Men's Basketball Opens Saturday Night

GAME INFORMATION
Ranked No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and picked to finish second in the Big 12 by the league's coaches, Oklahoma hits the hardwood for its first exhibition game of the 2005-06 season on Saturday when it hosts Northeastern State at 7 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center. The game is also NSU's first exhibition of the season. Saturday's contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (flagship KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) announcing. It will also be available for viewing on the “O-Zone” section of SoonerSports.com (a subscription is required).

TICKET AVAILABILITY
Tickets for the game are still available, starting as low as $10, and can be purchased Friday at the Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Ticket Office is selling “Family Packs” to each of the team's exhibition and home non-conference games. For $10, fans get a game ticket, hot dog, soda and a coupon for a free T-shirt. A minimum of four tickets is required for each “Family Pack” purchase. Call the Ticket Office for details.

OU students who present a valid school I.D. will be admitted to the game free of charge. Students should enter on the arena's west side.

Watch Live (O-Zone)

PROJECTED STARTERS
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 238, Sr.)
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 270, Sr.)
G   2 Michael Neal (6-3, 191, Jr.)
G   3 Terrell Everett (6-4, 188, Sr.)
G 15 David Godbold (6-5, 217, So.)

OFF THE BENCH
G   1 Chris Walker (6-3, 188, Jr.)
G   5 Michael Ott (6-4, 197, So.)
G 11 Kellen Sampson (6-1, 190, So.)
G 20 Austin Johnson (6-3, 168, Fr.)
F 24 Nate Carter (6-6, 220, Jr.)
C 30 Longar Longar (6-11, 225, Fr.)
F 32 Taylor Griffin (6-7, 232, Fr.)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Reigning Big 12 co-champ Oklahoma boasts a roster that is arguably the most talented of the 12-year Kelvin Sampson era. The Sooners return their top three scorers and rebounders from a 2004-05 squad that went 25-8 overall and 12-4 in the conference. Seniors Taj Gray (14.6 points and 8.2 rebounds), Terrell Everett (12.5, 4.8) and Kevin Bookout (11.5, 6.6) form the nucleus of a squad that is a consensus top-10 preseason pick by print and online publications. Gray was named the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year while Everett and Bookout received votes for the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

Also back from last season are a quartet of sophomores. David Godbold started the final 10 games of the season on the wing and averaged 7.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in those outings. Longar Longar, a 6-11 center, played in 27 games and averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 boards. He scored 27 points in his lone start. Walk-ons Michael Ott and Kellen Sampson are guards who played in nine and 12 games, respectively.

FRESH FACES
Five newcomers dot the OU roster one Division I transfer, two junior college transfers and two freshmen. Nate Carter, a 6-6 guard/forward who starred two years at UC Riverside, was the 2002-03 Big West Conference Freshman of the Year and earned second-team all-league honors as a sophomore. The lefty averaged 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds at Riverside. He practiced with the Sooners last season. Carter, who is expected to start for OU this season, is recovering from a foot infection and may not play Saturday.

Michael Neal and Chris Walker are 6-3 guards who transferred from junior college. Neal, the Preseason Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year, was a first-team National Junior College Athletic Association first-team All-American last year at Lon Morris College after averaging 16.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He shot .409 from 3-point range. Walker, a 6-3 point guard, averaged 11.7 points, 7.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals last year at San Joaquin Delta College, where he was the Northern California Junior College Player of the Year.

The 2005 Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year, Taylor Griffin is a 6-7, 232-pound forward from Oklahoma City. Already one of the strongest players on the team, Griffin averaged 18.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.3 blocks last year. He led Oklahoma Christian School to the last two Class 3A state titles. Another freshman, Austin Johnson also had a prolific high school career. The lanky 6-3 guard from Amarillo, Texas, was a two-time first-team All-State selection. He averaged 21.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 4.6 steals last year for Palo Duro High School. He finished his career with 2,602 points.

ABOUT NORTHEASTERN STATE
Northeastern State, an NCAA Division II program from Tahlequah, Okla., and a member of the Lone Star Conference's North Division, is coming off an 8-19 season. The Redmen posted a 4-8 league record last year.

