OOKLAHOMAKLAHOMA 2007-08 MEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON REVIEW 23-12 Overall 9-7 Big 12 (T4th) NCAA Tournament Second Round (No. 6 Seed)
SCHEDULE/RESULTS SEASON NOTES O31 ROCKHURST (Ex.) 7 p.m. W, 93-58 fter a 16-15 season in 2006-07 that saw Oklahoma’s streak of 25 N2 FAYETTEVILLE STATE (Ex.) 7 p.m. W, 91-50 consecutive NCAA Tournament or NIT appearances come to an end, the SEASON AT A GLANCE N8 SAN FRANCISCO 7 p.m. W, 71-55 A2007-08 Sooners rebounded with a 23-12 campaign and earned a No. Overall Record: N9 DENVER 7 p.m. W, 80-50 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament East Regional. OU, which fi nished tied for 23-12 N12 ALCORN STATE 7 p.m. W, 99-59 fourth place in the Big 12 Conference with a 9-7 record and advanced to the Big 12 Record: N15 vs. Memphis (3) # 8 p.m. L, 53-63 semifi nals of the league tourney, beat Saint Joseph’s in the fi rst round of the 9-7 (4th Place Tie) N16 vs. Gardner-Webb # 5:30 p.m. W, 69-55 NCAA Tournament before losing to No. 3 seed Louisville. N21 MOREHEAD STATE 7 p.m. W, 74-42 Big 12 Championship: N29 at USC % 10 p.m. L, 55-66 Following is a list of notes and accomplishments from the 2007-08 season: Quarterfi nals: OU 54, Colorado 49 Semifi nals: Texas 77, OU 49 D2 at TCU 7 p.m. W, 90-66 NCAA Tournament: D5 TULSA 7 p.m. W, 81-55 Oklahoma posted its 27th consecutive winning season, good for the longest streak among Big 12 schools (Kansas ranks second with 25, Oklahoma State First Round: OU 72, Saint Joseph’s 64 D8 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 12:30 p.m. L, 62-66 Second Round: Louisville 78, OU 48 D15 ARKANSAS 2 p.m. W, 83-72 ranks third with 20 and Texas is fourth with 10). D20 vs. Gonzaga ^ 8 p.m. W, 72-68 OU advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in the last 14 years Home Record: D29 at West Virginia & 5 p.m. W, 88-82 2OT and for the 21st time in the last 26 seasons. Only Arizona (24), Duke (24), Kan- 14-3 (6-2 Big 12) sas (24), North Carolina (24), Indiana (23) and Kentucky (22) have participated Road Record: J5 RICE 2 p.m. W, 61-49 in more NCAA Tournaments over the last 26 years. 5-6 (3-5 Big 12) J7 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 6 p.m. W, 81-57 J12 KANSAS STATE 5 p.m. L, 82-84 The team’s NCAA Tournament win over Saint Joseph’s was the fi rst in the Record vs. Ranked Teams: J14 at Kansas 8 p.m. L, 55-85 career of head coach Jeff Capel. 3-8 J19 TEXAS TECH 3 p.m. W, 63-61 The Sooners’ 23 wins gave the program at least 20 victories for the 10th time J26 at Baylor 3 p.m. W, 77-71 in the last 11 campaigns. OU has averaged 24 wins over the last 11 years. J28 OKLAHOMA STATE 8 p.m. W, 64-61 After starting 3-5 in Big 12 Conference play, Oklahoma won six of its fi nal eight league games and fi nished in a tie for fourth place at 9-7. OU won the tie-breaker with Baylor (regular season sweep) and earned a fi rst-round bye in the Big 12 Champion- F2 at Texas A&M 3 p.m. L, 52-60 F6 TEXAS 6 p.m. L, 54-64 ship. It marked the ninth bye for OU in the 12-year history of the event. F9 at Colorado 3 p.m. L, 58-72 Oklahoma set an NCAA Division I record (since the advent of the shot clock in 1986) on March 1 against Texas A&M for length F13 IOWA STATE 7 p.m. W, 76-64 of time holding an opponent scoreless (16:12). The Aggies’ fi nal point of the fi rst half came with 12:51 remaining and they F16 at Texas Tech 3 p.m. W, 66-64 didn’t score for the fi rst 3:21 of the second half. F19 BAYLOR 7 p.m. W, 92-91 OT All three of the Sooners’ wins against ranked teams came away from Lloyd Noble Center. OU beat No. 18 Gonzaga (72-68 on F23 at