Last season wasn’t merely a disappointment for Oklahoma State because it failed to capitalize on sky-high preseason expectations. Somewhere along the way, Travis Ford’s team compounded bad luck with bad decisions to spiral completely out of control.
Oklahoma State will be back even without Marcus Smart and Markel Brown
The Cowboys lost seven players from last year’s squad, but Travis Ford has retooled his roster with talented freshmen and JUCO prospects.
Sam Greenwood
The Cowboys started 15-2 with victories over talented Memphis and Texas teams along the way. Marcus Smart was a Player of the Year candidate. His backcourt mate, Markel Brown, wasn't far behind. It seemed as if Oklahoma State could have its first Final Four team since 2004.
That all changed on Jan. 27 with a road loss against Oklahoma, prompting a seven-game losing streak that knocked the Cowboys onto the NCAA Tournament bubble. That stretch included a loss at woeful Texas Tech, punctuated by a push from Smart that made its way around the basketball world faster than you could say "train wreck."
The Cowboys also threw Stevie Clark off the team after 16 games and lost post presence Michael Cobbins after 13 games with a torn ACL. Suddenly, Oklahoma State was short on size in the front court playing in a conference that had some of the best big men in the country.
Five months later, the Cowboys are still without an NCAA Tournament win in the last five years and have said goodbye to a grand total of seven players, accounting for 61 percent of the team’s scoring. Marcus Smart will be a lottery pick in next week’s draft. Brown has a chance to catch on in the second round. In a sense, it confirms just how talented Oklahoma State was last year. It also emphasizes what might have been had the Cowboys been able to play up to their talent level.
Now Ford finds himself at a pivotal moment in his coaching career. With a depleted roster and no true identity, no one will blame him if Oklahoma State stumbles this year.
Ford can now either chalk next season up to rebuilding or make a statement about the long-term prospects of the program with a promising campaign. Though it won’t be easy, the Cowboys just might have assembled the pieces to compete.
At least to start the season, they’ll be playing with very little pressure. Kansas, as usual, is the undisputed Big 12 favorite, with Iowa State, Texas, Kansas State and Oklahoma all in contention. No one will be thinking about the Cowboys.
With Smart and Brown gone, along with the transfers of Kamari Murphy and Brian Williams, people will also forget that Oklahoma State is bringing back two players who could be serious difference-makers in the Big 12.
Those players are guard Phil Forte -- the 5'11 Flower Mound (Texas) rainmaker who posted 13.3 points per game and shot over 44 percent from three -- and rising senior Le'Bryan Nash (13.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg).
Nash and Forte don’t project as preseason All-Americans, but they should provide a solid core around a team that could be better than many are expecting.
To start, the Cowboys have supplemented their backcourt with LSU transfer Anthony Hickey. Hickey gives Oklahoma State a veteran hand to help fill the void left by Smart. While he may not be as talented, his play on both ends of the court helped lead the Tigers to their first 20-win season since 2009.
Last year, Hickey was solid all around, scoring 8.4 points per game, handing out 3.7 assists and leading the team with 62 total steals. He was also reliable with the ball, turning it over just 45 times in 34 games.
The Cowboys are also adding junior college guard Jeff Newberry, who could very well start the season manning the point. Newberry initially committed to Ole Miss, then redshirted as a freshman before going the junior college route.
Up front, Cobbins will be back and ready to vie for playing time with a host of new faces. While the competition should benefit everyone, there are significant question marks.
Top 100 forward Joe Burton seems likely to fit into the rotation right away. Cowboys Ride for Free touts his size, speed and strength, making him one of the more versatile posts in his class.
It also never hurts to have a 7’1 JUCO transfer joining the mix. Anthony Allen, joining Oklahoma State from Lamar State College, led the NJCAA in blocks per game last season and proved to be a competent scorer and rebounder. Provided he shows up with some polish, Allen could be a defensive force who ultimately makes his way into the starting lineup.
Three-star recruit Mitch Solomon is listed as a center as well, but at just 6’9 may see more time at the four. He doesn’t figure to be a huge contributor right away, but, as the top recruit in all of Oklahoma, he is another nice get for Ford and should not be overlooked.
Oklahoma State will have a new identity next year, there’s no question. But it’s hard to find a spot on the roster that does not have some promise. Ford has taken what could have been a disastrous stretch for his program and made it, at the very least, intriguing. The Cowboys probably won’t win the Big 12 this year, but it’d be foolish to count them out of anything without seeing exactly what this unit looks like together.
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