Oklahoma State basketball: Travis Ford trying to avoid distractions, get Cowboys back to NCAA Tournament

Yes, Brian Williams has been lost for the season and will be missed. And Michael Cobbins faces a month of recovery form a fractured toe. And Jéan-Paul Olukemi and Philip Jurick continue slow recoveries from last year's ailments.

All four have started games for OSU and Williams and Cobbins were sure things for this year's starting five.

Still, Ford's focus must stay sharp. The Cowboys – and Ford – approach a seemingly critical juncture, needing a bounce-back from two disappointing seasons to restore the program and reignite the fan base.

The regular season begins Friday night against UC Davis (tip time 8 p.m.) and distractions can't be tolerated.

“No use worrying about it at this point,” Ford said. “Whoever's dressed out, that's who we'll play.

“Last year, I probably worried about it more. I'm to the point where I don't worry about it. It is what it is. There haven't been a lot of seconds worrying about what we don't have. I'm concerned about what we do have.”

On the bright side, the Cowboys still have plenty, despite the early issues.

In Le'Bryan Nash and Marcus Smart, they have a couple of recent McDonald's All-Americans. In Markel Brown, they have a dynamic athlete who should flourish with Smart taking pressure off him at the point. In Olukemi, they have a player who posted 20 double-figuring scoring games two years ago, before a knee injury wrecked his junior season.

There's more, too, with freshman Phil Forte doing a pretty good Keiton Page impression, freshman Kamari Murphy delivering energy and work ethic and Marek Soucek garnering high praise as the team's most-improved player, and Kirby Gardner offering depth at point guard. Cobbins will return, too, and Jurick should continue to improve after tearing his Achilles late last season.