Men's Basketball Team Ready To Roll

Oct. 2, 2000

NORMAN, Okla. - Since he became the University of Oklahoma's men's basketball coach on April 25, 1994, Kelvin Sampson has assembled numerous top-notch teams, maybe none more successful than last season's 27-7 squad that played in the Big 12 Tournament championship game and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament's West Region bracket. But while Sampson acknowledges the importance of a good season, the seventh-year Sooner coach has emphasized the construction and continuing growth of his program. Each of his OU teams have participated in the NCAA Tournament, and his 2000-2001 version, already ranked 11th nationally in one preseason publication, will be expected to do the same.

"I've learned that success at our level is about getting better each year," noted Sampson. "And I don't think you can measure success in number of wins. When you lose a senior class like we did last year and have people say that you're going to be good again, that's what I'm proud of. We've been consistently good. I think you want to be part of a program where expectations are high, and I think we've raised the bar here at Oklahoma.

"As a coach, the questions you ask yourself are, `Are you getting better?' and `Are you doing it consistently?' There are a lot of programs that have a great year and then you don't hear from them for a while. Well, that means they had a good team. The difference between teams and programs is that programs don't rebuild. They just consistently win. Our goal here has been to build a great program."

With the OU program's foundation firmly in place, Sampson's goals turn loftier each season. His expectations are as high as ever.

BACKCOURT
Tim Heskett (6-1, 175, Sr., Guard)
Nolan Johnson (6-4, 220, Sr., Guard)
Kelley Newton (6-2, 190, Sr., Guard)
Michael Cano (6-1, 175, Jr., Guard)
J.R. Raymond (6-2, 175, Jr., Guard)
Hollis Price (6-1, 170, So., Guard)
Blake Johnston (6-1, 175, Fr., Guard)

Entering the 1999-2000 season, Oklahoma's biggest question mark stood in the backcourt. The Sooners boasted plenty of talented guards on the roster, but lack of experience was somewhat of a concern. No such worries exist this year as OU returns all of its guards from last season and adds a talented prep recruit.

Nolan Johnson

Expected to be one of the squad's top performers is senior Nolan Johnson. The 6-4, 220-pound lefty averaged 10.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last year, but boasted 13.2 and 6.1 figures over the team's final 15 contests. He also scored at least 20 points in three of OU's final six outings. A starter in 31 games, Johnson recorded a .559 field goal percentage and shot a stellar .627 in Big 12 play. He is also one of the team's top defenders.

"Nolan's a load," said Sampson, who has averaged 23.7 wins over the last three seasons. "He's difficult to match up with because of his strength and quickness. He really improved as the season went on and that was mainly due to confidence. We're going to to challenge Nolan to be our leading rebounder this year, to be our defensive stopper, to be our best player from day one. He has the ability to do that, but he has to learn how to do that consistently in practice, day in and day out."

Tim Heskett

Fifth-year senior Tim Heskett, OU's career leader in three-point percentage (.420), always presents a threat from beyond the arc. He started in the team's first 13 games and went on to average 7.4 points per contest thanks to 75 treys on the year. Only four of his field goals were from inside the arc. Besides Heskett's obvious tangible attributes, Sampson credits him for his intangible gifts.

"I think there are a lot of people who follow Oklahoma basketball," began Sampson, "who have a great appreciation for Tim because they can relate to him. Tim's greatest value, other than he's one of the best three-point shooters in the country, is that he's an everyday player. He plays hard, he plays with spirit, with great emotion and enthusiasm. He gets on the floor and gives up his body. He's all about winning. In one word, he's a winner."

Kelley Newton, the team's third senior in the backcourt, is another streaky long-range threat. The sharpshooter posted a .398 three-point mark last year, but spent most of the season hovering around the .500 mark. Newton canned 6-of-7 trey attempts versus Georgia Southern and buried 5-of-6 attempts at home versus Texas A&M. He averaged 6.3 points per game in his first season after redshirting the 1998-99 campaign due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

Kelley Newton

"When you look at a lot of our big wins last year, you remember some clutch three-pointers by Kelley," commented Sampson. "He has no fear. He has the confidence to step up and take the big three at the end of a game. I've always admired that about him. We expect him to have an outstanding senior season. He's been through the wars and I think he'll respond."

A third-team All-Big 12 selection by league coaches last year, junior J.R. Raymond is the team's top returning scorer. He started in all 34 games and averaged 13.4 points, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals per contest. He also led the team with 95 three-pointers (the second-highest single-season figure in OU history) and posted a healthy .413 mark from downtown. He played point guard most of the season before moving to the two-guard position late in the year.

"He's an outstanding, talented guard, one of the best in the Big 12 Conference. He's a performer, a lights guy. When the lights come on, he can play. He's an easy kid to coach. He has great quickness, is a good ball-handler and passer. But we need J.R. to step forward this year and become more of a defensive stopper, to take more pride in his individual defense," said Sampson.

Likely to take over point guard duties is sophomore Hollis Price. A member of the Big 12 All-Freshman Team last year, Price started in 22 games, including 20 of the last 21, and led the team with 3.5 assists and ranked second with 1.4 steals per outing. He also averaged 7.2 points per game and shot a team-best .833 from the free throw line. His 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio was fourth best in the conference.

"Hollis will be a great leader for our program, if not as a sophomore then as a junior and senior," said Sampson. "He's one of those guys who takes care of business and understands how things should be done. He's quicker and stronger than he was last year, but I think his greatest strides have come between his ears. Hollis is going to be a star here one day."

