Tramel's ScissorTales: Oklahoma State softball has something that not even Alabama can afford
Berry TramelWhen pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl entered the transfer portal a year ago, wanting to leave Alabama, she was enticed to OSU because the Cowgirls had something the Crimson Tide did not.
A strength and conditioning coach dedicated full time to softball only.
Wait. What? Alabama has been an NCAA softball power; the Tide won the 2012 Women’s College World Series. Bama is awash in all that football money, all that Southeastern Conference bounty.
Yet OSU has something that Alabama doesn’t?
“I think we’re the only team in the country, to be honest, in softball,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said of having a strength and conditioning coach dedicated only to softball. “It’s something I’ve wanted from Day One. And I’m a little bit surprised that we have it, but I’m thankful.”
OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg hasn’t given Gajewski everything he wants – Kenny G. has designs on a full-time video coordinator and a third full-time assistant coach – but the commitment to softball is clear. And the results show it.
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The Cowgirls, who host Maryland-Baltimore County at 3 p.m. Friday in an NCAA regional at Cowgirl Stadium, have made the WCWS the last three years it’s been staged; OSU has been ranked in the top 10 throughout the 2023 season; and the Cowgirls were given a top-eight national seed despite a precipitous slump late in the season.
OSU has gone all in on softball – fundraising plans continue for a new stadium – and has been rewarded.
“That’s one of the things I sold Lexi on in the recruiting process,” Gajewski said. “I told her, I think you can get better, I think you can get more fit. That’s only going to help you stay healthy. We’ve got a guy that you can go see all day long. Whatever fits your schedule, he’s softball only.”
Chance Marek is the softball strength and conditioning coach, and Kilfoyl indeed has taken advantage.
“It’s awesome, because he’s focused all of his time and energy into us,” Kilfoyl said. “He’s always asking us how we’re feeling. What he can do to help us. He’s 100 percent all into us. That’s something that’s really special about this program.
“Alabama, I think our coach had four sports to look over. It’s awesome that Chance gets to travel with us. He’s literally with us at practice all the time. It's completely different. We’d only ever see our (Alabama) weight coach at weights and some games here and there. It’s definitely a big change.”
Marek joined Gajewski’s staff in 2021, a couple of months after Weiberg was elevated to AD. Marek, a 2014 Sam Houston State graduate, has worked at his alma mater and Texas Christian.
Gajewski says Marek is more part of the coaching staff than a strength and conditioning specialist.
“I know that when you have the right strength coach — which we’ve had a couple of them here – they are eyes and ears,” Gajewski said. “They can talk people off the cliff, when they think everything’s awful. They can ramp it up to make sure that they know it’s not awful.”
With OU and Texas moving to the SEC in summer 2024, the Cowgirls become the belles of Big 12 softball. But they are looking beyond that, to NCAA championships. The commitment seems in place.
More:Can Oklahoma State softball get back on track in NCAA Tournament? Meet Stillwater Regional opponents
An ode to Alvan Adams
Austin Reaves played a tremendous game Tuesday night in Game 1 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. The second-year guard out of OU had 23 points, on 7-of-14 shooting, and eight assists, but his Lakers fell just short of Denver, 132-126.
It made me wonder how often an OU or OSU player has made such a big impact in a playoff game this deep.
Then I got to Alvan Adams’ game log on basketball-reference.com, and my research stopped. I didn’t get past Adams’ page.
It’s been 47 years since the 1976 NBA Finals, and we remember Adams as the league’s rookie of the year, and we remember perhaps the greatest NBA game ever played, the Celtics’ 128-126 survival of Adams’ Phoenix Suns in Game 5, with the series tied 2-2.
But I had forgotten just how fantastic Adams was in those Finals.
Adams in those six Finals games averaged 23.0 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.7 rebounds. Against the Celtics. The Dave Cowens, JoJo White, John Havlicek Celtics.
Adams, the 6-foot-9 center from Putnam City and OU, had averaged 17.9/10.1/5.2 in the regular season. He maintained that performance in the Finals, only scoring a lot more.
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Game 3, a 105-98 Phoenix win: 33 points, 14, rebounds, two assists, 14-of-25 shooting.
