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With seven new players on the men’s basketball roster, Oklahoma State fans have some acquainting to do.
Freshmen Jarred Shaw, Ray Penn, Reger Dowell, Roger Franklin, Fred Gulley and Torin Walker, as well as junior University of Kentucky transfer Matt Pilgrim, are highly-touted newcomers for the Cowboys this season.
“It’s the class of ‘09, and we all can talk about it,” Gulley said. “We all have the same feelings so it’s easy to have someone to relate to you. It’s just good that there’s a lot of us in here going through the same things.”
OSU’s class was ranked 12th nationally by Rivals.com and included four players in the Rivals150, a ranking of the nation’s best high school basketball players.
In addition to the talent boost, the Cowboys also got an infusion of size and depth in the paint with Pilgrim at 6-foot-8, Walker at 6-foot-11 and Shaw at 6-foot-10, who now make up three of the four tallest Cowboys on the roster.
The backcourt should get a boost as well from Penn, who is an explosive scoring guard, along with guards Dowell and Gulley. Franklin, a 6-foot-5 forward from Duncanville, Texas, should give the Cowboys added versatility on the wing.
Halfway through their first week of practice, the freshmen are still trying to adjust to the demands of college basketball.
“It’s hard, to say the least,” Dowell said. “Us new guys, we’ve never been trained like this, pushed to this level. Going from high school to the college level, especially D-1 at a school like this, it’s a big adjustment. We’re just all trying to get used to it. It’s just next level.”
The amount of time spent practicing is an adjustment for the newcomers.
“In high school we spent a few hours in the gym but nothing compared to this,” Dowell said. “We live in the gym. It’s pretty much all we see, just basketball court, basketballs. We live in the gym.”
The increased physicality is also a hurdle for many freshmen to overcome.
“It’s a lot more physical, a lot more pounding on the body, a lot more hours of coaching and just contact,” Gulley said. “You’ve just got to be mentally prepared, and Jake (Mazelmann), our strength coach, is trying to get us physically prepared, so it’s just a combination.”
Dowell and Franklin were high school teammates, which is making their transition easier.
“I’ve known Reger since about third grade, been playing on the same team with him, living in the same town,” Franklin said. “Having a teammate from Duncanville, coming from elementary all the way up here to college is really just a storyline. It’s real good having a teammate from the same high school as you coming to the same (college) with you.”
Although they are close friends, the two still remain very competitive with one another on the court.
“He’s a point guard and I’m a small forward, but when we’re on opposite teams, we both know we’re coming for each other’s heads,” Franklin said.
With so much youth, many upperclassmen are mentoring and helping the younger players adjust.
“There’s a lot of the older guys preaching to us, making sure we keep our heads on, getting sleep, to eating the right things; so there’s a lot of upperclassmen that are leaders that are helping us,” Gulley said.
The Cowboys season begins Nov. 11 with an exhibition game against Central Oklahoma in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
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