Junior guard Michael Cano played a total of 20 minutes in 13 games last year. The former walk-on scored three points on the season, but was a valuable performer every day in practice and played the important role of bench enthusiast on gamedays.

Said Sampson, "Michael is a tremendous part of our program. He's not a walk-on anymore. He's a full-fledged member of this program on and off the court. He's a great student and person. He knows how to get into it in practice and make us better. I have great respect for him."

OU's lone backcourt recruit, Blake Johnston, was a first-team All-State and honorable mention McDonald's All-America pick at Midland (Texas) High School. He averaged 23.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.4 steals last season and helped his four high school teams to a combined 127-16 (.888) record.

"Blake's greatest strength is that he knows how to play. He's a point guard who passes the ball well, sees the floor and makes people better. I've liked Blake since he was a sophomore and when we had the opportunity to get him, we went after him. I think he's going to develop into a very good point guard," said Sampson.

FRONTCOURT
Jameel Heywood (6-6, 230, Sr., Forward)
Ronnie Griffin (6-9, 235, Jr., Forward)
Aaron McGhee (6-8, 245, Jr., Forward)
Daryan Selvy (6-6, 215, Jr., Forward)
Jozsef Szendrei (6-9, 240, Jr., Center)
Johnnie Gilbert (6-7, 220, Fr., Forward)

Jameel Heywood

Unlike last season, Oklahoma welcomes several new faces to the frontcourt. A year ago, Jameel Heywood was the lone incoming frontcourt player on the roster. This year, he is the lone returning member of the frontcourt. Five highly touted recruits, four of them junior college transfers, will join him.

Heywood, a senior forward who is 6-6 and 230 pounds, backed up third-team All-American Eduardo Najera last year. He averaged 11.1 minutes in 30 games and posted 3.2 and 2.9 per-game scoring and rebounding averages. He also shot .606 from the field, better than any other Sooner.

"Jameel will be a kid who we count on heavily. Playing against Eduardo in practice every day last year was invaluable for him. He got to play against the best. I thought he played well when he got into games, but he was in the unenviable position of backing up our superman. Sometimes he didn't get to play as much as he probably deserved. Early on this year, we expect Jameel to establish himself because he's been through the wars."

One of two first-team junior college All-Americans joining the squad, Aaron McGhee is expected to make significant contributions immediately. The 6-8, 245-pound left-handed forward averaged 26.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last year at Vincennes (Ind.) Junior College and went on to earn MVP honors at the national junior college tournament by averaging 34.5 points per outing.

Sampson noted, "There have been three junior college kids who we've signed since I've been here that I knew would impact us their very first year: Nate Erdmann, Corey Brewer and now Aaron McGhee. I think Aaron is an impact player because he has a great skill that he can bring to the table every day - he can score the ball."

Also possessing scoring ability is fellow first-team All-American Daryan Selvy. At 6-6 and 215 pounds, Selvy averaged 22.9 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.7 steals per game at Carl Albert (Okla.) Junior College. He was named the Region 2 player of the year and should see a lot of floor time this season.

"He reminds me a little bit of Spiderman with his long, long arms. If you watch him play, he's long and rangy. He plays hard, although he'll find that there's another level. If I put our five best players on the floor, I'm sure Daryan would be in there. But I've got to figure out where he'll benefit our team the most."

A third forward and another junior college transfer, Ronnie Griffin earned first-team All-Panhandle Conference recognition at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College last year when he averaged 12.5 points and 5.3 boards per game. He began his career at Eastern Kentucky and averaged 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 1998-99 as a freshman.

"He's very skilled and has good tools," said Sampson. "Ronnie's long and tall but can dribble and pass in the open court. He's not a center, just a tall player. The things he has are things you can't teach and those are size and skill. The mixture is there. If we can get him to buy into our program, then Ronnie Griffin will really help us."

Center Jozsef Szendrei, who hails from Budapest, Hungary, averaged 15.3 points and 14.5 rebounds last year at Northeastern (Colo.) Junior College. Szendrei, who stands 6-9 and weighs 240 pounds, tore the ACL in his right knee and had surgery in June. He is expected to be back by Dec. 1.

"When we recruited Jozsef," said Sampson, "we thought he was one of the best defensive rebounders we'd seen. He's not a great scorer, but he's adequate. He can shoot and make baskets. He's also a good passer from the high post. His presence will make others better because of his passing skills. I also think he fits our identity because he's so tough and physical."

Rounding out the frontcourt is freshman Johnnie Gilbert. A 6-7, 220-pound forward from Minneapolis, Minn., he earned first-team All-State acclaim and the city's player-of-the-year honor. He averaged 17.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks for his Patrick Henry High School team that finished 29-1, won the 3A state title and earned a final national ranking of No. 22 by USA Today. Sampson is anxious for Gilbert to begin his OU career.

"I'm very excited about Johnnie," said the Sooners' mentor. "He's a young left-hander who's long and rangy. He blocks a lot of shots and scores a lot. The first time I saw him play he grabbed 25 rebounds against one of the top AAU programs in the country. Right away I knew the kid has a nose for the ball. I just think before Johnnie's career is over, he'll be a big-time player at Oklahoma."

The Sooners play their first exhibition game Saturday, Nov. 4 versus the California All-Stars at 7 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center. After a second exhibition contest Nov. 11, OU begins its regular season Friday, Nov. 17 when it hosts Alcorn State at 8:15 p.m. in the first round of the Sooner Invitational.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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