Kevin Bookout Q and A

NORMAN, Okla. - Kevin Bookout, a homegrown Oklahoma product from Stroud, is entering his senior season as a member of the OU men's basketball team. The tri-captain (along with fellow seniors Terrell Everett and Taj Gray) was a third-team All-Big 12 pick last year by the league's coaches and media after averaging 11.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and shooting .592 from the field. He owns a .578 career field goal percentage, barely trailing Wayman Tisdale for the school's all-time mark.

At 6-8, 270 pounds, Bookout also has two years of track and field eligibility remaining. He is a two-time All-American in the shotput (outdoor) and also throws the discus.

Bookout recently took time to answer questions regarding summer surgery and the upcoming hoops season. The Sooners are a consensus top-10 national preseason pick.

What are your expectations for yourself your senior year?
Bookout: "To make first-team all conference, that's a goal for anybody. Me, Taj (Gray), Terrell (Everett), we're seniors and we want to go out on a good note. If I can make first-team all conference and lead the Big 12 in field goal percentage, that would be great."

Entering the season with the second best career field goal percentage in school history, do you think you can break Wayman Tisdale's record?
Bookout: "I think I have a pretty good shot. My shoulder feels great and my elbow feels great. Last year I shot really well in the beginning and then kind of went into a slump. And then I shot the ball really well in the end. So if I have a consistent year I think I can beat it."

What would it be like to hold the record?
Bookout: "It would be cool. I would like to set that record and one of the track records. If I can accomplish both it would be cool."

Describe your leadership role for this season as a captain.
Bookout: "You have to lead by example. You have to go out and practice hard every day. This is it for us (seniors). We have to set the tone each day in practice by going hard and showing these young guys not to take any days off. We are a top-five team so we need to practice like one."

As a senior with a lot of experience how do you feel about the new guys?
Bookout: "I think they are really good. They are showing a lot of potential in these early practices. We don't have to get on anyone about going hard or about the little stuff. We are really just teaching right now and you can't teach effort. They have to have that by themselves and they are really showing a lot of good stuff."

Are you looking forward to any games this season more than others?
Bookout: "No, the most important game is the next one on the schedule. You can't really look past too many games. I mean, there is always at Oklahoma State and at Texas, but any game on the road, those are the games I want to win."

You had a tonsillectomy this summer, as well as elbow surgery to move a nerve. Has your game been affected?
Bookout: "Right now I am just rebuilding my shot. We are starting 10 feet and in working on my form and on a lot of the little stuff because we don't want to put a lot of pressure on my elbow just yet. My shot is getting good. It's getting to be a lot better than it was last year at this point."

How is rehab going?
Bookout: "It's good. We are working about 30 minutes a day in the main training room trying to get my elbow strong. We are not lifting a lot of weight yet, but hopefully pretty soon we will."

When do you expect you will be 100 percent?
Bookout: "They think November 1, right before our first exhibition game."

Which injury has been more difficult to deal with, the elbow or the shoulder you hurt two seasons ago?
Bookout: "My shoulder, just because it took so long. It was a six-months recovery while my elbow is just two months."

What are you going to do after graduation in May?
Bookout: "I still have another year of track and field left next year so I'm going to wait and see how basketball season turns out and make a decision in March. I still have another track year left if I want to do it, or I can go play basketball somewhere. I don't know what I want to do yet."

Do you feel your career has flown by?
Bookout: "Just yesterday it feels like I was playing Alabama at Madison Square Garden in my first game as a freshman. It has gone by really fast but I have enjoyed every second of it."

What has been your fondest memory at OU so far?
Bookout: "Winning the conference tournament my freshman year, going to the Elite Eight that year, winning the conference last year - all of those have been a lot of fun. I just can't pick one moment but I've had a blast here so far with basketball and track."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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