Texas 2:30 p.m. L, 45-62 Dec. 20 in Oklahoma City) and posted victories at No. 23 West Virginia (88-82 in double overtime on Dec. 29) and at Baylor (77- F27 at Nebraska 7 p.m. L, 45-63 71 on Jan. 26). Prior to this season, the last time OU won a true road game over a ranked opponent was in the 2000-01 season. M1 TEXAS A&M 1 p.m. W, 64-37 M5 at Oklahoma State 7 p.m. W, 68-56 GRIFFIN NAMED FIRST-TEAM ALL-BIG 12 M8 MISSOURI 2:30 p.m. W, 75-66 Freshman forward Blake Griffi n was named a fi rst-team All-Big 12 selection by the league’s head coaches and by the Associ- M14 vs. Colorado * 2 p.m. W, 54-49 M15 vs. Texas * 1 p.m. L, 49-77 ated Press. Joining Griffi n on the coaches’ squad were Baylor’s Curtis Jerrells, Kansas’ Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush, Kansas M21 vs. Saint Joseph’s ! 6:10 p.m. W, 72-64 State’s Michael Beasley and Texas’ D.J. Augustin. The AP team consisted of Griffi n, Augustin, Beasley, Jerrells and Nebraska’s Aleks M23 vs. Louisville ! 4 p.m. L, 48-78
# 2K Sports College Hoops Classic (New York, N.Y.) SEASON AVERAGES (ARRANGED BY SCORING AVERAGE) % Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series ^ O’Reilly All-College Classic (Oklahoma City) No. Name Position Height Weight Class Points Rebounds Assists Minutes & Charleston, W.Va. 23 Blake Griffi n F 6-10 243 Fr. 14.7 9.1 1.8 28.4 * Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship (Kansas City, Mo.) 30 Longar Longar C 6-11 234 Sr. 11.4 5.6 1.3 25.8 ! NCAA First and Second Rounds (Birmingham, Ala.) 5 Tony Crocker G 6-6 193 So. 11.3 3.8 1.9 30.6 20 Austin Johnson G 6-3 165 Jr. 8.6 2.7 2.9 31.3 15 David Godbold G 6-5 221 Sr. 7.7 4.0 1.8 28.8 32 Taylor Griffi n F 6-7 230 Jr. 6.5 4.9 0.9 21.9 OU ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS 00 Keith Clark* F 6-8 240 So. 5.4 2.0 0.8 15.3 Men’s Basketball Contact: Mike Houck 11 Omar Leary G 5-10 163 Jr. 3.9 1.3 1.3 16.8 Offi ce: (405) 325-8231 34 Cade Davis G 6-5 203 Fr. 3.7 1.5 0.4 13.3 Cell: (405) 249-5892 2 Tony Neysmith G 6-5 203 Fr. 0.5 0.6 0.2 5.9 E-Mail: [email protected] 45 Beau Gerber F 6-8 224 So. 0.1 0.3 0.0 2.2 4 Dau Jok G 6-1 176 So. 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.3 * Ruled academically ineligible after fall semester and was not enrolled at OU during spring semester
2007-08 SEASON REVIEW 1 2007-08 OKLAHOMA MEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH JEFF CAPEL Maric. Griffi n became OU’s fi rst freshman to earn fi rst-team all-conference acclaim since Wayman Tisdale was crowned Big Eight Player of the Year in 1983. BLAKE GRIFFIN’S eff Capel was named the DOUBLE-DOUBLES 13th men’s basketball head On the season, Griffi n averaged 14.7 points (ranked ninth in Big 12), 9.1 rebounds (ranked fourth) and 1.8 assists while shooting .568 from the fi eld (ranked third). Jcoach at Oklahoma on April OPPONENT PTS REBS In his 13 full Big 12 games (he missed two due to injury and only played fi ve min- 11, 2006. At 33, Capel, who has San Francisco 18 13 utes at Kansas on Jan. 14), Griffi n averaged 16.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists. gone 39-27 (.591) in two years Alcorn State 16 11 at OU after compiling a 79-41 Griffi n recorded 10 double-doubles on the year, his last seven coming against NCAA Morehead State 16 12 (.658) record over the previous Tournament teams (he averaged 20.3 points and 14.7 boards in those seven games). vs. Gonzaga* 15 14 four seasons as head coach at Griffi n produced OU’s top four scoring performances on the season. He netted 29 at West Virginia* 18 16 Virginia Commonwealth, is the versus Baylor (Feb. 19), 27 