Sooner Men's Hoops Squad Hits Hawaii For Big Island Invitational

Nov. 22, 2000

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TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Ranked 19th in both the AP and the ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls, Oklahoma participates in the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii, Nov. 24-26. The Sooners open tournament action Friday versus Montana State at 6:30 p.m. CST and will face either Tulane or host team Hawaii-Hilo on Saturday at 9 p.m. (if OU beats Montana State) or 11:30 p.m. CST. OU will face Appalachian State, Long Beach State, Oregon State or San Francisco on Sunday. All games will air on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (flagship KOMA 1520 AM in Oklahoma City). Mark Mathew (play-by-play) and former Sooner Renzi Stone (analyst) will call the action.

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners won their second straight Sooner Invitational over the weekend with 75-56 and 89-72 victories over Alcorn State and La Salle, respectively. Aaron McGhee, a member of the all-tournament team, averaged 21.0 points and 8.0 rebounds to pace OU in both departments. Four other Sooners averaged double figures in scoring, including fellow all-tourney team member Kelley Newton (11.5 ppg) and MVP Hollis Price (11.0 ppg). Nolan Johnson averaged 10.0 points while J.R. Raymond scored 16 in his only appearance on the second night.

In the opening-round win over Alcorn State, junior forward McGhee recorded game highs in points and rebounds in his Oklahoma debut with 27 and nine, respectively. Senior guard Newton scored 13 points and sophomore point guard Price produced his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists as OU recorded its seventh consecutive season-opening triumph. Price, who committed just one turnover, also matched his career high with five steals. The Sooners committed 12 turnovers while forcing 26.

In the championship game, Oklahoma jumped to a 20-point first-half lead and took a 42-29 lead to the locker room. La Salle outscored the Sooners 14-2 to start the second half and trimmed OU's lead to one at 44-43. OU issued a 13-2 run to go back ahead by 12 before the Explorers again cut the margin to one at 65-64 with seven minutes left. A 14-0 Oklahoma spurt put the game out of reach, however, as OU improved to 2-0. J.R. Raymond, one of six Sooners in double figures, scored a team-high 16 points. McGhee added 15 points and a team-high seven boards. La Salle forward Rasual Butler scored a game-high 33 points, 26 of them in the second half when he made seven three-pointers, and fellow forward Victor Thomas added 23 points. No other Explorer attempted more than two field goals.

ABOUT MONTANA STATE
Montana State enters the Big Island Invitational with a 1-1 record. The Bobcats opened the regular season with a 79-60 home win over Western Illinois on Saturday as reserve sophomore center Tom Duffy scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting to lead four players in double digits. Junior guard Justin Brown was 3-for-4 from three-point land and finished with 13 points while sophomore center Kyle Stirmlinger and sophomore forward Pete Conway added 11 and 10, respectively. Western Illinois committed 23 turnovers, the most by an MSU opponent in 86 games.

The Bobcats didn't fare as well on Monday as they dropped a 79-62 decision at Nevada. Senior forward John Lazosky scored 14 points to lead Montana State while Brown and Stirmlinger added 10 apiece. Nevada expanded its nine-point halftime lead to 18 with an 11-2 run to open the second half and MSU never got closer than 16 points. Nevada outrebounded the Bobcats by a convincing 40-20 margin and forced 25 Montana State turnovers. For the second consecutive game, the Bobcats forced their opponent into 23 miscues.

Last season, the Bobcats finished 12-17 overall and 4-12 in the Big Sky Conference (seventh place). Mick Durham, a Montana State alumnus, is in his 11th year as the school's head coach. He owns a 157-132 (.543) career record.

SERIES WITH MONTANA STATE
OU's lone meeting with Montana State was last year in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. In the first game of the season for both teams, Oklahoma notched a 91-76 win thanks to 29 points from J.R. Raymond in his collegiate debut. The 29 points were the second most by a Sooner in his team debut (Alvan Adams scored 38 in 1972). Raymond canned 9-of-16 field goal attempts, including 5-of-9 from three-point territory, and had six rebounds and five assists. The Sooners, who led by just two at halftime, scored 53 after the break. OU shot .544 for the game and its .667 (12-for-18) three-point mark was its best of the season. Montana State's Justin Brown was 6-for-6 from long range and finished with a team-high 27 points. He was the only Bobcat in double figures.

