University of Oklahoma Athletics
Men's Basketball Back At Renovated Lloyd Noble For Friday Exhibition
November 08, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2001
GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 25th and 23rd in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, respectively, Oklahoma plays its second and final exhibition game of the year against EA Sports Central All-Stars Friday at 7 p.m. at the newly renovated Lloyd Noble Center. 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
EA Sports All-Stars is a nine-member traveling squad that will be playing its eighth game of a 10-game schedule when it faces Oklahoma Friday. The contest will mark the team's eighth in nine days. Featured on the squad are former UCLA standout (and son of former NBA player Marques Johnson) Kris Johnson, former Nevada-Reno star Jimmy Carroll, and Marek Ondera and Duane Simpkins, who played at UC Irvine and Maryland, respectively.
Coached by Phil Bryant, the Central All-Stars own a 2-4 record through Wednesday night with wins over Arkansas State (97-93 Monday) and Arkansas (87-84 Tuesday). The team has lost to New Mexico (77-71), Texas Tech (81-76), SMU (94-85) and Kansas (98-77). Johnson leads the team in scoring with a 19.3 average (scored 34 at Texas Tech and 32 at Arkansas State) while Carroll averages 14.7 points. Former East Carolina star Jonathan Kerner averages a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game and Simpkins averages a team-best 5.2 assists.
SOONERS WIN EXHIBITION OPENER
Oklahoma notched its first win of the year on Monday, an 86-78 exhibition triumph over Athletes First at the Howard McCasland Field House. Hollis Price led all Sooner scorers with 20 points while Aaron McGhee and junior college transer Ebi Ere added 19 points each. Point guard Quannas White, another juco transfer, added 10 points and junior post Jozsef Szendrei pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds in 19 minutes of play. The Sooners shot just .390 from the field but performed nicely on the glass by posting a 49-39 advantage. OU grabbed 21 offensive boards to Athletes First's eight and the Sooners committed only 12 turnovers, six fewer than its opponent. Oklahoma, which led by as many as 15 (30-15) in the first half, carried a 46-33 lead into the halftime locker room but was outscored 45-40 in the second 20 minutes. Alonzo Richmond and Tony Heard led Athletes First with 21 and 20 points while Kelvin Howell added 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Former Sooners Eric Martin and James Mayden scored 10 and two points, respectively.
"I thought that Athletes First gave us a good test tonight," said OU head coach Kelvin Sampson following the game. "They've got a lot of good talent on that team, including Tony Heard and Eric Martin. You certainly have to give them credit, but we can play better. Our team did some good things but it's Nov. 5 and we played just about how we should. We're going to get a lot better and the good thing is that we have a few days to practice on some things so we can continue to improve."
EXHIBITION LEFTOVERS
OKLAHOMA SCOUTING REPORT
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.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
After playing its opening exhibition game at the Howard McCasland Field House, OU returns to its normal home, Lloyd Noble Center, for Friday's contest against the EA Sports Central All-Stars. Lloyd Noble Center is in the midst of a $17.1 million renovation and expansion project with the majority of the facelift to the existing arena recently completed. The renovation included a new ceiling, new and brighter "sports lighting" and the addition of retractable floor seating that will move fans closer to the playing surface. A new court is expected to be installed prior to Monday's regular season opener.
The expansion portion of the project will result in arguably the top collegiate basketball practice, training and office facility in the country. The OU men's and women's teams have each begun working out in brand new practice gyms and will soon have at their disposal new locker rooms, player lounges, film rooms, training rooms, meeting rooms, a hydrotherapy room, an X-ray and examination room, a weight room and coaching offices. The new 70,000-square-foot facility will also include a banquet room and a legacy lobby.
Oklahoma posted a 13-1 record at Lloyd Noble Center last season and is 88-16 (.846) in seven seasons inside the building under Kelvin Sampson.
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 Oct. 30, 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 (Blue Ribbon Yearbook and 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 and 25th in the AP version.
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, a unanimous NJCAA All-Tournament selection after averaging a tourney-high 32.3 points per game over four outings, was successful in his OU debut Monday against Athletes First. He registered 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
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
Oklahoma will start its regular season with a first-round home Preseasn NIT game against Central Connecticut on 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 and consolation games 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
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.
AP TOP 25 POLL
Nov. 5, 2001
(First-place votes in parentheses)
School Record 1. Duke (61) 0-0 2. Maryland (1) 0-0 3. Illinois 0-0 4. Kentucky 0-0 5. UCLA 0-0 6. Florida 0-0 7. Kansas 0-0 8. Missouri 0-0 9. Iowa 0-0 10. St. Joseph's 0-0 11. Virginia 0-0 12. Memphis 0-0 13. Stanford 0-0 14. Georgetown 0-0 15. Michigan State 0-0 16. Temple 0-0 17. Boston College 0-0 18. Oklahoma State 0-0 19. North Carolina 0-0 20. Southern Cal 0-0 21. Syracuse 0-0 22. Indiana 0-0 23. Texas 0-0 24. Alabama 0-0 25. Oklahoma 0-0
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