against Kansas State (Jan. 12), 26 versus Mount St. Mary’s Kansas State* 27 14 sixth-youngest men’s basketball (Jan. 7) and 25 at Colorado (Feb. 9). He also held 10 of OU’s top 11 rebounding marks. at Baylor* 17 15 coach in NCAA Division I. Baylor* 29 15 Capel’s VCU squads posted a 50-22 (.694) combined record in MORE ON BLAKE GRIFFIN at Texas* 16 16 Colonial Athletic Association play and a 47-11 overall home Griffi n was also a fi rst-team all-district pick by the USBWA and the NABC, and vs. Texas* 20 13 record for a staunch .811 winning percentage. earned freshman All-America honors from CollegeInsider.com, Rivals.com (second * NCAA Tournament team In 2003-04, VCU’s CAA Tournament championship game team) and CollegeHoops.net (second team). victory over George Mason catapulted the Rams to the NCAA Griffi n’s 14.7 scoring average ranks fi fth best in school history among freshmen Tournament for the fi rst time since 1996. VCU lost in the fi rst and was the highest by an OU true frosh since the 1983-84 season (Tim McCalister round to Wake Forest, but not before putting a major scare averaged 16.1 points). into the fourth-seeded Demon Deacons, 79-78. Capel’s 2004- His rebounding average of 9.1 was the best by a Sooner freshman since 1982-83 05 squad, which fi nished 19-13, competed in the National (Wayman Tisdale averaged 10.3 boards). Invitation Tournament, marking just the third time in program Griffi n was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Week and earned the league’s Rookie of history that VCU made consecutive postseason appearances. the Week award once. Blake The Rams won at least 18 games each of Capel’s four seasons A testament to his overall ability, Griffi n fi nished with 61 assists and 33 steals on the Griffi n in Richmond with the 2003-04 squad registering a Capel-era- year to rank fourth and third on the team, respectively. He registered at least three best 23-8 record. His fi rst team fi nished 18-10 in 2002-03 as assists 11 times, marking the fi rst time in school history a player standing at least Capel tied a school record for wins by a fi rst-year head coach. 6-10 has accomplished the feat. In 2005-06, VCU fi nished 19-10 overall. GRIFFIN’S RANK Griffi n displayed a remarkable training room work ethic following two injuries and In the summer of 2005, Capel served as an assistant coach on returned to action more quickly than expected both times. He sprained the MCL in AMONG OU FROSH the gold-medal-winning USA Men’s World University Games his left knee Jan. 14 against Kansas and missed one game after expected to be out a CATEGORY STAT RANK Team that fi nished 8-0 in Turkey in August. Villanova’s Jay month. He sustained a partial tear of the medial meniscus in his right knee March 1 Wright was the head coach while Seton Hall’s Bobby Gonzalez FT Attempts 197 2nd against Texas A&M and returned to play a week later (he was expected to miss at least Rebounding Avg. 9.1 3rd served as the other assistant. The squad featured, among two weeks). others, Midwest City (Okla.) High School and Duke University Field Goal Pct. .568 3rd standout Shelden Williams. Free Throw Makes 116 3rd GODBOLD, LONGAR CONCLUDE FOUR-YEAR CAREERS Minutes Per Game 28.4 4th Capel began his coaching career as an assistant at Old Blocked Shots 28 4th Dominion in 2000 before moving to VCU as an assistant for Following are brief career capsules on seniors David Godbold and Longar Longar: Scoring Average 14.7 5th the 2001-02 season. In 2002, he became the youngest NCAA DAVID GODBOLD Games Started 28 5th Division I head coach at age 27. From Oklahoma City, Godbold