Only two players return from last year's squad senior guard/forward Ty Merchant and senior center Pat Moore. Merchant started in 15 games and averaged 3.0 points and 2.1 rebounds while Moore contributed 2.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest in his 27 games. Senior guard Sid Melvin is back after sitting out last season. A 20-game starter in 2003-04, Melvin averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 boards that year for the 18-10 Redmen.

Head coach Larry Gipson, who has 11 new players on his roster, returns just nine percent of his scoring from last year and 17 percent of his rebounding. Gipson is in his ninth season at Northeastern State and holds a 162-73 (.689) record there. He is in 24th year overall and boasts a 447-233 (.657) mark.

EXHIBITING SUCCESS
The Sooners have compiled an impressive exhibition record over the last 17 years. Oklahoma has won 33 of its last 35 exhibition affairs. Under 12th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson, OU is 20-2 in exhibition games. Last year, Oklahoma handled Cameron, 91-56, and Central Oklahoma, 95-71. Kevin Bookout averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the pair of victories, while Taj Gray averaged 13.5 points and 6.5 boards. Terrell Everett averaged 9.5 points and 6.5 assists.

SOONERS BOAST NATION'S LONGEST POSTSEASON STREAK
Oklahoma has made 24 consecutive postseason appearances (19 NCAA and five NIT), good for the longest current streak among Division I programs. The last time OU did not compete in the postseason was in 1980-81. The Sooners have competed in the NCAA Tournament 10 times in the last 11 seasons.

EIGHT STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
With a 25-8 record on the year, Kelvin Sampson has now coached Oklahoma to eight consecutive 20-win seasons. Only seven other coaches have also posted 20 victories each of the last eight years: Lute Olson (15 straight seasons), Tubby Smith (12), Mike Krzyzewski (9), Skip Prosser (9), Jim Boeheim (8), Jim Calhoun (8) and Eddie Sutton (8).

PRESEASON PUB
A consensus top-10 pick among preseason print and online publications, Oklahoma is ranked No. 6 in the initial ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. It is OU's second highest ranking in the season-opening coaches' poll under 12th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson (the Sooners were No. 3 in the 2002-03 version). If OU begins the year ranked in the AP poll's top 10, it will mark just the fifth time in school history for the feat (the Sooners were No. 3 in the 2002-03 preseason poll, No. 5 in the 1984-85 and 1988-89 versions and No. 7 in 1986-87).

WELCOME BACK
The Sooners return their top three scorers and rebounders from last season in seniors Taj Gray (14.6 points, 8.2 rebounds), Terrell Everett (12.5, 4.8) and Kevin Bookout (11.5, 6.6). The last time OU returned its top three scorers from the previous year was in 1986-87 when Darryl Kennedy (21.0 ppg), Tim McCalister (18.2) and David Johnson (14.3) all averaged double figures as juniors in 1985-86. Everett is also the Big 12's leading returning assists man (he averaged 5.0 per game) and ranked sixth last year in steals (1.7). Gray is the league's leading returner in blocked shots (1.8).

BACK TO BACK?
Oklahoma, co-Big 12 champs last year with Kansas, will attempt to earn back-to-back regular season conference titles for the fourth time in school history. The Sooners won the 1928 Missouri Valley Conference crown and followed by claiming the 1929 Big Six title. Under head coach Billy Tubbs, OU won Big Eight championships in 1984, '85, '88 and '89.

VETERAN STAFF
Kelvin Sampson has compiled a staff that has a wealth of collegiate head coaching experience 68 years to be exact. Sampson has been a head coach for 22 seasons, while assistants Bob Hoffman and Ray McCallum have spent 17 and 11 years, respectively, guiding college programs. Jerry Green, the program's new director of basketball operations, returned to college basketball after four years of retirement. Green has 18 years of head coaching experience at UNC Asheville, Oregon and Tennessee.

STREAKING
The Sooners enter the 2005-06 season looking to extend two impressive streaks. Oklahoma has participated in 24 consecutive postseason tournaments (19 NCAA and five NIT events), giving it the longest current streak among Division I programs. Also, Kelvin Sampson has directed OU to 20 wins or more in each of the last eight years. Only seven other coaches have also posted 20 victories for eight or more straight seasons. They are Lute Olson (15 consecutive seasons), Tubby Smith (12), Mike Krzyzewski (9), Skip Prosser (9), Jim Boeheim (8), Jim Calhoun (8) and Eddie Sutton (8).

