From: John Razook
To: Shawn Badgley
Time: 5:56pm, Jan. 12
FYI: Durant, Okla., is, in addition to being the Magnolia Capital of the great state, the headquarters of Halliburton.
I don’t know what this means. I simply find it interesting.
I’m also flattered – though outraged that the rest of the sporting press lets it go unmentioned – that you know it was Oklahoma State’s Henry Iba who invented the motion offense. If one listens to Bob Knight enough – again impossible, thanks to the media-types who thrive on 20-second soundbites – he talks more about Iba than anyone else. Knight was an assistant on that ill-fated ’72 Olympic team, coached by Hank Iba, that got hosed against the Ruskies.
But enough of that. I’m not here to talk about the past; I’m here to talk about the present. I’m like Mark McGwire that way. Which reminds me, Shawn, that you and I are going to have to have a serious discussion about Big Mac, his legacy, and our beloved St. Louis Cardinals soon. This thing ain’t going away.
Ah, yes. Back to college basketball. It’s now Friday, late afternoon, and the dust has cleared, at least somewhat, from the debacle that was Wednesday night’s OSU-KU game. It is perhaps fitting that even now, as I type, Oklahoma is being pounded with the worst ice storm to hit the state in 25 years, not counting the unfortunate Sigourney Weaver-Kevin Kline picture of the same name from a couple of years ago.
I think I’ll stick with my prediction of Kansas claiming the league crown. Even if Kevin Durant was to hit the Jayhawks for 50, if KU plays like they did Wednesday night, there is no team in America that can keep up with them. I know, Shawn, that you believe that precious few teams use more than a seven-man rotation. KU, though, routinely makes use of a nine- or 10-man rotation – at least during league play. The effects of this – serious depth, that is, as KU’s ninth man could probably start for any other team in the league – are seen in the Big XII each year, as the Jayhawks always finish first or second.
Now, I do agree that come tourney time, the tendency is to shrink down to a seven- or eight-man rotation. Perhaps this explains KU’s struggles in the postseason, as they suddenly begin doing what other teams do, instead of sticking to what worked for them all season.
Of course, I’m no coach. Who am I to tell Bill Self, himself an Oklahoma State grad, how to coach a team? What I do know is this: The Cowboy basketball team embarrassed themselves, their fans, and the game of basketball with their performance Wednesday night. Iba rolled over in his grave and vomited. It was that bad.
That said, I’d like to retract, for now, my choice of Mario Boggan for Big XII Player of the Year. I’ll wait, though, before anointing Kevin Durant. Let’s see how he fares against the Jayhawks first.
I will say this: I fully expect Oklahoma State to come back swinging. The poor Pokes’ pride has been grievously wounded, and like a bleeding animal, the odds are strong that they will get nasty. At least this is my hope.
Here, then, in the interest of cutting this babble short, are my weekly Big XII Power Rankings. It seems everybody these days is in the business of compiling lists of power rankings. I might as well.
1) Kansas Jayhawks: Absolutely mauled OSU, a game in which the Cowboys mysteriously played as poor as any Sutton-coached squad. Ever.
2) Texas A&M Aggies: Yes, they’ve lost to every decent team they’ve faced so far. But there’s some real talent in College Station, and that Gillespie guy can flat-out coach. We’ll see what happens to the Ags in the conference … especially when they face Kansas.
3) Texas Longhorns: Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant, T.J. who?
4) Oklahoma State Cowboys: Ouch. Losing by 30 hurts. Really bad.
5) Texas Tech Red Raiders: One of my goals as a member of the sporting press is to have Bob Knight call me a “dumbfuck.”
6) Missouri Tigers: They’ll be having nightmares for awhile. “Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant …”
7) Nebraska Cornhuskers: Doc Sadler is a great name for a coach in the Big XII.
8) Oklahoma Sooners: I have two biases here. One, I’m not big on the Sooners. Two, I’m not big on Duke. OU coach Jeff Capel has two strikes against him.
9) Baylor Bears: Ten years from now, when Baylor wins its first conference crown, people will still be talking about Dave Bliss and that horrible scandal the Baptist Bears had on their paws. Wait: Baylor will never win a conference crown.
10) Kansas State Wildcats: Bob Huggins is a year or two, and a few ex-cons and/or JUCO players with assault records, away from shaking up the Big XII North. Losing freshman Bill Walker hurts.
11) Iowa State Cyclones: Currently longing for the days when turtlenecked coaches could hit the frat scene in fine towns like Columbia, Mo., doing keg stands and trying to make out with sophomores. At least in those days of yore they won some big games.
12) Colorado Buffaloes: How long before CU folds the basketball team? They did it with baseball. They can do it with basketball, too.
Enjoy the weekend games, Mr. Badgley. I must admit I feel shame for you. Not going to the UT game on Wednesday and then not showing at Headhunter’s, as you mentioned you “probably would” … I’m not looking for excuses here. We marched on a road of bones. What did you do?
Best,
jhr
This article appears in January 12 • 2007.