OU VERSUS THE REST OF THE FIELD
The Sooners lead the all-time series versus Hawaii-Hilo (2-0) and Oregon State (3-1). Oklahoma trails San Francisco (1-0) and Tulane (1-0), and has never faced Appalachian State or Long Beach State.

SOONERS MAKING SECOND TRIP TO HILO
This year's trip to the Big Island Invitational is Oklahoma's second. The Sooners also participated in the tournament in the 1997-98 season as the nation's 18th-ranked team and finished a disappointing 1-2. OU opened play with a 73-63 loss to Butler and followed with a second-round setback to Wisconsin, 75-64. The lone victory came against host Hawaii-Hilo on the final day of competition, 86-70.

This will mark Oklahoma's ninth tournament in Hawaii. The Sooners own a 14-8 record in eight previous tournament appearances with championships coming in the 1987-88 (Chaminade Classic) and 1985-86 (Hawaii-Loa Tournament) seasons.

OU'S TOURNAMENT SUCCESS
Oklahoma will be pursuing its sixth straight regular season tournament title this week after securing the Sooner Invitational crown last weekend. Last year the Sooners won the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, the Sooner Invitational in Norman and the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City. OU also captured the All-College Tournament championship in the 1998-99 season. The Sooners' last loss in regular season tourney competition came to North Carolina State (62-58) in the final round of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic in December 1998.

PLAYER PERSONNEL

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS			PPG	RPG	APG
F	13	Aaron McGhee (6-8, 250, Jr.)	21.0	8.0	0.5
F	34	Jameel Heywood (6-6, 230, Sr.)	5.5	7.0	0.5
G	5	Nolan Johnson (6-4, 220, Sr.)	10.0	2.0	1.5
G	10	Hollis Price (6-1, 170, So.)	11.0	4.0	8.5
G	22	Kelley Newton (6-2, 190, Sr.)	11.5	3.0	3.0

MONTANA STATE PROJECTED STARTERS			PPG	RPG	APG
F	24	Aaron Rich (6-6, 205, Jr.)	6.5	2.5	2.0
F	52	John Lazosky (6-8, 240, Sr.)	10.0	0.5	0.5
C	44	Kyle Stirmlinger (6-11, 245, So.)	10.5	4.5	0.0
G	22	James Clark (5-11, 165, Jr.)	1.5	0.5	3.5
G	20	Justin Brown (6-4, 175, Jr.)	11.5	1.0	1.5

PRICE IS RIGHT
Sooner Invitational MVP Hollis Price registered two-game averages of 11.0 points, 8.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals. Price, who played 72 minutes in OU's wins over Alcorn State and La Salle, committed just three turnovers. His assist-to-turnover ratio for the season stands at 5.7 to 1.

The sophomore's 10 assists in Friday's opener were the most by a Sooner since Dec. 22, 1997, when Michael Johnson tied the school record with 18 assists versus North Texas. Price, from New Orleans, La., led the Sooners in assists last year with 120 despite not taking over the majority of the point-guard duties until late in the season. He was a member of the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

NEWTON PROVIDING SCORING PUNCH
Senior sharpshooter Kelley Newton has upped his scoring figures from a year ago. Last season, the Kansas City, Kan., product averaged 6.3 points per game. Including OU's exhibition games this year, Newton has scored in double digits in all four contests. A starter in the team's two regular season games, he is averaging 11.5 points per outing to rank second on the team. Newton also averaged a squad-best 21.5 points during the two-game exhibition season.

RAYMOND NETS 16 IN SEASON DEBUT
Junior guard J.R. Raymond scored a team-high 16 points versus La Salle in the Sooner Invitational title game. It was Raymond's first action of the season as he served a three-game suspension for violating team rules. OU's two exhibition games counted toward the suspension. Raymond was 6-for-12 from the field with a pair of three-point buckets and contributed an assist and two steals in 29 minutes. He is the Sooners' leading returning scorer from last year (13.4 ppg). and was a third-team All-Big 12 pick.

