Oklahoma
Mark Daigneault’s ‘Standard’ Lifting Oklahoma City to New Heights
Although it may seem like it, Oklahoma City’s rise to the top didn’t happen overnight. It has been a process over the last few years, instilling a foundation and a culture to build on when the day to compete would come.
Part of that rebuild started when Russell Westbrook and Paul George were traded, but even then, Chris Paul and the team of veterans started setting the table for what was to come. When the full reset button was pressed, Oklahoma City hired Mark Daigneault to lead the Thunder through the dark days, and it has proven to be the best decision the organization could’ve made.
Daigneault holds everyone to a high standard, and that trickles down to the leaders on the team. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was on the team from Daigneault’s first days as head coach, and he’s demanded a lot out of his teammates. Part of that is thanks to Daigneault’s mindset and what he has demanded out of the team as a whole.
“He’s annoying,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Always nagging. But the best thing about him is that no matter who you are, he has a standard.
“Doesn’t matter if you been here five years, if you’re the best player on the team, worst player on the team. If you got here last week. There’s a standard. I think that’s what’s allowed our culture to be what it is.”
The standard was set with tough defense, discipline, and grit on the floor. Even when Oklahoma City was at the top of the lottery, they still managed to have solid defenses that put up a fight. Daigneault knew that it would translate on both ends of the floor someday in the future.
The future came quicker than expected, and Daigneault’s demanding approach as a head coach has paid off. Oklahoma City has the No. 3 offensive rating and No. 4 defensive rating and looks like a contender by every single metric. The annoying nagging that Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned is all worth it if Oklahoma City continues to play this well as a team.
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Oklahoma
6 Oklahoma Sooners earn AP All-SEC Honors
The Oklahoma Sooners are readying themselves for the most crucial game of the season, and perhaps the Brent Venables era, when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide next Friday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. After a 10-2 season, which included a 6-2 mark in SEC play, six Sooners were named to the AP All-SEC teams.
That comes after 10 Sooners earned 11 All-SEC Honors as voted on by the coaches, and kicker Tate Sandell was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.
Selected to the first team were Sandell, punter Grayson Miller, and wide receiver Isaiah Sategna.
Sandell has the highest field goal percentage in the conference and has made all seven field goal attempts of 50 yards or more.
Miller is fourth in the nation, and first in the SEC, in punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Like Sandell, he’s been a special teams weapon for Brent Venables, helping Oklahoma win the field position battle in a number of their wins this season.
Sategna is tied for second in the SEC receptions with 65, yards with 948, and tied for fourth in the conference touchdowns. He’s been a big-play threat for the Sooners, especially in recent weeks. Sategna closed the season with back-to-back 100-yard days, giving him four on the season. He had more than 60 yards receiving in nine of Oklahoma’s last 10 games.
Earning second team honors for the Sooners were linebacker Owen Heinecke, defensive end R Mason Thomas, and defensive tackle Gracen Halton.
Thomas leads the Sooners with 6.5 sacks despite missing the final three games of the regular season, three and a half quarters vs. Tennessee (injury), and a half vs. Auburn (targeting suspension). He’s been a force each of the last two seasons, earning All-SEC second-team honors in 2024, and was a first-team selection as voted on by the league’s coaches this season.
Halton, like Thomas, was a member of Brent Venables first recruiting class in the 2022 cycle. He’s been awesome again this year, recording 3.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 31 total tackles. He’s been a force in the middle, making life difficult in the running game and providing an interior pass rush for the Sooners.
Heinecke has been one of a number of breakout stars for Oklahoma as part of a great linebacker rotation. Heinecke is second on the team in total tackles and tackle for loss, behind only Kip Lewis, and has two sacks to his ledger as well. He’s come up big in key moments for Oklahoma, including the sack and forced fumble against Tennessee, which led to R Mason Thomas’ long touchdown return that changed the momentum of the game, and perhaps the season.
The Oklahoma Sooners have a talented roster and a number of players like Peyton Bowen, Kip Lewis, Eli Bowen, Courtland Guillory, Jaren Kanak, Febechi Nwaiwu, Taylor Wein, and David Stone who deserved inclusion on the All-SEC teams. Even still, six players and a host of players worthy of mention is a great thing for the Sooners as they get set to take on an Alabama Crimson Tide team that earned just three selections to the AP All-SEC teams.
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Oklahoma
Person dies after jumping from bridge near I-40 and I-35 in Oklahoma City
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) says a person died Tuesday after jumping from a bridge near the I-40 and I-35 interchange in Oklahoma City, prompting an ongoing law enforcement investigation.
Troopers say the response created traffic delays in the area as law enforcement worked the scene.
Drivers should expect delays and consider alternate routes until the scene is cleared, officials said.
OHP says more information will be released as the investigation continues.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Contemporary to host free ‘Polar Party’ event with winter activities
Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center is inviting families, children and community members to participate in its monthly Second Saturday program.
Organizers say Second Saturday is a free afternoon of hands-on art-making and gallery exploration held on the second Saturday of each month.
Families can enjoy guided activities, family-friendly gallery chats and take-home art experiences designed for all ages. Materials are provided at no cost, and no advance registration is required.
Periodically, the center expands the event into Second Saturday XL, which is a larger celebration featuring multiple art stations, performances and seasonal programming across the Oklahoma Contemporary campus.
The upcoming Second Saturday XL: Polar Party is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 13, from 1 p.m. 5 p.m.
Guests can take part in winter-themed projects, including wreath making, cookie decorating and snow-globe crafting, along with music, treats and additional family activities throughout the center.
See the full lineup of activities here.
All programming is free and open to the public.
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