started 67 of his 123 career games and averaged 6.4 Field Goals 184 5th A four-year starter for Hall-of-Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski points, 3.6 boards and 1.2 assists in 24.2 minutes per outing. Steals 33 6th at Duke from the 1993-94 through 1996-97 campaigns, Capel The 6-5 guard fi nished his career with 136 3-point makes and 400 attempts, rank- Assists 61 7th earned Atlantic Coast Conference honors each of his seasons in ing him 10th and seventh, respectively, on OU’s all-time lists. Durham. The guard, who wore No. 5, averaged 12.4 points, 3.0 Godbold fl ourished in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 13.4 points and 3.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 3-pointers during his career and rebounds while shooting .609 from 3-point range (14-for-23) over fi ve career games. started in the 1994 national title game against Arkansas. He led OU in scoring in both NCAA Tournament games this year, netting a career-high 25 points against Saint Joseph’s (5-for-8 He ranks 22nd in career scoring at Duke (1,601 points), 16th in from 3-point range) and 15 against Louisville (4-for-7 on treys). minutes played (3,774), sixth in 3-pointers (220), seventh in 3- Godbold made at least three 3-pointers on 20 different occasions during his four years as a Sooner. He made a career-high six point attempts (553), seventh in 3-point fi eld goal percentage treys at Texas A&M this year when he fi nished with 22 points. (.398) and 10th in assists (433). LONGAR LONGAR Capel, who graduated from Duke with a bachelor of arts Born in Sudan, Longar also lived in Egypt prior to his arrival in the United States at age 14. A product of Rochester, Minn., the degree in history, and his wife, Kanika, wed in 2003. They have 6-11 center played in 112 career games at Oklahoma and started 45. a daughter, Cameron, who was born last April. Longar posted career averages of 7.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocked shots while shooting .538 from the fi eld. His 103 blocked shots rank him eighth on OU’s career list. CAPEL YEAR BY YEAR He was the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder this season (averaged 11.4 points and 5.6 boards in 25.8 minutes). Year School Record Pct. Longar played the second half of the Big 12 season this year with a broken fi bula. He missed the Feb. 6 and Feb. 9 games (both 2002-03 Virginia Commonwealth 18-10 .643 losses) to Texas and Colorado with the injury. 2003-04 * Virginia Commonwealth 23-8 .742 Longar averaged 2.9 points as a freshman (7.9 minutes per game), 2.1 as a sophomore (7.2 mpg), 10.4 as a junior (26.2 mpg) 2004-05 ^ Virginia Commonwealth 19-13 .594 and 11.6 as a senior (25.7 mpg). He scored his career high of 27 points as a freshman against Florida A&M in his lone start that 2005-06 Virginia Commonwealth 19-10 .655 year (he fi lled in for an injured Kevin Bookout). Longar shot an amazing .806 from the fi eld that season (29-for-36). 2006-07 Oklahoma 16-15 .516 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW 2007-08 * Oklahoma 23-12 .657 Totals 118-68 .634 After earning a fi rst-round bye, No. 4 seed Oklahoma went 1-1 in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. This year’s tournament was played at the new Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. * NCAA Tournament In the quarterfi nals, OU never trailed in a 54-49 win over No. 12 seed Colorado. The Sooners, who scored the game’s fi rst 10 ^ National Invitation Tournament points, won despite shooting just .328 from the fi eld. The 54 points were their fewest in victory on the year.
