University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Men Complete First Official Practice
October 14, 2005 | Men's Basketball
NORMAN, Okla. The moment Kelvin Sampson and his Sooners have waited for since a March 19 second-round NCAA Tournament loss finally arrived Friday night. The Oklahoma men's basketball team held its first official practice of the 2005-06 season at Lloyd Noble Center a near-three-hour workout that focused on drill work, fundamentals and defense.
All but one of the 12 team members participated in the practice. Taj Gray, a first-team All-Big 12 selection and the league's newcomer of the year last season, watched from the sidelines the majority of the evening. The 6-9 senior forward is battling a toe infection and is expected to miss the first few days of practice.
Fellow senior Kevin Bookout was held out of the contact portion of practice as the 6-8 forward is recovering from elbow surgery.
“The silver lining to having Taj out with his injury and Kevin not able to go full speed is that we were able to get (sophomore center) Longar Longar and (freshman forward) Taylor Griffin out there a bunch,” said Sampson, the Big 12's all-time winningest coach who is starting his 12th season at OU. “They would not have gotten that much attention if Taj and Kevin were healthy. But what we practiced tonight, Taj and Kevin already know it. Tonight we were able to go slow, let the young guys make some mistakes and break things down. Tomorrow we'll watch film and learn from it.”
Focuses for Friday's workout included mid-range shooting, rebounding, defensive footwork, defensive positioning and transition defense. The infamous “Bubble Drill” was also worked into the practice plan. As customary, OU concluded the evening with extensive free throw shooting.
“We're going to be a good defensive team,” said Sampson. “We may not be a good defensive team at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14, but we're going to be a good defensive team. You can tell. We're strong, we have length and we have athletic ability. I think we're also going to be a really good rebounding team.”
“It was tough,” said the 6-7 Griffin of his first full collegiate practice. “The toughest part was learning all the new things. I have to make it so they come natural. Right now I kind of feel mechanical out there, just trying to make sure I don't screw up. Once it becomes more natural I'll be all right.
“Everything was about what I expected to be,” added Griffin, “but that Bubble Drill' was something else. It was different. I thought there would be a little bit of restraint, but there were no rules out there. I'll be more prepared for that next time.”
The Sooners are scheduled to practice twice on Saturday and once on Sunday.
Fans will be able to watch the OU men's and women's teams in action next Friday (Oct. 21) at the SoonerRally/Baseline Bash inside Lloyd Noble Center. Doors open at 6 p.m., an autograph session will be held from 6:15 to 7 and the program will begin at 7. Scheduled for the men's portion of the event is a dunk contest and a scrimmage. Admission is free.
