Oklahoma State University Cowboys Men's Basketball Team Profile

Once a college basketball powerhouse under the leadership of the legendary Henry Iba in the 1940's, the Cowboys were the first in NCAA history to win back-to-back National Championships. They then saw renewal when Iba's protege, Eddie Sutton, took over in 1990. In Sutton's time, the Cowboys went to 2 Final Fours and made 13 NCAA tournament appearances in 15 years. The 1995 Final Four appearance featured future NBA big man Bryant "Big Country" Reeves while the 2004 Final Four team featured future NBA draft picks, Tony Allen and Joey Graham.

Following Eddie Sutton's DUI arrest, his son and former Cowboys player, Sean Sutton, was named Head Coach in 2006. The tenure began with plenty of promise. At one point, Oklahoma State was 15-1 and ranked as high as 9th in the country. Then the bottom fell out. A disastrous run through the Big 12 left the Cowboys out of NCAA tournament contention and playing in the NIT. 2007-2008 didn't even begin well, the team losing early and too often before finishing 17-15 and exiting the NIT early for the 3rd straight season.

The struggles resulted in the firing of Sean Sutton, his tenure lasting only a couple of disappointing seasons before Oklahoma State hired former Massachusetts head coach Travis Ford in 2008. Ford's first season was much better. Behind savvy senior point guard Byron Eaton and talented forward James Anderson, the Cowboys finished 23-12, with only two losses at home. A long-desired return to the NCAA tournament followed, as Oklahoma State entered as an at-large 8 seed. They gave an Elite Eight team and top seed, Pittsburgh, quite a push in the 2nd round before falling 84-76.

The Cowboys play at one of the most notoriously rambunctious arenas in the nation, Eddie Sutton Court in historic Gallagher-Iba Arena. After undergoing a renovation in 2003, the seating capacity was more than doubled to over 13,000, but the atmosphere has remained. Built in 1938, the arena still contains the original white maple floor and now includes 14 luxury suites and up-close fan seating.

Tickets for OSU men's basketball games can be purchased online or by calling the Oklahoma State ticket office at 877-All-4-OSU. Prices are typically between $25 and $50, and the school also offers half-season tickets for $300.

Head Coach: Travis Ford - since 2008
Former Head Coach at Massachusetts and Eastern Kentucky
Associate Head Coach: Butch Pierre - since 2008
Associate Head Coach at LSU for six seasons
Assistant Coach: Chris Ferguson - since 2007
Former Associate Head Coach at East Carolina
Assistant Coach: Steve Middleton - since 2008

1 Jarred Shaw F/C 6-10 FR
2 Obi Muonelo G 6-5 SR
5 Reger Dowell G 6-1 FR
10 Torin Walker F/C 6-11 FR
12 Keiton Page G 5-9 SO
14 Ray Penn G 5-9 FR
15 Nick Sidorakis G 6-4 JR
21 Fred Gulley G 6-2 FR
22 Teeng Akol F/C 6-11 SO
23 James Anderson G 6-6 JR
25 Garrett Thomas G 6-2 JR
31 Matt Pilgrim F 6-8 JR
32 Roger Franklin F 6-5 FR
33 Marshall Moses F 6-7 JR
41 Steven Cantrell F 6-6 SO
43 Lee Ledford G 6-0 SO

All the adversity of recent years seems to be gone. No longer are players concerned with the Eddit Sutton situation or the lack of patience for Sean Sutton. The Travis Ford era now enters its 2nd year, and the possibilities look good.

Of course, it's simply the nature of college athletics to have to replace key players each year. And that's the case for Oklahoma State, who bid farewell to talented, longtime players Byron Eaton and Terrell Harris. But overall, the Cowboys have to consider themselves lucky. They return a number of players from an NCAA tournament team that was competitive in nearly every game it played last year. And that gives the team and the fans a great deal of optimism for 2009-2010. The first player mentioned by the opposition is likely to be James Anderson. A player with a likely future in the NBA, Anderson is long and athletic, a small forward that can drive to the basket and shoot from the outside. He led the Cowboys in 3-point shooting a year ago and will be the key to a successful run this year.

But he's not the only one. In fact, OSU is loaded with experienced players. Edmond's Obi Muonelo, a senior, is a sturdy shooter from the guard position. Sophomore Keiton Page was an outside threat a year ago, and Marshall Moses established himself as a force inside.

Replacing Byron Eaton will be no easy task, though. The Cowboys bring in a couple of youngsters to audition for point guard duties, Fred Penn and Ray Gulley, but don't be surprised if Keiton Page gets the bulk of the work there early. The team still doesn't have a force inside, but Moses and newcomer Matt Pilgrim should be able to duke it out in there well enough in most games. So how well Penn, Gulley or Page disperse the ball to Anderson and Muonelo may just dictate OSU's success in 2009-2010.

Gallagher-Iba Arena wasn't quite as loud as it's known to be last year, but Travis Ford's first season success should help fill it up this season. Expect Oklahoma State to compete for one of the top four spots in the Big XII and another NCAA tournament appearance. Kansas and Texas look like the top dogs in the conference, but it's pretty well wide open after that.