Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare For Hartford Hawks
December 04, 2002 | Cowboy Basketball
Dec. 4, 2002
Oklahoma State Cowboys
(3-1 overall) hosts the Hartford Hawks (2-0)
in Gallagher-Iba Arena
Thursday, Dec. 5, 2002 * 7 p.m. (CST)
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] * Stillwater, Okla.
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Oklahoma State Cowboys
Probable Starters
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 23 Ivan McFarlin 6-8 237 Jr. 11.3 9.0 F 40 Andre Williams 6-8 225 Sr. 4.3 7.5 G 5 Victor Williams 5-10 187 Sr. 8.3 4.0 ^ G 24 Tony Allen 6-4 205 Jr. 14.8 4.8 G 34 Melvin Sanders 6-5 210 Sr. 14.5 5.0
Off the Bench
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG C 4 Frans Steyn 7-2 306 So. 1.0 1.5 G 25 Janavor Weatherspoon 6-1 165 Jr. 6.3 1.0 G 30 Cheyne Gadson 6-3 190 Sr. 6.5 4.0 ^ F 33 Jason Miller 6-9 245 Jr. 5.3 4.0
Hartford Hawks
Probable Starters
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 44 Pierre Johnson 6-6 185 Sr. 20.0 5.0 C 34 Josh Odugbela 6-8 200 Sr. 5.0 5.0 G 2 Jerell Parker 6-4 210 Jr. 13.5 4.5 ^ G 13 Wayne McClinton 6-2 165 Sr. 4.5 2.5 G 20 Ryan Stys 6-0 160 Jr. 10.5 5.0^ denotes assists per game
Quickly
Oklahoma State will host the Hartford Hawks on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Oklahoma State is 3-1 so far this season and coming off a 64-61 win over then No. 9 ranked Michigan State in the third-place game of the Great Alaska Shootout. Hartford is 2-0 this season with a pair of home games. The Hawks' most recent game was a 70-57 victory over Delaware State last Saturday.
Last Time Out For OSU
Melvin Sanders led the team with 18 points and Andre Williams grabbed 11 rebounds as the Cowboys defeated No. 9 Michigan State, 64-61, in the third-place game of the Great Alaska Shootout. Ivan McFarlin added 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Cowboys, while Victor Williams chipped in 14 points. OSU trailed by five at intermission, 36-31, but outscored the Spartans, 33-25, in the second stanza. OSU limited MSU to just 34.6 percent shooting in the second half, and connected on 17-of-21 free throws down the stretch. Sanders was named the Player of the Game and, along with McFarlin, made the all-tournament team.
About Hartford
The Hawks are 2-0 this season with an 81-76 win over Long Island and a 70-57 victory over Delaware State. Hartford is led by senior forward Pierre Johnson, who is averaging 20 points per game and shooting 70.4 percent from the floor in two games. Junior guard Jerell Parker is averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 assists per contest. Four different players have at least six assists through two games, however, no Hawk is averaging more than five rebounds per game. As a team, Hartford is shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent (10-of-30) from beyond the arc. Junior Amous, a senior for the Hawks, is an Oklahoma native and played high school basketball at Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City. He played two years at Connors State College, averaging 12 points and seven rebounds his sophomore season. He was a teammate of Cowboy Terrence Crawford.
Last Time Out for Hartford
Hartford got 17 points from Pierre Johnson and Ryan Stys added 14 as the Hawks defeated winless Delaware State, 70-57. Jerell Parker dished out eight assists in the win, as Hartford shot 50 percent from the floor and limited DSU to just 39 percent. The Hawks were outrebounded by 11 (38-27), but forced 18 turnovers. Hartford also shot 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from behind the three-point line, and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the charity stripe.
