoma State freshman guard Ray Penn drives to the goal in the first half of the Cowboys' 80-58 win over Prairie View A&M on Tuesday. Penn finished with eight points and five rebounds. Zach Gray / For the Tulsa World
 
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Published: 11/27/2009  2:19 AM
Last Modified: 11/27/2009  7:46 AM

 What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas.

Ray Penn "blew up" during a summer tournament in Las Vegas prior to his senior year of high school. He averaged 35.8 points to lead all scorers at the 2008 Reebok Summer Championships and the CIA couldn't have kept it a secret.

News of the feat spread as fast as you would expect in the Internet Age. Penn went from "Ray who?" to must-have recruit. Now he's a freshman starter at Oklahoma State, which faces Bradley in a HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational game Friday at the Orleans Arena.

Is Penn juiced about returning to the city where he made his name?

"Any time you get to go to Vegas is nice," Penn said. "But I'm not really thinking about it like that. That was high school. It was a good run. It's just on to bigger and better things now. I'm just trying to go there and get a win."

Coach Travis Ford admits he didn't know who Penn was before the 5-foot-9 guard became a high roller in Vegas.

"It changed his recruiting, 100 percent, no question," Ford said.

"The best teams in America were there and he goes there and averages 35 points a game. It wasn't just one flash in the pan game. It was every game he played."

Ford said Penn went from unranked recruit to top 50 prospect "just like that."

Penn is no fan of recruiting rankings. "You can't put a number on talent," he said.

But Ford said he has been an underdog his whole life. He played with a chip on his shoulder in Vegas — especially when his summer coach, John Eurey, told him this opponent or that opponent had a reputation.

Penn contends he has always been the "baller" that he was in Vegas. He said schools like Missouri and Mississippi State (where he almost committed) were aware of him before he erupted. But he believes he was overlooked nationally because he didn't play on high-profile summer teams and he wasn't always the "focal point" of teams. Then he gave recruiters a show they couldn't ignore.

Said Penn, "They caught a game and I guess they liked what they saw, came back, caught another one, saw that it wasn't a fluke, caught another one and it just kind of went from there."

Ford saw Penn play one or two games and decided the kid would be a great fit at OSU. He believes Penn can be a 20-point scorer for the Cowboys someday.

Penn should have been thrilled after his breakthrough performance.

But he said he cried when the tournament was over. Why?

"My Pops, man," Penn said. "He didn't get to see none of this."

"Pops" was Elmore Downing. He was Penn's stepfather, but go ahead and call him a "real" dad since he had been in Penn's life since Penn was 2.

Downing died of lung cancer a few months before Penn's Vegas trip.

"I just dedicated every game to him, to tell you the truth," Penn said.

After Penn signed with OSU, Ford attended one of Penn's high school games and figured he would see another scoring exhibition. Instead, Ford saw a leader who passed more than he shot.

"I loved what he was doing," Ford said. "But he is still developing the mentality of a point guard. It is still coming to him. But he is a talented young man who is a bit stubborn at times — very stubborn at times, very hard-headed at times — but that's also what makes him good because he has that little edge about him."

Jimmie Tramel 581-8389
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer

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pennpoke, (11/27/2009 2:42:24 PM)
I got to catch the North Texas game on ESPN360 the other night, and was very impressed by Penn. I think he is a great player, and has a ton of potential. Kind of a Victor Williams kid with even more talent and leadership potential. Mark it down: I think he'll be one of the main leaders on this team by his sophomore year.

After last season, I was convinced about Ford's coaching ability. Now, after seeing some of the new talent on the team, mark me down as convinced about his recruiting ability.
 

 
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