Oklahoma State Basketball: Cowboys season review

A tough year for Oklahoma State basketball saw Travis Ford go out, and former Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood come in.

The Cowboys went just 12-20 overall with a 3-15 mark in Big 12 play to finish ninth in the conference. Injuries to multiple players inhibited a team that already lost a lot of talent from the previous season.

The team’s best wins were a 19-point win over Kansas and at Auburn during the Big 12-SEC challenge.

Freshman Juwan Evans was named to the All-Newcomer team and was an honorable mention (along with Jeff Newberry).

The injuries to several key players including Evans meant that something special would have to develop to keep this team from being too bad, but breaks just didn’t go this team’s way this year.

Brad Underwood, the Cowboys new coach, is tasked with bringing relevance back to historical Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Final Season Grade: C

So, what’s next in Stillwater?

Players Gone:

G – Jeff Newberry (10.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 spg)

F – Chris Olivier (7.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg)

F – Anthony Allen Jr. (2.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.1 bpg)

Relatively little production is lost from this year’s team. Newberry was the only consistent scorer from the three graduates and wasn’t particularly dangerous most nights out. One area of his game that will be missed is his perimeter defense.

Allen was a solid post defender in limited minutes, while Olivier didn’t have the season he wanted after being a double-figure scorer at Eastern Illinois.

Overall this group never represented the team’s core personalities and there’s plenty to replace them with.

Players Returning:

G – Phil Forte (13.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg)

G – Juwan Evans (12.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.1 spg)

G – Jeffrey Carroll (8.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

G – Tavarius Shine (6.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg)

G – Tyree Griffin (5.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.9 apg)

G – Joe Burton (4.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg)

F – Leyton Hammonds (10.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg)

F – Mitchell Solomon (3.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

This group doesn’t jump off the page, but Underwood has a good collection of talent to try and revive the Cowboys’ fortunes. Forte and Evans could develop into one of the most intriguing guard duos in the Big 12 after coming off injuries (Forte’s elbow and Evans’ shoulder). Those two can shoot very will from the field to ease the pressure off the rest of the returnees.

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Otherwise Carroll, Shine, Griffin, and Burton are quality backups. Someone will simply have to separate themselves from this group if they want to prevent a logjam for minutes.

In the front court, there’s just Hammonds and Solomon back as far as violable contributors, but each guy can give serviceable minutes when called upon. Hammonds in particular is a likely starter as a stretch-4 forward with his 6’7″ frame and 34% rate from deep.

Non-factor Igor Ibaka (brother of Oklahoma City Thunder player Serge Ibaka) is also be back for now and might be ready to join the fray.

Who’s new:

G – Lindy Waters III (6’6″, 185 lbs)

G – Thomas Dziagwa (6’4″, 180 lbs)

G – Brandon Averette (5’10”, 155 lbs)

F – Cameron McGriff (6’7″, 205 lbs)

McGriff is quite possibly the only guy from the current recruiting class that will see minutes next season with the lack of size coming back. He has a Big 12-ready body and might push Solomon and Ibaka for a starting position.

The three guards slated to join the Cowboys next year are all likely backups, though both Dziagwa and Waters have decent shots to play if they impress early.

Former 3-star center Gorjok Gak was committed, but got a release on his LOI after Ford was let go. He might rejoin the team.

Otherwise there are a few remaining freshmen prospects and a still-expanding transfer market. Don’t think that Underwood is content with the roster he has on file right now.

Final Numbers to know:

14% – The proportion of total minutes from players that are leaving the team. Whatever production Ford got from Newberry, Olivier, and Allen, it came in short bursts as opposed to consistent stretches. There isn’t a lot of open playing time with the graduates gone, but enough to have some position battles at the wing and in the post.

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39% – Phil Forte’s lifetime 3pt percentage. After suffering an elbow injury just three games into the season, the senior guard will likely get a medical redshirt to continue lighting up Big 12 defenses from the outside. His leadership is key during Oklahoma State’s coaching transition for the 2016-17 season.

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