2 2007-08 SEASON REVIEW 2007-08 OKLAHOMA MEN’S BASKETBALL
FINAL 2007-08 BIG 12 STANDINGS OU registered a 46-37 rebounding advantage and for the only time of the (In Order of Big 12 Championship Seed) season saw four players pull down at least seven boards. BEST WINNING Tony Crocker led the Sooners with 12 points and was followed by Longar Big 12 Overall PERCENTAGES Longar (11) and Taylor Griffi n (10). OF THE 2000s Team W L Pct. W L Pct. In the semifi nals, OU played No. 1 seed Texas even through the game’s fi rst Texas 13 3 .813 31 7 .816 22 minutes. With the scored tied at 36, though, the Longhorns outscored the TEAM RECORD PCT. Kansas 13 3 .813 37 3 .925 Sooners 41-13 the rest of the way in a 77-49 win. 1. Duke 261-53 .833 Kansas State 10 6 .625 21 12 .636 Blake Griffi n led OU with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Crocker 2. Kansas 255-61 .807 Oklahoma 9 7 .563 23 12 .657 added 11 points and Cade Davis nine. Austin Johnson failed to score but 3. Gonzaga 236-60 .797 Baylor 9 7 .563 21 11 .656 registered a career-high 10 assists. 4. Florida 236-74 .761 Texas A&M 8 8 .500 25 11 .694 5. Utah State 222-73 .753 Nebraska 7 9 .438 20 13 .606 NCAA TOURNAMENT REVIEW 6. Memphis 234-81 .743 7. Texas 228-80 .740 Texas Tech 7 9 .438 16 15 .516 After missing the NCAA Tournament in 2007, OU returned as a No. 6 seed this 8. Illinois 228-81 .738 Oklahoma State 7 9 .438 17 16 .515 season. The Sooners beat No. 11 seed Saint Joseph’s 72-64 in the fi rst round at 9. Connecticut 222-80 .735 Missouri 6 10 .375 16 16 .500 BJCC Arena in Birmingham, Ala., before losing to No. 3 seed Louisville, 78-48. 10. Stanford 212-76 .736 Iowa State 4 12 .250 14 18 .438 Against Saint Joseph’s, OU used a .571 fi eld goal percentage (the fourth best Colorado 3 13 .188 12 20 .375 11. Pittsburgh 221-80 .734 in the program’s NCAA Tournament history) to give Jeff Capel his fi rst NCAA 12. Oklahoma 215-81 .726 Tournament win as a head coach. 13. Kentucky 218-83 .724 A 14-2 run to end the fi rst half and gave OU a 34-22 lead at intermission. It 14. Syracuse 222-85 .723 increased its advantage to as many as 19 points after the break. 15. Kent State 214-82 .723 Senior David Godbold scored a career-high 25 points with the help of 16. Xavier 213-82 .722 5-for-8 3-point and 6-for-6 free throw shooting. He made three treys in the fi rst 2:41 of the second half and scored OU’s fi rst 11 points after halftime. Three other Sooners scored in double fi gures. Longar Longar fi nished with 14 points while Blake Griffi n added 12 and Austin Johnson 10. Taylor Griffi n did not score but pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. In the second round against Louisville, three Godbold 3-pointers gave OU a 9-7 lead four minutes into the contest but the Cardinals dominated thereafter. Louisville led 44-22 at halftime and outscored the Sooners 34-26 after the break. OKLAHOMA QUICK FACTS The Cardinals shot .593 from the fi eld and .529 (9-for-17) from 3-point range on the day while Oklahoma turned in respective marks of .319 and .278 (5-for-18). Offi cial Name: University of Oklahoma Godbold paced the Sooners with 15 points while Taylor Griffi n added 11 and Blake Griffi n eight. Location: Norman, Okla. Founded: 1890 HEART STOPPERS Enrollment: 29,721 OU’s two most exciting fi nishes of the season occurred in back-to-back February games: Nickname: Sooners On Feb. 16 in Lubbock, David Godbold drained a 28-footer with 1.4 seconds remaining to give the Sooners a 66-64 victory Colors: Crimson and Cream over Texas Tech. It was the Red Raiders’ fi rst of only two