Non-Conference Record in Gallagher-Iba
Oklahoma State has won 101 of its last 102 non-conference games held in Gallagher-Iba Arena since Jan. 7, 1987. The only loss during that span was an 83-81 loss to Florida Atlantic on Dec. 1, 1998, when the Cowboys were ranked 11th in the nation. That loss broke a string of 79-consecutive home non-league wins for OSU. Dating back to 1981, Oklahoma State is 130-7 (.949) in those types of games. The Cowboys have not allowed more than 66 points in their last 18 home non-conference contests. Here is a look at OSU's current 22-game home non-league winning streak:
Date Opponent ScoreD15, 1998 Houston Baptist 114-62 D30, 1998 Southeast Missouri State 75-64 J27, 1999 Southern Mississippi 65-64 N19, 1999 Appalachian State 87-75 N20, 1999 Idaho 81-50 N27, 1999 North Texas 103-65 D1, 1999 Wichita State 68-56 D4, 1999 Texas-San Antonio 87-66 D15, 1999 Alcorn State 79-53 J5, 2000 Langston 125-65 D19, 2000 Arkansas-Little Rock 70-60 D22, 2000 Lamar 86-45 J3, 2001 Texas-San Antonio 88-63 J20, 2001 St. Gregory's 74-58 N16, 2001 Cincinnati 69-62 N17, 2001 Austin Peay 81-58 N24, 2001 North Texas 77-58 N29, 2001 New Orleans 95-47 D1, 2001 Wichita State 61-59 D8, 2001 Jackson State 90-41 D17, 2001 Northwestern State 79-44 N22, 2002 Yale 68-59
Sutton Approaches 1,000th Game
Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton has coached in 984 career Division I games, the fifth most by an active coach. He is just 16 games away from his 1,000th game, and will coach that game on Feb. 5, 2003, against the Kansas State Wildcats in Gallagher-Iba Arena. There are 16 coaches in NCAA history that have achieved that mark, including Sutton's mentor, Henry Iba, who coached in 1,105 games.
Up Next: Northwestern State
Oklahoma State will continue its homestand on Sunday, Dec. 8, as the Cowboys host the Northwestern State Demons (0-3). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU will then take a week off for finals before hosting the Fresno State Bulldogs on Sunday, Dec. 15. Tipoff for that contest is set for 1 p.m.
Tickets Available
There are a limited number of tickets available for Oklahoma State's three home games over the holiday break. Tickets for the games vs. UMKC on Dec. 18, vs. Arkansas on Dec. 30 and vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 8 are available for purchase. For more information, fans should contact the OSU Athletics Ticket Office at 1-877-ALL-4-OSU.
Brief OSU Basketball History
Oklahoma State is in its 94th season of basketball with an all-time record of 1,320 wins and 953 losses, a .581 winning percentage. The Cowboys have won two national championships (1945-46), appeared in five Final Fours, and made 19 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including 10 in the Sutton era. In fact, Coach Sutton has more wins (275) in his 12-plus years as the OSU head coach than the previous five coaches had (242) in a combined 20 seasons.
Transfers, Jucos Dot Cowboy Roster
Eight newcomers are listed on the Oklahoma State roster, including three transfers that will have to sit out the 2002-03 season. Tony Allen, a junior-college player from Wabash Valley Community College, and Janavor Weatherspoon, a juco transfer from Odessa College, should make an immediate impact. Freshmen Ross DeRogatis, Onye Ibekwe and Julian Richardson could also see playing time. Daniel Bobik and the twins, Joey and Stevie Graham, will have to sit out a year after transferring from BYU and Central Florida. All three, however are allowed to practice with the team. Other players that are not new to the program but will see their first action in a Cowboy uniform this season are Frans Steyn and Jason Miller. Steyn came to OSU a year ago and sat out as a true freshman. Miller, who transferred to Oklahoma State a year ago, had to sit out due to NCAA transfer guidelines.
Four Seniors Return For Final Season
Four Cowboys enter the 2002-03 season as seniors. Andre Williams, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., is the lone four-year senior on the squad. Victor Williams, Kansas City, Kan., and Melvin Sanders, Liberal, Kan., are both entering their third year of play at Oklahoma State. Cheyne Gadson, a senior from Jamaica, N.Y., transferred to OSU last season for his junior year.
Sanders, McFarlin Earn All-Tournament Honors
Senior guard Melvin Sanders and junior forward Ivan McFarlin were both named to the Great Alaska Shootout all-tournament team. Sanders, while only shooting 37.8, did average 13.3 points and four rebounds per game. He also had 11 assists and seven steals in the two games. McFarlin averaged a double-double with 11.3 points and 10 rebounds per contest. He shot 54.5 percent from the field and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the free-throw line. Ivan also had five blocked shots.
Allen Has All-Around Performance at Shootout
Junior transfer Tony Allen had a great all-around performance at the Great Alaska Shootout. While leading the team in points scored, averaging 16 per contest, he also shot 51.7 percent from his guard spot and was 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. He connected on 16-of-20 shots from the charity stripe, good for 80 percent. Tony had seven assists, two steals and three blocks, including one in the waning seconds of the Michigan State game that sealed the win.
