Notebook

Published: April 21, 2008

When Mike Holder was looking at Travis Ford's resume, one of the things that impressed him most was his ability to turn programs around.

Ford went to an Eastern Kentucky program that won just seven games his first year and took it to the NCAA Tournament in 2005. UMass required a massive renovation was well.

Holder doesn't see OSU as a program in disrepair, but the skill still impresses him.

"This isn't a downtrodden program, but a couple of those places he went to were,” Holder said. "He turned it around. That's intriguing. That shows that he knows how to invigorate a fan base and get people excited. Recruit to a place that hasn't been very successful. I'd like to think that if you give him an asset like this he could really shine it up.”

•Free throw frequency: Oklahoma State was an impressive free throw shooting team last season. Even though the Cowboys will be in a different, faster offense under Ford, it appears that will remain a crucial skill.

Teams that shoot a lot of 3-pointers generally don't shoot a lot of foul shots. Ford's UMass team launched 929 3-pointers in 2007-08. But UMass this season also averaged 24.4 foul shots a game.

"Teams get so tired of playing against us, they had to foul us to slow us down,” Ford said.

•Calling all rebounders: In an offense that thrives on transition, rebounding is a critical skill. OSU is, of course, losing its best rebounder to graduation. Marcus Dove averaged 5.7 boards per game. The next leading rebounder was Terrel Harris with 4.2. Big men Ibrahima Thomas (4.1) and Martavius Adams (2.1) will be the best candidates to pick up some of the slack from Dove's exit.

Comments