These are in no particular order of time, sport, or accomplishment in college or professionally
For the good guys list first:
Bryant “Big Country” Reeves-First true superstar from OSU that I can remember. Half court bomb vs Mizzou…pure magic.
Randy Rutherford-still the greatest in 3-pt. percentage. Hung 45 on the Jayhawks.
Brooks Thompson- always brought his A-game against the Goons. Tremendous effort and talent. RIP
Desmond Mason-18.8 ppg as a sr. High-flying 2x Slam Dunk champ. Led them to an Elite 8.
Doug “DG” Gottlieb- loved his swagger and his ability to dish. Couldn’t shoot to save his soul though. Haha!
Joe Adkins-He on the other hand COULD shoot
Adrian Peterson-the real one, not the child-beating goon. Could fill it up with the best of them
Chianti Roberts-even as a freshman, he had the potential to be special. Didn’t disappoint.
Victor Williams and Mo Baker-one of the best guard combos that Eddie ever had IMO
Andre Williams-could rebound and shot-block at an elite level. As a sophomore, his maturity and leadership after the crash is still impressive 20 years later.
Frederik Jonzen-wasn’t sure what to make of him at first, but he definitely developed game. Lit up Mizzou in first game back in GIA post-crash.
Terrance Crawford-knee injury altered his role forever. Never complained publicly anyway. Was a HS stud out of McGuinness and a glue-guy that always did the dirty work. A true Cowboy defined.
LeBryan Nash-probably didn’t have the career he envisioned due to coaching. 5-star who could’ve transferred but stayed the course. Great career overseas. I love his story.
Marcus Smart-tough, talented, cocky, defensive bulldog who could blow by you any time he wanted. Stupid racist Tech fan wrecked one of his seasons.
Phil Forte-historical 3-point shooter who could actually defend better than Keiton Page.
Marcus Dove and Melvin Sanders-two of the greatest defensive stoppers who could bring the roar to GIA with one tipped pass and breakaway dunk. They did it so many times.
Tony Allen-The Grindfather, “1st Team all-defense!” Found his niche in the league on defense, but was a scoring machine in Stilly as a senior leading them to a Final Four. Eddie’s greatest reclamation project.
Barry Sanders-the GOAT, Heisman ‘88, Rewrote the NCAA record books. Hall of Famer in every sense. Humble as can be. Wish he had a larger presence in the program currently and that his dad hadn’t been such a jerk. William Sanders didn’t deserve a son so great.
Thurman Thomas-somehow kept the GOAT on the bench for a while. Cause he was that good. Hall of Famer as well. Loved seeing him as parade Marshall at Homecoming a few years back.
Fields, Bell, and Woods- the second era of triplets behind Gundy, Sanders and Dykes. Brought a renewed confidence to Oklahoma State football through Les Miles leadership. Beat the Goons twice, Went bowling after a stretch of bad ball under Simmons. Helped take A & M’s spot in hierarchy of Big 12 South. Made football fun and exciting again in Cowboyland. They all 3 played the right way and were tremendous off the field as well. Fields managed it in 2 sports.
Alonzo Mayes-my dad just thought he was awesome, and I did too. So many great, CLUTCH catches. First productive tight end I could remember at OSU,
Brandon Pettigrew-same mold as Mayes, but even better production because Zac could really spin it and spread it around under Holgy.
Z-Rob-first white QB with wheels that I could remember. His 45-yard run vs Tech is legend. Pettigrew finished that one off in dramatic style. 49-45. Leach fired his DC before the plane left back for Lubbock. Haha!! To add to that, beating #3 Mizzou in Columbia was the first sign that Gundy had it rolling.
Greg Richmond-first guy I could remember who could speed rush off the edge. I can still see his picture in the Oklahoman in my mind the day after ‘01 Bedlam. Great assistant for Gundy these days. Always had bushy eyebrows too. Haha!
Perrish Cox-elite cover corner and even more dangerous in the return game. My gosh, could he FLY!!
Darrent Williams- could do the same things, but did it earlier under Miles. Went to the Broncos. Career cut short by tragic shooting. RIP.
Vernon Grant- “Smurf” had the pick to seal a win vs the Aggies, 28-23. Played his a** off all 4 years. Never gave an inch even at 5’8”. Another one gone far too soon.
I could add more, but gonna switch to coaches now:
Gundy as coach: has elevated the program higher than anyone to come before him. His offenses through his tenure overall have been among the nation’s best. His treatment of players called into question by Chuba, but consensus is that he does everything in his power to provide a first-class experience for them. Celebrates walk-ons getting scholly’s. Honors loyalty sometimes to his detriment, but mostly for the good. Has been a tremendous ambassador for the program over the majority of his time as HC. I have issues with his preparation, recruiting efforts, and Bedlam record/lack of championships, but I’ll never question his overall value to the university and program in terms of him as a human being. He’s given the majority of his lifetime to making the program worlds better than how he inherited it. Graduates players and keeps most of them on the straight and narrow. Nothing but respect for that.
Les Miles-brought a badly needed dose of fire and swagger to the program that was desperately missing from Pat Jones and Bob Simmons. Made Cowboy fans believe that winning football could be played in Stillwater, America. Then backed it up by beating OU and Nebraska in one of his seasons. Until Gundy cleaned house, I had no idea how many bad apples he was using to accomplish this though. Despite this, I’m grateful for what he instilled on the field in his time here.
Eddie Sutton-a Hall of Famer in every sense of the word. 2 Final Fours, multiple Elite8s and Sweet 16s. So many lives impacted by knowing and being coached by the man. Proud alum who played for the legend Iba. A human just like the rest of us who fought personal demons in a very public view. The plane crash truly changed everything about Oklahoma State basketball, but for so much of his era, the Pokes were just so dang special. Led by a special man.
John Smith-greatest wrestler in Olympic or Cowboy history. Natty’s as a wrestler and coach. On a Mount Rushmore of Pokes, he makes the cut before a lot of others that some might say are also deserving. He’s continued to build the greatest dynasty in the history of college athletics, regardless of sport or level. 34 and counting. Upgraded facilities would do wonders to help him remove the thorns of Penn State and Iowa from his side.
Nick Piccinni-feisty lightweight who will never back down. Love watching him attack. Relentless. As every wrestler should be.
All I got for now. Will add more separately then crank up the Sooner hate post.