LONG DISTANCE TROUBLES
While a two-game .295 three-point percentage is no cause for alarm, it is a significantly lower mark than the Sooners are used to posting as a team. Oklahoma shot just .250 (5-for-20) in its opener versus Alcorn State and followed with a .333 (8-for-24) performance against La Salle. Last year, the Sooners ranked second in the Big 12 with a .383 season three-point mark and two years ago finished second with a .388 mark.

OU's guards, who recorded a .407 three-point percentage last year, sport a combined .268 (11-41) mark through two games. Interestingly, post player Aaron McGhee, the heaviest player on the roster at 250 pounds, sports a team-best .667 (2-for-3) three-point figure.

NEWCOMER GRIFFIN TO MISS BIG ISLAND OPENER
Junior forward Ronnie Griffin did not participate in the first two regular season games and will sit out the Big Island Invitational opener versus Montana State. The delay in his initial participation with the University of Oklahoma is a result of eligibility issues that occurred prior to his recruitment by or attendance at OU. Griffin will be eligible to participate in the second game of the tournament.

The 6-9 Louisville, Ky., native averaged 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College last year and was a first-team All-Panhandle Conference selection. Griffin shot .544 from the field and helped the Eagles to a 25-5 final record.

OU BOASTS NATION'S FOURTH-LONGEST POSTSEASON STREAK
Oklahoma has made 19 consecutive postseason appearances (15 NCAA and four NIT), the fourth-longest streak among Division I programs. Only North Carolina (34 years), Georgetown (26) and Indiana (23) own longer postseason streaks. The last time Oklahoma did not compete in the postseason was in 1980-81. The four longest current postseason streaks are as follows:

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Oklahoma has registered a winning record in 23 of its last 24 seasons. No other Big 12 team can boast as many winning campaigns since the 1975-76 season as the Sooners. OU has posted a 531-239 (.690) record over the past 24 years.

SAMPSON SIGNS PAIR OF RECRUITS
Head Coach Kelvin Sampson announced Nov. 7 that center Jabahri Brown and wing Matt Gipson have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at OU next season.

"Jabahri and Matt are two young men who give us a great follow-up to last year's outstanding recruiting class," said Sampson. "We really wanted to get better inside and be more athletic. We accomplished both goals by signing these two talented players."

A native of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, the 6-11 Brown transferred to Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla., following his freshman year at Florida International University last season. Brown will transfer to OU at the end of the current semester and will be eligible to play for the Sooners following the conclusion of the fall 2001 semester when he will have sophomore status. He averaged 8.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocked shots and 1.6 steals in 24.3 minutes per game last season as a true freshman at Florida International.

Gipson is a 6-9 wing player from Burkburnett High School in Burkburnett, Texas, who averaged 21.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game as a junior last year. Compared in style by some to former Utah standout Keith Van Horn, Gipson helped his squad to a 24-11 record while earning unanimous all-district and all-region honors. Fastbreak Recruiting rates him as the fifth-best senior in the Midwest.

HEAD COACH KELVIN SAMPSON
Now in his 18th year as a collegiate head coach, Kelvin Sampson is in his seventh year at the Oklahoma helm. He has averaged 21.7 wins per season at OU and is one of two Big 12 coaches -- Kansas' Roy Williams is the other -- to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament each of the last six seasons.

Sampson began his head coaching career in 1980 at Montana Tech when he was hired as the program's interim head coach. He recorded a 73-45 mark in four seasons and was inducted into the school's sports hall of fame three years ago.

In 1988, Sampson was named head coach at Washington State and compiled an even 103-103 record over seven years, including two 20-win campaigns.

Hired by Oklahoma on April 25, 1994, he has guided the Sooners to a 132-62 (.680) record and a 77-15 (.837) home mark. Two of his OU squads (1997-98 and 1999-00) have played in the Big 12 Tournament championship game. In 1998-99, he directed OU to an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance.

Sampson was named the 1995 national coach of the year by the Associated Press, the USBWA and Basketball Times.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooner Men's Hoops Squad Hits Hawaii For Big Island Invitational

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