(Special to the LWS is TeddyMoney’s first piece )
Lost in the more relevant arguments about the monumental nature of Oklahoma State’s slide backwards in the Big 12 this year is another issue – the real reason YOU, and anyone you know, should root for the Cowboys to make the Dance.
t one point, Mario Boggan and JamesOn Curry were arguably the most dynamic tandem in America. Somewhere around – but potentially above – the likes of Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, Aaron Afflalo and Darren Collison, Joakim Noah and Al Horford, Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green, and Tyler Hansborough and Brendan Wright were Curry and Boggan.
In the team’s January 16th three-overtime victory over Texas, which might rank as the high water mark of their season, Boggan and Curry combined for 65 points and 29 rebounds.
So, why should this matter to YOU? As most college hoops fans know, as the NCAA Tournament progresses, not only are “dynamic duos” all the rage, but storylines become an interesting part of the proceedings. As 65 teams get whittled to 16, CBS and other media outlets have a chance to actually focus on the players at hand – what makes them tick, what being in a Regional means to them, etc.
And, as most college basketball fans know, Curry was the leading high school scorer in North Carolina state history at one juncture; then, based on a marijuana arrest, he lost his scholarship to UNC before ending up in Stillwater.
Boggan once played at Florida, as a consensus Top 50 recruit. He was overweight, didn’t seem to fit with Donovan’s system, and eventually ended up at Community College before finding his way to Sean Sutton’s program.
UNC and Florida, of course, have won the last two national championships.
Curry and Boggan, as a result, would have had chances to partake in the sweet nectar of watching “One Shining Moment” with a smile on your face instead of sadness in your heart, but due to circumstances within their control, they lost that opportunity.
But now, they have somewhat gotten it back, and become quite the duo (generally speaking) in the meantime. Shouldn’t we root for Boggan and Curry, who combined for 39 and 10 in OSU’s last win, over Kansas State? Shouldn’t we want them to achieve some measure of success? Shouldn’t we want to see an Armen Ketayian feature during the San Antonio Regional on what this means to them? Shouldn’t we?
I think we should. So, go Cowboys. Sorry, Doc Sadler – this is for the good of us all.
armen ketayian is still ballin?
I like the piece. I’m just not convinced that Boggan and Curry are even “around” as good as Afflalo and Collison or Horford and Noah (as much as I despise Joke-kim) but they’re pretty darn good. What about Conley and Oden? I think it was long thought, especially in the state of Indiana, that Conley was part of package deal for Oden but Conley is one of the best guards in the country. He’s average almost 7 assists a game and is one of the fastest players in all of college basketball. I like OSU but I think it depends on their draw. http://www.patrickdonohue.wordpress.com
You know, I do feel bad for the players. But the University made a huge mistake hiring Sutton’s kid to drive the wagon after daddy fell off. He might become a good coach, but to assume he’d be able to maintain what his father created was wishful thinking.
Plus, he looks like a goddamn ferret.