BIG 12 KING
Kelvin Sampson has amassed 100 regular season Big 12 victories, most in league history. He is 100-44 (.695) in conference play since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996-97. Sampson also holds the Big 12 record for most combined regular season and conference tournament wins (he is 117-50) and holds the mark for most overall wins by a conference coach since the Big 12 was formed (he is 218-77).

LOOKING TO JOIN THE CLUB
Kevin Bookout (784 career points) and Taj Gray (481) have an excellent chance of increasing OU's 1,000-point club to 35 members. Bookout would have to average 6.5 points over a 33-game schedule (the number of games OU played last year) to reach 1,000 points while Gray would have to average 15.7 points.

NO SUMMER VACATION
Taj Gray's busy summer started as a Nike Camp counselor along with Terrell Everett, and concluded with a near-month-long stint with USA Basketball as a member of the U21 World Championship Team that went 7-1 in Argentina. Gray started in four contests and averaged 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game. He shot .538 from the field and .719 from the free throw line. The senior produced personal highs of 14 points and seven rebounds versus China and Puerto Rico, respectively. USA's overtime loss to Canada in the quarterfinals kept it from earning a medal.

Also in action over the summer was Longar Longar. The sophomore center participated in Pete Newell's Big Man Camp in Las Vegas, Nev.

HOME IS WHERE THE “W” IS
Lloyd Noble Center has been overly kind to the Sooners, as they have won 65 of their last 70 games in the building dating back to January 2001. Oklahoma posted a 14-1 home mark in 2004-05 and is now 147-21 (.875) at Lloyd Noble in Kelvin Sampson's 11 years as head coach. OU is 384-64 (.857) in the building since it opened prior to the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners have posted home winning streaks of 51 games (1987-90) and 37 games (2001-03). The 37-game streak is a Big 12 Conference record.

2004-05 REVISITED
An OU team that was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference by league coaches and media last year churned out a 25-8 overall record and won the program's first regular season conference title since 1989 with a 12-4 mark. It was the eighth straight 20-win season for the Sooners, who earned No. 1 Big 12 Tournament and No. 3 NCAA Tournament seeds. Following is a list of team notes and accomplishments from the 2004-05 campaign.

Oklahoma finished with a 25-8 overall record, giving it an eighth consecutive 20-win season and ninth overall in Kelvin Sampson's 11 seasons as head coach.
The Sooners tied Kansas for first place in the Big 12 Conference, giving them their first regular season league crown in 16 years (they won the Big Eight in 1989).
By virtue of its victory over Kansas on Feb. 21, OU won the regular season tie-breaker with the Jayhawks and was the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament for the first time in the conference's nine years.
Oklahoma earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tourney showing was OU's fifth this century and the Sooners have been seeded no lower than fourth in any of the five events.
OU ran its string of postseason appearances to 24 years (19 NCAAs and five NITs). It is the longest current streak by a Division I program.
OU participated in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in Sampson's 11 seasons. A No. 3 seed, the Sooners beat Niagara before losing to Utah.
The Sooners, unranked to start the season, climbed as high as No. 13 in the AP poll. They finished No. 17 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today version.
Oklahoma set a single-game school record for field goal percentage by shooting .661 against Baylor in the final home game of the year.
The Sooners set a single-season school record for 3-point field goal percentage defense (the 3-point rule was instituted before the 1986-87 campaign). Opponents shot just .292 from beyond the arc on the year.
In Big 12 games, Taj Gray (.599) and Kevin Bookout (.594) paced the league in field goal percentage.
In conference play, OU ranked first in scoring margin (+9.3), scoring defense (64.0), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.309) and rebounding margin (+4.7).

UNDER KELVIN SAMPSON...
OU shared the 2005 Big 12 regular season title with Kansas (the Sooners won the only head-to-head meeting).
OU has made 11 straight postseason showings (10 NCAA and one NIT).
OU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 (1999), Final Four (2002) and Elite Eight (2003).
OU has posted a 100-44 (.694) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 147-21 (.875) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 65 of its last 70 home games.
OU has won at least 20 games each of the last eight years.
OU has averaged 26 victories over the past six seasons.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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