I totally hear you… and I think it’s a good recipe to get guys like Thor or Likele or McGriff that will hang around for 3 or 4 years… and then to supplement that talent with a one-and-done or two per year as well. That way you have the leadership, but also sprinkle in some great talent.
It’s what Duke does… do I think we will accomplish what they have? Nah… but it would be pretty sweet if we did.
You understand that our own (awesome) coach has made insinuations contrary to that, correct? One of his goals is to build OSU into a Duke.
I would argue that the teams that those five stars had were not nearly as talented as the team we will have around Cade. If Cade leads us to a sweet 16 appearance, I think we all will remember him for a long time. He will be seen as someone who changed the trajectory of this program. I’m a big fan of Cam McGriff, but what has he done to impact the program? Only 1 NCAA appearance and 0 NCAA wins.
Bringing the rowdy back to GIA is what ultimately matters. Butts in seats helps the team, recruiting, etc. Who wasn’t embarrased to see a 1/3 full GIA chanting to Bryce to follow Cade? If Cade can help bring excitement and start filling up GIA again, then it’s a program changer and worth getting excited about.
I was at OSU during the Eddie Sutton era and had to be in a drawing to get tickets. GIA was ALWAYS full, loud and intimidating for opposing teams. We never won a championship, but what a blast it was! If getting Cade can help bring that level of excitement back, it’s well worth getting your hopes up!
That’s great… I don’t believe that it will happen… but I’m glad that’s his goal.
Bingo. Cam McGriff, rightfully, is a sentimental player, like Lindy and Ziggy as well. Which is great, for myself personally, they are legends for the 12-20 season of hell. You and I will never forget that.
But if you were to ask people outside of the OSU base about Marcus Smart…vs…Cam McGriff…who are they going to know more about? The same can be said for Cade.
If you were to ask me about the 2015 Duke team, I could tell you it had Justise Winslow, Jahlil Okafor, and Tyus Jones (all freshmen). But I don’t recall any others.
And that’s why our fanbase will always have a defeatist contingency.
I agree with this 100%. I’m a sophomore at OSU and I can tell you most of my friends from Texas believe that we are a football school. I’m trying to hammer into their heads that we used to be a basketball school to try and build up excitement. I don’t remember a lot about the Sutton era, but one of my earliest OSU memories is watching the final four game against GT. That game locked me in forever, despite the heartbreak. I hope the rowdy returns to GIA while I’m still a student here because I want to experience what it used to be like!
I can’t express how much I agree with this…BUT…unfortunately, this is not currently what the atmosphere dictates…
I’m jealous you’re there now. Great time to be there.
I agree with what you’ve written here.
I agree with you.
I believe that OSU fans will be just as whiny and entitled as KU/UK/OU fans…
But I agree that the expectation should be to be at a high level in all sports. Winning titles is really, really hard… so I don’t necessarily believe that our programs will get there consistently… but as long as they’re in a position to compete for them, I’ll be happy.
Which, frankly, is why I’m happy with football, as we’ve discussed.
I think we’re on the same page. I don’t expect to win titles ever year, by any means. Not Big 12 and certainly not national. But we should be competing every single year and we should be winning SOMETIMES. That means more than once a decade or so. That’s why I’m NOT happy with football, but it’s all just perspective differences. Ultimately, we should be doing better than we are and I see basketball through Boynton taking the steps to correct that.
I think more than one a decade is unrealistic… I think one FF a decade is more realistic.
Should have clarified. A Big 12 title more than once a decade (for either sport) should be where we’re competing at. Not a natty every decade. That would be nuts.
2005 taught me to moderate expectations from any recruiting class…
But see, that’s the thing. If we can win the Big 12 title, we’re what, a Top 10 team? Maybe even Top 5 depending on what the SEC is doing in any particular year. Which should translate into at least being in contention for the Cotton or Sugar bowl (whichever ones aren’t the playoff bowls).
Everyone talks about there being an “image” problem with Stillwater. So then how does everyone feel when we get to the “Camping World Bowl”? No image problem there?
I would agree. In any given year, we should be in those high-tier bowl games (NY6 typically). Even if we’re not winning the Big 12, we should be strong enough to avoid things like Camping World, Texas, or Cheez-It.
I echo the feeling(s) expressed by DougD/KP … although, i do my fair share of ‘griping’ on variety of subjects (most notably RECRUITING 101) … i love the ebb/flow of OSU athletics … I never aspire for the existence in the world between “crushing disappointment or grim relief”