Game 1, a 98-87 Phoenix loss: 26 points, eight rebounds, three assists.
Game 2, a 105-90 Phoenix loss: 19 points, 15 rebounds, five assists.
In NBA Finals history, Adams ranks fourth among rookie scorers.
George Mikan averaged 27.5 points for the 1949 Lakers, in six games. Joe Fulks averaged 26.2 points for the 1947 Warriors, in five games. Tommy Heinsohn averaged 24.0 points for the 1957 Celtics, in seven games.
Behind Adams is Magic Johnson, who averaged 21.5 points for the 1980 Lakers, in six games.
Adams vs. Magic is a fun comparison. Their traditional stats in NBA Finals four years apart.
Adams: 23.0/10.2/4.7
Magic: 21.5/11.2/8.7
Magic’s Lakers won the title, he was the Finals most valuable player and became an NBA legend.
Adams never won a title and didn’t become an NBA legend. But what a ballplayer. He played 13 NBA seasons, all with Phoenix, with career averages of 14.1/7.0/4.1.
Adams came around too early. He was a big man who could run, shoot and pass. In an age of big centers, he held his own defensively.
The 3-point shot arrived in Adams’ fifth season. He took 15 for his entire career. If Adams played in the modern NBA, he would take 15 3-point shots in a week.
What a player. And what an NBA Finals performance.
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Leonard Hamilton wants to expand NCAA Tournament
Coaches crack me up. They preach toughness and competitiveness to their athletes. Then they politick for the easiest path possible for personal success.
Football coaches, for example, who want easy non-conference schedules. They literally want to play games they have no chance of losing, which is the antithesis of competition. Gives new meaning to the word exhibitionist.
And basketball coaches, who want the NCAA Tournament expanded, from its already bloated 68.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton, who was the OSU coach a lifetime ago (1986-90), told media this week he would like to see the NCAA Tournament doubled in size, to apparently 128 teams.
During the Atlantic Coast Conference meetings in Amelia Island, Florida, this week, men’s basketball coaches discussed ways to improve their league’s standing. The ACC has placed only five of its 15 teams in each of the last two NCAAs.
Hamilton went for the easy fix. More slots. Virtually double the field, and most Power Five Conference members would be automatic selections for March Madness, unless particular parameters were established.
“I believe the NCAA Tournament is the greatest sporting event in the world,” Hamilton said. “It captivates everybody's imagination for about three weeks.
“Parity has set in. I might be a little ridiculous when I make this comment, but I think you could double it.”
Hamilton is right on both counts. The NCAA Tournament could be doubled. And he is a little ridiculous. Except for the little part.
Of course, expansion always is with us. The NCAA kept the perfect 64-team bracket intact for 16 years. But it added a play-in game in 2001, bringing the field to 65, then eventually to 68, with the First Four doubleheaders in Dayton, Ohio, kicking off the tournament.
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“You're already playing in Dayton on two nights,” Hamilton said. “So in two days, you're back to the same number. So you already got the dates. You've just got to figure out how to play them at different sites.
“Maybe that might be a little aggressive. Some people think 96 is the number. Personally, I think you need to double the tournament. I think it's time to expand. I think it's time to have that conversation for the men and women."
ESPN reported that the NCAA Division I transformation committee recommended in January to allow 25 percent of teams in sports with at least 200 sponsoring schools to compete in championship events. That would allow about 90 teams into the NCAA Tournament.
Hamilton’s 128 idea isn’t feasible under that rule, but these days, the NCAA changes rules on the fly all the time.
But the omissions in NCAA Tournament selections are never clustered in the Power Five programs. The mid-majors are the teams that are overlooked.
Promoting expansion of the NCAA Tournament is just coaches trying to enhance their job security.
Power Five basketball teams that do not make the NCAAs do not deserve to make the NCAAs.
Look at our teams in Oklahoma in recent years. OU a year ago. OSU this past season. Both were among the first couple of teams out, according to the selection committee.
Let’s be honest. Did the 2021-22 Sooners or the 2022-23 Cowboys deserve to make the NCAA Tournament? No. We knew those teams well. They were mediocre.
March Madness is supposed to be something special. A showcase of good teams that could catch a little magic and have a great run.