losses at United Spirit Arena on the year. President: David L. Boren Three nights later, Baylor scored the fi rst seven points of overtime in Norman. Still trailing by three after two Baylor free Athletics Director: Joe Castiglione throws, Tony Crocker converted a 4-point play with 7.3 seconds remaining. OU then had to endure two Curtis Jerrells free throw misses with 1.0 second left before celebrating a 92-91 triumph. Crocker scored OU’s fi nal seven points in the game’s Arena: Lloyd Noble Center (12,000) last 21 seconds to give the Sooners their 28th straight win over the Bears. First Year of Basketball: 1907-08 NCAA Tournament Appearances: 24 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN W’s AND L’s NIT Appearances: 7 The following notes compare Oklahoma’s stats in its 23 wins and 12 losses this year: All-Time Record: 1,467-936 (.610) In its 23 wins, OU outrebounded its opponents by 5.9 a game. In its 12 losses, it got outboarded by 3.5. Regular Season Conference Championships: 13 (1928, OU shot .481 from the fi eld and .399 from 3-point range in its wins. In losses, it shot .367 and .261, respectively. 1929, 1939, 1942, 1944, 1947, 1949, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 2005) Tony Crocker averaged 13.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting .521 in the Sooners’ wins. In losses, those numbers fell to 7.7 points, 3.0 boards, 1.3 assists and .303, respectively. Crocker also shot .532 from 3-point range in OU's victories Conference Tournament Championships: 7 (1979, (50-for-94), but just .246 in defeats (14-for-57). 1985, 1988, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2003) In the team’s wins, Austin Johnson averaged 10.6 points while shooting .436 from the fi eld and .373 from 3-point distance Head Coach: Jeff Capel (Duke ‘97) (38-for-102). In defeats, Johnson averaged 4.8 points while shooting .292 from the fl oor and .256 from long range (11-for-43). Career Record: 118-68 (6 years) Oklahoma Record: 39-27 (2 years) IT’S ACADEMIC Postseason Appearances: 3 (2004, ’08 NCAA, 2005 NIT) Juniors Taylor Griffi n and Austin Johnson were two of the 20 members of the 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Team. Griffi n, a pre- Assistant Coaches: Ben Betts (Roanoke College ’90), Mark health and exercise science major from Oklahoma City, and Johnson, a sociology-criminology major from Amarillo, Texas, were Cline (Wake Forest ’88), Oronde Taliaferro (Wayne State ’94) both second-team selections. Griffi n and Johnson were 2007 Academic All-Big 12 honorees, as well. Director of Operations: Bryan Goodman (Barat College ’96) MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES Strength and Conditioning Coach: Darby Rich Video Coordinator: Dionne Phelps A look at some of OU’s top individual performances in 2007-08: Graduate Assistants: Yanni Hufnagel, Ryan McDermott Freshman Blake Griffi n wasted no time in showcasing his ability as he produced 18 points and 13 rebounds in the season opener against San Francisco, a 71-55 OU victory. Athletics Trainer: Alex Brown Longar Longar posted his lone double-double of the year in the consolation game of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic Team Physician: Dr. Brock Schnebel against Gardner-Webb in New York’s Madison Square Garden. The senior fi nished with 16 points and 11 boards. Offi cial Web Site: SoonerSports.com Sophomore Tony Crocker exploded for 20 fi rst-half points at TCU on Dec. 2 on 6-for-7 3-point shooting. He fi nished with a Tickets: (800) 456-4668 or (405) 325-2424 then-career-high 24 points.
