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Winning is Sampson's biggest turn-on Posted: Monday August 05, 2002 4:38 PMUpdated: Monday August 05, 2002 10:33 PM
When Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson turned down an invitation to pose for Playboy, no one was more thrilled than the subscribers. What’s that? It wasn’t that kind of photo shoot? Still, just the thought ... Playboy actually isn’t a good venue for Sampson nor for his Oklahoma basketball team. Playboy is all about beauty and there was nothing pretty about the way the Sooners won basketball games last season. Sampson, though, doesn’t care how his Sooners win, only whether they win. Oklahoma, which advanced to the Final Four last year for the first time since 1988, lumbered its way to 31 wins with a collection of junior-college transfers who played gritty, in-your-shirt defense, forcing teams out of their normal rhythm and tempo. In fact, Oklahoma was the antithesis of sexy last year, turning games ugly ... and then winning them.
It’s no surprise then that Sampson, who was named coach of Playboy's 2002-03 preseason All-America team, didn’t attend last weekend's photo shoot for the November issue. But considering that shooting guard Hollis Price also made Playboy's preseason team, it does, however, refute the notion that Sampson and his Sooners were overlooked last season, even in their own conference. "We had a team like Kansas, having one of those special seasons going undefeated in the conference," Sampson said. "Then you had Coach [Bob] Knight doing just an unbelievable job in his first year at Texas Tech. So Coach Knight saw a lot of attention. Then there was us. "I don't know if we weren't sexy enough, pretty enough ... but that stuff doesn't bother me. It's more important to me to win than to be acknowledged as pretty. I'm into results, not opinions." So is Price, who wagered that the average college basketball fan would be surprised to learn that Oklahoma has played in eight consecutive NCAA tournaments. "The average fan wouldn't know it because Oklahoma hasn't been in the media's eye until last year," Price said. "I look at it like this: A little adversity makes a man out of you. It's always like that -- us against the world -- and it's gonna be like that next year, even though we'll be top five." Top five at the start. Maybe top one at the end. Oklahoma lost a load in Aaron McGhee (21.8 points, 7.2 rebounds in tournament play) and sixth man Daryan Selvy (6.7 points, 4.9 rebounds), but Sampson returns four starters, including NCAA Tournament West Regional MVP Price and underrated point guard Quannas White. If freshman forward Kevin Bookout (6-foot-8, 260 pounds) can help Jabari Brown in the frontcourt, the Sooners will be dangerous. While Arizona and Kansas will be pegged for the Final Four all season -- much like Kansas and Duke were last year -- Oklahoma could be the Maryland of 2002-03 and prove to be the best. And that could lend Sampson the opportunity to pose for some postseason All-America photos.
Florida’s foreign landGators coach Billy Donovan got his man last month when Danish star Christian Drejer enrolled at Florida, shunning Florida State, Connecticut and Gonzaga. The coveted 6-8 shooting guard gives Donovan 13 scholarship players and the added depth necessary for Florida to better utilized its aggressive full-court press. Drejer averaged 31.6 points and 6.5 rebounds in Denmark last year and was named the Danish League MVP. Many NBA scouts had Drejer tabbed as a first-round draft pick had he opted to enter the 2002 NBA Draft. “His skill is ridiculous,” Donovan said. “He'll be perfect for us.” Drejer’s acquisition also will allow Donovan to be more creative with his lineups -- quite a bonus after losing the team’s heart and soul in center Udonis Haslem. Indeed, Florida lost as much in one player as any SEC team did when Haslem completed his senior season. Donovan will likely try to fill the void by committee with 6-10 senior Matt Bonner, 6-9 sophomore David Lee, 6-9 junior Bonell Colas, as well as with the freshman tandem of Mario Boggan and Adrian Moss.
Worth NothingThe fallout has begun following the July 19 court ruling that upheld the NCAA's proposed two-in-four “exempt” tournament rule. Illinois withdrew from the Top of the World Classic tournament in Fairbanks, Alaska, tournament last week because the Illini have played in two exempt tournaments -- the Maui Invitational and the Las Vegas Invitational -- in the past two years. Expect more high-profile teams to alter their schedules accordingly. … A not-so-bold prediction: Michigan State will win another national championship within the next four years. Tom Izzo is simply crushing his peers on the recruiting trail. Izzo already has a top-10 incoming freshman class for this season, and the Spartans coach received a commitment Friday night (Aug. 2) from the No. 1-ranked shooting guard in the nation, Shannon Brown. A 6-foot-3, 192-pounder from Proviso East High in Maywood, Ill. (Michael Finley's old stomping grounds), Brown has been compared to Baron Davis for his explosiveness. "Wherever I went, Coach Izzo was there," Brown told the Lansing State Journal after eliminating Kansas, Duke, Illinois and Louisville. "Unlike the other head coaches, he only sent an assistant one time. He showed up this week in Hooks, Texas, to watch a pickup game. That impressed me a lot." Brown joins Brandon Cotton, the No. 3-ranked point guard in his class, according to TheInsidersHoops.com and the nation's 8th-ranked center, 6-foot-10 Drew Naymick, in the 2003-04 Michigan State recruiting class … The Denver Post again reported that Kentucky coach Tubby Smith was a candidate for the vacant Denver Nuggets head coaching job. Smith squashed the rumor last week on his SEC teleconference call. “I said I wasn't a candidate for any job; I'm still not a candidate,” Smith said. “I don't know why they keep writing my name.” … When The Associated Press gets around to releasing its preseason rankings in a few months, expect to see three Big 12 teams (Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas) ranked in the top 10, possibly the top five. In stride, the Big 12 has more John Wooden Award candidates for 2002-03 than any other conference. The Jayhawks, Sooners and Longhorns each placed two players on the list of 50 nominees. Mark Button covers college basketball for CNNSI.com.
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