Sampson's Sooners Host Athletes First Monday

Nov. 4, 2001

GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today poll, Oklahoma starts its 2001-02 campaign with a home exhibition game against Athletes First Monday at 7 p.m. at the Howard McCasland Field House. The game will air live on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (flagship KOMA 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action.

Tickets are available and cost $10 for the general public. OU students who present a valid student I.D. will be admitted free.

PROJECTED OU STARTERS

F  13  Aaron McGhee (6-8, 250, Sr.)

F  24  Daryan Selvy (6-6, 215, Sr.)

G  2   Ebi Ere (6-5, 215, Jr.)

G  4   Quannas White (6-1, 190, Jr.)

G  10  Hollis Price (6-1, 165, Jr.)

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Athletes First is a 10-member squad that will be playing its fourth game of a 10-game schedule when it faces Oklahoma Monday. The team features three former Sooners in forward Kermit Holmes (1989-91), forward James Mayden (1993-95) and guard Eric Martin (1997-99). Tony Heard, a former Tulsa point guard who signed with OU out of high school prior to attending junior college, is also on the squad, as is former Oral Roberts standout Chad Wilkerson. Former Big 12 players Kelvin Howell (Kansas State) and Brodney Kennard (Texas Tech) are also among those who will suit up for Athletes First.

Coached by Gary Vick, Athletes First is 1-2 in its three games. The squad knocked off Wichita State last Thursday, 93-88, behind Wilkerson's 25 points before losing at Oral Roberts Saturday (93-66) and Tulsa Sunday (101-77). Alonzo Richmond, who played for Phillips, leads the team with a 14.0 average while Howell is averaging 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots in his two games (he did not play versus Wichita State). Heard is coming off a 23-point performance against Tulsa after scoring three points in the first two games combined.

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners are coming off a 26-7 campaign in which they tied for second place in the Big 12. OU won the postseason league tournament, was ranked 13th in the final AP poll and earned its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.

This year's squad returns 45.4 percent of its scoring and 49.5 percent of its rebounding from last season. Back are senior forward Aaron McGhee and junior guard Hollis Price, the team's second and third-leading scorers a year ago. McGhee averaged 12.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing while Price averaged 11.8 points, a team-high 4.7 assists and team-best 1.9 steals. Also returning are senior forward Daryan Selvy (6.9 ppg and team-leading 5.2 rpg) and sophomore forward Johnnie Gilbert (2.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg). Junior center Jozsef Szendrei and redshirt freshman Blake Johnston saw very limited time early last season before missing the rest of the campaign due to injuries. Former walk-ons now on scholarship, Richard Ainooson and Michael Cano also return.

A highly rated class of recruits will see significant court time from the get-go. Junior wing Ebi Ere (pronounced EBB-ee ah-RAH), a second-team junior college All-American last year, will start. Fellow junior wing Jason Detrick is an athletic slasher who earned first-team juco All-America honors a year ago and should see plenty of action. Quannas White, another juco product, will play the point. White was Price's backcourt mate in high school and ran a similar offense to OU's the last two years in junior college. Matt Gipson is a talented freshman forward who is a redshirt candidate. Rounding out the class is Jabahri Brown, a 6-10 sophomore who is not eligible until the Dec. 15 game versus High Point. Brown, who began his career at Florida International, will likely start at center once he becomes eligible.

Also new to the team are freshmen Kenny Smith and Michael Liggett, both from Oklahoma City. Smith is a 6-4 guard while Liggett is a 6-6 forward.

OU'S IN THE HOUSE
Due to finishing touches being completed on the newly renovated Lloyd Noble Center, Oklahoma wil play a game inside the historic Field House on campus for the first time since the final contest of the 1974-75 season. Opened in 1928, the OU Field House (now the Howard McCasland Field House) served as the Sooners' home until Lloyd Noble Center was constructed. Oklahoma won the first game in the building against Kansas, 45-19, and went on to win eight league titles in the facility (one as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, six as a member of the Big Six and one as a Big Seven member). Head coaches who directed Sooner teams while OU played in the Field House were Hugh McDermott (11 seasons in the building), Bruce Drake (17), Doyle Parrack (7), Bob Stevens (5), John MacLeod (6) and Joe Ramsey (2). Drakes' 1938-39 and 1947-48 squads advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

EXHIBITING SUCCESS
Despite a narrow 80-78 loss to Global Sports in their second exhibition game last season, the Sooners have compiled an impressive exhibition record over the last 13 years. OU has won its opening exhibition game the last 12 seasons and had assembled a 26-game exhibition winning streak prior to last year's loss.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
In the annual preseason Big 12 media poll released Tuesday, Oklahoma was picked to finish fourth in the league race behind Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma State, respectively. Big 12 coaches also picked the Sooners to finish fourth behind the same three teams. Here are the preseason polls:

Big 12 Media Poll

Team (first-place votes)    Points

1. Kansas (19)              344

2. Missouri (11)            324

3. Oklahoma State           289

4. Oklahoma                 265

5. Texas                    263

6. Iowa State               202

7. Colorado                 175

8. Baylor                   126

9. Texas Tech               116

10. Kansas State            107

11. Nebraska            64

12. Texas A&M               48

Big 12 Coaches Poll

Team (first-place votes)    Points

1. Kansas (7)               126

2. Missouri (4)             111

3. Oklahoma State           100

4. Oklahoma (1)             92

5. Texas                    85

6. Iowa State               64

7. Colorado                 62

8. Kansas State             44

9. Baylor                   40

10. Texas Tech              35

11. Texas A&M               25

12. Nebraska                18

MORE PRESEASON PICKS
Oklahoma is picked as high as 16th nationally (Dick Vitale) in preseason print and online publications. The Sooners have also been tabbed 19th (ESPN.com), 21st (Basketball News) and 24th (Athlon and Street & Smith's). OU is ranked 23rd in the initial ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll.

ERE NAMED PRESEASON NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Junior guard Ebi Ere was named Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year by both league media and coaches. The 6-5, 215-pound Tulsa native was a second-team All-American at Barton County (Kan.) Community College last year when he averaged 25.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocked shots for his 29-9 squad. Ere was a unanimous NJCAA All-Tournament selection after averaging a tourney-high 32.3 points per game over four outings.

BOOK IT
Kelvin Sampson: The OU Basketball Story is now in bookstores. Written by Dallas Morning News' Steve Richardson and released in October, the book chronicles the Oklahoma head coach's journey from his childhood days in North Carolina to coaching stints at Michigan State, Montana Tech and Washington State, and to his current position at OU. The 269-page book is filled with interviews and accounts of former players, coaches and associates. Retail price is $18.95.

A LOOK AHEAD
Following its exhibition game Friday, Nov. 9 against EA Sports at Lloyd Noble Center, Oklahoma will start its regular season with a first-round home Preseasn NIT game against Central Connecticut in Monday, Nov. 12. Should the Sooners win that contest, they will play two nights later against the winner of the Detroit-Michigan State game. Site and time of that contest will be announced following the first round. If OU wins its second game, it will advance to New York City to face DePaul, Fordham, Manhattan or Syracuse Nov. 21 inside Madison Square Garden. The Preseason NIT championship game will be held Nov. 23. If the Sooners make it to the title game they will play Arkansas, Fresno State, Maine, Montana State, Southern Cal, UNC Wilmington, Wake Forest or Wyoming.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Over the last two years, Kelvin Sampson has guided Oklahoma to a .791 winning percentage (53-14), the seventh best in NCAA Division I. Only Stanford, Duke, Michigan State, Iowa State, Tulsa and Cincinnati have posted higher winning percentages over the span.

Last season's NCAA Tournament appearance marked Sampson's eighth straight as a head coach (seven with Oklahoma and one with Washington State). That streak ranks fifth among current coaches.

Oklahoma has finished 12th (2000) and 13th (2001) in the final AP poll the past two years.

The Sooners boast a 55-25 (.688) Big 12 regular season record in the league's five years, second only to Kansas' 64-16 (.800) mark.

OU BOASTS NATION'S FOURTH-LONGEST POSTSEASON STREAK
Oklahoma has made 20 consecutive postseason appearances (16 NCAA and four NIT), the fourth-longest streak among Division I programs. Only North Carolina (35 years), Georgetown (27) and Indiana (24) own longer postseason streaks. The last time Oklahoma did not compete in the postseason was in 1980-81.

PARKING ADVICE
Fans are advised to park at the Duck Pond lot (one block east of Jenkins on Brooks) once the Field House lots fill.

HEAD COACH KELVIN SAMPSON
Now in his 19th year as a collegiate head coach, Kelvin Sampson is in his eighth year at the Oklahoma helm. He has averaged 22.3 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 seven seasons.

Sampson began his head coaching career in 1980 at Montana Tech when he was hired as the program's interim head coach. He went 73-45 in four seasons and was inducted into the school's sports hall of fame four 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 156-69 (.693) record and an 88-16 (.846) home mark. Three of his squads have played in the Big 12 Tournament championship game and last year's squad won the tournament title. 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.

ESPN/USA TODAY TOP 25 POLL
Nov. 1, 2001
(First-place votes in parentheses)

School                Record

1. Duke (30)            35-4

2. Illinois (1)         27-8

3. Maryland             25-11

4. Kentucky             24-10

5. Florida              24-7

6. UCLA                 23-9

7. Kansas               26-7

8. Iowa                 23-12

9. Missouri             20-13

10. St. Joseph's        26-7

11. Virginia            20-9

12. Michigan State      28-5

13. Memphis             21-15

14. Georgetown          25-8

15. Stanford            31-3

16. Boston College      27-5

17. Temple              24-13

18. Oklahoma State      20-10

19. North Carolina      26-7

20. Syracuse            25-9

21. Indiana             21-13

22. Texas               25-9

23. Oklahoma            26-7

24. Southern Cal        24-10

25. Fresno State        26-7

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sampson's Sooners Host Athletes First Monday

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