This helps explain why he confidently ranks OSU men's basketball among the top 10 coaching jobs in America.
"When you have an athletic director with the drive of Mike Holder, who strives to be the best in everything you're doing, then you've got a chance to be a top-10 program in all aspects,” Hinson said Saturday at the Final Four. "Just pick a sport up there and look at the facilities they either have, or are working to have.
"In my opinion, with what they're doing up there, I think they're a top-10 program in all aspects. No question.”
Feel free to argue. Hinson fully expects it.
"If it's not a top-10 program in other people's eyes because of my bias, that's fine,” Hinson said. "Let's go minus-5 with how I feel. OK, so now it's still in the top 15.”
Hinson attended OSU, graduating in 1983 with a degree in secondary social sciences.
It also should be mentioned Hinson currently is unemployed.
Could this column be viewed as a sales pitch to anyone willing to listen?
Absolutely.
Would he love to coach the Cowboys?
Yippie-kay-yay.
Just because Hinson is between jobs, it doesn't mean he's lying.
"I don't care where I settle down. I don't care where I end up,” Hinson said. "I've got facts to back up my stance.”
Keep in mind, Hinson might be the most reliable source on this matter.
I asked several college coaches to share their thoughts on the OSU job. Each refused comment on the grounds of self-incrimination.
Speaking publicly could constitute a breech of their contract.
Athletic directors don't want their head coach talking about other job openings.
Even if a coach has no interest in that job, words of praise or criticism could constitute a conflict of interest.
Hinson is unattached, so he's free to speak.
"While I was there (OSU), I fell in love with college basketball. I wanted to be a coach and it turned out pretty doggone good for me,” said Hinson, who just finished a nine-year stint at Missouri State.
Before that, Hinson coached six seasons at Oral Roberts, the final two as head coach.
For 11 years before that came positions as coach at Stillwater Junior High, assistant coach at Stillwater High and Edmond Memorial, and head coach at Tulsa Bishop Kelley.
Exactly what Hinson did while at OSU has become somewhat of an urban legend.
More than a few Cowboys fans have walked up to Hinson and said, "Man, I remember when you played at OSU.”
Others have recalled Hinson's days as an assistant coach under Paul Hansen.
What Hinson actually did was facility maintenance work for assistant athletic director and former basketball coach Sam Aubrey.
Hinson cleaned bathrooms and the weight room. He would use a putty knife to scrape gum off the floor and bleachers, sometimes with the help of Freon.
"I was a janitor is what I was. I'm serious,” Hinson said. "When people come up to me they remember when I was a coach, I just go with it.”
Hinson would hurry up and finish his chores so he could become mesmerized while listening to legendary coach Henry Iba, Aubrey and others tell stories.
"Eventually, every day they'd end up talking about horse racing,” Hinson said. "No joke.
"The biggest butt-chewing I ever got was from (football coach) Jimmy Johnson. My job was to water the Astroturf to bring down the heat. He'd put me on a fire hose and I would go out there and water the Astroturf.
"One time Jimmy comes out as they're getting ready for practice. Half of the field has already evaporated and he thinks I'm only half-way done and he just chews me out. It was the funniest thing, although it wasn't then.”
Hinson certainly knows from whence he came.
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ou is a pretty good job. capel is a really good coach. but honestly, i think ou is a better job. not because of money, but because the fans are much more passionate up there about basketball than the ones down here around norman. period.
And to be fair to the Sooner Nation, I put OU's program not far behind in the 20-30 range. Remember, OU has a winning series record against everyone in the Big 12 except KU (thanks to Kenny Mossman for that stat).
So, I put this "top 10" question to the test, and here is the list I came up with (in no particular order) - OSU is not top 10, but is definitely top 20:
Kentucky
North Carolina
Kansas
UCLA
Indiana
Georgetown
Duke
Louisville
Michigan State
Arkansas
UConn
Arizona
Syracuse
Maryland
Oklahoma State
I remember Barry Hinson when he was elected Governor of Boys State in 1978. He is a great public speaker...shoulda been a polititian. He is a Baptist minister's son, from the town of my birth, Marlow.