Cowboys Host Block Party
As a team, Oklahoma State blocked 18 shots during the three-game tournament, an average of six per contest. Senior forward Andre Williams led the party with eight blocked shots, while Ivan McFarlin had five in the three games. Tony Allen had three, while Melvin Sanders and Jason Miller each had one. For the season, the Cowboys have blocked 26 shots in four games, an average of 6.5 per contest.
Williams Ranks Among Elite Shot Blockers
Forward Andre Williams leads the team with 13 blocked shots so far this season, and is just 26 away from moving past Leroy Combs and into fourth place on the all-time OSU career blocked shots list. Andre had five blocks in the season opener vs. Yale, and had three vs. Alaska-Anchorage. He added three more vs. the College of Charleston, and had two vs. Michigan State. Williams is currently averaging 3.3 blocks per game this season. Byron Houston is the all-time Cowboy shot blocker with 223.
Sanders Has String of Starts
Cowboy senior Melvin Sanders has started every game of his Cowboy career, and has the sixth-most consecutive starts in school history. Should Sanders start the next two games, he will surpass Fredrik J?nz?n, who had a string of 67 straight when his career ended last season. Sanders will need an additional 20 starts to move past Bryant Reeves, who started 87 consecutive contests from 1993-95.
Andre Grabs His 500th Rebound
With four rebounds vs. the College of Charleston in the Great Alaska Shootout, senior Andre Williams achieved a major milestone by reaching 500 career rebounds. He joined an elite group of just 18 Cowboys that have achieved that milestone. He currently has 511 caroms, and ranks 15th all-time in the OSU record books. He needs 52 boards to move past Lafayette Threatt and into 14th place.
Vic Nears 800
Senior Victor Williams has 797 points in his OSU career, and needs just four points to become the 38th player in school history to reach 800 in a Cowboy uniform. Victor has 1,042 points in his career at the Division I level, including 245 his freshman season at Illinois State.
Williams Ranks in Top 15
Victor Williams has 252 assists in his two-plus year career at Oklahoma State. That ranks him 14th among all-time OSU career assist leaders. With five assists vs. Yale in the season opener, Williams surpassed Randy Rutherford, who had 239 dishes from 1993-95. Vic needs 13 more assists to move past Eddie Hannon, who had 264 from 1981-82. Vic has 355 career assists, including a game-high nine vs. Texas A&M on Feb. 21, 2001, and a season-high 126 last season.
Cowboy Radio Network
All of Oklahoma State's Men's Basketball games will be broadcast live on the Cowboy Radio Network. Dave Hunziker, in his second year with the broadcast, handles the play-by-play duties, while Tom Dirato, in his 26th season, provides expert analysis on the network broadcast that begins 30 minutes prior to tipoff. The OSU network is a production of Cowboy Sports Properties, a division of Learfield Sports.
Coach Sutton Television Show
The Oklahoma State Basketball Coaches' Show will air multiple times in Stillwater, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as Ardmore, Lawton, McAlester and Woodward. The 30-minute show is hosted by Tom Dirato.
OSU on the World Wide Web
Oklahoma State's official web site is www.okstate.com. Updated statistics, team information and the weekly release in PDF format will be available. OSU game broadcasts, both home and away, are also available, as well as live stats during games via Gametracker.
Coach Sutton Radio Show
Coach Sutton's weekly radio show, hosted by Tom Dirato, is broadcast Monday nights, from 7:05 - 8 p.m. on the Cowboy Radio Network. The show is typically aired from one of the on-campus living facilities, or from one of the OSU fraternities or sororities.
Head Coach Eddie Sutton
Coach Eddie Sutton enters his 13th season at Oklahoma State and his 33rd season overall. He brings with him an all-time record of 705-279, including a 275-115 mark at OSU. Last season, Coach Sutton was nominated for induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He currently ranks as the 14th-winningest coach in NCAA Division I history, and is the fifth-winningest active coach in the Division I ranks. Coach Sutton returned to his alma mater in 1990, and has since brought the Cowboys back to basketball prominence. He has four times taken the Pokes to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, and twice gone to the Elite Eight. In 1995, he guided the Cowboys to the Final Four and a No. 4 national ranking according to the Coaches' Poll. OSU has finished in the top three of the conference on eight occasions since his return, and has finished in the top five in all but one of his OSU seasons. Coach Sutton is a four-time National Coach of the Year, and was the first coach in NCAA history to lead four different schools to the Big Dance. Only Bob Knight ranks higher in both winning percentage and victories for an active coach that Coach Sutton, and only Dean Smith won more games in his first 32 years as a head coach.
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