Tulsa World: Ford's first class has potential

TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | WIRELESS

OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL

HOMEPAGES

SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

		Sports Editor Mike Strain
		Sports Columnist Dave Sittler
		The Picker Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

Search the World's archives

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US

BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

Buy a published photo by clicking the "Order this Picture" link on the photo. For a full-color page reprint, call 732-8198 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or order online.

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

Learn more about the site.

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

Ford's first class has potential
Cowboys' batch of recruits is ranked nationally.

OSU coach Travis Ford addresses the media in October. About his recruiting class, Ford said, "I don't think you can ever have too many point guards." MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World file

By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Published: 11/13/2008 2:19 AM
Last Modified: 11/13/2008 3:41 AM

Cowboys' batch of recruits is ranked nationally.

STILLWATER — Two items of interest about Travis Ford's first recruiting class:

1. Oklahoma State, which signed three point guards, has more guards than Buckingham Palace.

2. The height-impaired Cowboys addressed a need for interior players.

OSU added six players on the first day of the early signing period Wednesday, and recruiting services gave a thumbs-up to the haul.

Rivals.com ranked the Cowboys' class as the ninth-best in the country.

Scout.com ranked the group 16th.

"It's very exciting," said Ford, who was hired in April from Massachusetts. "We hit the ground running.

"Even I have been a little impressed and surprised with how much we accomplished in such a short amount of time with some of these players who have been recruited nationally for a very long time at the highest level."

OSU will lose starting point guard Byron Eaton after this season, so replenishing the position was a priority.

The Cowboys signed point guards Fred Gulley, Reger Dowell and Ray Penn.

"I don't think you can ever have too many point guards, especially the ones that can play different positions," Ford said.

"We have compared it a lot to what Texas did last year and what Villanova did when they were ranked No. 1 two or three years ago when they played three guys that were around 5-10. All these guys have those type skills. They can shoot it. They can pass it. They can handle it. They can get to the hole. I wouldn't classify any of them as just pure point guards other than Fred Gulley."

OSU's highest-rated signees are forwards Karron Johnson and Roger Franklin.

Both are ranked among the nation's top 50 prospects.

Ford described Johnson as a top-five player from a talent standpoint.

"He's going to continue to develop that consistency every day and things like that," the coach said. "But as a physical specimen, he is an NBA basketball player. He is a next-level basketball player, without question."

Franklin attended OSU's homecourt victory over Kansas last season. Ford said the Duncanville, Texas, player was recommended to him as someone who will be a fan favorite and make every teammate better.

OSU's tallest signee is 6-11 center Torin Walker.

Ford said the Cowboys recruited Walker harder than any big man after watching him dominate other top big men in summer events.

Jimmie Tramel 581-8389
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com

OSU Signings List

G Reger Dowell, 6-0, Duncanville, Texas.

F Roger Franklin, 6-5, Duncanville, Texas.

G Fred Gulley, 6-2, Fayetteville, Ark.

F Karron Johnson, 6-7, Durham N.C. (Mount Zion Christian Academy)

G Ray Penn, 5-9, Richmond, Texas (Travis High School)

C Torin Walker, 6-11, Columbus, Ga. (Northside High School)

By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

COMMENTS

Add your comment

Show: Most Recent Comment First

1 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

Report Comment

Rhymeister, Tulsa (11/14/2008 2:39:37 AM)

Great job, Coach Ford, keep it up!

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.