It's funny to watch the bandwagon gooners. I think they're just worried that OSU's athletic program will completely place OU in the shadows, and then they'll have to go out and purchase OSU hats, tees, and other. Heck, that would mean they would have to give up a "bunch a packs" of their favorite cigarettes. Make no mistake, OSU will soon be the dominant college athletic program in the state of Oklahoma.
patrick i completely agree with you even though i have been blessed to have met coach Hinson on a few occasions I believe that we have the money to get almost ANY coach in the country but more than that we have the fan support and facilities that would make any coach proud to be here....coach Self would be the top pick and would be shown the best support possible...but I believe that there are couple of others who are under the radar such as Jay Wright whom would be able to do wonders here...i think OSU will find the right guy to bring this program to the top and I agree with Hinson that overall OSU will become a top 10 program in the country once all the costruction is done
Mark and Danny from Smyrna-If you didn't see the message board on the Self story last night, I exposed the jerk from Ardmore. He is actually the same Bozo known as Danny from Wilson. He just changed his name to try and be cute and get in an ongoing dig at OSU. But, if you look at it, his semi-literate rhetoric is the very same and he didn't deny it when I brought it up. It's Danny. Therefore, the best way to handle this idiot is to just ignore him.
Robert-No offense to your opinion and no offense to Barry Hinson, but I think we need to aim a lot higher. Now that OSU has a much better operating budget with the influence of Pickens' donations, we can afford to go after just about anybody. I don't know why we would go after somebody that was just let go because he didn't win enough at Missouri State. If he couldn't win there in the MVC, I don't know how he could possibly be successful in the Big 12. Why not go after a proven big-time winner?
Robert-No offense to your opinion and no offense to Barry Hinson, but I think we need to aim a lot higher. Now that OSU has a much better operating budget with the influence of Pickens' donations, we can afford to go after just about anybody. I don't know why we would go after somebody that was just let go because he didn't win enough at Missouri State. If he couldn't win there in the MVC, I don't know how he could possibly be successful in the Big 12. Why not go after a proven big-time winner?
Mark and Danny from Smyrna-If you didn't see the message board on the Self story last night, I exposed the jerk from Ardmore. He is actually the same Bozo known as Danny from Wilson. He just changed his name to try and be cute and get in an ongoing dig at OSU. But, if you look at it, his semi-literate rhetoric is the very same and he didn't deny it when I brought it up. It's Danny. Therefore, the best way to handle this idiot is to just ignore him.
i think hinson would be a great coach for osu. he has the experience and even with a small university missouri state he did fairly well. he knows basketball and he good with the athletes and good with the fans and the alums. and pickens probably wont have to open his checkbook too wide on hinson either. give him a 5 yr contract starting out at 500 thous and let him earn his raise. i bet before his time is up,osu will see the ncaa tournament and should be around 900 thous
Oh, yeah...it's tainted money when it comes from Boone Pickens and goes to the Cowboys, but all of the Gaylord money (Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium?!) is clean, clean, clean.
We see your jealousy and idiotic reasoning Swooner in Ardmore.
You're afraid that OSU because OSU is no longer taking a stepchild status to your ou.
Be afraid, Gooner. Be very afraid.
mr. moron from ardmore....why do you constantly say something to the effect that TBP's money is tainted?? Is it because he was able to pull himself out of little Holdenville and work the Free Enterprise System like a genius to become a living example of acheiving The American Dream? Is that what drives your jealousy? Or is it just because you are one of those pathetic ou homers who just can't stand it to see O-State rising? I mean, if it is the former, then you just need to reconcile yourself with the fact that not everyone is smart enough to make themselves rich. And if the root of your jealousy is the latter, then I can understand because it's happening. Either way, you should change your handle to "itmustsucktobeme". Geez, what a moron.
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Kentucky
North Carolina
Kansas
UCLA
Indiana
Georgetown
Duke
Louisville
Michigan State
Arkansas
UConn
Arizona
Syracuse
Maryland
Oklahoma State
We see your jealousy and idiotic reasoning Swooner in Ardmore.
You're afraid that OSU because OSU is no longer taking a stepchild status to your ou.
Be afraid, Gooner. Be very afraid.