 "Photo: N/A")
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Saturday might be the first time OSU coach Travis Ford and UTSA coach Brooks Thompson meet as coaches, but their history goes back a little farther.
“I know Brooks very well,” Ford said. “We roomed together at an all-star event.”
Ford’s and Thompson’s basketball careers have been eerily similar over the years.
Both entered college in 1989 — Ford at Missouri, while Thompson played at Texas A&M.
Eventually, Ford transferred out of the Big 8 Conference to head to Kentucky while Thompson entered the conference to play for OSU.
Ford said he remembers Thompson well as a player.
“He was a great player here (at Oklahoma State), no question one of the best players to ever play here,” he said. “He accomplished a lot and he has done a great job of building up the San Antonio program.”
Both exited college in 1994. While Thompson went on to play for several NBA teams, Ford took a shot at acting, and eventually, coaching.
Thompson, who played under Eddie Sutton at OSU, has made a habit of returning to his alma mater as a coach.
Texas-San Antonio will visit Gallagher-Iba on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. for the fourth time in as many years, with OSU winning the first three contests.
Ford said although it might be fun to welcome Thompson back each season to OSU, he will certainly not be focused on the connection between the coaches.
“That’s not my motivation,” he said. “Our motivation is to get better, and we need to come off a very poor performance and have a better performance.
“No question we want to win, because no question seven wins is better than six at this point.”
But OSU players such as forward Marshall Moses said it certainly wouldn’t hurt to show an alum what OSU (6-1) is all about.
“It might sound a little twisted because we are playing against his team, but we definitely want to show him that this is still a Cowboy team,” Moses said. “Traditional Cowboy basketball.”
Moses said although playing against a former OSU player adds an element of interest, he would like to prove to any team that comes in what OSU basketball is about.
“It’s not just because he’s alumni, but from my personal view because we lost last game,” Moses said. “I want to play like that against anybody, I don’t care who we are playing.
“But it would be nice just to show him that the basketball is just the same as when he was playing here.”
Moses said although the Tulsa loss was tough to swallow, there is no time to worry about it before facing another quality opponent.
The Roadrunners of UTSA (6-1) won at Iowa 62-50 to begin the season, snapping a 46-game home opener winning streak for the Hawkeyes.
Ford describes Thompson’s team as dangerous, but OSU guard Obi Muonelo said he thinks the Cowboys could be even more dangerous.
“We have high expectations for ourselves, and when we lose a game, it really hurts,” he said. “I think we’ll be a very hungry team coming in Saturday.”
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