Expanding the field would only further water down an already-soaked regular season, while rewarding coaches trying to protect their jobs.
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The List: NBA’s best overall No. 1 picks
The San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Lottery on Tuesday night and thus the right to pick French phenom Victor Wembanyama.
The hype for Wembanyama is out of control. He’s clearly a generational prospect. But the greatest prospect in the history of American professional sports? Uh, let’s tap the brakes.
A better prospect than Zion Williamson? Sure. A better prospect than Anthony Davis? OK. A better prospect than LeBron James? Uh, we’re hitting some turbulence. A better prospect than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Lie down and apply a cold cloth to your forehead.
We like to talk about some of the busts who have gone No. 1 overall – Anthony Bennett, Kwame Brown, Michael Olowokandi – but a bunch of great players have gone No. 1. Here are the 20 best overall No. 1 picks in the NBA Draft, ranked by the win-shares metric. How deep is this list? Kyrie Irving barely missed the cut.
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969: Jabbar was 22 when he was drafted. He was much more a sure thing coming out of UCLA than Wembanyama is coming out of France at 19.
2. LeBron James, 2003: LeBron seems likely to overtake Jabbar in win shares. I’m not arguing that Jabbar is better. But don’t ever forget how great he was.
3. Tim Duncan, 1997: Duncan was a 21-year-old, four-year collegian when drafted.
4. Oscar Robertson, 1960: The Big O was just 21 when drafted out of Cincinnati.
5. Shaquille O’Neal, 1992: Sometimes we forget how dominant Shaq was in college at Louisiana State. Three years, 21.6 points per game, 13.6 rebounds, 61 percent shooting.
6. David Robinson, 1987: If you’re getting the idea that the Spurs win a lot of lotteries when a transcendent big man is available, you’re paying attention.
7. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984: Maybe Wembanyama will have a greater career than Hakeem the Dream. But odds are against it.
8. Magic Johnson, 1979: This is tough company. Magic’s career is only eighth best among overall No. 1 picks?
9. Dwight Howard, 2004: An underrated career. Howard was great for a long time, though his personality tended to overshadow his basketball late in his career.
10. Walt Bellamy, 1961: An underrated center from the 1960s, with career averages of 20.1 points and 13.7 rebounds.
11. Patrick Ewing, 1985: Using my eyeballs, I’d have Ewing higher on these rankings. I guess I'd agree that Wembanyama is a better prospect, but will he have a better career than Ewing had? Maybe not.
12. Elvin Hayes, 1968: I hope everyone remembers what a great player the Big E was for a long time.
13. Bob Lanier, 1970: Hayes, Jabbar, Lanier, all in successive drafts. There were giants in the land in those days, my friend.
14. Elton Brand, 1999: Good player. Not a great player.
15. Elgin Baylor, 1958: The win-shares metric does not like Baylor, probably because of 43 percent shooting.
16. Anthony Davis, 2012: He’s had some injuries, but otherwise, Davis was a tremendous prospect and has been a tremendous player.
17. Allen Iverson, 1996: Some questioned Iverson because he was do dang little. But man, Iverson could play.
18. Chris Webber, 1993: A star, but not a superstar.
19. James Worthy, 1982: A star, but not a superstar.
20. Blake Griffin, 2009: Injuries have robbed Griffin of his incredible athletic ability, but he was a phenom for a long time.
Mailbag: Pac-12 vs. Big 12
The constant discussion of Pac-12 schools jumping to the Big 12 has some out West saying hold on.
Richard: “The remaining Pac-12 schools want to stay in the Pac. Tradition, academics and great natural beauty make the Pac a great conference. None of these schools want to join the Big 12 or Big Ten. They love playing on the West Coast. You're right, they ain't leaving, and with the upcoming 12-team playoff, why should they?”
Tramel: Well, great natural beauty has nothing to do with it. And Southern Cal and UCLA jumped to the Big Ten as soon as the money became too much to say no.
That’s what could cause further Pac-12 upheaval, the finances.
But Richard’s general thoughts are solid. The Pac schools do prefer to stay out West. And the 12-team playoff does offer incentive to keep the Pac-12 viable.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.