Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Begin Practice for 2012-13 Season
October 12, 2012 | Cowboy Basketball
Oct. 12, 2012
Stillwater, Okla. -- Oklahoma State's Cowboy Basketball team officially started practice Friday evening as teams all across the country were allowed to begin preparation for the 2012-13 season per NCAA rules.
"The first practice was very competitive," said head coach Travis Ford, entering his fifth season as leader of the Cowboys. "The guys still had a very good grasp of what we covered in Spain. I thought the energy level was very, very high. The competitive-ness level was very, very high. And, it was a very physical practice. They were very physical when it came to rebounding, loose balls and screening. It seemed like they came in in good shape."
OSU returns four starters and nine lettermen from last year's squad, with the addition of several newcomers. Four of the Cowboys' top-five scorers from last season return, including preseason All-Big 12 selection Le'Bryan Nash, who averaged 13.3 points and five rebounds per game a year ago.
Along with the sophomore Nash, the other three starters returning are all underclassmen. Junior Markel Brown averaged 10.5 points and 5.1 board per game a season ago, and also led the team in assists with 80. Redshirt sophomores Brian Williams (9.6 points per game) and Michael Cobbins (5.7 rebounds per game, 49 blocked shots) both started 20 or more games last season.
Senior Jéan-Paul Olukemi, who started 11 games last year before suffering a knee injury in the non-conference finale against Virginia Tech, was averaging 9.4 points per game before missing the conference portion of the schedule. Fellow senior Philip Jurick started 16 games for the Pokes and was averaging 4.9 rebounds per game with 47 blocked shots before he injured his ankle against Kansas State. Sophomore Marek Soucek was just coming into his own when the season ended last year.
Newcomers to the squad include McDonald's All-American Marcus Smart, who led the USA Under-18 squad to the FIBA Americas championship this past summer. His high school teammate, Phil Forte, won two separate 3-point shooting contests over the summer, one at the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans and the other at the Kentucky Derby Festival Classic. Kamari Murphy, a forward originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., spent the past year at IMG Academy in Florida, honing his basketball skills.
On Wednesday, Ford shared his thoughts about what he expected from Friday's first practice and the upcoming season.
"I'm excited about the first day of practice, because of the potential of this basketball team," Ford said. "Potential is a big word, but I like the makeup of this team. I like that we have some returning players, although they are young, they're returners that got some valuable experience last year. We're also adding some impact-type players. And, with our opportunity to take a trip to Spain, our first day of practice should run smooth. We won't spend a lot of wasted time teaching terminology, teaching certain drills, it should be very sharp. We should be able to get a lot more accomplished than a normal first day of practice. And that's exciting."
Homecoming & Hoops, the annual event showcasing the Cowboy and Cowgirl Basketball squads, will take place on Friday, Oct. 19, at 9 pm inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU opens the season unofficially on Thursday, Nov. 1, when the Pokes host Ottawa University in an exhibition game starting at 7 pm. The season opener against UC Davis will be on Friday, Nov. 9, as the second game of a doubleheader with the Cowgirls, which begins at 5:30 pm.