2007-08 SEASON REVIEW 3 2007-08 OKLAHOMA MEN’S BASKETBALL
AP TOP 25 POLL OU’s 88-82 double-overtime win at No. 23 West Virginia on Dec. 29 yielded several outstanding individual performances. Longar scored a team-high 22 points, all after halftime. Griffi n logged 18 points and a then-career-high 16 rebounds before FINAL* fouling out. David Godbold played all 50 minutes and fi nished with 18 points and seven boards. Austin Johnson contrib- School Record uted 13 points and a then-career-high nine assists. 1. North Carolina (53) 32-2 In an 84-82 home loss to Kansas State on Jan. 12, Griffi n battled Michael Beasley and fi nished with 27 points and 14 2. Memphis (13) 33-1 rebounds. He was 10-of-14 from the fi eld. 3. UCLA (5) 31-3 Starting in place of his injured younger brother, Taylor Griffi n registered 16 points and 12 rebounds in a 63-61 win over 4. Kansas (1) 31-3 Texas Tech on Jan. 19. 5. Tennessee 29-4 Blake Griffi n made a surprise appearance Jan. 26 at No. 25 Baylor just 12 days after spraining the MCL in his left knee at Kansas. Griffi n stunned the Bears with 17 points and 15 rebounds off the bench and was named Big 12 Player of the Week. 6. Wisconsin 29-4 Taylor Griffi n’s career-high 20 points and game-high six boards led OU to a 64-61 home win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 28. 7. Texas 28-6 Godbold’s then-career-high 22 points at No. 23 Texas A&M Feb. 2 weren’t enough for the Sooners in a 60-52 loss. He made 8. Georgetown 27-5 a career-high six 3-pointers on 10 attempts. 9. Duke 27-5 Johnson’s 20 points at Texas Tech on Feb. 16 marked a career-high. He made a career-high six 3-pointers on 11 attempts 10. Stanford 26-7 and assisted on Godbold’s game-winning 28-footer with 1.4 seconds left. OU won 66-64. 11. Butler 29-3 Blake Griffi n tallied a career-high 29 points and hauled in 15 boards in the team’s 92-91 overtime win against Baylor on 12. Xavier 27-6 Feb. 19. But it was Crocker’s seven points in the fi nal 21 seconds of the game – including a rare 4-point play – that gave OU 13. Louisville 24-8 the victory. Crocker fi nished with 20 points. Johnson added 19 points and fi ve assists. 14. Drake 28-4 Crocker struck again at Oklahoma State on March 5 with a career-high 25 points in a 68-56 triumph. He was a perfect 15. Notre Dame 24-7 5-for-5 from behind the 3-point arc as OU played without injured Blake Griffi n. 16. Connecticut 24-8 Godbold carried the Sooners to a 72-64 win over Saint Joseph’s in the fi rst round of the NCAA Tournament with his career- 17. Pittsburgh 26-9 high 25 points. He was 5-for-8 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. 18. Michigan State 25-8 SOONER MISCELLANY 19. Vanderbilt 26-7 20. Purdue 24-8 Only one player in school history taller than 6-8 averaged more assists than freshman Blake Griffi n’s 1.8 this season (Stacey King 21. Washington State 24-8 averaged 1.9 assists during his senior season of 1988-89). 22. Clemson 24-9 The Sooners were 22-2 when scoring at least 60 points and were 15-1 when scoring at least 70. The Sooners were 20-4 when their opponent committed more turnovers, 17-4 when outrebounding their opponent, 17-2 23. Davidson 26-6 when ahead at the half, 11-1 when shooting at least .500 from the fi eld and 13-4 when winning the opening tip. 24. Gonzaga 25-7 David Godbold scored in double fi gures in four of his fi ve career NCAA Tournament games (12 against Niagara in the 2005 fi rst 25. Marquette 24-9 round, 15 versus UW-Milwaukee in the 2006 fi rst round, 25 against Saint Joseph’s in this year’s fi rst round and 15 versus Louisville in this year’s second round).
