Oklahoma State University Athletics
Newcomers Join Veterans; Add Depth to Cowboy Basketball
September 21, 2007 | Cowboy Basketball
Coach Sean Sutton and his staff lost two regulars to eligibility as seniors Mario Boggan and David Monds wrapped up their collegiate careers. Meanwhile, junior JamesOn Curry entered the NBA draft and was selected in the second round with the 51st pick by the Chicago Bulls. This will leave a void as Boggan and Curry both averaged better than 17 points per game a year ago.
Players that are returning include defensive stopper Marcus Dove. The Cowboy senior is returning for his fifth and final season in an OSU uniform. Despite a lack of offensive presence (4.7 points per game in 2006-07), Dove is considered one of the best defenders in the country if not the best in the Big 12 Conference.
Also returning for his senior season is Tyler Hatch, who played valiantly last season when the Cowboys' lack of depth reared its ugly head. Despite averaging just under nine minutes per game, Hatch was instrumental in at least two OSU victories — the triple-overtime thriller with Texas and the bedlam win over Oklahoma.
Two members of the highly touted 2005 recruiting class are already gearing up for their junior season. Point guard Byron Eaton, wing Terrel Harris and post player Kenny Cooper are all that remain from the post-Final Four signing class.
Eaton already ranks 17th among all-time Cowboys in steals with 121, and could snatch the record by season's end. He ranks among the top 15 all time in three-point field goal percentage. He is also just the second player in school history to record at least 100 assists in each of his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Harris is the leading returning scorer from last season with 340 points a year ago. He is also the returner with the most minutes played last season. An exceptional shooter, Harris ranks in OSU's career top five in three-point shooting percentage and seventh in career free-throw percentage.
Sophomore Obi Muonelo was having one of the best rookie seasons in school history before a broken leg cut his season short just after the 11th game of the season. At the time, he was averaging just over 11 points per game. After missing 18 games, Muonelo returned for the final six games of the season. He showed glimpses of what fans can expect over the next three years when he scored 24 points in his first collegiate start at Nebraska.
One of the biggest reasons for last year's late-season slide was depth. However, that won't be a problem this season as Sutton has added a full complement of seven players to the team. Joining the Cowboy family in 2007-08 are two junior-college transfers and five freshmen.
Anthony Brown is a junior transfer from Carl Albert State College in Poteau, Okla. He should replace some of the potent offense around the basket lost with Boggan's departure. He averaged 21.4 points per game last season, ranking 12th nationally in the juco ranks.
Brad Garrett is a sharp shooter who has three years of eligibility remaining following a one-year stint at the College of Southern Idaho. As one of the oldest members of the team — he spent two years on a Mormon mission in Mexico — he will provide both maturity and experience.
This year's incoming rookie class is one of the largest since freshmen were allowed to participate with the varsity beginning in the early 70s. Five frosh are listed on the 2007-08 roster.
Perhaps the most decorated is Junction City, Ark., native James Anderson. Despite playing for the small Class 2A school, he was named a McDonald's All-American. He is an extremely athletic wing player who could see playing time immediately.
Martavius Adams is a monster post player from Irwinton, Ga. He and Anderson both led their schools to their respective state championships. Adams will add a winning attitude and raw athleticism to the team.
Marshall Moses is a guard/forward who can play several positions. He is very athletic and has a good shooting touch. A lefty originally from South Carolina, he played his senior season at The Patterson School.
Ibrahima Thomas is a tall and lanky post originally from Dakar, Senegal, by way of Stoneridge Prepatory in California. He has a nice touch from outside, and is explosive off the court, blocking shots at will.
Nick Sidorakis was the first player in this class to commit to Oklahoma State. A Jenks native, Sidorakis is an athletic guard who can also shoot from the perimeter. He led the Trojans to back-to-back Tournament of Champions title, garnering MVP honors both times.
Oklahoma State's schedule will certainly be challenging. An early season visit to Hawaii for the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational will be a tough test with LSU, Marquette, Duke, Princeton and Illinois in the field.
The Cowboys will host Washington in the inaugural season of the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series on Dec. 1. OSU will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers right after finals, and it will be brother-vs-brother as the Pokes play Oral Roberts and the Golden Eagles' head coach Scott Sutton in the O'Reilly All-College Classic on Dec. 20.
Oklahoma State will host four-consecutive home games over the holiday break before opening Big 12 Conference play on Jan. 12 by hosting Bob Knight and his Texas Tech Red Raiders. That game will be televised by CBS.
Home-and-home series with the Big 12 South schools, as well as home games against Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska from the North and trips to Iowa State, Kansas State and Missouri complete the league slate.
The Cowboy schedule includes 25 televised games, including 16 on national television. OSU has four-consecutive games scheduled for ESPN telecasts, including back-to-back Big Monday games on Jan. 21 and Jan. 28. The Kansas game in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Feb. 23 will be aired on CBS, while the game at Texas on March 9 will be the final nationally televised game of the regular season.
The Cowboy Sports Network will televise six games throughout the season, including the games at North Texas and at Baylor, which means every road game will be televised, giving Cowboy fans a chance to watch every single game this season.