ESPN/USA TODAY TOP 25 POLL POSTSEASON BANQUET AWARD WINNERS FINAL The following awards were presented at OU’s annual postseason banquet on April 21: School Record 1. Kansas (31) 37-3 The Brent Price Connection to the Community Award: Taylor Griffi n The Roy Marler/Hollis Price Most Inspirational Award: Beau Gerber 2. Memphis 38-2 The Eduardo Najera Award for Intensity and Toughness: Blake Griffi n 3. North Carolina 36-3 The Mookie Blaylock Outstanding Defensive Player Award: David Godbold 4. UCLA 35-4 The Stacey King Award for Team Leadership: Taylor Griffi n 5. Texas 31-7 The Harvey Grant Award for Commitment and Overall Improvement: Cade Davis 6. Louisville 27-9 The Darryl “Choo” Kennedy Leading Rebounder Award: Blake Griffi n 7. Tennessee 31-5 The Terry Evans Assists Leader Award: Austin Johnson 8. Xavier 30-7 The Alvan Adams Award for Academic Excellence: Beau Gerber and Ryan Wright 9. Davidson 29-7 The Tim McCalister Iron Man Award for Most Minutes: Austin Johnson 10. Wisconsin 31-5 The Wayman Tisdale Most Valuable Player Award: Blake Griffi n 11. Stanford 28-8 The Senior Appreciation Award: David Godbold and Longar Longar 12. Georgetown 28-6 13. Michigan State 27-9 14. Butler 30-4 15. Washington State 26-9 SOONERS SIGNS FIVE, INCLUDING McDONALD’S ALL-AMERICAN WILLIE WARREN 16. Duke 28-6 17. West Virginia 26-11 Oklahoma men’s basketball head coach Jeff Capel announced a four-man list of signees on Nov. 13 and added a fi fth player on April 23. Headlining the class is guard and top-10 national recruit Willie Warren (Fort Worth, Texas/North Crowley HS). Joining 18. Pittsburgh 27-10 Warren as Sooners next year will be high school guard Ray Willis (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake HS), junior college center Orlando 19. Notre Dame 25-8 Allen (Cincinnati, Ohio/Paris [Texas] JC) and junior college forwards Kyle Cannon (Baltimore, Md./San Jacinto [Texas] JC) and 20. Purdue 25-9 Juan Pattillo (Las Vegas, Nev./College of Southern Idaho). 21. Marquette 25-10 22. Western Kentucky 29-7 Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown Note 23. Drake 28-5 Orlando Allen C 6-11 270 Cincinnati, Ohio Regarded as best Big 12 center prospect by Rivals 24. Villanova 22-13 Kyle Cannon F 6-8 230 Baltimore, Md. Preseason fi rst-team NJCAA All-American 25. Vanderbilt 26-8 Juan Pattillo F 6-7 218 Las Vegas, Nev. Ranked as No. 3 juco prospect by Hoopmasters.com Willie Warren G 6-4 190 Fort Worth, Texas Top 10 national high school recruit * The fi nal AP poll is conducted prior to the NCAA Tourney Ray Willis G 6-6 185 Atlanta, Ga. Ranked No. 109 high school senior by Rivals.com OU opponents in bold
4 2007-08 SEASON REVIEW 2007-08 OKLAHOMA MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER NOTES 1 RYAN WRIGHT (6-9, 229, JUNIOR, FORWARD) 20 AUSTIN JOHNSON (6-3, 165, JUNIOR, GUARD)